A top men’s hockey recruit in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports league is now feted on campus tours by as many as 10 different schools, offered an athletic scholarship, with some prospects even turning down NHL or AHL contracts to play.
So how can a small liberal arts school like St. Thomas University stand out in such a competitive market?
That’s what STU’s new head coach Troy Ryan was brought in to find out. Having played with the University of New Brunswick and St. Mary’s University and coached at Acadia University, Ryan has a firm grasp on what it takes to succeed in the CIS.
“All coaches want to pretend like they’re great recruiters,” said Ryan. “But the secret to it all is getting in good players, treating them well, and letting them recruit for you. They bring in their buddies, and if you’ve got good people, they’ll bring in good people.”
But bringing those players in can be challenging for an arts school with a student population just below 2,500.
“There were a couple players this year that I thought I was very close to getting committed here and it came down to we just didn’t have the programs that were offered, [elsewhere]” Ryan said.
Sometimes though, the first step is accepting that you’re not going to get the top-end skilled players. St. Thomas doesn’t have a lot of good development programs or huge employment opportunities to give players, but Ryan believes it’s best to sell what some perceive as negatives.
“I think a big part of it is we can’t pretend we’re UNB, we can’t pretend we’re Dal or Acadia. We have to focus on our strengths of being a small school.
“So as much as people think it’s a disadvantage, I think it can be an advantage as well and instead of fighting it, you want to relish it and use it to your advantage.”
The numbers play to STU’s advantage too. Approximately 70 per cent of Atlantic University Sport male hockey players are arts students. St. Thomas is known for arts programs such as criminology, journalism and education, which can be attractive for players like second-year journalism student Chris Morehouse.
“I am so happy to be a Tommie and love the journalism program,” said Morehouse. “There are big advantages to being in a small school. You are able to have good working relationships with your professors and when you need help, you don’t need to go far to find it.”
Ryan was brought in to rebuild the Tommies and change the perception of the team both inside and outside the dressing room.
“St. Thomas isn’t going to be a team where it’s win a national championship or you had a bad year,” said Ryan. “We need to be a team that’s in the playoffs consistently every year. We need to have the same mentality we had this year, you know, working hard and competing, but we need to increase the excellence.”
Right now Ryan is competing with seven other teams in the AUS to bring in recruits. The trouble is, with major junior hockey season still underway, many top recruits are hoping to sign a pro contract, leaving Ryan and the other coaches in a log jam.
Last year, Ryan was hired late and every other team in the conference had already finished recruiting. This year he will be able to start early to bring in replacements for Andrew Andricopoulos and Bryan Main, who graduate this year, and star goalie Charlie Lavigne, who will try to go pro this summer.
“My goal right now is just to go out and get good character, you know, good leaders, guys that aren’t going to give you a whole lot of trouble and [who will] do well academically.”
