Long Road to Baker

Photo by Katherine Anderson

Freshman Will Harvey (l. to r.), sophomore Kyle Hagel and junior Grant Goeckner-Zoeller took different paths to Princeton.

Goal to goal, Baker Rink is 180 feet long. Most players on the men's hockey team can skate the length in seconds. Getting to skate on the ice, however, is a different story altogether.

The recruiting process for men's hockey is unique among NCAA sports. To don the Orange and Black, many of the Tigers bet it all. Most made their decision as wiry adolescents, as young as 14 years old. They are more than athletes — they're gamblers; they're journeymen. And if they have made it this far, they have already accomplished much.

Unlike prep-school hockey in the United States, Canadian high school hockey is considered second-rate. Aspiring hockey players often must move away from home in order to play semiprofessionally in junior leagues across North America. For players like freshman Will Harvey, sophomore Kyle Hagel and junior Grant Goeckner-Zoeller, the opportunity to play for head coach Guy Gadowsky marked a respite from a long, arduous voyage.

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Harvey, a left-handed forward born in Vancouver, British Columbia, left home at the age of 15 in pursuit of his hockey dreams. He enrolled in the Notre Dame School in rural Saskatchewan, a boarding institution with a legacy of producing top NHL players including Vincent Lecavlier, Martin St. Louis and Curtis Joseph. Two years after arriving at Notre Dame, following seasons characterized by injury and varying success, Harvey was invited to participate in the "BC Best Ever" program, a system used to identify young players born in the province of British Columbia for the Canadian National Team.

After this experience, Harvey was drafted by the Powell River Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), where he remained for the next three and a half years.

"Unless you live in the town, you get billeted," Harvey said. "I stayed with a random lady whose kids had moved out. There are different dynamics with all families, but for me it was great. The first year I was still in grade 12 and was able to go back to my regular high school."

The billeting system, in which players move in with local team-affiliated families, is one of the more interesting aspects of the junior hockey experience.

"Some parents have young children and want great student-athletes and role models around as an influence," Gadowsky explained. "Others are just great people and volunteer to help the athletes pursue their dream. It's one of the ways the hockey community takes care of each other."

Classified as "Junior A," the Kings were not allowed to give Harvey money simply for playing the sport, so he maintained his collegiate eligibility. Instead, teams often create jobs, such as cleaning the rink or doing laundry, for players who need to make money; they are also allowed to financially support a player's academic pursuits. In Harvey's case, the Kings reimbursed him for completing a course at a local community college.

In Harvey's final year in the Junior-A division, when he was 20 years old and the King's captain, he was still without any scholarship offers. Because the team was not headed for the playoffs, his coach told him that he would be traded for added opportunity and exposure. He wound up with the Vernon Vipers, a team projected to do well in the postseason. But things did not go as planned.

"Right when we got to the playoffs, all of the wheels fell off, and we lost in the first round," Harvey said. "I was still without a scholarship and had been thinking that any offer would be dependent on the playoffs. When we got knocked out it felt like everything went down the tube, like it was all gone."

Harvey began looking at Canadian schools and D-III colleges in the United States. He contacted friend Roy Henderson, former NHL player and scout, who ran an identification camp called the Global Hockey Showcase. Henderson put Harvey in contact with Gadowsky, who was then coaching for Alaska-Fairbanks.

"I was looking to go there as a walk-on," Harvey said. "They have reciprocity. Because I was in B.C., I only would have paid instate tuition and then the next year, hopefully, earn a scholarship."

Gadowsky accepted his current job with Princeton in the spring of 2004, but continued to recruit Harvey, whose academic profile fit the University's requirements. Harvey applied that fall and was accepted in December 2004 as a 22-year-old freshman.

"It was the best Christmas present I've ever gotten," he said.

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Unlike his Canadian teammates, sharpshooting junior forward Goeckner-Zoeller did not have to move away from home until he graduated from high school. A Los Angeles native, he began playing during the West Coast hockey explosion that began with Wayne Gretzky's trade to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.

His journey took off when he was drafted by the Topeka ScareCrows of the United States Hockey League (USHL), the best league for American prospects.

Unsure of his future, Goeckner-Zoeller took a year off and considered playing Division III hockey. Eventually, however, he arrived in Kansas and began to concentrate on hockey full-time. All housing, food and equipment needs were provided by the team. He was billeted with a classic Midwestern family — ScareCrow season ticket holders — and slowly adapted to his new lifestyle.

"My first night in Topeka I was introduced to my 15-year-old housing brother," he said. "He showed me this classic Midwest town, Sonic Burger, strip mall and all, and asked if I had anything like this in L.A. It was the biggest sign that I was now in a completely different place. He had absolutely no conception of where I used to live."

But by the end of the season, Goeckner-Zoeller had grown more accustomed to his corn-covered surroundings — and rather enjoyed them.

"My favorite steakhouse was literally next door to the slaughterhouse, which was great 'cause I love steak. And the people of Topeka love hockey," he said. "Every game was sold out with 5,000 people, and we always made the front page of the newspaper."

Goeckner-Zoeller performed well and caught the eye of the Princeton coaching staff. He committed to the Tigers shortly thereafter, in December 2002.

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Kyle Hagel, a strong-bodied defensemen for the Tigers, started to play in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), a Triple-A semiprofessional team, at the age of 15. Like so many talented young hockey players, he was torn between following the professional track or the collegiate route.

"Coaches try to expose you to both options, and my parents and I were just trying to learn as much as possible," Hagel said. "Some of these 15-year-old kids were getting agents, or what they called 'advisers.' I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to go somewhere with hockey."

Players are scouted at every OHL game from August to the end of April, in addition to special showcase tournaments. But after Hagel went unselected in the May 2002 Major Junior draft, he began focusing on earning a scholarship to an American university.

Going undrafted wasn't easy: of 20 players on his team, 11 were listed for the draft and eight were drafted, including Hagel's defensive partner and best friend.

"I had a really good season, so I was disappointed," Hagel said. "I thought I was good enough. To be honest, I felt a little bit embarrassed."

Hagel suspects that one of the reasons he was not drafted was because of his academic success. Scouts might have assumed that he was definitely headed to college and did not want to waste a draft pick.

"I just started working out afterwards," Hagel said. "I tried to make my body into a weapon so that when I turned 16 I would make the Junior B team."

Hagel made the team as the youngest player, giving him the chance to play against bigger, stronger players. Unlike Harvey, Hagel was able to remain at his local high school until graduation, but that didn't mean his life was easy. As an 11th-grader, he practiced two or three times per week, lifted and worked on cardio as much as possible and had two or three games every weekend — all in addition to school, where he somehow managed to find time to wrestle.

The following year, he played with the Ontario Provincial Junior "A" Hockey League for the Hamilton Redwings, planning to enter college as a true freshman.

"The biggest two months of my life in hockey were September and October," Hagel said. "The NCAA schedule hasn't started yet, and the rinks are crowded with scouts. You have to be good early if you want to be noticed."

By October, Hagel was ready to commit to Holy Cross, but he drew the attention of then-Princeton coach Len Quesnelle '88 just before signing with the Crusaders. Hagel immediately rethought his decision.

"I was thinking to myself, 'It's Princeton. I'll be set for life,' " he admitted.

After visiting campus, Hagel was sold. He took his chances, abandoned his other scholarship offers and dedicated himself to going to Princeton. He spent the next year playing junior hockey, training and studying for the SATs. Unlike the other schools on his list, Princeton required a serious application.

"At the other schools I didn't have to apply; they'd just get me in," Hagel said. "If you're a recruit ,you don't have to do any work. Initially I thought needing to fill out an application was crazy."

By the time Hagel was accepted to Princeton, Quesnelle had been fired. Unfamiliar with Gadowsky, he was uncertain what his role would be on the team. He hasn't been disappointed, though.

"Coach Gads is the best coach in college hockey," Hagel said. "He's turning this program around."

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Fittingly, like his players, Gadowsky has also traveled a long way to Princeton. The Edmonton native played college hockey at Colorado College before moving on to a professional career with stops throughout North America, Sweden, Holland and Austria.

Before Princeton and his stint at Alaska-Fairbanks, Gadowsky coached the Fresno Falcons of the West Coast Hockey League, the Richmond Renegades of the East Coast Hockey League and the Oklahoma Coyotes and San Jose Rhinos of the now-defunct Roller Hockey International League.

Ultimately, the paths Harvey, Goeckner-Zoeller, Hagel and the other members of the men's hockey team took to reach Princeton shaped them in fundamental ways. The average age of a Division-I men's hockey freshman is 20 years old. Living away from home and the relatively secure atmosphere of a prep school includes a maturation process and life education that can't be found in a book or a classroom.

By the time they spend four years at Princeton, most players have learned to treat their hockey team as a second family. On and off the ice, they are a band of brothers, journeymen who, at least for now, have found a home.

"There's a code in hockey that says stand up for, be there for your teammates, watch their backs wherever they go," Harvey said. "You're going to war with those other guys on the ice with you. If you can survive junior hockey, you can do anything in life."