Thread about the next Cornell Hockey captain Tristan Mullin and college hockey recruiting...

Tristan played his last years of junior hockey in the @GoBCHL. Our staff had seen him play throughout the year and liked him so we kept following up both to see him play on the ice and getting to know him away from the rink.

For those who know Benny Syer...he is one of the best recruiters in the business. He did an awesome job following up with Tristan and his coaches building that relationship. Recruiting rewards persistence and being detail oriented, and Benny is unreal.

During the season with our roles as Assts, when we had away games Benny would stay back and coach the team and I would hit the road. At this specific time, we needed to make a final decision on whether or not we wanted to offer Tristan. So I hit the road to watch him play again.

I remember driving up the Coquihalla mountain pass up into Merritt, BC excited to watch the game. Hands clenching the steering wheel, all coaches/scouts know how fun that can be in a snowstorm...

While watching the game, it was clear Tristan was taking big steps in his game. He was playing really well, competing, making plays, and I remember thinking to myself...

“We should probably take this kid.”

Then, Tristan’s linemate who was actually slated to come to Cornell (Kyle Betts) got a real cheap shot at center ice. Tristan went over and challenged the kid, sticking up for his teammate.

You could see the passion. He stuck up for Kyle while also showing his team he wasn’t going to back down. I’m not saying fighting is always the answer, but in this case it showed major character. It showed his commitment to the team and his knowledge of what it takes to win.

I went from...

“We should probably take this kid” to “We NEED to have this kid.”

His talent and hockey ability got me to the edge. His intangibles and character pushed me over.

For all the kids out there that don’t have commitments early, Tristan was a 4 year junior player in Manitoba & BC. He was 20 when he came to Cornell. And he learned all of those intangibles that made him special on his journey. It’s what I’m sure lead to him being named captain.

Work on your game, but learn the intangibles of being a great teammate and what it takes to win too. With such an emphasis on individual skill development today, I fear that those intangibles are being lost.

There are a lot of talented players out there. There are fewer that have both the talent and also the relentlessness to win and put the team first. But that is what can be a separator between you and other players if you want to play junior/college/pro hockey.

So congrats to Tristan and awesome job by the Cornell coaches on continuing to develop great leaders. It’s a major reason they finished the year as the Number 1 team in the country!