This week we were excited to report how “FLORIDA EELS ALUMNI WINS ANOTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – ALEX PEPPER GOALIE NYU WINS ACHA DIV 2 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP”
Alex Pepper is in fact the 3rd player form the Florida Eels who has gone on to attend and play for the prestigious NYU. The other two ironically also were goalies: Jake Widmire and Brian Taptick. No doubt all three boys are outstanding students as academics is a priority in the admissions consideration at NYU.
NYU is amongst the top academic universities in the Nation. It stands up there with Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Cornell. Academics were the primary factor in the 3 Eel players in deciding where they ultimately would attend college. As often echoed by Coach Frank, the operative word in college hockey is “College”.
When you graduate from NYU you are amongst the leaders and Elite individuals in society. Our government Leaders, Doctors, Engineers, Chemist, Lawyers’ Bankers and alike come from these colleges. That is what we all strive for in our children. Of course the boys always aspire to move on and play for the NHL. But that is not the Eels focus. It is to get your child into the best college possible and play hockey while they are there. If an NCAA college is that selection great. But in many instances an ACHA Div. 1 program and sometimes such as NYU a Div. 2 program will trump that decision. Guys’ getting our children to college is truly our goal. That is the true reason why they are here. Please far too many get lost in the alphabet soup. Lets be proud of them. I am. We should encourage and applaud those accomplishments!!!
We as Eels are very proud of all of our players who have moved to the Next Level: College. They came here for a reason. To fulfill their dreams and I know as GM of this program I am especially proud to have had an impact in moving them on to college. To see them mature and become another rich legacy in the Eels success stories..