Surrey Eagles forward Daniel Gentzler finally has his name on a college scholarship.
Last week, the 20-year-old forward, a native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., committed to play hockey next season at Colgate University, an NCAA Div. 1 school in Hamilton, NY.
“I’m really excited to keep playing hockey for another four years, which is a dream come true,” Gentzler said. “I’m looking forward to heading there this fall.”
The Colgate Raiders play in the competitive Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference against other strong hockey programs such as Dartmouth, Yale, Quinnipiac and Harvard.
Gentzler is in his first year in Surrey, having joined the team just prior to training camp from the Wichita Falls Wildcats of the U.S. Junior Hockey League.
In 55 games this season, the versatile Gentzler – who has been used in both goal-scoring and checking roles this season, and even briefly as a defenceman – tallied 40 points. In 10 playoff games, Gentzler has a pair of goals, and has anchored the Eagles’ checking line.
“He just does a lot of things well,” said Eagles head coach Matt Erhart.
Though he didn’t agree to a deal until midway through the playoffs of his final junior hockey season, Erhart said Gentzler had plenty of interest from schools south of the border.
“He had a lot of teams talking to him, and he took a little bit to make the right decision,” Erhart said.
“He’s worked very hard for this, day in, day out, and it’s nice to see him get rewarded. I know it’s a weight of his shoulders and we’re really happy for him.”