SARATOGA SPRINGS — Entering their fourth season of recruiting players Coach Rob Hutchison is excited to see the team’s hard work from pre–season training in action on the ice.
While last season was a success for the Thoroughbreds with a season record of 13-9-3 and an overall national ranking of 24th in the country out of 90 teams, Coach Hutchison wanted to see improvement for this year’s season, which begins with selecting the right kind of athlete.
"For us, our number one priority is always bringing in the right players, which means guys who are also really good at hockey but also really good people, are gonna fit in well, have a strong academic track record,” said Coach Hutchison. “Bring something more than just being one dimensional to the table."
With 28 players and eight new players to the team overall, Coach Hutchison has relied heavily on his three team captains Matt Wolf, Matt Muzyka, and Austin Rook to help the new recruits adapt to the Skidmore College environment. Rook, only a Sophomore, takes his leadership role both on the court and off the court very seriously.
"I think it's all about the little conversations that you have with each team member every single day. Really customizing challenges for each person 'cause everyone's different, they're gonna push themselves different,” said Rook. “Just having those little conversations making sure you're pushing them every day, making sure they're getting better not only on the ice but off the ice in the weight room, watching videos. All those different aspects of hockey are getting better."
Off the ice pre-season training entailed a great deal of physical conditioning which meant more time in the weight room and added time with the team’s strength coach to work on strength and cardiovascular endurance.
“Our strength coach has done a really good job preparing them for the first couple of weeks. We've been really pleased with the gains that they've made over the last five months, and how they responded to our challenge,” said Coach Hutchison.
Throughout the season, the team has plans to engage in the community including the annual hockey night, running a food donation drive to benefit the Wilton food pantry, and a mental health awareness hockey game, where all proceeds go to the Do it for Darin foundation.
The Thoroughbreds’ home games are free admissions and Coach Hutchison is looking forward to entertaining the community on the ice.
“We're working really hard to provide an entertaining product. We finished in the top 25 last year (of fan attendance). I think if people come out and they're interested in sports, or hockey at all, they're gonna be pretty pleased with the product they see.”
