Feature by Shawn Moran -- Sun Devil Athletics Feature Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- During the summer of 2015, Connor Stuart had a difficult decision to make. After graduating from Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, he was working to keep his hockey career alive while also preparing for a possible life without a puck on the ice.
Stuart was attending camps all summer in an attempt to prolong his career in a junior hockey league. Meanwhile, he was moving on with his college decision and was setting up for a full-time student role at Arizona State in the fall. Stuart already had been assigned a dorm room, chosen a meal plan and picked all of his classes when the offer finally arrived.
Would the former Junior Coyotes star choose to extend the hockey career he started when he was 5 years old? Or would he choose to begin his new career as a full-time business finance major at ASU?
"I think I unenrolled in school and took away everything probably five days before move-in," Stuart said. "Right down to the wire."
Stuart would end up taking his slapshot to the Odessa (Texas) Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League. He played 83 games over the next two years while racking up a total of 18 points at his new defenseman position.
"I never played defense before juniors," Stuart said. "I was a forward my entire life. Then, I got picked as a defenseman for juniors because I could skate backwards well. Really, Odessa was tough to learn in because defensively they don't really have a lot of structure."
In his third and final junior season, Stuart would stay in Texas and play the most productive hockey of his career for the Lone Star Brahmas. While wearing the traditional "A" for the alternate captain, Stuart scored more points in one season than in his previous two combined. Not to mention getting some sweet revenge on the team that had given up on him.
"We were playing the team that traded me away in the first round of the playoffs and I ended up leading the series in points and we ended up sweeping them," Stuart said. "I had the game-winning goal in the last game."
The Lone Star coaches were not the only ones impressed. ASU head coach Greg Powers and his staff had kept a close eye on Stuart during his junior hockey career.
"He had expressed interest proactively with us a few times over the course of the last couple of years, and we knew how driven he was to play for his hometown team," Powers said. "He evolved really nicely throughout his junior career and ended up having a great 20-year-old year and earning an opportunity to come here. But what we loved most about him essentially was we knew how badly he wanted to be a Sun Devil."
After receiving interest from several schools, Stuart did not have to wait long to hear from the ASU coach after the conclusion of his last season in the NAHL.
"The day after our season ended, coach Powers gave me a call and it was the happiest moment that I've had in a really long time," Stuart said. "I just couldn't believe it was happening and the fact that I get to come home and be 20 minutes from my house. My grandparents and parents can come and watch me whenever they want. I can go home for dinner anytime I need to. It's awesome."
Now, the 21-year-old freshman is preparing for life as a player for one of the 60 Division I ice hockey programs. Stuart would like to contribute as a shutdown defender for the Sun Devils this season but knows he must earn that opportunity for significant ice time while also earning the respect of his teammates.
"Being a rookie, don't overstep your boundaries, pick up the pucks and honestly, I'm just going to embrace it and do whatever I need to do to help the team win or just get through the first year," Stuart said.
His new coach believes that Stuart's best chance to earn minutes is most closely linked to his intelligence on the ice.
"He has a willingness to learn and get better at anything that he does," Powers said. "I think he's going to develop into a really good two-way defenseman. He's a smart kid off the ice and on the ice, so I think he's going to be able to adapt to the big jump up in speed and pace and hopefully contribute for us this year."
Sophomore forward Johnny Walker, who has been friends with Stuart since kindergarten, has already seen how Stuart fits in with the other guys in the locker room.
"All of the boys love him," Walker said. "He's very easy-going and is definitely someone that you want in your locker room."
Three years after potentially starting a post-hockey life as a student at ASU, Stuart has finally started his life as a Sun Devil student-athlete. In mid-August, he stepped foot on campus for the first time as a business finance major. After spending the last two summers interning at a sports agency, Stuart would love to pursue a career as an agent when his playing career is over.
The Phoenix native and self-proclaimed diehard Coyotes fan, who told his mother that he would one day suit up for the Sun Devils, is finally back home.
This time, the decision was an easy one.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- During the summer of 2015, Connor Stuart had a difficult decision to make. After graduating from Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, he was working to keep his hockey career alive while also preparing for a possible life without a puck on the ice.
Stuart was attending camps all summer in an attempt to prolong his career in a junior hockey league. Meanwhile, he was moving on with his college decision and was setting up for a full-time student role at Arizona State in the fall. Stuart already had been assigned a dorm room, chosen a meal plan and picked all of his classes when the offer finally arrived.
Would the former Junior Coyotes star choose to extend the hockey career he started when he was 5 years old? Or would he choose to begin his new career as a full-time business finance major at ASU?
"I think I unenrolled in school and took away everything probably five days before move-in," Stuart said. "Right down to the wire."
Stuart would end up taking his slapshot to the Odessa (Texas) Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League. He played 83 games over the next two years while racking up a total of 18 points at his new defenseman position.
"I never played defense before juniors," Stuart said. "I was a forward my entire life. Then, I got picked as a defenseman for juniors because I could skate backwards well. Really, Odessa was tough to learn in because defensively they don't really have a lot of structure."
In his third and final junior season, Stuart would stay in Texas and play the most productive hockey of his career for the Lone Star Brahmas. While wearing the traditional "A" for the alternate captain, Stuart scored more points in one season than in his previous two combined. Not to mention getting some sweet revenge on the team that had given up on him.
"We were playing the team that traded me away in the first round of the playoffs and I ended up leading the series in points and we ended up sweeping them," Stuart said. "I had the game-winning goal in the last game."
The Lone Star coaches were not the only ones impressed. ASU head coach Greg Powers and his staff had kept a close eye on Stuart during his junior hockey career.
"He had expressed interest proactively with us a few times over the course of the last couple of years, and we knew how driven he was to play for his hometown team," Powers said. "He evolved really nicely throughout his junior career and ended up having a great 20-year-old year and earning an opportunity to come here. But what we loved most about him essentially was we knew how badly he wanted to be a Sun Devil."
After receiving interest from several schools, Stuart did not have to wait long to hear from the ASU coach after the conclusion of his last season in the NAHL.
"The day after our season ended, coach Powers gave me a call and it was the happiest moment that I've had in a really long time," Stuart said. "I just couldn't believe it was happening and the fact that I get to come home and be 20 minutes from my house. My grandparents and parents can come and watch me whenever they want. I can go home for dinner anytime I need to. It's awesome."
Now, the 21-year-old freshman is preparing for life as a player for one of the 60 Division I ice hockey programs. Stuart would like to contribute as a shutdown defender for the Sun Devils this season but knows he must earn that opportunity for significant ice time while also earning the respect of his teammates.
"Being a rookie, don't overstep your boundaries, pick up the pucks and honestly, I'm just going to embrace it and do whatever I need to do to help the team win or just get through the first year," Stuart said.
His new coach believes that Stuart's best chance to earn minutes is most closely linked to his intelligence on the ice.
"He has a willingness to learn and get better at anything that he does," Powers said. "I think he's going to develop into a really good two-way defenseman. He's a smart kid off the ice and on the ice, so I think he's going to be able to adapt to the big jump up in speed and pace and hopefully contribute for us this year."
Sophomore forward Johnny Walker, who has been friends with Stuart since kindergarten, has already seen how Stuart fits in with the other guys in the locker room.
"All of the boys love him," Walker said. "He's very easy-going and is definitely someone that you want in your locker room."
Three years after potentially starting a post-hockey life as a student at ASU, Stuart has finally started his life as a Sun Devil student-athlete. In mid-August, he stepped foot on campus for the first time as a business finance major. After spending the last two summers interning at a sports agency, Stuart would love to pursue a career as an agent when his playing career is over.
The Phoenix native and self-proclaimed diehard Coyotes fan, who told his mother that he would one day suit up for the Sun Devils, is finally back home.
This time, the decision was an easy one.