No. 1 in innovation. Returning ASU students and alums are familiar with how deeply this mantra is ingrained in the university’s identity — but it’s not just a mantra. It’s a lifelong commitment to excellence and delivering solutions that meaningfully impact everyday life.
Sun Devil Hockey and incoming freshman Braxton Whitehead are the epitome of ASU’s proudest statement in the athletic world.
Thanks to a new and complicated rule change within the NCAA, Braxton was the first to take advantage of a rule change that will alter the college hockey landscape for years.
In 2024, a class action lawsuit, Rylan Masterson v. NCAA, accused the NCAA of illegally preventing Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players from competing for American university teams.
Simply put, the NCAA’s amateurism policy considered CHL players professional, earning what Alyson Whitehead, Braxton’s mother, calls “enough money to buy snacks for road trips.” Ultimately, the lawsuit compelled the NCAA to revise its amateurism policy accordingly, and the rule change took effect on August 1, 2025.
But before the rule change was a sure thing, Braxton and the Sun Devils were the first to take a risk and make an official move, shaking up the hockey world and going viral in the process.
@jessepollock22 Do you think CHL players should be able to play in the NCAA after they’re done in Junior? 🤔👇 #hockey #ncaa #chl #student #studentathlete #college #greenscreen ♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746)
“I’ve always thought that rule was antiquated in so many ways,” said Sun Devil Hockey Head Coach Greg Powers. “With Braxton, I simply believed in getting ahead of the curve by handicapping the situation. Change was coming, and it felt right. It’s going to make college hockey so much better.”
For Coach Powers, the decision is about more than winning games. It’s also about opening doors and helping players like Braxton reach their potential while embracing the whole college experience.”
“It’s a life changer for kids like Braxton. It gives them a longer runway for development to become pro. More importantly, it allows kids to receive an education and gain life experience at an institution like ASU.”
While the decision was easy for Powers, it was almost as easy for Braxton. In fact, it may have been made back in his youth hockey days.
The road to ASU starts in Alaska
Growing up in Alaska as a 2-year-old, Alyson explained, “We learned very quickly that if you didn’t find something to love about winter, you didn’t last.”
Almost by default, Braxton fell in love with hockey. Growing up, he played on various travel teams that went to several places in Canada. However, “Arizona was always the most fun place to go to tournaments,” Alyson remembered fondly.
By the time Braxton was 16 years old, he had caught the attention of - and made - the CHL’s Regina Pats, a longstanding program known for producing several NHL players, including current Chicago Blackhawks superstar Connor Bedard (Braxton’s former teammate), the Seattle Kraken’s Jordan Eberle, and legendary Hall of Famers like Al Macinnis.
Needless to say, it’s a big deal when a team like the Pats comes knocking.
At the ripe old age of 16, it was time as a family to consider Braxton’s college eligibility. Ultimately, they let Braxton sign with the Pats, but it wasn’t easy. COVID-19 was happening, and the Whiteheads weren’t sure how the pandemic would affect the future of the sport.
“We were non-hockey people in Alaska. We didn’t know how that all went, and people were shocked that we let Braxton go that route,” Alyson admitted. “We embraced those who embraced Braxton, and the Regina Pats loved him. So we said, ‘Okay, we made our bed. Do the best you can while you’re with the Pats.’”
Which Braxton did. During his five years with the Pats, he played in 254 regular-season games, seven playoff games and amassed 46 goals and 70 assists for 116 total points.
As a family, the Whiteheads believed that after Braxton’s time with the Pats, his options would be to play for a college in Canada or try out for a minor league team in the ECHL or AHL.
Luckily, the lawsuit shakeup began during Braxton’s fifth year with the Pats, and things progressed quickly.
The phones started ringing. Different schools were calling, and hypotheticals were being asked. “What will you do if this happens?” and “Where could you go if that happens?” became the hot topic of family conversation.
“This is amazing. We never thought this would be part of the plan, but we had to pump the brakes,” Alyson recalled. “We had to ask Braxton, ‘Where do YOU want to go?’”
It wasn’t a tricky question.
“It didn’t take him four seconds before he said, ‘If I could be anywhere, I want to be at ASU.”
Be the tradition
Not all innovation is applauded, which separates the good from the great.
“It’s funny because some of the coaches at other schools that Braxton talked to were like, ‘This is awesome. We may see this rule change happening, but we will call you if and when it happens,” Alyson recalled. “Then we talked to Coach Powers. We are so grateful he was on board to shake things up, and boom, here we are.”
“Braxton is a very high-character kid. Any program would be lucky to have him. However, many criticized me for committing to Braxton and didn’t believe it would happen,” said Coach Powers. “We never have, and never will, operate our program caring about what other people think as long as I am the head coach at ASU.”
Despite the skepticism from other programs, Powers, fueled by being No. 1 in innovation, saw qualities in Braxton that perfectly align with the Sun Devils’ vision and values.
“Braxton wants to ‘Be the Tradition.’ He’s a leader, not a follower,” Powers added. “It’s our mantra, and it’s all about being at North America’s most innovative public institution and doing things that have never been done before.”
With a handful of kids on the roster from the CHL this year, not just Braxton, the Sun Devil squad will have plenty of chances to do several things that have never been done before. The Sun Devils will host their first-ever Ice Breaker Tournament in the 2025-26 season.
More importantly, Coach Powers believes the team can win the National Collegiate Hockey Conference title with consistent focus and hard work and play in Las Vegas at the Frozen Four for the coveted NCAA Championship title.
These opportunities don’t come from maintaining the status quo year after year. They come from innovation, and Arizona State University’s only status quo is being No. 1 in innovation for the past 11 years in a row.
Have a Sun Devil story to share? Fork it over to Meredith Cunningham, digital content manager for sundevils.com, at mcunni43@asu.edu.
Sun Devil Hockey’s 2025-26 season starts at Mullett Arena this Friday, October 3, against Penn State. Get your single-game, group and season tickets at sundevils.com.