Take a look at the names engraved on the Jonathan Pitre Award — awarded to the hardest-working player in Ottawa Senators development camp each season — and you’ll soon figure out there is a convincing correlation between winning the award and having a productive NHL career.
Mike Fisher, Jesse Winchester, Mark Borowiecki (twice), Colin Greening, Robin Lehner, Curtis Lazar, Nick Paul, Parker Kelly (twice), Brady Tkachuk, Tyler Kleven, and Ridly Greig have all won the award, handed out after consultation between the development camp coaching staff and trainers.
Senators director of player development Sam Gagner awarded Hoyt Stanley the trophy on Tuesday afternoon at the conclusion of this year’s development camp.
Stanley, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound mobile defenceman, will be seeing a lot more of Gagner in the coming months as he turns pro following three seasons at Cornell University. And Gagner will see a lot more of that hard work.
Stanley set career highs with three goals and 15 points patrolling Cornell’s blueline last season. He worked towards a business degree with a concentration in finance in the SC Johnson School of Business around his busy hockey schedule.
“It was great, I loved Cornell. It was academically challenging. My first couple semesters were kind of tough to balance the workload with hockey and everything, but got easier throughout, sort of,” said Stanley, who hails from Vancouver.
“And we were a competitive team all three years I was there and played some meaningful games, so it was a great mix of schooling while also being on a good team.”
Cornell’s fans have developed unique traditions at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, especially when playing their rivals, the Harvard Crimson. The Lynah Faithful throw fish on the ice ahead of the Crimson’s entrance, and shout ‘boring’ while reading campus newspaper The Cornell Daily Sun as they are introduced.
“It's pretty crazy. Like, I think my first game against Harvard, I was definitely not used to the atmosphere, I guess I'd say,” said Stanley.
“It's pretty loud in there, everyone's rowdy, and definitely the first game, super nervous playing that team since it’s been a 100-year rivalry. But I think I played them 10 times throughout my college career, and it definitely got easier throughout, and I think we got the best of them, probably eight of the 10 times.”
The Vancouver native also enjoyed taking part in the fan culture on campus in Ithaca.
“It was sweet, our wrestling team was super good, they compete nationally every year. Not much of a football school, but our lacrosse team is awesome,” said Stanley.
“They won the national championship my sophomore year, so getting a chance to watch some of their games that year, and even just all our families out there cheering them on too. It was a really cool atmosphere there.”
Stanley took extra classes in the summer throughout his time at the Ivy League university. This summer, he is taking a pair online and then will be finished with his degree, just in time to head to Senators training camp next fall.
He’ll miss the Cornell experience, but there will be reminders around Canadian Tire Centre. After all, Cornell grads Jim Roberts and Arthur Mintz wrote in Forever Faithful: Celebrating the Greatest Moments of Cornell Hockey that “being a member of the Lynah Faithful is something that stays with you your whole life.”
As Stanley was going through the gauntlet on Monday of getting a new headshot taken, getting his medical, and filming content for the Senators social media team, Senators vice-president of marketing and fellow Cornell hockey alumnus Peter Shier walked by and said hello, with Stanley recognizing Shier from alumni events in the past.
Coincidentally, Shier was listed at an almost-identical 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame during his hockey career, also spent three seasons with Cornell patrolling the blueline — leading the country in scoring by a defenceman in his senior season in 1977–78— and wore Stanley’s number five. Or rather, Stanley wore Shier’s number five.
After a few seasons playing professionally in North America and Europe, Shier eventually went into business, an avenue that Stanley has also left wide open whenever his own hockey career is done.
“Education is important in my family. I wouldn’t mind pursuing a career in finance,” Stanley told Sens360's Sylvain St. Laurent in March. “But right now, I’d prefer to pursue a career in hockey.”
And the Senators are just fine with that choice, judging by their evaluation of his development camp this week.
