SAC 1st Hockey captain a Princeton commit

May 13, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

The St. Andrew’s College 1st Hockey Saints have a long and storied captaincy, and Reid Yochim’s story began anew last week.

Yochim has been officially named as the new captain of the Aurora-based team for the 2015-2016 season, replacing the position left vacant by Adam Sinclair after a successful championship season in both divisional and national competition.

Born in Thorold, Ontario, the sixteen year-old cut his teeth with the AAA Southern Tier Admirals before joining the 1st Hockey Saints squad for the 2014-2015 season.

The gritty defenceman then put up 32 points, while gaining the admiration of his teammates.

“He’s a heady player with great awareness and the ability to make tough plays look easy,” said Varsity Saints head coach David Manning.

Standing at only five-foot-seven, the 180-pound defenceman has never been known for his size, but for his style of play. He models his play after the likes of Jared Spurgeon of the Minnesota Wild and Torey Krug of the Boston Bruins, both defencemen facing players much bigger than themselves.

His attitude on and off the ice mirror that of Sinclair, who stood one inch taller for the Saints this year, yet willing to work in any corner of the ice.

Off the ice, Yochim displays the makings of a captain as well. According to Manning, he excels in the classroom…and his accolades are proof. For the 2016-2017 season, Yochim will be joining the Princeton Tigers at the historic Hobey Baker Memorial Centre.
“Reid is an Ivy-League type of student athlete,” said Manning.

Yochim is joined by a new group of assistant captains, in Otto Saarimaa, Matthew Thom, and Alex MadDonald.

The four were given their letters in a special ceremony last week at the Aurora campus, also attended by past captains. The 1st Hockey team said goodbye to twelve graduating seniors at the ceremony, marking a fairly high turnover for the perennially-successful prep squad.

Also at the ceremony were award handouts for goaltender Matthew Galajda as MVP, forward Matthew Lewis for most improved player and Griffin James as the top defensive player for the Saints.

Meanwhile, five graduating players are heading off to NCAA division teams this fall to begin their collegiate career. Sinclair will be suiting up for Harvard University this September.