{"id":37134,"date":"2025-11-06T12:55:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T17:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=37134"},"modified":"2025-11-06T12:55:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T17:55:27","slug":"junior-tigers-defenseman-luke-howard-commits-to-ncaa-division-1-rochester-institute-of-technology-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/junior-tigers-defenseman-luke-howard-commits-to-ncaa-division-1-rochester-institute-of-technology-tigers\/","title":{"rendered":"Junior Tigers\u2019 Defenseman Luke Howard commits to NCAA Division 1 Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There was more good news on the Junior A Tigers\u2019 front this week after the club\u2019s two-game sweep over the Caledon Admirals and St. Michael\u2019s Buzzers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aurora-based hockey club and the OJHL announced that defenseman Luke Howard has committed to the NCAA Division 1 Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers for the 2025-26 season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eighteen-year-old Howard is a team leader on and off the ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, he was appointed Assistant Captain by the Tigers coaching staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howard has proven to be a steady, durable defender who currently leads all Aurora defensemen with 3 goals and 13 assists. Remarkably, the 6\u20193\u201d, 185-pound US College commit has collected only 7 minutes in penalties in 17 games played this season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tigers\u2019 General Manager and Assistant Coach James Thomson\u2014in his recent interview with OJHL staff \u2013 complimented Howard\u2019s commitment as a student-athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLuke\u2019s dedication to growth\u2014both on the ice and in the classroom\u2014has been unwavering, and he exemplifies the qualities we strive to instill in our players. Luke is not only a strong leader, but also a young man of character and integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howard\u2019s academic prowess netted him a $6,000 bursary from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario to further his post-secondary education. He was one of eight OHA players recognized for their \u201cleadership in building strong and healthy communities, [demonstrating] high academic achievement, and [being]  dedicated to and [having] a passion for hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Woodbridge native is in his second season with the Junior Tigers and has one game-winning goal so far in 2025-26. Luke\u2019s brother, Simon, is the Tigers\u2019 Captain and leading scorer. Both brothers showed their connection to community when they greeted guests at Sport Aurora\u2019s annual Breakfast of Champions event alongside long-time Emcee and Tigers\u2019 Owner\/Governor Jim Thomson on October 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke took time from his post-secondary studies as well as his responsibilities with the Aurora Tigers to answer our interview questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran: Why did you commit to the RIT Tigers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cI committed to the RIT because playing NCAA hockey while pursuing my education has always been a major goal of mine. RIT is a great fit for me as it has great facilities, a great coaching staff, and awesome campus.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran:  What are you looking forward to the most about going to school in Rochester, NY?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the experience of playing college hockey and living away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran: What will be your major area of study at RIT?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cI am planning to study mechanical engineering as that is what I\u2019m currently doing here in Ontario.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran: What are your athletic and academic goals as a student-athlete at RIT?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cMy goal is to be a successful player in their program, win a championship, and for possible opportunities after school. Academically, I want to complete my degree as an engineer and learn many skills and strategies that come with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran: How did the Aurora Tigers assist you with your college hockey placement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cAurora gave me all the opportunities, all the confidence in me, and always made it feel like a second home. All members of the staff foster a welcoming and hardworking environment. Huge thank you to the Aurora Tigers organization!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran: What has been the highlight of your career as an Aurora Tiger so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cMost recently, I was named Assistant Captain! This means a lot to me as I was trusted with a leadership role with the team and is something I always wanted to achieve.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auroran: What advice would you offer the younger Tigers rep players about achieving post-secondary goals as a student-athlete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Howard: \u201cTo always stay consistent, push yourself, and be a player who is coachable and understands how to take criticism. Not everything will go your way, but always stick with it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was more good news on the Junior A Tigers\u2019 front this week after the club\u2019s two-game sweep over the Caledon Admirals and St. Michael\u2019s Buzzers. The Aurora-based hockey club and the OJHL announced that defenseman Luke Howard has committed to the NCAA Division 1 Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers for the 2025-26 season.  The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-sports","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9EW","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-11 04:49:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37135,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37134\/revisions\/37135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}