MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Being a University of Washington hockey player means paying a price. And we’re not talking about the physical toll of a rugged sport or an inconvenient late-night practice schedule or even the many hours away from class because of frequent road trips.
No, this is a literal price. As in $2,000 a season, which is what every player pays to join the UW hockey team.
Although some college athletes live comfortably on full scholarships while dreaming of lucrative pro contracts down the road, Husky hockey players are foremost students pursuing top-notch university educations.
And along the way they win a bunch of hockey games.
“I’ve always been a huge UW fan, so being able to wear the (purple and gold) colors is pretty sweet,” said 20-year-old Corey James, a junior forward from Mountlake Terrace who is majoring in mathematics. “And I’ve always loved hockey. The team is awesome, too. We’ve got a lot of cool guys playing with the team, so it’s fun. It’s something I don’t know what I’d do without.”
“There’s nothing like being out on the ice,” agreed 22-year-old Tristan Wickliff, a senior forward from north Seattle who is majoring in electrical engineering. “I’ve been playing since I was 8 years old. I even played other sports, but gave those up to play hockey.”
Although intercollegiate hockey is offered elsewhere in the country, particularly schools in New England and the upper Midwest, it is a club sport at Washington. The UW athletic department gives the team about $3,500 a year, and the squad raises the rest of its $45,000-$60,000 annual budget from player fees and fundraisers.
“Whatever is not raised the guys pay themselves, and a lot guys are working a couple of jobs and going to school fulltime,” said head coach David Kell, who volunteers his time. Every year, he added, the team loses players who drop out for financial reasons.
“Would we enjoy getting more money from the university to help cut (player fees) down?” said Kell, an attorney who lives in Issaquah. “Sure, that’d be huge. But we understand there’s a bunch of other clubs (at Washington), and the money needs to be disbursed between all of them. … So we’d love to get more from the school, but we’re not going to complain.”
Also, every member of the hockey team gets admitted to Washington solely on academic merit. There are no shortcuts to enrollment for hockey players like those for athletes in other sports like football and basketball.
“Finding hockey players who are smart enough to get into the UW is not an easy task,” Kell said. “But these guys are all super intelligent. I never have to look to see if they’re eligible because they always are.”
The university does provide an academic advisor, and team doctors are residents from the UW’s medical school.
On the ice, the Huskies are probably as good as an average NCAA Division III squad. A few team members could certainly play at higher levels of intercollegiate hockey, perhaps even Division I.
“Club hockey is not a joke,” Wickliff said. “It’s not D-I or maybe even D-III, but the hockey is pretty good.”
“I wouldn’t want to compare us to the (WHL’s Everett) Silvertips because people would chuckle at that,” Kell said. “But some of our guys could hold their own.”
Washington finished its regular season with an 18-11 record, including a 12-2 mark to finish first in the Pacific 8 Hockey Conference. This weekend the Huskies will have a chance to win their second consecutive league tournament title when they host a four-team event at Olympicview Ice Arena in Mountlake Terrace.
The Huskies are the favorites, based on their season record and the home ice, “and we’re looking to repeat,” Kell said. “That’s one of those goals we look for at the beginning of the year. Last year we (won) and I think these guys want to have that feeling again.”
“I like our chances,” James said. “If we play to our potential, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win it.”
“I want nothing more than to win this tournament,” Wickliff agreed. “Last year was the first year we’d done that, and it’d be awesome to do it two years in a row.”
Wickliff’s only regret is that Oregon is not one of the four tournament teams. The archrival Ducks failed to qualify, in part because Washington won all four games between the squads this season.
“It’s kind of a shame that Oregon won’t be here,” Wickliff said with a smile, “because it would’ve been awesome to beat them again.”
Ah, yes. Spoken like a true Husky.
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