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Vol. LXIII, No. 34
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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Vol. LXIII, No. 34
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
TREASURE ISLAND: Brett Westgarth races up the ice during his career with the Princeton University men’s ice hockey team. Westgarth, a 2007 Princeton alum who scored 24 points in 114 games during his college career, signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders this summer. The 6’2, 215-pound defenseman will be heading to the team’s training camp next month at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan looking to battle his way into the NHL. |
The once-mighty New York Islanders hit the rock bottom of the National Hockey League this past winter.
The proud franchise, which won four straight Stanley Cups in the 1980s, had an NHL-worst 61 points last season, going 26-47-9.
While many players may view joining the Islanders as a dead end, former Princeton University men’s hockey star Brett Westgarth jumped at the chance to sign on with the moribund team this summer.
At first glance, the scene on one of the rinks at Ice Land Skating Center in Hamilton last month appeared to be a run-of-the-mill ice hockey camp.
There were 50 or so players and coaches on the ice, running through drills at a steady clip.
But upon closer examination, one saw something different about this camp as all but a few of the participants were in goaltending gear.
With 10 nets set up on the rink, each of the stations required the aspiring goalies to work on a specific skill germane to their special position.
Based on how things went for Jordan Gibbs during his freshman season on the Rutgers University men’s golf squad, it didn’t look like he was going to be a team leader anytime soon.
“I only qualified for two tournaments and I struggled a bit in school,” said Gibbs, a former Princeton High standout upon reflecting on his introduction to college life in 2006-07.
“The transition was pretty difficult; the biggest challenge is time management. It is a pretty demanding schedule, balancing everything. You have to be a lot more disciplined than when in high school.”
Sam Kotowski has customarily made an immediate impact whenever he joins a soccer team.
As a youngster, Kotowski helped the Brunswick Blaze club team to a state championship in his debut season with the program.
Coming to the Princeton High boys’ soccer squad in 2005, Kotowski was a starter from game one at striker, emerging as a dangerous finisher in his freshman campaign.
Victor Honore started swimming competitively just two years ago but he has already come a long way in the sport.
Joining the Princeton-based X-Cel Swimming club team as an eighth grader, Honore made an instant impact in the backstroke and the relays.
Last winter, Honore starred as a freshman for the Princeton High boys’ swim team, helping the Little Tigers capture a sectional title.