When he graduates from the Battlefords North Stars after this season, forward Coby Downs will be heading to the east coast of the United States.
The 20-year-old from Montclair, California announced on Twitter Wednesday that he has committed to the Norwich University Cadets college hockey team in Northfield, Vermont.
“I told my mom that I wanted to play hockey out east for college as it’s a huge deal out there, and it turned out to be a really good fit for me,” Downs said.
“They have a really good criminal justice program that I’ll be taking for my goal of becoming a cop and their program is always one of the top ranked schools in the country.”
The Cadets, which features former North Stars defenceman Jake Erickson on their roster, have a 21-1-3 record this season and are the top ranked team in NCAA Division III hockey.
The program has won three national championships, with their most recent title coming in 2010.
“The coaching staff reached out to me about a month before Christmas as they came up here to watch me play,” Downs said.
“They’ve pretty stayed in contact with me the whole time, which was a big deal for me in deciding to go to Norwich. Some program would only chat with me a couple of times and check in every now and then, where as I was in constant contact with Norwich after we first met.”
Following a four-point performance in a 5-1 road win over the Kindersley Klippers Wednesday night, Downs leads the North Stars in scoring with 66 points in 42 games and is fourth among all players in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
After posting 73 points in his rookie campaign with the North Stars last season, Downs started the 2016-17 campaign with the United States Hockey League’s Omaha Lancers where he had an assist in five games before returning to North Battleford.
“The maturity that Coby has off and on the ice is what’s impressed me the most,” North Stars associate coach Braeden Johnson said. “Everyone knows about his offensive abilities, but this year’s he’s become more committed to his work away from the rink and you can see that drive every time he plays, especially when he doesn’t have the puck.
“I think that stint he had in Omaha helped him develop as well. Stepping up to that level is always an eye-opener, and he was able to bring what he learned down there to our team and he hasn’t taken a day off since.”
Before he travels to Vermont, Downs’ main goal is to help the North Stars clinch their first league championship since 2000.
“You have to keep your focus up and remember that one game isn’t the be all and end all in a seven-game series,” Downs said.
“So far this year, we’ve won in almost every away rink in the league and we’ve been playing well as a team. Hopefully we can keep that up when the playoffs begin.”
