Have you heard the one about the hockey player who was packed and ready to go to college after Juniors, and the day before he was to leave he changed his mind?

It happened.  Just ask Dashers rookie defenseman Cole Hutchinson.

After he aged out of Juniors last year, Cole spent all summer in Ottawa, four hours from his hometown of Uxbridge, Ontario, training for what he thought was going to be playing hockey at Nipissing University.

He said goodbye to everyone in Ottawa, packed up and headed home to leave for school.  He had second thoughts about it, though, and talked to his dad.  The two of them then broke the news to his mom.

“Mom was caught off guard, for sure,” Cole recalls.  “It was bad timing because we had already paid for school; we had found housing and paid for that.  But both of my parents were very understanding.”

“The only thing they really wanted me to understand was that if the pros didn’t work out, I would have to stop playing in essence.  I would have to come home and start college.”

“So I knew the risks giving up four years of college hockey, but I really wanted to give the pros a shot, and I’m glad that I did.  It’s working out here in Danville pretty well.”

Rookie season

So what’s it like being a rookie on the Dashers?  “It’s fine,” Cole says.  “There are a lot of rookie duties, but everyone has to go through it.  Actually, we don’t have it too bad.”

“The veterans are great and give us a lot of support.  They try to help you out, and I get along with all of them.”

“I’d say it was a pretty big learning curve coming from Juniors to the pros.  I was the youngest one at Mississippi’s camp [prior to coming to Danville], and I’m the youngest one here in Danville.”  

“I know I have things to work on, but it’s a good environment here in which to learn.”

“They really care”

Cole’s impression of Danville is equally positive:  “Everyone here is really friendly.  They really care about you and it shows.”

“They make you feel welcome, both the fans at the rink and even around town - at the gym, the store, wherever.  They make you feel pretty good about yourself.”

“Thanks for all your support every night,” Cole says to his fans.  “The rink is always packed and that’s great.  It makes it easier to play when you’re behind us every night, win or lose.”

“12 different schools”

Cole says his Dashers teammates know they can count on him for a good laugh.  “They would say I’m funny and that I’m a character.  We’ll just leave it at that,” he smiles broadly.

This fun-loving personality proved to be a helpful trait for Cole as he switched schools time and time again growing up.  
“I’ve been to 12 different schools.  We moved a few times, and I switched schools in the same town sometimes just for better opportunities both in education and in sports.”

“I know some people would say it’s a bad thing; I went to high school with kids who had been together since grade one.  I see it as a good thing, though, because I know so many people now.  I’ve never had trouble making friends.”

Family, sports and Sunday school

Born in Stouffville, Ontario, where all his family is from, Cole splits his time in the off-season between Uxbridge, where his immediate family lives, and Ottawa, where he spends the summer working with his trainer and at a landscaping job.

Derek, Cole’s dad, owns and operates vac trucks that clean out large city pipes in the Toronto area.

Cole’s mom, Kristina, runs Welcome Home Care, an in-home caregiving business for seniors with her mom, and she also works as a nanny/housekeeper for a private household.

Cole has a sister, Amber, who is two years older than he.  She is a first-year biomedical science PhD student at Guelph University.
According to Cole, “my dad was into sports and pushed me to play, but he didn’t have to push very much because I wanted to play.  I wanted to be involved in all sports.”

“All sports” to Cole meant lacrosse, track and field, basketball, volleyball, and, of course, hockey.  He started playing hockey around age three, when he joined Tim bits, the youngest house league level.

Cole’s childhood love of sports was balanced out with another activity - Sunday school.  “My sister and I always went every Sunday.  It was something my family always did.”

Cole’s dad played hockey up through Juniors, and Cole has a cousin who played in the OHL, went to NHL camps and is currently playing professional hockey in Austria.  A favorite memory of Cole’s is visiting his cousin in Austria and watching him play.

Credit goes to Grandma

It was neither Cole’s dad nor cousin, though, who taught Cole how to skate.  That honor goes to his grandma.  
According to an often-told family story, Cole’s grandma jokes that her bad back can be attributed to bending over teaching him, his sister and two cousins all how to skate.

Cole was just two at the time and only has vague memories of his learning to skate at the local rink.  His grandma, however, can look back at those times fondly, as she now has “bragging rights,” Cole laughs.  

“She’s pretty happy [that I’ve gotten this far].  She used to come to my games when I played at home.”

Cole played as a forward until he was six or seven.  His single A coach at that time, Rob Gibson, switched him to defense.  “I’ve played defense ever since, and I’d like to give him credit,” says Cole.

Juniors experience

Having played hockey for his high school in grades nine and 10, Cole started playing Juniors in grade 11 and continued until he aged out, playing for five different teams.

Cole played one season in the QMJHL and traveled all over central and eastern Canada throughout his Juniors career.  He was the captain his last year of Juniors, and one of his favorite times was his second year in Juniors when his team hosted the prestigious Fred Page tournament in Ottawa.

Billeting was a large part of Cole’s Juniors career.  “I lucked out with billets,” he says.  “I still talk to all of them.  I actually spend my summers with one billet family in Ottawa.”

“This is my fourth summer going back to their house.  My billet brother is now like a real brother.”

Professional development

After Juniors, Cole took the chance to turn pro.  When he was at Mississippi’s main camp, he says he felt comfortable with his abilities.  

“It sunk in then and I told myself that I could play pro.  I really knew it, though, when I signed my contract in Danville.”
His #6 jersey is new to him.  “I’ve never worn that number before, so I thought I would try it.  I used to try to stick with the same number when I was younger, but it got too hard playing on a lot of different teams.”

As this is Cole’s rookie season, he hopes to be playing for quite some time.  His goal, as expected, is to move up.  His ultimate goal is to play European hockey.

“My cousin has traveled all over Europe with hockey.  I would love to be able to do the same.”
Superstitions were once a part of Cole’s hockey preparations.  “I used to be really superstitious, but I’m trying to grow out of it.  You can’t let it ruin your game if everything doesn’t fall into place.”

Superstitions notwithstanding, Cole’s habits have remained largely unchanged.  “They’re mostly the same from when I was younger.  I’ll switch little things, but when I do, I keep them throughout the season.”
Road trip adventures

Remember when Cole said his teammates would describe him as a character?  Apparently, that is nothing new, as Cole is all smiles as he recalls a funny night in a hotel on a road trip:

“After the game I walked into my room and all the pillows from all the guys’ rooms were in my room.  On top of that, there were no light bulbs. Someone had taken everyone’s pillows and light bulbs.  It was crazy!”

“I knew it was our coaches who did it, and they had gone out to eat after the game, so I sweet-talked my way into getting the coaches’ room key from the front desk and took everything out of the room – beds, lamps, TV, everything.”

“Then we arranged it exactly as it was in the room, only this time it was in the hallway right in front of the elevators.  Oh, and we took their light bulbs too!”

“Then I went to sleep and waited for them to come back.  I wish I could have set up a camera in the hallway to see their reaction. But I definitely heard them scream my name when they got off the elevator.”

“They couldn’t believe we had done that, and they made us put it all back that night, but they thought it was hysterical.”

Life outside of hockey

After hockey, Cole is considering apprenticing for a trade, possibly as an electrician.

His hidden talent is juggling.  “I taught myself in class,” Cole laughs.  “I’ve tried four, but I can do three.”

Cole enjoys working out and going to the gym.  In the summer he likes to be outside, swimming and playing baseball.  He also declares himself a “decent golfer, depending on how much I get to do.”

Cole has one summer ritual, though, that is like clockwork:  “I hand wash my truck every Sunday in the summer.  I can’t stand a dirty truck.”

From Grandma’s steadying hands to Tim bits, from single A to Juniors and now pro, Cole is where he belongs – on the ice.  And Danville is a good fit for him, so head out to the Palmer Arena to catch Cole and the rest of the Dashers battle for the Commissioners Cup.