Ryan Mansfield grew up playing hockey in Burlington, but moved to Texas during COVID to keep himself on the ice.
Following a two-season stint with the Odessa Jackalopes – one as captain – Mansfield was picked up by the Bentley University Falcons, a D1 hockey team in Massachusetts.
“I was planning on going to the University of Toronto and playing there, but coach Andy Jones gave me a call and asked if I wanted to be a part of the Bentley hockey team,” Mansfield said. “After some discussions with friends and family, I felt it was the right decision to head down there and fulfill my dream of playing division one hockey.”
The 21-year-old left winger put up seven goals and 11 assists in 31 games, and is balancing his ice time with study time. Mansfield was among 11 Falcons named to the American Hockey Coaches Association All-American Scholars for maintaining a 3.75 grade point average, and appearing in at least 40 per cent of his team’s games.
He said heading back to school took some getting used to, especially with the demands of hockey.
“It was an adjustment to start because we wake up, practice at 10:30 or so, but be at the rink for 9:30, you’re on the ice for an hour and a half, you eat after, and suddenly you’re at the rink until 1 p.m.,” Mansfield said. “It’s 2 p.m. by the time you’re in class, so the days are long, but it’s all about time management and knowing what the priorities are.”
The team is very much aware of how important studies are as well.
Although it is a hockey team, grades are still among the top priorities.
“Coach Jones is pretty big on ensuring the classroom is a priority as well as hockey,” Mansfield said. “For example, during exam week at the end of the semester we finished our last game and didn’t have practice for a week. He told us just to focus on our exams.”
Mansfield is yet to declare a major, but he’s planning to focus on economic finance. He is enrolled in accounting, statistics, and microeconomics classes for next year.
He is also undecided what his plans are after graduation, but that’s still a few years away.
“No plans, I’m just focused on next season.”
