Courtesy of Sean Elliot
Camel of the Edition is a series that seeks to highlight extraordinary Connecticut College athletes who have stood out from the herd due to their recent performances or as a leader on campus or on their team.
While the winter ice hockey season may be coming to an end, Will Lawrence ‘28 is just heating up. A sophomore from Bethesda, MD, the star forward excelled as a first-year, leading the team in scoring with 13 points on six goals and seven assists with 76 shots. This year, he’s stepped up his game, currently leading his team with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists–both team highs. After receiving NESCAC Player of the Week, Lawrence is looking to step up his game to help the men’s team reach the NESCAC championship, and improve as much as possible while still thinking about a potential career as a professional.
Recently, The College Voice caught up with Lawrence to hear about his standout performance in the NESCAC, his reach to lead the team to the conference championship, and his nomination as a semi-finalist for a prestigious New England hockey award.
Could you introduce yourself?
Will Lawrence, and I’m a sophomore on the men’s ice hockey team.
Explain your journey in sports. How did you end up playing hockey?
I started playing hockey when I was three, but it was a weird start since I played lacrosse and soccer when I was younger. My older sister used to figure skate so I went to a couple of skates when I was younger and got used to the ice. All throughout my high school I played hockey. I went to Landon School for two years, then Mount Saint Charles in Rhode Island, then I took two gap years and played junior hockey in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
How was your experience playing in high school and when did you realize you wanted to play hockey in college?
At Landon, it was more like normal school—you’re just playing high school and club. It was an all boy’s school too so the atmosphere there was just very different. Going to Mount was more of a boarding or prep school, so we lived in dorms which was a very new experience and helped set me up well for college.
What was your recruitment process like and how did you end up choosing Conn? How did your junior hockey in high school help you improve?
Junior hockey was a big step for getting recruited for DI or DIII hockey, so the two years I spent playing in Johnstown set me up for opportunities to be able to talk to different schools. Conn was always one of my top DIII schools because there are so many guys on the team here that I knew from home. A few of my really good buddies were already first years or sophomores here, so I talked to them and to the coaches which was really helpful. Once I got accepted I knew I basically wanted to come. I had some interest in DI and a few DIII offers but I wasn’t fully invested in those places. The academic and athletic combination here compared to the other schools I had interest in was way better. I was like, I’d rather come here and get a great athletic and academic combination instead of going to a school with just sports. It’s a mini ivy which speaks for itself academically.
What is your training like on a daily basis, and how do you mentally prepare for games?
Especially here at Conn, our athletic and academic schedule keeps us busy in season. I make sure I go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday—I try to get eight hours at least—then I have classes and after that spend the rest of my day getting ready for practice. Whether it’s stretching or just taking a nap, it all helps. Practice is usually a quick hit, so I have to go down to the Athletic Center, stretch, lift, then go up and eat. It’s really just a repeating cycle everyday. There’s not much change, especially on game days. Making sure I stay consistent is basically the whole thing. In terms of mindset, everybody on the team has their goals and we all play our roles to help the team win. But I feel like I play my best when I just try to play free and have fun. I try not to take it too seriously and just go out there and make an impact on the game. If I play at my best, the game is going to change or go my way usually.
Last year as a first-year, you led the team in scoring with 13 points on six goals and seven assists with 76 shots. This year you’ve improved your statistics, scoring 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists—both team highs. You were even awarded NESCAC Player of the Week on January 26th. How have you made these steady improvements, inevitably good enough to generate scoring highs on your team?
I feel like I really had to get comfortable within the league. Going from high school or juniors to college is already a huge jump. I feel like the strides I made my first year made me really proud, but coming back I knew I couldn’t just do the same as last year. I feel like I have to be more relaxed and trust my team a lot more. My team is way better this year—we’re a really tight group, too, which has helped everybody’s stats on and off the ice. Being more comfortable and confident on the ice is the biggest thing.
Courtesy of Jacob Halsema
What is the team culture like? Has it contributed to your recent success?
It starts with the seniors and trickles down. Coming in as a first year I bonded really well with them. We got really close before even starting the season. That helped to get us started and it’s still growing and still getting better. Since NESCAC schools don’t start their season until November, we all have a lot more time off the ice to get to know each other and do our own thing as a team.
Last season, Conn finished 8th in the NESCAC losing to Hamilton in the quarterfinal. This season, the team is ranked 9th, but tied with Colby and Trinity with a 5-10-1 record. Since your last two games are NESCAC matchups (Bowdoin and Colby), how are you preparing to lead your team to the NESCAC tournament?
We’ve been very well matched with those teams [Bowdoin and Colby] my whole time here, so I feel like we’re just going in confident. We know what we can do against both of them, specifically Colby because that’s our head-to-head right now. Hopefully we can beat them and try to move into 7th, maybe even 6th if we beat both teams. We’re not trying to look past anyone, but we have two long road trips up to Maine so we have to put in the hard work. We’re very confident we can make the playoffs. We’re trying to stay healthy this week, which is the main goal, but we have our sights set. Our captain, Reid Shafer ‘26, set our goal from the beginning of the year: win the NESCAC Championship. I feel like that has set the tone for the whole year and we know it’s very doable. We know skill wise on paper we can beat anybody, and once we get into the playoffs we’ll be able to do that and make a run.
The team’s former assistant coach, David Woodford, recently accepted an assistant coaching position at Merrimack College. Over the past two years, Woodford helped Conn achieve back-to-back NESCAC Championship appearances and 14 NESCAC wins, the most in a two-year stretch in a decade. Is his absence this year impacting the team? How important are the coaching staff for the team’s success?
Having Woody here for my first year was great. He did a lot of recruiting and was one of the main guys who got me here, so I want to thank him for just getting me here. He did a lot for our team—whether it was off the ice booking stuff or just making sure we were alright with meals. And he was running a lot of the Forward side, so I feel like he helped a lot. Our new assistant coach, Jared Cockrell, is a very new and fresh mind. He played college hockey at the highest college level and professional hockey, so I think he brought in a whole new mindset for our old team. He’s helped us learn and see the “new age” hockey, an era where high level hockey has changed a lot. Hockey is leaning more toward a skill based game, becoming less gritty and less physical. Even the NHL feels like it’s getting softer. You look back 10 years ago where there were crazy hits and fights for all sorts of reasons. Now, not so much.
You were recently nominated for the Joe Concannon Award, which recognizes the best American-born player in New England at the DII/III level. You’re now a semi-finalist and a potential pick as a finalist for the award before winners are announced in March. What does this kind of award mean to you—does it feel good to be recognized for your hard work?
It’s really nice to be recognized for something like that. A lot of it goes to my teammates because it’s not something you can do at all by yourself, so I’d like to thank them for that. But it’s really nice being recognized for something and to see people recognizing that your hard work is paying off. It would be awesome if I won, but win or not, it’s really awesome just to be up for it. Hopefully it will light a fire under me and I can go on a little run, help my teammates win these games, and keep playing until march.
Of course, you’re only a sophomore, but are you thinking about what comes after college for you? You’ve mentioned before your ambitions to play at the professional level after graduating.
I’ve been talking about that with my parents and coaches for a while now, and I’ve always thought that’s been a goal of mine. But at the same time, it’s hard for me to think about that because I’m still just a sophomore. I don’t want to think so far ahead because I’m not there yet. But I’ve been talking to my buddies and it’s something I need to start thinking about. I feel like if there was a chance that I would be able to do something like that, I would love to take it. We have a couple of guys this year who are also trying to play pro, so they’ve got advisors and our coach who has been helping them talk to scouts and teams. For me it would be the same thing—scouts and coaches like those watching my games. I just need to perform in those games so it’s an option. Right now, I’d probably want to stay in the United States instead of going overseas, but again, that’s down the road.
What do you hope the team looks like after you leave?
I remember you said something about how we have 14 NESCAC wins over the past two years—I feel like that would be one of the main changes I would want to focus on in the future. Coming here I knew Conn wasn’t the best ranked hockey school in the NESCAC. But I was like, I want to be able to change that and be a part of that impact that makes Conn one of the premier NESCAC schools for hockey. I feel like by the time I’m leaving here, I hope I’ve left my mark on the school that way, and Conn is one of the top tier hockey teams. I want to leave on a high note and make sure we’re never fighting for the 7th or 8th seed in the playoffs, but we’re the home seed or at least the one seed for a playoff game. I want to make sure I leave my impact on the team.
Is there anything else you would like to add or people you would like to shoutout?
Shoutout my mom and my dad for always pushing me to be the best I can be. Whether it’s on or off the ice, or just as a man, they remind me to strive to be the best person I can be.
