Meet Elite Hockey Academy players Clayton Collier, Ethan Bellamy and Dasan Lee Akwue
BRANFORD, Conn. — Hockey fans know that 鈥淢arch Madness鈥� isn鈥檛 only about NCAA basketball.聽 While many think of hockey as only a winter sport, March is also when the real excitement of playoff hockey begins for high school and college teams.
For some players, hockey is not only a passion, but hopefully a career goal which demands really focusing on honing their skills to play at the next level.聽 This year the Andresen family of Branford has been host to three high school students – Clayton Collier from Texas, Ethan Bellamy from Oklahoma and Dasan Lee Akwue from Switzerland – who have moved to Connecticut to attend the Elite Hockey Academy wanting to be prepared to take that next step at either the college or junior pro hockey level. President and General Manager and Branford resident Peter Alden emphasizes 鈥淭he Elite Hockey Academy mission is to develop these young players and move them on to the next phase of their playing careers鈥�.
鈥淚 came here because I wanted to improve my skills as a forward, Ethan says, 鈥淚 knew the Academy had the structure and coaches to make that happen. The Academy work with us to develop us as individual players and at the same time making us realize how important our role fits into the team鈥檚 success.鈥�
Players for The Academy attend Notre Dame High School in West Haven. 鈥淲e are very fortunate to be able to attend Notre Dame High School and the Elite Hockey Academy,鈥� says Dasan. 鈥淣otre Dame knows we may miss classes but always makes sure we have study halls and tutors to ensure we can stay current with our classmates as well as giving us the ability to be involved with high school activities,鈥� adds Clayton.
All agree coming to Connecticut to learn hockey from the Academy has been a great experience on and off the ice.聽 Says Dasan Lee, 鈥淚 only knew the United States from New York City. Being here I鈥檝e learned the United States is so much bigger.鈥� Clayton and Ethan laugh as they added they have been trying to introduce him to all the American fast-food restaurants.
With all seriousness, they do concur that attending the Academy has definitely helped them gain more opportunities on and off the ice. 鈥淲ith a 65-game schedule we definitely get the experience needed to advance to the next hockey level.,鈥� says Clayton. Adds Peter Alden, 鈥淲e want to prepare our student-athletes both athletically and academically for the next level, with the ultimate objective for players to succeed on and off the ice.鈥�
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