The 2008-2009 Union men's hockey media guide listed several newcomers to the program. Several of the names would be immediately recognizable to any Union fan -- players like Kelly Zajac, Nolan Julseth-White, Taylor Reid, and Brian Yanovitch.
But Randy Hanagan is one name that likely wouldn't jump out at most fans.
The forward came to Union with considerable hype. In his final season of junior hockey with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, he amassed 53 points in 60 regular season games then piled up 14 more points in 11 playoff contests. Zajac was a teammate of his that year, but Hanagan had eight more goals (29 to 21) in as many regular season games.
Hanagan, who also received interest from Northern Michigan and Western Michigan, was looking forward to joining the Dutchmen.
"At the time [2007], it was really exciting and I didn't know what to expect," he said. "[Then assistant coach] Rick Bennett first approached me during a road trip on the Island, and then I didn't hear from him for a few weeks so I wasn't sure how interested he was."
Things began to materialize around the holidays.
"Just before the Christmas break, the coaching staff extended me an offer. When I came home for Christmas, my Dad and I had the opportunity to drive to Schenectady to see the campus and meet the coaching staff," Hanagan added. "I really liked the campus as well as the coaching staff and the program had made great strides since [former head coach] Nate Leaman took over. I thought it would be a great opportunity."
 |
| Hanagan (Union) |
The London, Ontario native was expected to come in and be an impact player right away.
"Randy is physically prepared for this level," Leaman was quoted as saying in the 08-09 media guide. "He will complement every guy he plays with and can play in any situation. He will be counted on pretty heavily as a freshman."
The forward got off to a solid start with Union, scoring a couple goals, including a game-winner, in his first seven contests. But those seven games would be the only games Hanagan played in a Union jersey.
"I left the program right after the Christmas break," Hanagan recalled. "At the time, I had some family health issues back at home but looking back that wasn’t the main reason. Entering my first year at Union, I had the goal of obtaining a business degree and I was questioning the level of education I was receiving at Union.
"With the prestigious Richard Ivey School of Business (Western University) being in my hometown, I felt that I was giving up an opportunity to obtain an education from that institution," he added. "Not only that, but Western University’s hockey team has a great reputation and to be able to earn a degree from Ivey while playing for my hometown university was something that was hard to pass up."
Hanagan never considered going back to Division I and went on to play 27 games for Western University of Canadian Interuniversity Sport, collecting a pair of goals and a handful of assists.
Despite the success Union has enjoyed in recent seasons -- Hanagan would have been a senior on last year's Frozen Four team -- he has no regrets about departing.
"Obviously with the success Union has had, any hockey player would want to be a part of that," he said. "But if I hadn’t left I wouldn’t be where I am today."
In the time since, Hanagan has continued his education and is finishing his final year at the Richard Ivey School of Business. He'll be graduating with a degree of honors in Business Administration this spring.
Hanagan resides with his girlfriend in a house he constructed in London, Ontario. The now-24-year-old remains involved with hockey.
"I'm playing senior A hockey [with the Komoka Classics] as well as maintaining a [hockey training] website that two friends and I created. [It] has been very successful," he said.
To check out Hanagan's website, Off Ice Hockey Training, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment