Oswego, NY is the next stop for Wellesley’s Brock Krulicki as he pursues his passion for hockey.
The 21-year-old forward has committed to attend Oswego State University of New York and play for the Lakers, an NCAA Division III team.
Krulicki spent most of last season with the Lloydminister Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, having started the year with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League.
In Saskatchewan, he was the Bobcats’ s leading scorer, putting up 28 goals and 21 assists for 49 points in 52 games. He added four goals and a pair of assists in the playoffs.
The shift to the NCAA is an exciting challenge, says Krulicki. As a bonus, it’s considerably closer to home, allowing friends and family to see him in action.
“They have a top-notch program playing in the NCAA Division III, so when that became an option for me, I wanted to hop on it as soon as I could,” he said of the Oswego State opportunity, noting Lakers assistant coach Jon Whitelaw reached out to him just after Christmas.
“I’d already known a little bit about their program,” said Krulicki. “I went down and visited there – it’s a beautiful place right on Lake Ontario, so I’m looking forward to that.”
The feeling is mutual, with Lakers head coach Ed Gosek eager to see what Krulicki will bring to the team.
“We liked what we saw, and then getting to talk with him and then meeting him, it’s his passion, the way he plays, his personality. His play... fits in with what we do here. We’re excited to have him. We need some help up front and gritty-type goals, and he certainly looks like he brings that to the table,” said the coach.
Gosek added he hopes Krulicki can come in and push some of the current players down the lineup on what is a competitive team.
“We like our team. We’ve got a good team. But we graduated three forwards, and now we’ve got two that are coming in. We’re hoping that he can step right in and fill the shoes of one of the graduating seniors that played a lot for us,” he said of Krulicki.
Oswego State finished this season in second place in the SUNYAC Conference with a record of 12-4-0-2, and an overall tally of 17-9-1-2.
In announcing Krulicki’s move to Oswego, the Lloydminster Bobcat’s coach and GM, Nigel Dube, had plenty of praise for the player.
“We are excited for Brock. He was a player who came into our organization and had an immediate impact for us. His creative skill and upside made him become a quick fan favourite in the Border City. The amount of passion and dedication Brock had for the game of hockey is one you appreciate as a coach, every day at the rink was always a great day,” Dube said in a release.
Currently back, Krulicki will be working this summer and concentrating on some skills, including power skating, ahead of his first season in Oswego.
