Dylan Hender '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Dylan Hender and I am a ‘03 forward from Des Moines, IA. I played for the Minnesota Blue Ox during the 2022-23 season. My main goal is to play competitive college hockey, and my career path beyond hockey is to become business professional. 

Whether watching the game in person, on TV, or when I first started skating at the age of 4, I have always loved the game of hockey. During my 14 years of playing hockey I have played with Des Moines Youth Selects, Des Moines Youth Travel, Team Midwest, Des Moines  Oak Leafs Hockey Club and now entering my second year of Junior A hockey with the Minnesota Blue Ox. I have learned a lot about the game and about myself playing hockey. I enjoy playing with and working as a team, have a strong work ethic, and work relentlessly off-ice to improve. I am vocal about what I think in terms of encouraging and motivating myself and others. I am a coach-able athlete and always open to learning new things. I study highlight videos of myself, our team and other games to constantly look for opportunities to improve. Through the wins and the losses I have learned the value of teamwork, commitment, sacrifice and leadership.

Throughout high school I maintained a 3.2 or higher GPA and in my senior year i graduated with a 3.6 GPA. Each year i received our league's Academic Achievement Award and In my senior year I received the league’s Presidential Academic award for having a GPA 3.5 or higher.  For me, not only is it important to have success on the ice, but also in the classroom. It was important for me throughout high school to have academic success. As a high school Freshman, I was honored to receive our team's Rookie of the Year Award. My goal was to letter in Varsity for all 4 years with the Des Moines Oak Leafs and I am very pleased to have met this goal. I was the only senior in my hockey class to reach that goal and only the third one in the last ten years to do so. As a Senior,  I continued to build on my strength, conditioning and speed. I was honored to be elected Captain of our team and I accepted that responsibility whole heartedly. I know what it’s like to lead through good times and bad and how to deal with adversity and how to be resilient. That year i was injured early in the season but was able to come back quickly and persevered through training to come back even stronger. Last year I joined the Minnesota Blue Ox Junior A Team. As one of 18 new players on the roster I knew it would be a developmental year for me as well as the team. I learned a lot about myself as well as the game during this past year. Our team faced a lot of adversity but we remained resilient all the way through the 1st round of playoffs. With a solid group of returners this year I know we will go all the way. 

My goal has always been to play at the next level and to improve at each level I choose to play. As I enter my final year of junior hockey my goal this year is continue to improve my on ice performance and be a leader for our team this season. I also want to connect with colleges/universities for my future studies that have a hockey program where I can make a difference.  Currently I am interested studying business in college and I know I will be a committed student for academic achievement. I believe I not only have the talent, physicality and hockey IQ to compete at a college level, but the character, work-ethic, and leadership skills to make an immediate impact on a program. 

I wanted to share a little bit about me because I know I have what it takes to be an impact player on your roster. I look forward to building a relationship with you for the future and discuss next steps.