Declan Rochino '26 Recruiting Profile

I love hockey and I feel that it is the most difficult team sport in the world because you have to know everything that is going on with your team and your opponents while skating as hard as possible, even while moving backward. I play hockey for the experience I gain from the athletic side of the sport but also the social aspect and life lessons embedded within because there is so much more to hockey than just putting a puck in the net and moving your feet. I want to pursue hockey throughout college because I want to be a great player in the sport, but I also want to learn more life lessons, create more friendships, and learn how to be a leader within a team for future use in life. I learned to skate and play at the age of 2 in Chicago, Illinois.  Unfortunately, the Navy sent my father to Key West, Florida. Key West has beautiful sunsets, but not one sheet of ice. So, I had to revert to roller hockey, which has the same basic components as ice hockey but with four-on-four players, no offsides, and of course, no ice. There I made multiple friendships and learned multiple lessons that I will never forget and continue to enjoy throughout my life. After that, I moved to Jacksonville, Florida where I played B league hockey for the first year back on ice. We made it to the finals of the state championship. We lost in a tough game but even then, I learned lessons that made me want to be better and our team enjoyed the experience we shared with each other.  We were only sad for a few minutes and promised each other we’d be better.  I took those lessons and worked hard and then found myself playing AA hockey down in Tampa. After six years in Florida, I finally moved to Newport, Rhode Island where I was able to quickly get on an A club team after they offered me a special tryout.   I got into Prout High School which has a Division I High School Hockey Team. 

The last year of hockey brought more lessons and I developed a philosophy as an offensive defenseman.  I played another season with the Southern Rhode Island Youth Hockey Team Junior Rams.  We had a great team that really trusted each other with exceptional passing and offensive/defensive play.  We won the South Coast Hockey League championship and had an overall record of 16-2.  i learned that defenseman should trust their forwards to cover if they can activate in the offensive zone and then get back to defense as soon as possible.  I was able to score several goals on top of preventing goals.  This is a fun hockey-playing mindset and frees everyone to play whatever position the team needs to win.  

We got promoted to the Premier Hockey League as the Junior Blues and had a great half-season against higher-level competition.  We finished the season 14-2 but only made the quarterfinals in the playoffs since all the defensemen had to play for their high school teams during scheduling conflicts.  My philosophy of an offensive defenseman really took hold in this higher level as we achieved more victories and a stronger team bond because of the trust required in this type of play.

High School Hockey really opened my eyes to a different developmental process.  Playing with upperclassmen was exciting and intimidating at the same time.  I learned alot about more physical play, protecting myself, and communicating with my teammates.  We had a great year at Prout High School and beat our division Nemesis, La Salle Academy, for the first time ever!  I played on both the JV and Varsity rosters.  Coach Gaffney encouraged the defense to activate much like the style I enjoyed.  I learned alot and even got to start in the Varsity D1 quarterfinals and earned player of the game.  I did well in my challenging academic schedule as well and finished with a weighted GPA of 3.9.  I am really looking forward to next year when I am not the low man on the totem pole and can apply the lessons I learned about myself on the ice and in the classroom.

I continue to play with different teams to broaden my experience.  I have played in several spring and summer tournaments on different teams.  It was fun to play and win in the Town Cup where I got to play with all the neighbors who normally play on different excellent teams and win the championship.  I also got selected to play with USA Hockey again in the New England Development Camp.  Although I was not chosen to move on to Nationals, I feel that my skills as an Offensive Defenseman were fully displayed.  I scored two goals in three games and did not have a single goal scored against me.   I want to continue to build on those skills and bring them to higher-level competition.  I am going to attend the Newmass development camp in August and am excited to meet new coaches and teammates. 

Thank you for reading this and I hope you can help me achieve my goals!