By Nathan Kanter

Downs will head to Norwich University next season

Feb 23, 2017 | 1:16 PM

Coby Downs wants to be a cop. He also wants a shot at playing pro hockey.

Next year, he’s keeping both of those options open, as the California native will attend Norwich University in Vermont to play Div. III hockey and study in the school’s criminal justice program.

Norwich is a private military college, but half of its students are civilians.

“When I was talking to my mom, school is a big thing for us and I felt like becoming a cop would be good to go to Norwich because they have a good criminal justice program,” Downs said. “They’re always a top ranked team in the country. They’re always doing well. They win a lot and I [also] want to go somewhere that wins.”

This season, the Norwich Cadets are 21-1-3 and are getting set for their semifinal conference playoff game this Saturday. They are currently ranked first in the NCAA’s top-10 poll of Div. III hockey programs.

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With coach Mike McShane at the helm for over two decades, the team finished first in the regular season of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) every year from 1998-2015.

Overall, they have made the NCAA Div. III Frozen Four 11 times and have won the Div. III national championship three times (2000, 2003, and 2010).

“Assistant coach Steve [Mattson] has been with me quite a while and we put a lot of time into the recruiting because you know you have to have the right type of guys if you’re going to have a successful program,” McShane said in a phone interview. “We look for guys like Coby, who have been leaders on their team… not just on the ice, but off the ice – guys who have good reputations and good habits.”

McShane didn’t see Downs in person, but saw him on film, as Mattson was the one who came to Saskatchewan twice to see and meet with Downs.

“[Mattson] said that…his [teammates] on the ice, he makes them better,” McShane said. “He’s got a good nose and knack for the net and his timing is very good so all of those ingredients…relate to a good hockey IQ and we knew he had that.”

Talks first started before Christmas and the two parties kept in touch every week since then.

Downs said part of what separated them from other interested schools was that constant communication.

“Some schools just tried to talk to me a couple weeks or a couple times, but they tried to keep up to date with talking to me every week,” he said. “Then they came out and visited a couple times.”

After a four-point night last night, Downs now has 66 points in 42 games this season in the SJHL.

That point total is fourth in the league while his 1.57 points-per-game is fifth. In his two-year career, he has 139 points in 99 games.

Given that impressive statline, was there not the possibility of going Div. I?

Downs said there was, but the fit at Norwich was better for him.

“Honestly, people talk about going D-I or D-3, and it wasn’t a big deal for me whether I go [D-I] or not just because I know what I want to do in the future is become a cop,” he said. “[And] there are guys who went to Norwich and played pro. So I think I can do it. It doesn’t matter if I play D-I or D-III, I should still get a shot.”

If he wants to get that opportunity one day, he said the biggest thing is to keep working on his defensive game, as well as his skating.

“I was all offence back in the day. I was never a defensive player but my mindset changed,” Downs said. “If I ever want to do really well, I’m going to have to be better in the d-zone to move on and play pro.”

Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11