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| Drew Daniels photo by SceneByKimberly.com |
Drew Daniels #2
Birthdate: June 7, 1989
Birthplace: Suffern NY
6' 2" 185 lbs.
Position: Forward and Defense
Shoots: Right
Selected by San Jose Sharks Round #7, #194 Overall, 2008 NHL Draft
Can you imagine having the same skating partner from the first time you stepped on the ice at age eight, through youth hockey, high school hockey, prep school hockey, junior hockey, NHL prospects camp, college hockey and with the CHL Allen Americans. That is exactly what happened to Drew Daniels and his younger brother Justin. I say younger as Drew made it clear he is the older of the twin brothers by three minutes. Justin played one game for the Americans this year before being waived. He caught on with the SPHL Augusta Riverhawks for six games and then was promoted to the ECHL and has been playing for Dwight Mullins and the Elmira Jackals since December. Justin has played well for the Jackals and has four goals and five assists in 33 games and is a plus three. His team has been playing very well as of late and should make the playoffs. When Justin was waived by the Americans it was the first time Drew and Justin were not on the same team ever, a time span of 15 years.
It all started out for the Daniels brothers in the New York City area. Born is Suffern, NY they are the oldest of five children. Drew's dad, Micheal is an insurance broker and his mom, Dina, is a life coach. Besides Justin, Drew has a younger brother Troy (13) also an aspiring hockey player, and two younger sisters Stefani (11) and Jadyn (6) who enjoy soccer and lacrosse.
When I interviewed Drew I was struck by how he interchanged I & we when talking about playing hockey. Because Drew and Justin have played together their entire lives until this year when Drew says I in relation to hockey he usually means we. I kept asking Drew whenever he was relaying a story or experience if it included Justin and he finally said whether he was saying I or we it included both of them. So when I say Drew in this story in reference to hockey it really includes both Drew and Justin.
Drew started playing organized hockey at age eight when his mom enrolled him in figure skating classes. As Drew tells the story he was taking figure skating lessons one day and a guy came over and said, "We are having hockey tryouts today, take them over there" and that is how it started. As it turned out there were just enough kids at the tryouts to make two teams so Drew made the team despite being awful (his words).
With the support of his parents Drew started from that day at figure skating lessons to love hockey and play on numerous youth hockey teams growing up with names like (Suffolk PAL, Snapple Express, Ramapo Saints, New Jersey Devils, & New Jersey Kings).
Drew played high school hockey for Suffern High School until he was a junior. In 2006 he and Justin led Suffern to the sectional championship and were named co-hockey players of the year for the area. Justin had 91 points and Drew had 90 points that year.
After his sophomore year Drew played for the Brewster Bulldogs which was a Junior C league and was the only junior league around where he could go to school, practice and commute to the team. There were guys much older (20-21) in this league who were obviously bigger and stronger. The coach, John Touhy, was a great teacher, and it was this experience that made Drew want to move from high school hockey to a much better level.
After a search for a prep school with a good hockey program and a good educational program that included trips to Shattuck in Minnesota, Northwood in Lake Placid, NY and Kent in Connecticut, Drew along with his brother made the decision to attend Kent. Even though Kent did not have the winning hockey tradition of the other schools they liked the campus, the rink, and new coach Matt Herr. They believed the program was headed in the right direction under Herr. Herr is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he played under former NHL standout and Coach Red Berenson. He participated in two National championships and four Frozen Fours. After his college career Coach Herr played professional hockey for the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, and Boston Bruins organizations as well as the DEG Metro Stars in Germany. Other international experiences include playing at the World Championships and the World Junior Championships as a representative of the United States.
You might think leaving your high school team as a junior when you had been the star of the team might have caused some bad feelings. Quite the contrary as Drew and Justin's high school coach said at the time,"As tough as it is to lose two incredible players, it is the right decision for them to leave. They were dominant here and need to play at a higher level."
Playing for coach Herr at Kent for two years was a great experience. Drew learned a lot from Herr who emphasized power skating and shooting the puck. Kent, who has hockey dating back to 1911 had the most successful season in its history and won the Christmas Classic for the first time in school history. Drew had 12 goals and 35 assists in his final year at Kent.
The next step in Drew's hockey career was to find a college to attend. While he was still at Kent he started looking around for colleges and was considering Dartmouth and Northeastern and made the decision to attend Northeastern which was a good hockey school, fairly close to home so family could watch him play, and the coaching staff and facility was a good fit. The commitment was for the 2009-2010 which meant Drew would have to find a place to play for a year before entering Northeastern.
In the spring of 2008 eighteen year old twins Drew and Justin had no idea they would be drafted in the NHL draft that would take place in June or at least they were not counting on it. When asked about whether they were thinking about the upcoming draft both Drew and Justin had the same answer. No, not really, you just have to go out there and play your game. It has always been a dream to get drafted, but I haven't given it much thought, whatever happens, happens.
Call it a fluke, karma, coincidence, fate, or luck but on June 21, 2008 in Ottawa at the NHL draft Justin and Drew were chosen by the same team, the San Jose Sharks. Justin was taken in the third round, #62 overall and Drew was taken in the seventh round, #194 overall. What were Drew and Justin doing on draft day while waiting to see if he would be drafted? They were playing golf with their dad who insisted they play golf, no phones, no tracking the draft, just have fun. As Drew tells it his dad cheated on the no phones rule and found out that not only had both boys been drafted but they were drafted by the same team, the San Jose Sharks. As Drew said at the time, "We could not ask for anything other than that, it's just like a fluke, it's unbelievable. You can't describe the feeling of getting drafted by the same team as your twin brother."
Two weeks after being drafted Drew was at the Sharks prospect camp (which he would attend for the next four years). These prospect camps were very important for Drew both from the technical part of playing the game, as everything is broken down to minute detail, as well as all the things you need to do from nutrition, to training to carrying yourself off the ice. As Drew told me, the coaches are eager to teach and the give you tips on things you have never even noticed or thought about before and you learn so much.
Drew (and yes Justin too) decided to spend the 2008-2009 season playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Sioux City Musketeers. It provided them the opportunity to play against players with more speed than at prep school, guys bigger and stronger, and with more body contact. It was a great learning experience before heading to college at Northeastern.
Drew and Justin started college at Northeastern in 2009-2010 and played for the Huskies for three years. Drew made a major change during his second year as he was asked to switch from playing forward, which he had done all of his life, to defense for the final 22 games of the season. No real preparation, no time to adjust, just go out and play. At the end of the season Drew was presented with the "Unsung Hero" award by the team for his playing both positions.
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| Drew Played For Northeastern University from 2009-2012 |
After three years at Northeastern Drew (and of course Justin) decided to leave college in pursuit of a pro career. When I asked him why he left college early he said it was time. He wouldn't give me a more specific reason but I noticed there was a coaching change and can't help but believe that had something to do with the decision.
And how did Drew and Justin end up with the Americans. Unlike many players they had no connection to the team or players on the team. It was something their agent worked out. They knew very little about the Americans when they showed up for training camp.
This being the first year without playing hockey together Drew and Justin are in constant contact to check up on each other. Drew tries to watch his brother's games if the Americans aren't playing and checks up on all of Justin's games. He will share pointers and give feedback on how Justin is doing. Since Justin is closer to home in Elmira the family gets to see him play occasionally. When Justin's team plays Trenton they are only 90 minutes from home.
Drew's mom and dad did make the trip to Allen during the last homestand and his girlfriend, Brittany, has also visited recently. Brittany is finishing up her degree at Northeastern and works as a physical therapist.
I asked Drew during the interview if he had a pet at home and he said yes, he had a black miniature poodle named Puck. However, during a recent Tommy Daniels radio show when Drew started getting grief over owning a miniature poodle he disavowed ownership and insisted it was his mom's dog.
How are Drew and Justin different? This is only one side of the story and I know I should check in with Justin but Drew says Justin is Mr. Hollywood while he tries to fly under the radar. He also claims to be the smarter one and even took Spanish tests pretending to be Justin to make a quick buck. And when asked if he and Justin ever switched places with dates he said no because his girlfriends were always better looking than Justin's. As you can see Drew has a great sense of humor and also a great relationship with his brother.
As a rookie Drew along with Garrett Clarke and Aaron Dell get the usual rookie treatment such as picking up the pucks after practice and keeping the bus picked up during road trips. And yes he has gotten moved around the bus as veterans pull rank on which bunk they want. In spite of this he has had a great experience and has learned a lot from both the coaches and the veterans on the team. His experience from college of playing both defense and forward has come in handy with the Americans as he has been asked to play both positions because of injuries.
And Drew's nickname of "Danny Boy" has been engrained in everyone as radio broadcaster, Tommy Daniels even broke into song after Drew scored his last goal. Tommy is always taking heat about Drew being his favorite player because they share the same last name.
It was enjoyable to get to know Drew through this interview. He is a great young man who is learning and growing each day. He has a great personality, knows how to have fun but takes his job very seriously. I will be looking on with admiration to see where this journey which started almost by accident when he went from figure skater to hockey player in one day ends up.
In order to get to know Drew a little better we asked him the usual questions:
Earliest Hockey Memory: His entire family are big New York Ranger fans and Drew's earliest hockey memory is attending game three of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers won the game and went on to win the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks. He was about to turn five at the time.
Hockey Hero: Ryan Callahan
Favorite Actress: Jennifer Aniston
Favorite Type of Music: Rap or Techno
Chore You Absolutely Hate to Do: Laundry
What Do You Have That Is Great Value To You: A gold coin from my grandfather
Who Do You Admire As a Leader: Mike Berube
Where Is The Most Interesting Place You Have Visited: Phillipines
If You Could Live In Another Country For Two Years: Australia
If You Could Be Anything Besides A Pro Athlete What Would It Be: Real Estate Developer
Any Pregame Rituals or Superstitions: No
Who Is The Funniest Guy On The Team: Jarret Lukin
Who Is Your Number One Fan: My mom and dad
When Was The Last Time You Lost Something: I lose my sunglasses all of the time
What Do You Like To Do To Kill Time On The Bus: Watch Netflix movies on my phone
Favorite Childhood Toy: Sega Genesis
If You Could Pick Someone As A Mentor Who Would You Pick: My mom and dad
Favorite TV Show: The Bachelor
What Do You Like To Do Away From The Rink: Golf
Let's hope the good luck of do an interview get some points continues as I predict Drew will add to his point total this week.
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