DRAFT: Park has special hometown moment of being drafted by Oilers with second-last pick
Park had a terrific 2024-25 season in the USHL with Green Bay, where he recorded 33 goals and 66 points in 56 games to finish fifth in league scoring and second in goals as a workhorse two-way centre before he joined the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen for three playoff games. Park will play next season for […]
Park had a terrific 2024-25 season in the USHL with Green Bay, where he recorded 33 goals and 66 points in 56 games to finish fifth in league scoring and second in goals as a workhorse two-way centre before he joined the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen for three playoff games.
Park will play next season for the University of Michigan, looking to build on what was an impressive year for him by improving certain aspects of his game, such as his skating and size, while preparing to transition to the rigours of college hockey.
“I worked on my skating a ton last summer and throughout the season, and I think it’s still one of my biggest knocks and I’ll continue to work on it, but I think that’s definitely improved a good amount,” he said. “Skating is a big part of it, and then just transitioning to college hockey by just getting bigger, faster and stronger. I know it’s cliché, but it’s true, so those are definitely the two biggest aspects that I’m focusing on this summer.”
Aidan’s uncle Richard had a solid career in the NHL from 1994-2012, recording 241 points (102 goals) across 738 total NHL games for the Islanders, Wild, Penguins, Canucks, Ducks and Flyers, and helped provide him with the right perspective when it comes to making your way to the League.
Despite growing up in LA, Aidan was a Penguins fan during his younger years because his uncle, Richard, was drafted by them in the second round (50th overall) in 1994. He later returned to play his final NHL season with the Penguins in 2011-12, when Aidan was six years old.
“Last year after the Draft, he told me, ‘It may feel like the end of the world and. But it’s not.’ There are a lot of ways to make the NHL,” he said. “Nowadays, you see a lot of college guys sign as free agents, and you have two more chances at the Draft. He helped me look at the big picture and taught me to put in the work every day to give myself the best chance possible.”
Park hopes to follow in the footsteps of two other California products currently playing in the NHL in Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf and Dallas forward Jason Robertson, with emphasis on the latter as someone who also grew up nearby and was one of his hockey idols growing up.
“I think a guy like Jason Robertson is a guy I look up to,” he said. “He’s from Pasadena, not too far from here. A local guy, and he’s having an unreal NHL career. But it’s really cool to see players from here make it, because growing up, there weren’t really a lot of hockey players in LA, but the game’s really grown here, and that’s largely because of those guys.”
Son of former NHL forward enjoying his role with the Rox
ST. CLOUD — Jackson Cooke had an opportunity to go back to the Thunder Bay Border Cats this summer. The summer of 2024 was a memorable one for Cooke in Thunder Bay. He hit .304 with nine doubles, nine homers, 40 RBI, a .403 on-base percentage and .625 slugging percentage and played in the Northwoods […]
ST. CLOUD — Jackson Cooke had an opportunity to go back to the Thunder Bay Border Cats this summer.
The summer of 2024 was a memorable one for Cooke in Thunder Bay. He hit .304 with nine doubles, nine homers, 40 RBI, a .403 on-base percentage and .625 slugging percentage and played in the Northwoods League All-Star Game.
Besides that, his sister, Gabby Fahey, lived in Thunder Bay.
“It went really well and I really enjoyed it,” Cooke said. “My sister, brother-in-law (Curtis) and their two kids lived in Thunder Bay. I got to see them a lot and I didn’t get to see them much before that.”
The Border Cats wanted him back, but they had a few things working against them. Thunder Bay was 35-34 overall last summer and did not make the playoffs. His sister’s family also moved to London, Ontario, and the St. Cloud Rox made an offer to the Edina High School graduate.
“It’s an hour away from home,” Cooke said. “It’s a lot better baseball here. We weren’t very good in Thunder Bay.”
Last season,
the Rox
won the Great Plains West second half division title, finished second in the first half and reached the division championship playoff game, finishing with a 43-26 overall record under first-year manager Nick Studdard.
“He was a really, really good player and with him being from Edina, it was, ‘hey, we are from right up the road. Let’s make this situation happen,'” Studdard said. “To get a guy like Jackson was great. The tool sets and skill sets that he has … I didn’t realize what a bubbly, great, awesome human being that he is. He’s always having a positive attitude, cheering on his teammates. He’s an absolutely incredible young man.”
St. Cloud Rox catcher Jackson Cooke walks back to the dugout after warming up the pitcher between innings of a Northwoods League game against the Badlands Big Sticks on July 9, 2025, at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
Cooke has a smaller role with the Rox than he had with the Border Cats and is hitting .233 with five doubles, three homers and 11 RBI with a .362 on-base percentage and .395 slugging percentage and has played in 26 of the team’s 43 games through July 9.
“I’m here to play my part,” Cooke said. “I got that experience last summer and that was fun. I’m having a good time and I definitely enjoy St. Cloud.”
Besides catching, Cooke has also seen some time at first base.
“We’re trying our best to get him as many opportunities as we can,” Studdard said. “For us, it was a match made in heaven. He wants to be a part of winning baseball. I think that’s what made it an easy sell for him. ‘Yeah, it’s just up the road and we’re going to win a ton of baseball games.'”
One of the reasons why Cooke has not played as much for the Rox is because Carter Jorissen is the starting catcher. Jorissen, who is from Cal State Bakersfield, is hitting a team-leading .367 with a .472 on-base percentage in 19 games.
“Because of who is as a person and a teammate, you want to give him as many opportunities as possible,” Studdard said of Cooke. “Carter Jorissen has been really, really good for us.
“I think (Cooke’s) done a great job of battling through adversity. Whether that’s hard hit balls that don’t fall. Hitting balls hard or soft and it doesn’t go his way. He’s battled through a lot of adversity, but he’s kept a really, really good attitude through it all. That’s why you’re starting to see him have some more success.”
Cooke has moved around a bit in his college career. In 2023 and 2024, he played for the University of Tennessee-Martin. As a sophomore, he hit .289 with one homer and six RBI in 21 games after appearing in 11 games a freshman.
“I wasn’t playing much and didn’t really like my situation there and my coaches,” Cooke said. “I had a good summer last summer and Pitt was one of my dream schools growing up.”
Jackson Cooke
Contributor Alex Jurkuta / St. Cloud Rox
Cooke transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. He had a bit of an up-and-down season with the Panthers. Cooke played in 33 games, nine of which were starts. He hit .204, but he had six homers, two doubles and 17 RBI in 49 at-bats.
In a game against Kent State on March 19, he hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in a 17-13 win. On April 4-6, he played in two of three games against Miami and was 2-for-7. On April 12-13, he played in all three games against Virginia, but went 0-for-11.
“They wanted me to succeed,” Cooke said. “I just didn’t do my job. I started Friday (April 17) at Duke and then just got to pinch hit.”
Despite the ups and downs of the spring, Cooke said he is happy at Pittsburgh.
“I enjoyed it there,” he said. “The guys and the coaches are awesome. The coaches were very easy to talk to, unlike my coaches at my old school. Hopefully, I’ll be playing every day and get back in the lineup. That’s the plan.”
Interestingly, Cooke did not play hockey long when he was growing up in Edina, a city known for its hockey. And oh by the way, his dad, Matt, played wing in the NHL from 1998-2015.
Matt played for the Vancouver Canucks (1998-2008), Washington Capitals (2008), Pittsburgh Penguins (2008-13) and Minnesota Wild (2013-15).
“It was cool,” he said. “You’d get to go to games and I’d get to go into the locker room. There would be (Sidney) Crosby.
“I got to spend a lot of time in the locker room before practice, before games, after games. I was always around the guys and my dad had me around the locker room growing up.”
St. Cloud Rox catcher Jackson Cooke helps warm up the pitcher between innings of a Northwoods League game against the Badlands Big Sticks on July 9, 2025, at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
In 2009, Matt Cooke was a member of the Penguins’ team that won the Stanley Cup.
“We were in Detroit for that,” he said. “All the family sat together after we were on the plane. It was crazy. It was unreal. I remember so many fans outside. Trying to get on the ice after the game was a struggle. It worked out.”
He played hockey until he was “8 or 9, but one of my best friends growing up played baseball and I stuck with it.”
While he may not get a ton of playing time, Studdard said that Cooke plays a key role on the Rox.
“If you go up and down this roster, they love Cooke to death,” Studdard said. “He’s just awesome and is that great of a dude. That’s what makes it tough that he isn’t in there every day.”
St. Cloud center fielder Nolan Geislinger, an Eden Valley-Watkins graduate, said that he enjoys Cooke’s personality.
“I don’t think he’s had a bad day,” Geislinger said. “He always seems to be messing with me. He’ll randomly mess with me and I’ll say something back to him and he’ll give me a big hug. He’s definitely a good guy to have in the dugout. Sometimes, it does get annoying when he’s doing something with me.”
What kind of things does he do?
“He’s slapping me, messing with my hat, anything he can find,” Geislinger said. “He’ll throw seeds at me.
“He’s from Edina and I tell him, ‘You’re from Edina and nobody likes Edina.’ I always say something like that. It’s kind of funny.”
Eagles forward makes move to Massachusetts, Division III
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NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
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The Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League have announced that forward Drew Dellies has committed to Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass., where he’ll further his education as well as play NCAA Division III hockey in the fall. Hailing from Marquette, Mich., the 20-year-old […]
The Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League have announced that forward Drew Dellies has committed to Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass., where he’ll further his education as well as play NCAA Division III hockey in the fall.
Hailing from Marquette, Mich., the 20-year-old Dellies saw action in parts of the three seasons in the NOJHL with the Eagles.
He’s coming off a 2024-25 campaign where he set personal single-season bests in games played (45); goals (10); assists (13); points (23); power play markers (4) and game-winning tallies (2).
Appearing in 86 career contests in the league, he scored 17 times and helped set-up 19 others along the way.
“Drew had an unmatched work ethic and drive that made him a very hard player to compete against,” said Eagles’ general manager Bruno Braganolo.
“His offensive ability as well as his tenacity and heart made him popular with our fans, as did his volunteer work within the community,” added the Michigan Soo GM.
Discussing his NCAA commitment, Dellies offered: “My time with the Eagles allowed me to grow as a player and a person. My teammates, coaches and management staff, plus a great billet family, made it possible for me to achieve my goal of furthering my education and playing college hockey.”
Dellies becomes the sixth member of the Eagles to commit to a college program from this past season.
The Anna Maria AMCATS are members of the 10-school Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Miami golf commit Kai Trump inks NIL deal with Accelerator Active Energy
Miami golf commit Kai Trump has become the latest high-profile athlete to ink an NIL deal with Accelerator Active Energy. The granddaughter of President Donald Trump touts over five million social media followers across TikTok, Instagram and X, and over 1.1 million YouTube subscribers. Trump joins LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne as athletes to sign endorsement deals with Accelerator. Kansas City tight end […]
Miami golf commit Kai Trump has become the latest high-profile athlete to ink an NIL deal with Accelerator Active Energy. The granddaughter of President Donald Trump touts over five million social media followers across TikTok, Instagram and X, and over 1.1 million YouTube subscribers.
Trump joins LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne as athletes to sign endorsement deals with Accelerator. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce is also a brand ambassador for the brand. A senior at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, Trump signed her first NIL deal in January with Leaf Trading Cards. The pack of cards sells for $199.99 and each contains one random autograph card, per the description.
Trump will be featured in Accelerator campaigns and the energy drink will be woven into her social media. She joins Accelerator as an equity partner alongside Dunne.
“An energy drink with natural caffeine like Accelerator is so important to ensuring I stay focused and have extra energy when I’m in the gym, on the golf course, studying, traveling or as part of my daily routine,” Trump said in a statement. “Accelerator has an inspiring group of athlete partners that I look up to and it’s an honor to join the team. I can’t wait to jump in with Accelerator and I’m looking forward to what the future holds in our partnership.”
With a rising social media profile and commitment to Miami, the 18-year-old golfer has a $1.2 million On3 NIL Valuation. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.
The eldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr., Kai Trump’s On3 NIL Valuation is No. 1 in women’s high school golf and No. 98 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and de facto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.
At the Florida Class 1A state championship last November, she shot a 75 (4-over) in the second round to finish the two-day tournament at 13-over and 49th place overall. Trump ranked inside Florida’s top 200 girls varsity golfers for the 2024 season with a stroke average of 39.1 across 15 rounds.
“We are honored to have Kai join the Accelerator team as she becomes an NIL superstar ahead of her collegiate golf career,” Accelerator CEO Andrew Wilkinson said. “Kai has a very busy schedule, including golf, content creation, travel and much more and Accelerator is the perfect solution to providing her the sustained energy without sugar while she’s on the go. We are excited to see all she is going to accomplish in the years ahead as she becomes a leading voice in NIL and beyond.”
Story Links
BABSON PARK, Mass.—Coming off a fourth consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship and a fifth straight NCAA Tournament second round appearance, Babson College field hockey 19th-year head coach Julie Ryan announced her program’s 2025 schedule on Tuesday. The nine-time defending NEWMAC regular season champs, Babson will play […]
BABSON PARK, Mass.—Coming off a fourth consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship and a fifth straight NCAA Tournament second round appearance, Babson College field hockey 19th-year head coach Julie Ryan announced her program’s 2025 schedule on Tuesday.
The nine-time defending NEWMAC regular season champs, Babson will play a 19-game slate that includes nine conference matchups and four contests against teams that reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Green and White, which went unbeaten (9-0) in league play a year ago for the eighth consecutive season and finished 19-4 overall, opens the 2025 campaign at Endicott in Beverly, Mass., on August 29. The first two home games at MacDowell Field will be against Swarthmore on August 31 and NCAA Tournament foe Williams on September 7.
After a trip to Saint Joseph’s (Maine) on September 10, the Beavers will play back-to-back contests against the two teams that met in the 2024 NCAA championship game, at defending champion Middlebury on September 14 and home against runner-up Tufts on September 17.
The first two NEWMAC games will be on the road at crosstown rival Wellesley on September 20 and Mount Holyoke on September 27. The Beavers finish out the month with a clash at Trinity on September 28 and begin the new month at home against NCAA Tournament foe Roger Williams on October 1.
Six of the next seven games will be conference matchups, beginning with home tilts against WPI on October 4 and four-time NEWMAC runner-up MIT on October 7, followed by a home contest vs. Smith on October 11. The Green and White will host Bowdoin for a tough test on October 14 leading into three straight league games, home encounters vs. Clark on October 18 and Salve Regina on October 25 sandwiched around a road trip to Springfield on October 21.
The regular season winds up with a non-conference clash at the University of New England on October 28 and a NEWMAC meeting vs. Wheaton on November 1. The six-team NEWMAC Tournament will get underway with quarterfinal contests on November 4. The top two seeds will host semifinal matches on November 6 and the highest remaining seed will host the tournament final on November 8. The NEWMAC champion receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
MacLean earns her first CSC Academic All-America nod. Story Links Audrey MacLean of the Middlebury women’s cross country and track and field programs has been named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Third Team selection. HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS MacLean joins Alison Maxwell (2015) and Cassie Kearney (2022) as the third Academic All-America honoree in women’s […]
MacLean earns her first CSC Academic All-America nod.
Audrey MacLean of the Middlebury women’s cross country and track and field programs has been named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Third Team selection.
HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS
MacLean joins Alison Maxwell (2015) and Cassie Kearney (2022) as the third Academic All-America honoree in women’s cross country and track and field history.
The rising junior is a molecular biology and biochemistry major and sports a 3.92 grade point average.
In cross country, MacLean ran to her first NESCAC crown at the league championships, crossing the finish line with a time of 20:21.15. She was also named the meet’s most outstanding performer.
She secured her second First-Team All-America nod at the national meet by claiming sixth with a clocking of 21:10.8.
MacLean continued her strong campaign in the winter, grabbing indoor All-American honors in the 5,000 (16:58.25).
During the spring, the Panther earned her second-consecutive NESCAC individual championship in the 3,000 steeplechase with a program-record clocking of 10:21.15 alongside a runner-up performance in the 5,000.
MacLean excelled on the national stage, claiming runner-up honors in the 3,000 steeplechase (10:21.15) and eighth in the 5,000 (16:36.94), becoming the second women’s track and field athlete in five years to claim two All-American honors at a single NCAA Championship.
In the classroom, the Panther is a three-time USTFCCCA and NESCAC All-Academic selection.
MacLean is a volunteer for Girls on the Run, a fun, evidence-based program that inspires participants to recognize their inner strength, increase their level of physical activity, imagine their possibilities, and confidently stand up for themselves and others.
MacLean is the 67th Middlebury student-athlete to earn CSC Academic All-America honors. The full list of 2025 selections can be found here.