The San Jose Barracuda wrapped up its season with a mix of growth and some unfinished business, and the players’ exit interviews gave us a glimpse into where each player and the team are headed. For a group filled with rookies, vets and everything in between, there was a clear thread of hunger that ran through each conversation.

Take Collin Graf, who jumped into the pro grind straight out of college. 

“It’s a grind every day. It’s super competitive. It’s not like college, it’s your job to be a hockey player,” he said.

Graf made it clear he’s always pushing to elevate his game.

“I’m never going to be satisfied with how I’m playing, or think that there’s nothing I can’t get better at,” he said. 

Luca Cagnoni, just 20, reflected on how fast things had changed from where he was a year ago. 

“Being in the AHL at 20 years old is pretty special, especially where I was in my development a year ago,” he said.

And while Cagnoni acknowledged the personal growth, he was quite quick to credit the people around him.

“My family is a big part … the coaches and the teammates here, like, unreal … It’s just so easy to come into the rink with a smile on your face,” said Cagnoni.

He spoke highly of veteran Jimmy Schuldt, calling him a mentor who showed up just as much off the ice as he did on it. 

“He’s not the biggest guy, but he still puts his body on the line, sticks up for guys,” said Cagnoni.

Andrew Poturalski, who led the league in points this year, was still obviously hungry for more. 

“I’m too competitive to just be content with being an AHL veteran,” he said. “I want more.”

 Not getting a full shot with the Sharks this season clearly stung. 

“I’m still chasing the NHL … it was a little frustrating on that standpoint.” 

But despite the disappointment, his drive hasn’t wavered—he talked about still feeling like the “five-year-old kid in the driveway” dreaming of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. You can’t fake that kind of passion.

Danil Gushchin’s first season in North America came with ups and downs, but his self-awareness was pretty striking. 

“I have some shots on there, but end of the day, I think I need to score more goals to be a better player,” he said. 

He was candid about the emotional toll of missing playoff time due to his injury, calling it “sucks … kind of being helpless sitting at home.”

Like many of his teammates, Gushchin made it clear the goal is still the NHL—”My goal is playing NHL, so yeah”—but he’s thoughtful about the journey.

Even in Coach John McCarthy’s words, you could hear the focus on both raising expectations and maintaining a good perspective. 

“We should be a team that’s in the conversation every year and pushing to go on deep playoff runs,” he said. 

He praised how the team responded late in the year, playing more structured when it mattered. The message from McCarthy was clear: this season set a new standard.

 “We’ve kind of raised the bar, and we’re not going to lower it back down at the start of next season,” said McCarthy.

From rookies learning the grind to veterans still chasing the show, the Barracuda locker room was full of voices that all pointed in the same direction. Which is to get better, compete harder, and don’t settle. Whether the players are on the cusp of a call-up or just finding their footing, this group knows there’s more work ahead. No one’s taking days off.

A new law signed by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs last week authorizes the state’s four Division I universities to directly pay students for their name, image and likeness.

Senate Bill 1615, which went into effect on May 7, states that universities cannot classify athletes as employees.

The law also allows universities to engage with third-parties to “facilitate opportunities” to compensate athletes without enforcement from the NCAA or other governing bodies.

“The bill allows the university to partner with a third-party entity that is dedicated to secure deals beyond the university’s brand, creating more NIL opportunities for students,” Jason Corriher, Arizona senior associate athletic director for strategic communications, told Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services.

The timing of the legislation comes as college athletic department await a ruling in the House vs. NCAA settlement. California federal judge Claudia Wilken is expected to approve a $2.8 billion settlement that would, among other things, allow schools to directly pay athletes a portion of an athletic department’s revenues, capped at $20.5 million, beginning July 1, 2025.

If the settlement is rejected, schools could still pay athletes directly if their state governments allow.

Braly Keller, director of collegiate services and insight for NIL firm Opendorse, praised the bill, saying on X that “Arizona quickly went from one of the shortest and more dated NIL laws to a robust policy.”

Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois championed a first-of-its-kind Missouri NIL bill in 2022 during her time as Mizzou’s AD. That bill allowed high school recruits to earn NIL as long as they sign with a school in the state.

Reed-Francois told the Arizona Daily Star’s Bruce Pascoe that the Arizona legislation will keep the state competitive in the evolving NIL landscape.

“SB 1615 ensures the University of Arizona has the tools and structure to remain nationally competitive in recruiting and retaining top student-athletes,” she said. “The bill provides greater clarity around the rights and protections of student-athletes engaging in NIL activity.”

The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. TJ Shope (R-Coolidge), gives universities at least one new way to raise money that can be shared with athletes: 50/50 raffles.

Arizona previously required that half the money raised through raffles be distributed to a pre-selected entity like a charity. Under the new law, universities can disperse raffle revenues to athletes.

For example, If Arizona Stadium holds a 50/50 raffle this fall and $100,000 are put in the pot, the Arizona athletic department can hold on to $50,000 and use it to pay athletes.

The raffle funds are an avenue for Arizona athletics to raise the $20.5 million that can be paid directly to students under the pending House settlement.

Arizona will spend most of the $20.5 million on football and men’s basketball players, with the remaining money going towards athletes in other sports.

By Sky Strauss, Staff Writer

Drake Holloway announced his plans to attend State Technical College to study computer network and cybersecurity during an event with his fellow seniors Thursday morning, knowing that just up stairs, his real passion was out on display.

Decision Day wasn’t the only thing happening at Mexico High School. Gooch Gym had been turned into an art gallery where the art club was hosting its annual showcase.

The gallery, which is held every year, is open to anyone who wants to participate and includes work from both the high school and middle school. Almost every bit of wall space is covered in works of art and large displays are spread around the gymnasium.

“We like to show off,” said Holloway, who thinks the spotlight often misses the smaller groups like art club. “We like having the art show so we can show that we do have talent, we do have interest, even if we’re not shown to the world.”

For Holloway, inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. For example, one of Holloway’s prize-winning “best in show” creations, a clay sculpture of Snoopy in a green checkered plane, was inspired by a video game he was playing with his cousin.

Like many of the artists in the show, Holloway has competed in various art competitions across the state.

Linda Malott, a Bulldog educator in charge of art club, prom, student council and travel club, will find art competitions throughout the year and encourage her students to participate.

“I am very involved in getting them showing in different college-level art competitions,” said Mallot. “We enter a lot of contests and we’ve won a lot of awards.”

Jyllian Whitworth, a senior, has been competing in art competitions with Malott’s encouragement for three years now. She has won many awards for her acrylic paintings.

“I really started competing my sophomore year and this is where it has taken me,” Whitworth said.

For Whitworth, art class was her space to calm down and find herself.

“This class isn’t composed of exams and studying – it’s really exploring what you want to do,” said Whitworth. “It’s kind of like my little zen hour.”

Next year, Whitworth will be attending Drury University to study psychology with a minor in communications and advanced scientific analysis and a certificate in wrongful convictions. The hope is to one day be able to implement art into her career through art therapy.

Mallot said her students’ involvement in the art world sets the MHS art program apart from other schools.

“We do a lot of community service,” she said. “We paint faces, last summer we painted all the murals in the animal shelter, we painted the ‘smile you’re in Mexico.’”

That, combined with the numerous art classes available to students has not only allowed the program to grow, but to provide students with a more diverse portfolio.

This year’s gallery is unique as a lot of art was for sale.

“Most of my kids are raising money to go to Europe next year,” said Mallot.

Half of the money raised from art sales will also go to a memorial scholarship in honor of Jane Norman, a retired MHS art teacher who recently passed.

Zellen Duncan, a junior, was selling pixel stickers to raise money for the art club. He also had an extensive display in the show which featured multimedia pieces from his independent studio classes.

Duncan wants to become an art teacher like his father.

“I have been drawing since I was little because my dad is also an art teacher,” said Duncan. “From kindergarten to now I have just been drawing random things.”

Evie Peterson, a senior, is also planning to become an art teacher. She will attend College of the Ozarks to study art education.

“I would tell any little kid, if they’re trying to draw something and it’s not working, focus on that one thing,” said Peterson.

Peterson, who implements a lot of bright colors into her work, also had a few pieces available for sale. The decision on what to sell comes from feeling alone.

“If I don’t feel a connection to it, but I feel like other people might, they can have it because they will just get stacked up in my room somewhere,” she said.

The art show is just as much a fundraiser as it is a way to see just how far the students have come throughout the year.

“It has been a very fulfilling program – I really love it,” said Mallot.

Whether you ask the aspiring art teachers, future therapist or the information technology bound hobby artist, the opinion is unanimous: art can be for anyone.

“We have a very good community and nobody is going to dis you for having ‘bad art,’” said Holloway. “We’ll just call it abstract.”

Daily Nurse is proud to name Kaitlyn Donovan our Nurse of the Week, recognizing her exceptional ability to balance the rigorous demands of graduate nursing school, a full-time role as an ICU nurse, and a standout athletic career on Illinois State University’s Division I gymnastics team.

Donovan, a South Lyon, Michigan native and current grad student at Illinois State’s Mennonite College of Nursing, flips, vaults, and balances—literally and figuratively—through a schedule that would overwhelm most. By day (and night), she’s a nurse at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center’s intensive care unit. By morning, she’s on the mat, perfecting her floor routine and pushing her Redbird team toward a Midwest Independent Conference title.

“It seems like a lot when you look at it on paper, but it’s not as hard as it seems,” Donovan says modestly. “I’ve always been passionate about nursing, and I knew this is what I wanted to do after I graduated. I wasn’t sure if I’d take my fifth year of gymnastics, but now I’m so glad I did.”

Donovan’s dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed by her coaches or colleagues. Head gymnastics coach Bob Conkling is still in awe:

“She does a 12-hour nursing shift and comes in at 7 a.m. and goes straight into our workout. She’s always prepared, always ready. I honestly don’t know how she does it, but she seems to be able to handle it.”

Originally hoping to land a part-time nursing role, Donovan pivoted when a full-time night shift in the ICU opened. Instead of walking away, she leaned in—meeting separately with her coach and manager to ensure everyone that she could make it work. And make it work, she has.

Donovan credits her success to routines and discipline—habits she honed over years in competitive gymnastics.

“Time management is something every Division I athlete has to learn,” she says. “When you’re done with class for the day, do you take a nap? Or do you finish your homework early so you can go to bed early? That’s kind of the thing that you have to continually ask yourself.”

The challenges haven’t been just logistical. As any ICU nurse can attest, the emotional toll can be heavy. She’s had rough nights, difficult patients, and those devastating moments when a life is lost. But she holds fast to the purpose of her work.

“But the good times outweigh the bad,” Donovan said. “I’ve seen a lot of patients who were really, really sick, make it and pull through, and they come back, and they cry and hug me and say, ‘Thank you,’ and that’s the really rewarding part.”

That emotional reward has cemented her path in nursing. Donovan has already accepted a position at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where she’ll work full-time while completing the final two years of her family nurse practitioner master’s program online through Illinois State.

Outside of scrubs and leotards, Donovan finds joy in the simple things—prepping meals, painting, crocheting, and caring for her two cats. She also cherishes her wide support network, which includes fellow student-athletes, nursing classmates, and her brother, Tommy, a member of Illinois State’s football team.

“Maybe it’s because it’s my last year here,” she reflected, “but I’ve been feeling a lot of gratitude lately for all the things I have in my life.”

And just like she lands her final pass in a gymnastics routine, Donovan is closing out her college years the same way she faces every challenge—with balance, purpose, and an unshakable smile.

Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.

Renee is the editor and content strategist for Daily Nurse. When enjoying life unplugged from the digital world, you’ll find Renee on a trail taking wildlife photos or birdwatching.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Little East Conference recently announced their postseason awards for the 2025 season and Abby Weiterman was recognized from her performance for the Owls in her freshman season.
 
Abby Weiterman, a freshman catcher from West Bend, Wis. was named to the LEC All-Rookie Team as the catcher from her first season with KSC. Weiterman was trusted from the Owls from the start as she was one of just four Owls to start every 38 games of KSC’s 2025 season. Weiterman batted .265 at the plate with a .660 OPS. She recorded 31 hits in her 117 at bats, which included seven doubles and a triple. Her 21 RBIs were tied for the second most on the team on the season, while her 18 runs scored were the fourth most on the Owls. Weiterman also went 2-for-2 on stolen bases on the year and threw out five runners behind the plate for the Owls. Her best game at the plate on the season came against SUNY Brockport on the Owls’ spring break trip as she went 3-for-5 at the plate, and she accounted for half the Owls’ runs by batting three in and scoring two herself. Over the Owls’ four game win streak early in April, Weiterman has seven hits, including three doubles, while driving in seven runs and scoring three herself.