Moms are always looking out for the best for their children and it’s no different in hockey.
Okotoks Oilers rookie Mitch Collett can thank his mother for encouraging him to apply for the Nickerson Family Scholarship and ultimately earning the honour from the Friends of the Alberta Junior Hockey Society along with a cool $2,000.
“My mom sent me a letter for it and I had to get my transcript for it and I mailed it in,” Collett said. “Soon enough I found out I had won the scholarship. It was almost a bit of a surprise for me.”
Given the Grade 12 student at Holy Trinity Academy’s academic pedigree it shouldn’t have been a huge shock for the 18-year-old forward.
Collett has maintained close to a 90 per cent average throughout high school and has taken his academic excellence to another level as a Senior in his first year at the Okotoks school.
“Grade 12 has been one of my best years for marks. I got a 98 in math and a 95 in biology going into those finals,” he said.
Collett also scored a 1,970 on his SAT — the standardized test for college admissions for United States post-secondary institutions — with clear aspirations of taking his hockey south of the border.
After all, NCAA hockey is a family tradition for the Collett clan.
Collett’s older brother Jeff is a Junior with the Colorado College Tigers, a Division I school competing in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
“With the way things are going down there for him it’s been a great choice for him,” Collett said of his older brother. “Ever since he’s been going down there I’ve really been focusing on my school and hopefully down the road I can get a scholarship.”
Collett, who listed Boston College and Yale as two of his top destination schools for collegiate hockey, is a familiar name to Oilers fans as older brother Connor Collett was with the organization from 2009-11 before being traded to the Trail Smoke Eaters at the start of the current season.
Despite missing out on the opportunity to play alongside his sibling, Collett has endeared himself to the Oilers’ faithful with an uncompromising work ethic and a steadily improving offensive game. The freshman forward boasts five goals and 17 points thus far.
“When I first signed (Connor) was still here and I was really excited to play with him. I thought it would be fun,” Collett said. “It’s tough he got traded, but at the same time that’s how Junior hockey works.”
Oilers head coach and general manager James Poole said when it comes down to locking down a scholarship one must boast a combination of on ice-skill and an average of at least 70 per cent and an SAT score north of 1,500.
“Mitch is obviously well above that,” Poole said. “He’s going to have a lot of school options in terms of even the Ivy League schools, he’s in that range as well.”
And the rookie forward is putting himself in the best position possible to gain academic traction with reputed universities south of the border.
“He’s a really good student and really committed to that area and has done a really good job for us as a rookie,” Poole said. “He’s in really good shape in terms of being a student athlete in the NCAA. We’re excited about his future here and he has a bright future in the NCAA as well.”
Collett was one of 27 current players and alumni to earn a scholarship from the Friends of the Alberta Junior Hockey Society.
The Nickerson Family scholarship is awarded to honour the wife of Dr. Ken Nickerson, a long standing supporter of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
