Daniel Tikhonov '18 Recruiting Profile

When I started playing hockey at the age of 9, I thought to myself, "How is it possible to be like the pros? To even skate so fast, and shoot so good? Will I ever be that good in my life?". Now that I'm turning 16, I can admit that times have changed... a lot. From being a clumsy skater who, well, didn't even know how to do crossovers, I am now a second year Midget 16AA player looking for a future in life, with hockey.

My dream is to go off, into a good college, and play ice hockey for, at least a decent team. Since I ever started playing travel in Bantams, I have always wanted a team that would go off into states, or nationals. Later next season, my Bantam team made it to State championships. Scoring 12 goals that year, I began to learn quicker, faster, and was getting more attention from my coaches. My first Midget 16U season, I made Wildcats AA.

Our first Midget season was pretty tough, since, the league at that time was pretty competitive. As a 14 year old turning 15, playing so many 16 year old kids was a tough, but a good experience. Although many now play AAA, Juniors, or for other teams, my first season playing AA was challenging. I finished with 3 goals that season, second most out of my team.

During this year (My second year in Midget AA level) I hope to improve so that I can play AAA during 18's. I hope to become more skilled, as well as becoming a stronger person. I look for a team with good statistics, whether it be a DIV 1, or DIV 3, I hope to play for teams with a good coach, and good work ethic. I hope to keep getting better and better as my hockey years progress. I love playing forward, and have always been a good skater with the puck. But that still doesn't mean I have nothing to work on.

As a hockey player, I always stride for the best. I like to work on things that I have trouble on during practices. I enjoy improving. One of my favorite things about the sport, is that its active. Unlike Soccer, where you stand around waiting for a ball, or Football, when all you do is throw, hit, throw, hit, hockey is a sport when your mind, your body, and your skills come together. 

My goals in hockey is to play AAA in my 18U season, or play one to two in Juniors. I hope to play in the NAHL, or another Canadian junior league, unless I get recruited to play hockey in college. I'm hoping on playing in a DIV 3 or 1 college, but no where lower.

My plan is to major in Architecture and Design. I'm currently looking at many colleges out there, but my hope is that I will go somewhere closer to California. Although, going to a college back east would be very exciting, and will definitely shape many experiences for me.

I am looking for any opportunities that coaches have too offer for me. I love communication with people and seeing what they have to say about myself as a person, and a hockey player.