Oscar Rosen '23 Recruiting Profile

As an honor student with a 4.47 GPA I am told that, what I lack in size, I make up for in hockey IQ. A coach (not mine) at the recent USPHL Tampa Bay Hub City 2021 told me that is why I received honorable mention for the Hub City All-Star team. He said that because of my hockey intelligence, I am always in the right place at the right time. I think that’s why that same coach recently called me up to play a game at the Premier level. And, as I have been playing my entire career against players who are older and bigger than me, I have learned to hold my own physically. 

I spent most of my earlier years playing A and B level hockey. But later on, I decided that I wanted to play at the elite level. I worked very hard to go from B level hockey to AAA in a matter of a couple years. Not only does my hockey IQ get me noticed by coaches, but so does the work ethic that got me to make that jump. At Townshend Hockey Camp, where I go every summer to train, I was asked to be part of the Beat Boris Club, an exclusive club for the hardest workers at the camp. I wasn’t just recognized at Townshend Hockey,  I was also recently named to the USA u18 Team for the 2022 Maccabiah World Games to take place this summer in Israel. I'm looking forward to representing my country at the third largest global sports event behind the Olympics and FIFA World Cup. I push myself hard every year, on and off the ice, to reach my goal of playing elite collegiate hockey at a school with strong academics.

Throughout my 12 years of hockey, I have played every position (including goalie), only recently becoming a forward. As a center, I am able to draw on my experience from the other positions I have played. I think one of the most important roles for a center is to act like the third defenseman. My time on defense has helped me act in that role. I am just as excited to help stop the other team from scoring as I am when we score. And, my two years as a goalie have given me a really good sense of the ice. I always know where a goalie doesn’t want me.

In college, I’d like to study physics/astrophysics and/or engineering. I play guitar, bass, and double bass and am a section leader in the orchestra at my school. I am also in the physics club in which we recently won the NJ Physics Olympiad. When time allows, I volunteer for NJ Dare Devils (a differently-abled hockey team) and Hockey NJ (a hockey program for underprivileged youth). I have spent the last two summers volunteering on a farm. I really love caring for the animals and working so hard - I now know where the weight-lifting term “farmer carries” comes from! I also consider myself a compassionate and strong leader. Which is why I am currently an Alternate Captain for both my Jersey Hitmen team and my Montclair High School team, and why I helped to coach my high school this year after breaking my hand. Upon my graduation from middle school, I was the one student chosen by the school administration out of 250 students for the Kevin Salters Award for Commitment to Social Issues and Community Service – a school-wide award for strong leadership and character.

PLEASE NOTE: During the 2021-2022 season, I was out with a broken hand for 8 weeks from November 21 to January 21.