By Alexis Dempoulos
For defenseman Joose Pesonen, growing up and playing hockey in Finland was a treat and with the help of hard work and consistency, he has earned himself an NCAA Division 1 commitment to Yale University.
Pesonen played for KalPa U20 in Finland a season ago, playing in 37 games and he credits them for making him a strong player. He has recently joined the defending Dineen Cup Champion South Shore Kings in the NCDC under head coach Tyler Holske, and he is excited to start his journey here before joining Yale for the 2025-26 season.
“The Finnish League made me the player I am today so without it I would not have the awesome opportunity to play for Yale and the South Shore Kings,” said Pesonen.
Yale was always on Pesonen’s radar and he started communicating with them two years ago. He had always envisioned himself attending Yale and the fact that he can get an exceptional education and play Division 1 hockey made committing to Yale an easy decision. Pesonen plans on majoring in economics and is excited to get there next year.
“From a hockey perspective I loved the facilities and just the opportunity to play for the school,” said Pesonen. “Yale is unreal. Also, I really like Yale’s coaching staff. The amount of help they have already given to me is out of this world. It was also an easy decision academically. It’s awesome to go to a school that is so highly respected all around the world.”
For Pesonen, the coaching staff and the education leaned heavily into his decision, but one of the main reasons for wanting to commit to Yale was being able to share the ice with his older brother Iisai, who is a sophomore forward with the Bulldogs.
“Yale’s campus is awesome,” said Pesonen. “Everything is so well organized and the history behind it is just unbelievable. But, still the biggest reason why I decided to go Yale was the people. Everyone I met there were really great people. My older brother is also playing at Yale and that was a huge thing for me because it’s always really special to play with your brother.”
Pesonen has plenty of things he wants to continue to work on this season with the South Shore Kings before he heads to Yale.
“In Europe, the ice is bigger so I want to get used to the smaller ice here,” said Pesonen. “I also want to improve my explosiveness on the ice.”
With his Division 1 commitment already secured, Pesonen is excited to showcase his skills this season with the South Shore Kings. Though he has only been here for a short time and only has two games under his belt, the team has made him feel like he’s home.
“I have been here only for a week but so far I really like it here,” said Pesonen. “I feel that we have a very good team and it was just really easy to come here. We have really good quality training on and off the ice. The training facilities are really awesome. I signed to the South Shore Kings because Yale’s coaching staff knew the people here and they said that it’s a really good place to be.”
As a defenseman, Pesonen is big on playing a consistent game and he hopes to continue that during his journey in the NCDC.
“As far as being on the ice as a defenseman, I think I’m good near the boards pinning guys,” said Pesonen. “Also I play pretty consistently all the time, which helps with my game. I’m really excited to play for the South Shore Kings and I want to have a good season without injuries. The team perspective is that we want to win championships.”
The NCDC congratulates Joose Pesonen, his family, the South Shore Kings and Yale University for his commitment.
