Former Junior Bruin Named to 2023-24 Hockey East All-Academic Team
By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
It’s written right there for all UConn men’s hockey players to clearly see, in their locker room.
“How you do anything is how you do everything.”
These are words that the Huskies live by, every moment of their lives as an NCAA hockey player. Former Boston Junior Bruins NCDC forward Oliver Flynn certainly takes these words to heart. They helped him push himself both on the ice and in the classroom to become a Hockey East Association All-Academic Team selection.
“It’s a statement that our team goes by,” said Flynn. “It’s another way of saying ‘If you expect to do well on the ice, take care of what is happening off the ice as well.’”
In his first full academic year at UConn, Flynn put up an incredible 3.9 grade point average, and he’s excited for his future both on the ice and in the classroom on the sports-rich campus in Storrs, Conn.
“I think I’m going to try to get into the UConn Business School at the end of my sophomore year, and then explore some different concentrations there,” said Flynn.
Flynn is coming off a first year for the Huskies that saw him play in 23 games and register a goal and an assist. It was a great introduction to NCAA Division I hockey for the native of Wolcott, Conn.
“For first year, my role on the team was more of just doing what I could do to help the team win. I’d say my game is that of a 200-foot power forward. I like to get in on the forecheck, play very physically and take pride in the defensive side of the game,” said Flynn. “I’m excited for next year and what it holds for our whole team.”
When Flynn joined the Boston Junior Bruins in 2020-21, he was already committed to his home state’s flagship university.
“UConn was always a place I wanted to go, so when I committed there, it was really a dream come true,” he added.
During that 2020-21 season, Flynn joined the Junior Bruins for the opportunity to play a full season of Tier II hockey during the “COVID year” when few other leagues were operating. The NCDC put together the novel Hub City Tampa event, moving the full league to Florida and they were able to complete their full season within a closed community system. Players were only able to move between the resort where they lived and the ice rinks where they played.
“That was a very different experience. I was grateful to find a spot with the Junior Bruins and we went to Hub City Tampa. There, we had a game every other day, there was beautiful weather and we were able to room with teammates,” said Flynn. “I still talk to a lot of kids from that team, including two Junior Bruins teammates who are on the UConn team with me, Jack Pascucci and Owen Simpson.”
Flynn posted 17 points in 31 regular season games, and three points in six games as the Junior Bruins made the NCDC semifinals in 2021. He remembers well the high intensity of the overall NCDC game, in which he played alongside and went against players who went on to be selected in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and dozens of NCAA Division I recruits.
“With my teammates around me, I had to step up my game and get faster, stronger and think the game at a higher level, which really pushed my development,” Flynn added.
From the Junior Bruins, Flynn enjoyed a full season with the Loomis Chaffee School in 2021-22, followed by a USHL season in 2022-23 split between the Waterloo Black Hawks and Madison Capitols. Now a full-time NCAA player, he knows that he has to keep putting in the work to become even better for his team. Because, as it says in that locker room, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
“The biggest part for me last year was the adjustment from juniors to Hockey East, where it’s definitely a lot faster than people think,” Flynn said. “For me, it’s getting faster off the ice so that I’m up to speed and really honing in on being a guy my team can count on, and produce whatever is needed for the Huskies.”
The NCDC congratulates Oliver Flynn on his Hockey East All-Academic Team selection and his career thus far at the University of Connecticut.
