By Alexis Demopoulos
Forward Nolan Davis always had a vision of playing college hockey at his dream school. With the help of the Boston Jr. Rangers, and all his hard work over the years, he has earned himself an NCAA Division II commitment. Davis has committed to Saint Anselm College of the Northeast-10 Conference, the nation’s only NCAA Division II hockey conference, for the 2025-26 season.
After a great prep school career playing at Proctor Academy, Davis decided to take his talents to the Boston Jr. Rangers for the 2024-25 season and he is fitting in quite nicely. In 16 games since joining the team in December, Davis has four goals and an assist.
“The BJR organization has been great to me so far and the facilities are very high quality,” said the Roswell, Ga., native. “What made me decide to join the team was my good friend and roommate at Proctor Academy being the current captain of the team and he spoke very highly of the group, so I just trusted his word and it has really paid off. The group has been outstanding and it just makes going to the rink every day that much better.”
Davis wanted to stay in New England to play college hockey, so the NCDC was the perfect place for him to get recruited.
“I think just the proximity to all of the schools in the New England area makes it very easy to get eyes on players in person,” said Davis. “It makes the process of touring schools very easy as most are just a few hours drive.”
Davis began talking to Saint Anselm Head Coach Larry Rocha back when he was playing at Proctor, but the conversations really took off when he joined the Boston Jr. Rangers. Davis said the coaching staff at Saint Anselm really liked “my willingness to do whatever to be a part of the program as well as my size for the physicality of college hockey.”
Saint Anselm has always been the choice for Davis as both of his parents attended the school, with his dad Greg playing college hockey. His sister Lucy is currently a junior at St. Anselm, where she plays lacrosse.
“The family ties made it a dream landing spot for me, as well as the facilities and the rink being top tier,” said Davis. “I have gone multiple times and just fell in love with the campus and felt as though it would be a perfect fit for myself.”
Davis’ size has always been a key part to his game and he uses that to set a physical tone each time he takes the ice. Everything gets amped up once you get to the college level, so Davis is continuing to work hard and finish out this season strong.
“I think that in making the jump to college everything needs to be elevated,” said Davis. “However, I aim to stick to keeping things simple and just playing my role in order to help the team’s future success.”
Though the Jr. Rangers have struggled a bit at times this season, Davis is hopeful his team can string together some big wins and make a playoff push.
“The group’s biggest goal is finishing the year on a high note and making a big push for a playoff spot,” said Davis. “I feel as though we are right there and with tuning up a few key details, as well as a bounce here or there, this group could have a real good last push to achieve our goal of playing into April.”
The NCDC congratulates Nolan Davis, his family, the Boston Jr. Rangers and Saint Anselm College for his commitment.
