By Britt Hart / USPHL.com
Born and raised in Québec, Canada, it comes as no surprise that Noah-David Dayan has longed for a career in hockey. Ever since Dayan was young, he has dreamed of playing NCAA Division 1 hockey in the United States. As Dayan grew older, he realized this dream could become reality and eventually moved to the States to take his hockey career to the next level.
“I’ve been away from home since the age 15 when I started my playing journey in the U.S. playing for the U15 Iowa Wild before starting my NCDC career at the age of 16 for the Jersey Hitmen,” said the ’03 defenseman.
Now in his fourth season at the NCDC level, Dayan has played for the Hitmen, the former Boston Bandits and Philadelphia Hockey Club, and he is currently with the Boston Advantage. Starting his junior hockey career at such a young age has helped Dayan identify the type of playing style that best suites him and grow into the player he knows he can be.
“If you would’ve asked me the question of what type of player I am four years ago coming into my first NCDC season, I would’ve told you I’m 100 percent an offensive defenseman. If you were to ask me the same question today, my answer that I’m a two-way defenseman,” said Dayan.
As time went on, Noah-David learned through trial and error what it was going to take to play at this high-intensity and fast paced level. With a current total of 68 games played in the NCDC, Dayan has found his groove and has been an impact player on the blue line for Boston this year.
“My game has evolved a lot into being a more versatile player and really understanding what type of game fits me best,” added Dayan. “This obviously wouldn’t be possible without all the great coaches I’ve had.”
Because of his veteran status and previous success, Boston Advantage head coach Dan Szerlip was more than happy about the addition of Dayan. The Advantage have been moving in the right direction, thanks to the depth Szerlip has created with his team and they hope to keep things rolling as the season continues.
“Dayan has already made a huge impact on our team in just three games. Coming in and putting up four points, one of which [was] a game winning goal, proves to us as an organization that he will be a key member of the D-core moving forward,” said Szerlip.
The feeling is mutual for both Dayan and the Advantage as the defenseman is already enjoying his teammates, new location and new facilities.
“I’ve loved my time so far with the Advantage. We have state of the art, brand new facilities, and the coaching staff, players and everyone around the organization has been extremely welcoming. I am looking forward to see what the rest of the season has in store.”
At the end of the day, Dayan still has one more year left of eligibility in his junior career and his goal still remains the same as the day he departed to play U15 hockey in Iowa.
“Personally, coming back to the NCDC for the fourth year in a row, being a veteran in the league, I’m hoping I can catch the eyes of Division 1 college coaches.”
Be on the lookout for Noah-David Dayan as he hopes to increase his overall point total of 21 points in 68 games. A recent North Division Defenseman of the Week, he only plans to keep that level of game going, proving why he should be on the Division 1 radar.
