Early in March, Zack Conner ‘25 and Evan Mitchell ‘25 took off their Chatham University hockey jerseys for the final time.
The sadness following the conclusion of their college hockey careers quickly became joy as they both fulfilled their childhood dreams of becoming professional hockey players. Conner and Mitchell became the tenth and eleventh Chatham hockey alumni to sign professional hockey contracts and their time as Cougars made their jump to the pros as seamless as possible.
“Chatham provides not only a strong academic experience but also a pathway for players to achieve their goal of playing professional hockey,” Head coach Michael Gershon said.
“Zack and Evan signing professional contracts is a tremendous accomplishment for them and a proud moment for our program.”
Conner signed his contract with the Huntsville Havoc in the Southern Professional Hockey League, while Mitchell signed with the Port Huron Prowers in the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
“It’s something that you want to do when you put your skates on for the first time, and now that I’m doing it, it’s just, it’s awesome,” Mitchell said. “When the opportunity came up, I was really excited, and after I talked it over with my family it was something I really wanted to pursue.”
The jump to professional hockey can be difficult with the pressure of your job being on the line every single game, but Gershon strives to run his program like professional teams do to prepare his players for the next level.
“We operate this program as professionally as possible, and I believe our players are as prepared for professional hockey as anyone on their team,” Gershon said. “Our focus is on continuous improvement—pushing to get better every day and embracing the competitive mindset required to earn your spot on the team and in the lineup on a daily basis.”
The day-to-day life of a Chatham hockey player sees daily practice, team workouts, meetings and film reviews, just like Conner and Mitchell are doing now in the pros.
“I think that my time at Chatham really helped me grow into a different player than I was when I got there,” Conner said. “They gave me opportunities and the coaching staff would always take the time to watch videos or work on stuff with me and also help me grow my confidence in my game.”
Conner was the captain of the men’s hockey team since his junior year and is leaning on his on and off-the-ice experiences as a Cougar in his first few weeks of professional hockey.
“It’s been an adjustment in terms of speed, size, physicality. But I think I’ve been adjusting pretty well and kind of just been, and taking it day by day,” Conner said. “I think that being a captain [at Chatham] helped me realize that all you really want to do is just try to help the captains and the older guys whenever you can. Whether that’s packing the bus, taking stuff up, just kind of like helping make their life easier.”
Granted, not every aspect of being a professional hockey player has come naturally for the recent graduates.
“I finally got my first paycheck from playing hockey,” Conner said. “It’s definitely been different. I didn’t really know what to do. I was like, ‘Great you guys are actually paying me to do this.’”
Mitchell’s first pro game for Port Huron saw him start alongside fellow Chatham hockey alumni Tristian Simm ‘22 and played that first game against his former teammate, goalie Ricardo Gonzalez ‘23.
Having former teammates playing pro hockey has eased some of the nerves of joining a new team.
“Obviously it was a little different playing against [Gonzalez],” Mitchell said. “I was able to talk to him before the game and catch up a little bit. So it was good to see him.”
Mitchell’s first game was special to him due to playing with old friends, but also because he got to do it in front of family. His parents and girlfriend took the four-hour drive from Mitchell’s hometown in Ohio to see one of the biggest milestone moments in his life.
“They were here and they got to see my rookie lap, me starting,” he said. “They were able to experience it all with me, and that’s just really important for me and exciting. And it means a lot just for them to be there and look up in the stands and see them supporting me and just being really proud. It was awesome.”
The Chatham men’s ice hockey program just concluded its eighth year, and having players go on to play in the professional ranks will help the team continue to be better in the future.
“Very few players get this opportunity, and it speaks to the type of student-athletes we are recruiting—those who want to help build Chatham men’s ice hockey into a top program while preparing for the next level,” Gershon said. “The more players who move on to professional hockey, the stronger our program becomes.”
Just because Conner and Mitchell are away from Chatham doesn’t mean they are done with their schoolwork. Both are finishing their degrees remotely this semester, and, depending on their team’s playoff runs, will be walking during commencement.
“My professors have been awesome,” Mitchell said. “Professor [William] Mooney and Professor [Melanie] Ansell they were really, really great in helping me be able to do this and chase my dreams. I just talked to them, and they were able to work it out to where I can continue doing school while I’m here. They’ve been emailing me and keeping me up to date, telling me good luck for the weekends and everything, and there wasn’t even really a question of like, if I was going to be able to do this or not. I went to them. They said, ‘You have a really exciting opportunity, go for it.’”
