Some of Brayden Schuurman’s oldest memories of being a hockey player and fan include sneaking out of his room past bedtime to watch the Vancouver Canucks game his dad had on the TV. 

Last weekend, Schuurman was on the TV scoring a goal and recording an assist in Colorado College hockey’s season-opening 4-2 win over then-10th-ranked UConn. 

The freshman center, out of Abbotsford, British Columbia, made an immediate impact on the ice Oct. 3, alongside his linemates fellow freshman Brandon Lisowsky and junior assistant captain Drew Montgomery. 

According ot CC coach Kris Mayotte, the trio’s play has been impactful since the preseason. 

“We all work really hard and we all bring something different, but I think ultimately, the pace that we play at, the communication throughout practices over these first couple weeks has been really huge. And then obviously I think we all really like playing with each other so that contributes to some success as well,” Schuurman said. 

When asked about the success of the line on Friday, Montgomery brought up the experience each of his linemates have from playing in the Canadian Hockey League. 

Schuurman and Lisowksy are two of six new players on CC’s roster from the Western Hockey League, one of three leagues that make up the Canadian Hockey League. Last November, the NCAA Division-1 Council made CHL players eligible to play college hockey for the first time. According to various reports, more than 300 players from the CHL are now skating in the 63-team college hockey world.

“I think it’s an unbelievable thing and when it happened, I think all of us were wondering why it didn’t happen earlier,” Schuurman said. “We were all super excited for the opportunity that the NCAA had for us CHL players. So I think for me, it’s part of my development, it’s a great opportunity for me to come here and play a few years to develop my game and obviously, go to school as well.” 

College hockey is bigger, faster, and older than the CHL, Schuurman said. It provides the perfect opportunity for the freshman center to sharpen his skills. He came to CC in part to play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which has dominated as college hockey’s best conference, boasting seven of the last nine NCAA Championships with four different NCHC teams climbing to the top of the college hockey mountain since 2016. The conference has sent more than 110 players to the NHL, including 65 last season.

But the NCHC also offers the opportunity for Schuurman to do what he loves most in the sport, to win and win at a high level. 

“I love winning. Winning’s up there. Kind of at every level that’s something you want to do,” he said with a smile. 

Two years ago, he did just that in the WHL. He was top-six in scoring for the Moose Jaw Warriors as the team took the Ed Chynoweth Cup, the trophy awarded to the WHL playoff champions. 

Winning a championship taught Schuurman a thing or two about playing in high-pressure moments and about dealing with adversity. 

“I think every big game you play in you gain a little bit more experience. I think that playoff run was huge for my development and just seeing how you handle adversity, how you handle pressure, how you handle big moments,” he said.  “I thought I did really well with it, and you grow as a player in that area as you get put into more and more and more of those situations.”

He faced one of those situations to begin his collegiate career as CC gave up the first goal of the season just 52 seconds into the team’s season opener against UConn. Schuurman and the Tigers weren’t fazed. The freshman took part in the next two goals in the game, earning an assist to sophomore assistant captain Owen Beckner on the Tigers’ first score and netting the go-ahead goal in the second period.

“We know what we have in our dressing room, we know what we have in our team. Something that happens in the first minute is not going to define any part of us, whether it’s that game, next game, all season,” he said. “You can’t predict moments like that, but you just have to deal with them and move on.”