Americans alumni AuCoin, Roberts take advantage of WHL Scholarship program at Carleton University
KENNEWICK — Parker AuCoin will graduate from Carleton University in Ottawa this coming spring with a business management degree.
A former Tri-City American, AuCoin, 25, is one of more than 300 former Western Hockey League players currently taking advantage of their WHL scholarship at more than 80 institutions across North America.
“I am more than grateful,” AuCoin said of the scholarship. “The package has been nothing but a seamless transition for me, and coming to Carleton is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.”
AuCoin said the scholarship program was an incentive when he signed to play with the Americans, but the importance of the program never hit him until he was ready to pursue a college education.
“When we are younger, we don’t realize how important it is,” he said. “I would recommend it to 100 out of 100 people, no question about.”
For each season played, WHL players are awarded a one-year scholarship that includes tuition, textbooks and compulsory fees. AuCoin plays for the Carleton University men’s hockey team, and a hockey scholarship helps him with his housing and meals.
Landon Roberts, also a former Tri-City American, is in his first year of university at Carleton University, studying mechanical engineering.
He too is appreciative of the scholarship package, but has a bit of advice for incoming WHL players.
“My contract, when I signed, is based on the province you are from,” said Roberts, who is from Manitoba. “My typical tuition at University at Manitoba would be about $6,100 a year, but they don’t have special programs like engineering. My program at Carleton is $11,000 a year. The (WHL) scholarship is very helpful, and I have other scholarships, which is extremely helpful.”
The WHL scholarship is available as long as the player does not sign a professional hockey contract in the NHL.
Players are allowed to play minor professional hockey (AHL, ECHL, etc.) before he must activate his scholarship, within 18 months of his junior eligibility ending.
While AuCoin will have his diploma in hand this spring, he still has aspirations of playing pro hockey.
“The best thing about this is I will be a better player at 25 than at 20,” He said. “I still have the ability to go pro. That’s what has made this experience so valuable. I am a few years wiser, and I haven’t missed out on anything because I used my education package. When I first went to the ECHL out of juniors, guys there said go to school and come back when you are older. I am set up better for life in general.”
Between classes and hockey, AuCoin is working in the golf industry, on the business side of things.
“I have the autonomy to try and live out a childhood dream of playing pro hockey and still have stuff to fall back on,” AuCoin said. “When you are in the WHL, hockey is your only job. Here, we still practice every day, but you still have school, you have to cook for yourself. You have to figure things out. I think I have done that.”
Roberts also plays on the Carleton men’s hockey team, which provides additional scholarship money. But unlike AuCoin, the WHL wasn’t always his first choice.
“If they didn’t have the scholarship, I might not have played,” he said. “I did very well in high school. I never thought the WHL was for me. I thought about playing NCAA. There’s a lot of exposure for both.”
North Dakota was high on his list of schools he would have liked to have played for, but after being drafted by the Americans and attending training camp, he had something thinking to do.
“My 17 year, I went to camp and they offered me a contract,” he said. “I thought about it and talked it over with my parents. If I didn’t have that scholarship as a backing, I wouldn’t have. I have no regrets going to the WHL.”
by Annie Fowler
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