(Photo courtesy of Cornell Athletics)
Fans
of NHL players can easily point out that some superstars were just born to play
hockey. In other cases, family history can be a harbinger of success, or at
least an indicator of potential.
For
Cornell Big Red sophomore forward Beau Starrett, it is a mixture of both.
Starrett
has ties across all of college hockey in his immediate family. As the youngest
of four brothers, he benefited from growing up in a household where a trip to a
rink was routine.
“Having
three brothers play hockey is pretty rare,” Starrett admitted in an interview
with Pucks and Recreation. “It was
always something big in our family, whether it was hockey clinics or games. It
was always good to have brothers to look up to and push me to do better.”
Starrett’s
siblings can write quite an interesting hockey story. His oldest brother, Pete,
played at Harvard from 2008 to 2012, while Troy, the second-oldest, was a
captain at Babson College’s Division III program. Shane Starrett is currently a
sophomore goaltender playing for the Air Force Academy.
“It
is funny, because we always have a little friendly competition between each
other to help us perform,” laughed Beau. “We almost have a full line of hockey
players with two forwards, a defenseman and a goalie.”
Beyond
the friendly competition, Starrett had multiple family members he could model
his game after.
“Growing
up, I remember attending my older brothers’ games,” said Starrett. “I remember
going to Harvard-versus-Cornell and feeling the electric atmosphere during that
game. I knew that Cornell had a great program and it has been a good journey
getting to this point.”
Starrett,
who battled back from two long-term injuries in as many seasons in 2014-15 and
2015-16: “I just remember who and what motivates me to do better.” (Photo
courtesy of Cornell Athletics)
Finding his own
way
That
journey has not always been easy. You could say that being the youngest sibling
in a hockey family imposes immense pressure to perform, but Beau has had to
face many challenges in his playing career, the most significant of which have
been injuries.
One
ailment limited him to just seven games in his final season with the South Shore
Kings of the USPHL. Another one early last season only allowed him to play 15
games for Cornell.
“I
view the injuries as a speed bump,” said Starrett. “They have motivated me to
do whatever it takes to overcome challenges.”
Starrett’s
desire to push past these injuries and focus on hockey has helped enable the
Cornell team to get off to a quick start this season. With a goal in this past
Friday’s victory over Miami, Starrett helped the Big Red push a winning streak
to four games.
Starrett
credits his hockey family for his ability to supersede any future challenges
that come his way.
“I
just remember who and what motivates me to do better,” said Starrett, who hopes
to play for the Chicago Blackhawks after they selected him in the 2014 NHL
Draft. He knows that he could be presented with a possibility that could be
even rarer than having three older hockey-playing brothers who play hockey, and
that is a playing career in the professional ranks.
“Peter
works as a financial consultant and Troy works in wealth management,” said
Starrett about his brothers’ success outside the rink. “However, I would like
to keep playing for as long as possible. It is tough to get away from the
hockey world.”
- John Morton
