DEVELOPING SITUATION: Princeton University men’s hockey player Brendan Gorman, left, controls the puck in a 2022 game. This summer, rising Tiger senior star forward Gorman skated in an NHL Development Camp for the two-time Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Brendan Gorman made trips to Nantucket and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this July.
While Gorman’s weekend in Cape Cod was for pleasure, the jaunt to South Florida was a business trip for the rising senior star forward on the Princeton University men’s hockey team as he skated in an NHL Development Camp with the two-time Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
The Panthers kept Gorman and his fellow campers busy. “They sent us a schedule of the whole week; you wake up in the morning and head over to the practice rink,” said the 6’0, 175-pound Gorman, a native of Arlington, Mass. “It was a walk from the hotel, then you eat food which was unbelievable. Then we would skate and lift in the mornings, back-to-back. In the afternoon we would do some sort of activity. One day we played pickleball. One day we went to a Miami Marlins game. One day we went to a children’s hospital and met with some sick kids, that was really cool.”
The Panthers utilized video to supplement the on-ice work.
“At the beginning of each skate you would watch a video of what they want you to focus on that day, whether it was puck protection, turning out of pressure,” said Gorman, who skated in development camps with the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks the previous two summers. “Each day there were specific drills that were meant to show a game-like scenario and the things they are teaching on video. It was just specific on-ice things like a move around a defenseman or using your body to protect the puck.”
As Gorman went through the drills, he found himself holding his own with the other skaters at camp who were a mix of college and professional players.
“You could see where you are at with all of those guys because there some really good players,” said Gorman. “You start off the week and you have never skated with these people before. I felt comfortable toward the end.”
While in Florida, Gorman got a sense of a key factor in the recent success of the Panthers, who reached the Stanley Cup final in 2023 before winning the Cup the last two seasons.
“Everybody is so close, whether it is the staff or the players,” said Gorman. “You see how they treat each other, and you can see how they win.”
This past winter, Gorman and his Princeton teammates developed a closeness with new head coach Ben Syer and his staff.
“Benny came in and it was very obvious that he had control of the locker room and all of the boys were bought in,” said Gorman. “With him, the biggest thing was that he had everybody wanting to be so dialed in and wanting to compete every day and be consistent with that to where it helped us win some big games.”
Gorman competed well last season, scoring 12 goals after totaling 11 in his first two campaigns combined as the Tigers went 12-15-3 overall. He credited hard work over the offseason and a lot of help from the Princeton coaching staff of Syer, Connor Jones, Tommy Davis, and Shane Talarico during the season as keys to his improvement.
“Throughout last summer I spent a lot of time on the ice,” said Gorman, who earned third-team All-ECAC Hockey and first-team All-Ivy League honors last season as he set career highs in goals (12), points (26), game-winning goals (3), power-play goals (2) and short-handed goals (2).
“Benny, Connor, Tommy, and Shaner also had a huge role in that. They were just teaching me and staying after with video. I think talking with those guys, just being around them, and trying to pick their brains was definitely helpful.”
Gorman looked to help his teammates, serving as an assistant captain last winter.
“It was awesome; it felt good but honestly it didn’t feel like anything changed,” said Gorman. “I just stayed the same. We have so many leaders and people in that locker room with a voice. It was definitely fun. It was a cool role.”
In taking a leadership role, he applied some lessons he learned from his older brother, Liam ’23, a former Tiger hockey star and team captain.
“When I was a freshman and he was a captain, we talked a bunch,” said Gorman. “I picked his brain a lot and talked to other guys like Pito [Walton] and Spencer [Kersten] too.”
For Gorman and his brother, playing at Princeton is adding to a family tradition as their father, Sean, was a four-year letterwinner for the Tigers, captaining the 1990-91 team while earning second-team All-Ivy honors.
“Even growing up, Liam and I would be wearing Princeton shirts all of the time,” said Gorman, who is now the family scoring leader at Princeton with 69 points on 23 goals and 46 assists while Liam totaled 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) and Sean ended with 23 points (5 goals, 18 assists). “It was our dream school, we wanted to go to Princeton. Going there and playing together and being in the same community was awesome.
As Gorman has gone through his Tiger career, he views his teammates as a second family.
“I think one thing is that you are so close here,” said Gorman. “You grind it out together, whether it is school or hockey. You develop those bonds where you know each other so well.”
In the wake of his experience with the Panthers, Gorman will be grinding it out over the rest of the summer.
“I skate in Boston in the mornings with a skills coach,” said Gorman. “I lift and skate sometimes in the afternoon in a group skating. It is four, five times a week skating and lifting.”
Looking ahead to his senior campaign, Gorman believes he and his teammates can lift Princeton to a big winter.
“My goal is to help the team win games as much as I can,” said Gorman. “It is so exciting. Coach has one year under his belt and the guys feel really confident in him and the players we have on the team. We have some great players coming in. I think it should be a great year. Hopefully it leads to success.”