Franklin Regional grad Jon Stickel leaves Hamilton hockey at head of the class

Jon Stickel stuck with a steadfast in-season rule: no “heavy-lifting study sessions” after practice.

If that meant the Franklin Regional graduate and hockey player at Division III Hamilton — a prestigious liberal arts college located in Clinton, N.Y. — hit the books at 7 a.m., Stickel knew what worked best for him.

And who could argue with his results?

The recent Hamilton graduate achieved things few at the school did before him. One of three team captains during his senior year for the Continentals, Stickel was valedictorian of his graduating class and was recipient of the James Soper Merrill Prize, chosen annually by faculty to someone “who in character and influence has best typified the highest ideals of the college.”

“Valedictorian was something I thought about after a few years, but you can only control yourself,” Stickel said. “Along the way, I figured just do my best and see what happens. Then, all of a sudden, I’m getting these accolades. It’s an honor, and it felt like it all came at once.”

The accolades began pouring in for Stickel, an economics/mathematics major who graduated with a 4.1 GPA and never earned less than an A-minus at Hamilton, before the hockey season when he was elected captain.

“That means a ton because it comes from your teammates,” Stickel said. “It’s something we vote on as a team, and to have that position is something I really cherish.”

Stickel said being a captain helped him earn an appreciation for the inner workings of a team. He became closer to coach Rob Haberbusch and his staff, and he flourished in his role as a defensive forward.

The 5-foot-11, 182-pound former junior hockey player for Pens Elite scored four goals with eight assists as a senior. His 12 points were tied for fifth on the Continentals, and Stickel scored the team’s final goal of the season in his 100th appearance, which came in the New England Small College Athletic Conference semifinals.

Hamilton finished the season 13-10-3, and he finished his career with 12 goals and 14 assists.

Points weren’t what Stickel worried about, however. His role was to block shots, dump the puck in and out of the zone and provide an aggressive forecheck.

He also organized community service projects for the team and even ran a charity game to benefit Wounded Warrior Project and Central N.Y. Associations for the Blind.

“He’s very smart. He knows what to do in almost every situation,” Haberbusch said. “He played in almost every situation. He started as a penalty killer. Then he was on the ice on the power play. He was on the ice when the other team pulled their goalie. He was on the ice when we pulled our goalie.”

Scoring was an added perk, and he did plenty of it in early February. A five-point weekend earned Stickel NESCAC men’s hockey player of the week honors.

“I was hoping for it because I wasn’t usually a guy who put up a lot of points, but this one weekend, the pucks were bouncing my way,” Stickel said. “To have a five-point weekend, it was really cool. I was pretty excited. That weekend was an absolute blast.”

That also accurately sums up Stickel’s four years.

A former outfielder on the Franklin Regional baseball team who said he was happy to see the Panthers advance in the PIAA Class 5A playoffs, Stickel was a key part of the first Hamilton team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

That came two years ago, and the Continentals advanced to the quarterfinals.

“It was my first time playing hockey for my school because I wasn’t able to play for my high school team given all the time it took playing juniors and baseball,” Stickel said. “That was honestly the coolest experience of my life. I never had that feeling before. On the way to class, students would congratulate you and even professors would say stuff. You’d actually see them at the game.”

Stickel hopes to continue with hockey, whether it’s joining a men’s league or finding a place to coach. But first, he plans on working as a retirement actuarial analyst in the Pittsburgh office of Willis Towers Watson.