SHERWOOD PARK, AB – The Sherwood Park Crusaders are pleased to announce that forward Ryan Cox has committed to Niagara University of the NCAA.
“I am extremely excited to commit to Niagara University,” said Cox on the commitment. “It has been a dream of mine for a long time to receive a scolarship to play division one hockey in the NCAA, and it feels great to make it happen. I want to thank my family, friends, coaches, teammates and anyone who has supported me along the way; it wouldn't have been possible without those people in my life”.
Cox, a '98 forward, finished the 2017/2018 season tied with teammate Dylan Stewart as the Crusaders leading scorer and as a top 10 scorer in the AJHL. The 5'11 winger totalled 38 goals and 29 assists on the season, with 30 of those goals coming in a Crusaders uniform following a blockbuster trade in late October with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
Cox was also able to match his on-ice successes with off ice success, being named to the inaugural Inter Pipeline AJHL All-Academic Team. Players nominated for the team are deemed to have a commendable dedication to their studies at either the high school or post-secondary level, along with a grade score reflective of their academic success. These players demonstrate the qualities of a strong student-athlete working to further their athletic and academic pursuit.
“When we traded for Ryan, we thought that we were getting a great kid who could score a ton of goals; boy, did we get that,” said Crusaders general manager Kyle Chase. “We were pretty fortunate to have a guy like that in the lineup, and at the end of the day our job is to push our players on to post-secondary. We wish Ryan all the best”.
The commitment marks the third scholarship awarded to a Crusaders player this season, as both Ty Readman (NMU) and Dylan Stewart (NAIT) will be heading to their respective post-secondary institutions this fall. In addition, defenceman Ben McLeod was the inaugural recipient of the Unified Valve Group Scholarship. The scholarship was created to recognize one current or former AJHL athlete who best demonstrates the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey with a $1,000 scholarship towards their post-secondary education.
The entire Crusaders organization would like to congratulate Ryan on his success both on and off the ice, and wishes him best of luck in his athletic and academic future.