Caleb Price Commits to Arizona State

Caleb Price has committed to Arizona State for the 2020-2021 season. He was described in our NCDC Jr. Bruins Shootout Report as a “Slick, left-shot defensemen that skates well. A balanced stride and an athletic frame allow him to take chances and transition from offense to defense seamlessly.” He received a high grade in that report and has also been noted for his vision, awareness, and smooth hands.

Caleb started his hockey career in his home state of New Hampshire, playing for a few local teams:

“My grandfather introduced hockey to me at the age of 5. [He] is the biggest influence in my hockey career, he used to play and coach so he knows a lot about the game. He is a huge reason I am the hockey player I am today. I can still remember my first skate at 5. Every kid on the ice could skate pretty well and I couldn’t even stand up. After a couple of skates, it has been all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

After starting with the NH Jr Monarchs, he played u16 and u18 with the Northern Cyclones and spent a year in the NCDC. He tells us about his experience with the organization:

“My 3 seasons with the Cyclones were great. I was very small at the age of 15 but I never let it stop me and kept working hard. Frank O’Connor was a big help with my success over the years. He believed in me and pushed me to be better every day.”

Taking us through his NCAA recruitment process:

“I had a few offers and was talking to a good amount of schools before Arizona. The few I was really considering were Union and Bentley.” And his decision to commit to Arizona State, “I went out to Arizona in December for my visit. After meeting all the coaches and seeing the school I knew it was where I wanted to go right away. My family was great through this whole process. They believed in me and told me they would support me wherever I ended up.”

This past season Caleb played for a few different junior teams. Starting out in the NAHL with the Jamestown Rebels, then moving to the Sioux Falls Stampede and Tri-City Storm in the USHL:

“This year was a little crazy playing for 3 different teams. I met some amazing people throughout this experience. I was in Jamestown for most of the year and cannot thank my coaches and teammates enough for making it a great year. The coaches would help me every day, whether it was staying on the ice after practice for an hour or going over video. I really took my game to a new level this season and I cannot thank Coach Coombs and Coach Brown enough.”

After spending most of his career playing in New England, he spoke about moving across the country to play:

“After living away from home this past year, I feel great about spending my college years in Arizona. It was not the place I thought I would end up, being from the east coast, but I’m happy the way everything worked out.”

With a full season left before going to college, he talks about how he plans to prepare:

“The biggest challenge I have faced in my career has been my size. I have always been told I was too small or weak. Over the years I have focused on getting stronger and using my skating to my advantage.  All you can do is keep working hard and prove those people wrong. My biggest goal is to get stronger before I go to college. I know this next year will be big for me so I’m going to take every opportunity to improve my game so I am ready for the next level.”

Caleb plans to get a business degree at Arizona State. This past season for Caleb played in 55 games with the Jamestown Rebels. He accumulated 21 points off of 4 goals and 17 assists.

 

Photo credit: Hickling Images