On a Hockey Scholarship

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

We are proud to congratulate Bridgedale Academy grad Jake Delaney for his recent commitment to attend and play his NCAA D1 college hockey at Miami of Ohio. 

The Redhawks compete in the super-competitive National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) alongside perennial powerhouse programs like Denver, North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth.

Jake a 6’1” 205 lb left-shooting defenseman, is a resident of Glen Ellyn, IL. He and his twin brother Nick (who has had his own hockey success recently) attended Bridgedale for four (4) years. 

Jake spent most of last season with the Chicago Fury U18s before being called up to the Janesville (WI) Jets of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where he joined fellow Bridgedale grad defensemen Gunnar Williams and Tyler Pfister. 

Jake made an immediate impact at Janesville, impressing the coaches to such a degree that they tendered him for the 2023-24 season. In addition, he was drafted by the Tri-City Storm in this year’s USHL Phase II draft. 

He will play at least one more year of junior hockey before enrolling at Miami.

”Jake personifies what hard work and determination can do for a youngster. He has blossomed into an outstanding player," said Bridgedale Headmaster Mike McPartlin. 

“It’s funny. When he was a bantam, most coaches wouldn’t have given Jake much of a chance to ever make a AAA team, much less be playing junior hockey and earning a Division 1 scholarship.

"All he did was believe in himself and keep on working. And when Fury Midget Coach Al Dorich gave Jake his opportunity, he obviously made the most of it,” added McPartlin.

(Click to see Bridgedale's college commitments.)

“The Delaney brothers were Bridgedale’s first 4-year student-athletes,"  said McPartlin. "And, because they were what we'd call late bloomers, they didn’t always get the proper respect they deserved.

“But no one could ever question their work ethic and determination. And so it’s all that much more rewarding to see them both excel as they have.”

“We loved having Jake and Nick at Bridgedale," said Christina Di Pauli, Bridgedale's Academic Dean. “I remember their 8th grade graduation ceremony, and thinking at the time how strange it was going to be that, after four years, they weren't going to be with us the next year.”

“But we’ve stayed in touch with both boys and their family and are super-excited for them both.”

(Jake, on the right, and twin brother Nick are pictured to the right on their first day of 8th grade at Bridgedale.)

Congratulations to Jake (and his parents Sean and Nicole) on his commitment to the Miami of Ohio.

(Click to see Bridgedale's college commitments.)

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Bridgedale Academy is now accepting transfers for the 2022-23 School Year. 

Bridgedale Academy is an all-boys school for athletes, a prep school for serious youth hockey players. We offer grades 5 through 8 and in addition to our winning combination of athletics and academics, we focus on leadership training. We use a classical academic curriculum and our graduates go on to attend some of the most prestigious high schools in the country, including Lake Forest Academy, Culver Military Academy, Shattuck St. Mary’s, Northwood School, Benet Academy, Fenwick Prep, St. Ignatius Prep, Marmion Academy, St. Francis, Latin School and Providence Catholic. We pride ourselves on being the top youth hockey prep school in the nation. Twenty-three (23) of our former or current students have already received their NCAA Division 1 college hockey commitments. Seven (7) of our former students have competed for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Four (4) of our grads have already signed their initial NHL contracts. Several are now playing NCAA D1 college hockey. Others are now playing D3 college hockey. More still are playing junior hockey, including in the OHL, the USHL and the NAHL.