Raaymakers Hopes To Continue Winning Ways With StFX
Joseph Raaymakers makes a save with the OHL’s London Knights – Photo by Terry Wilson/ OHL Images
“Goal this season is to win a National Championship,” said Raaymakers, who spent last season with the London Knights, an organization, which knows winning well.
“I think we have a very good opportunity with the team here. Long term, my goal is to get my degree and be a good student. As well as having a pro mindset day in and day out coming into the rink and getting better and giving the team a chance to win every night.”
Raaymakers is joining a team that finished third in the AUS last season with a 15-13-2 record. He chose StFX for a variety of reasons, both on and off the ice.
“Finding the right university and hockey program for me was a very tough. I loved all my recruiting trips and I don’t have anything negative to say towards the other schools that I was looking at,” explained Raaymakers. “When I came to St.FX in May, I just had a feeling. I could picture myself coming here and it just felt right. Leaving from that trip I knew I wanted to be here. So I had to go with my gut.”
Although his school of choice was not a difficult decision, the choice to go to school, instead of turning professional immediately was not as simple. Raaymakers, who had a successful 4-year OHL career, which included multiple NHL tryouts and a stint playing pro in the ECHL, had plenty of interest from many avenues.
“It was a tough decision to either turn pro right away or go to school first,” Raaymakers explained.
“Long term it made the most sense to get a degree first. I still plan on playing pro for a long time after I get my degree at school. It’s always been a dream of mine. It gives me something to fall back on once I retire from hockey. This still gives me the opportunity to play at a high level with teammates that have the goal in mind to go pro but also be a good student and get the degree.”