Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the men's hockey team. This is the second installment, featuring forward Mitch Vanderlaan. Vanderlaan becomes the first Big Red player from New Brunswick in 19 years. He discusses his road to college hockey, his lengthy journey to play Junior A hockey and the unique distinction he earned while competing on the rowing team in prep school.

Q: From out east to out west to somewhere in between, how is Ithaca treating you so far?
A: Ithaca's been great so far. I got settled in pretty quick. It helps that there a lot of guys here helping me out. It's been good. Definitely feel welcome here.

Q: As far as I can tell, you're the third New Brunswicker we've had play at Cornell (Tony Bergin '97 and Bruce Fauley '91) were the others. At what point did U.S. college hockey come up on your radar?
A: I'd probably have to say my Grade 10 year, when I moved to prep school and started playing there is when I started thinking about playing college hockey as opposed to playing in junior up in Canada.

Q: Is there anyone who kind of helped you with that thinking? Because I feel like up there — and correct me if I'm wrong — that all the talk is about the Quebec (major junior) league.
A: Yeah, just about everybody from the Maritimes tries to go to the Quebec league, and if they don't make it then they just play Junior A. So there's not a lot of people left who are eligible to play in college up there. So for me, I was a smaller kid growing up, so there were some talks about it. But there was nothing that stood out. It was just something that was always in the back of my mind. So I guess when I got to prep school, that's when I kind of decided.

Q: So then you get to prep school, Rothesay Netherwood School, and the numbers kind of speak for themselves. You're putting up huge numbers there, more than 100 points in your last season. Did you have a lot of schools kind of getting in touch with you?
A: I never really started getting recruited until my Grade 12 year. I spent a couple years there. Got a little bit of interest my Grade 11 year, but it was my Grade 12 year when I started getting more. It was right around Christmas time that year that I first heard from Cornell and spoke with Topher. I committed toward the end of March 2013.

Q: So what about Cornell made you decide that this was the right place for you?
A: I went on a lot of visits. I took advantage of all five of my visits. That was one thing that I was told, was to see as many schools as I can. So when I came here, there were a lot of things I liked. The size of the school, the campus — I just felt at home here. The academics that are available, just in terms of more classes that I was interested in and a wider variety. I wasn't 100% sure at the time what I wanted to do, so I think that was something that I was really interested in as well. And on the hockey side of things, I saw a game here which was pretty cool. It was probably the coolest game I've ever been to, college-wise. … I talked to all the coaches, and I definitely felt like they could help me be better. There were definitely a lot of factors for picking Cornell, but it just seemed right.

Q: What other schools did you visit?
A: I also visited Harvard, Vermont, UMass-Lowell and Amherst.

Q: So you committed two and a half years ago. Did it seem like an eternity between then and getting here?
A: Not really, no. I think at one point the idea was that it was a while away, but it goes by quick. At the time, you're playing junior and kind of focused on that. You're thinking ahead, but not too far ahead, so you're pretty focused on what you're doing at the time. It doesn't seem as long that way.

Q: How was your experience literally moving across the country to play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League for a couple years?
A: I had some really good billets up there, which definitely helped, made me feel right at home. So that was a big factor for me, to make the transition easier. It wasn't overly difficult. I had spent three years living at a dorm (at Rothesay Netherwood), so I had been away from home for a little bit.

Q: When you were out there with Fort McMurray, you won your division's Rookie of the Year award the year after it was won by Luc Lalor, who was a teammate then and now a teammate here at Cornell. How much did you talk with him about Cornell before he committed?
A: We talked a little bit, and he asked me questions. But to be honest, I didn't want to talk it up as much as I wanted to let him find it for himself. I didn't want to influence his decision. I knew it was a great school and a great opportunity for him, but I didn't want him to feel like I was talking it up to the level where he wouldn't feel the same way. I definitely wanted to let him get a sense for himself. I think we talked about it more after his visit, after he saw it for himself.

Q: So your older sister played soccer at University of New Brunswick. Do you play soccer, too?
A: I played soccer growing up, but I was not very good at it. My sister was a lot better than I was. I stopped when I was 13 or 14 or so. Then I basically just focused on hockey.

Q: How about golf? There's a nice golf course in your hometown of Hanwell, New Brunswick.
A: I've actually only played golf once. Nine holes with my buddy. So I'm not much of a golfer. That one time I did go, it wasn't pretty. It took me like 10 shots just to get out of a bunker.

Q: So are there any other sports that you've played, or was it just hockey all the time?
A: I actually did judo when I was growing up, from elementary to middle school. But then times conflicted, so I couldn't continue with that. I also did a lot of cross country and track growing up. Stuff like that. Actually in my Grade 10 year, I did rowing, because every semester you have to play a sport. I'm part of the only crew to ever sink a boat in competition at RNS. So I guess I wasn't very good at that either. Had a good time with it, though.

Q: What happened?
A: We were a four with a coxswain. I think we were even leading at the time. It was a pretty rough day, so we started taking on some water and before we knew it, we were fully submerged sitting in the water in the boat. They actually postponed the event for a few hours after that.

Q: What are you studying and thinking about pursuing after hockey?
A: I'm Applied Economics and Management, and I got interested in that because I was talking to my buddy's father, and he has a lot of businesses in the Maritimes. Speaking with him got me interested in looking toward accounting or maybe some finance or something. I've always liked working with numbers, so something like that.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a player?
A: I like to think that I'm versatile, that can play in different situations. I like to think I have a little bit of skill, so I can chip in offensively. But I also play a style where I'm first to the boards and hard on the forecheck and that kind of thing.

FRESHMAN FRIDAY SERIES
Oct. 23: Luc Lalor
Next Week: Beau Starrett