Not surprisingly, many of Yann Danis’ classmates who graduated from Brown in 2004 are doing OK for themselves. There are people in the medical field and others doing research around the world.
Danis was a business major and could well be studying for his MBA, and at times he probably wishes he was. That’s what happens when you finally get to the NHL and after six games with Montreal, you spend the next two years in the minors.
But now the 27-year-old finally is getting his first real taste of the NHL with the Islanders. After a sluggish start, he is making the most of it, which is what he did in college when he spurned scholarship offers to play for the Bears.
“They were the first school that recruited me, so I stayed loyal to them and went there,” Danis said. “My goal was to get a degree in four years and then maybe get an invite to camp.”
After a solid sophomore season, it became clear that despite the Ivy League education, Danis wanted to focus on something else.
“Things started going well for me and I really thought about playing in the NHL,” said Danis, who became a finalist for the Hobey Baker award, which goes to the nation’s top college hockey player.
Five years later, in part because of injuries to Rick DiPietro and Joey MacDonald, that time has come.
“After playing a few games in Montreal and then not any more, it was tough,” said Danis, who grew up outside of Montreal, idolizing Patrick Roy. “They had a lot of goalies there and I was fourth or fifth on the depth chart.”
That was one of the reasons he signed with the Isles in the offseason, but not the only one.
“They were the first team that called,” Danis said. “Just like Brown.”
Though he’s no longer playing where his hero once did, at least he can tell some good stories at the next reunion.