ALL ROADS LEAD TO FRANKLIN PIERCE
The hockey career of Delaney Lawn has taken her all across the country. After competing for multiple high-level USA Hockey camps and playing for teams based in Nebraska, Colorado, Massachusetts and Illinois, the 18-year-old netminder was doing just about everything she possibly could to get the attention of Division I hockey programs.
“It was really hard to get coaches [at the Division I level] to respond, and even when they did respond the most common answer I got was that they were waiting for the transfer portal [to see if they could recruit a goaltender from there],” said Lawn in an interview with Clean Sheet Hockey.
“I just had to remind myself that I’ve worked so hard, I’ve had all of these ups and downs to get to this point, and it’s my dream to play collegiate hockey, especially at the DI level, and I just knew my time would come so I just had to keep waiting, and eventually it did pay off,” she added.
One day in the summer of 2024, Lawn heard from her current coach, Sanya Sandahl, that there was a certain Division I coach from Franklin Pierce University who had watched her in the past and had some interest in her as a prospective future athlete. The two parties connected and things moved very quickly from there.
“What had felt like such a long journey to try and get to college, it felt so fast to go from not having anyone interested to then having a coach to call,” she said. “I took that call in a hotel room in Colorado and I talked about what I was looking for [in a collegiate program] and he was like ‘I’d love to have you out for a visit’ and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy,’.”
Lawn then flew out for a visit to the campus of Franklin Pierce in Rindge, New Hampshire, just a week later. After seeing the school and finding out more about the university, the goaltender made it official on her Instagram page and committed to the Ravens on August 16, 2024.
“I am beyond excited to announce my commitment to play Division I hockey and further my education at Franklin Pierce University! I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a great program and would like to thank my family, coaches, and teammates for your continued support throughout my hockey journey so far,” she posted.
The current netminder for Team Illinois liked the small school feel of the campus based in southern New Hampshire and she was also drawn to the health sciences programs that the private university has to offer. In addition to that, she’ll have some familiarity with a few of her future teammates too as she already knows a couple of them from when she was a part of the Chicago Young Americans program in the past.
Delaney Lawn competes in a game for Team Illinois. (Contributed Photo)
Lawn’s hockey career has taken her all over the country. The 18-year-old was actually born in Nebraska and started skating at a very early age. She played mite hockey in Kearney where she eventually took a liking to the goaltender position and competed with the Tri-City Jr. Storm.
Around age six, Lawn and her family moved to Colorado due to her parents’ work (in tech). Delaney and her twin brother, Camden, played boys hockey together for a while in the new state until she was asked to be a fill-in goaltender in Massachusetts.
“I don’t remember exactly how I got asked, but I was asked to play for the Boston Shamrocks … it was the middle of the season and they needed a goalie because theirs got hurt. I’m pretty sure their coach heard about me through Sanya Sandahl, I had done a camp with her, and they reached out to her and she gave them my parents number and so I went out there and skated with them and wound up being a tournament player with them.”
After skating with them for a short amount of time, Lawn ended up back in Colorado and joined the Lady RoughRiders program. She did eventually wind up back out in Boston though and this time found herself playing full-time for the Shamrocks. The Nebraska native mainly competed for the U14 team there but also joined the U16 roster from time-to-time and she lived in a big house with the other players who weren’t from the area since her family stayed back in Colorado. Living away from home for the very first time, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic as just a young teenager, definitely came with its challenges but Lawn had a great time living with a bunch of other girls and having tons of fun out in Boston.
“It was 16 other girls with me, I was the only true 14U there, and they were from all over. My roommate was my cousin, who was from Wyoming, so it was cool getting to reconnect with her and getting to experience moving away and competing for a higher-level team together,” she said about her experience.
After some time in Boston, Lawn connected again with Sandahl and ended up playing for her team in Illinois for the Chicago Young Americans program. Finding a good playing spot in the Chicago area, Lawn and her whole family all ended up moving out to the state. The netminder then competed with the Windy City Storm for a while and then joined Team Illinois as well a few years later.
Delaney Lawn talks with teammates during a game. (Contributed Photo)
As 18-year-old Lawn finishes up her final year of youth hockey, she will become a freshman at Franklin Pierce University this upcoming fall. The Team Illinois goaltender says that some of her strengths as an athlete is her competitiveness, her on-ice communication and her leadership. She wore a ‘C’ for her squad this past season and looks to earn the respect of her teammates by lifting everyone up - even in times of distress. Lawn will likely study something in health sciences/pre-physical therapy once she makes the move out to New Hampshire.
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