Bronson alum Dylan Smith laces up his skates for Ferris State

From The Daily Reporter

By Troy Tennyson

 

PLEASANT, MI. — Every year dozens of athletes from right here in Branch County take their respective talents to the collegiate level to play sports, some go Division One, some to Division Two, and others go Division Three or JUCO. One thing rings true for all those athletes, the amount of time and dedication they put into their respective crafts.

For one Bronson alum, Dylan Smith, well he took his talents to the collegiate level in a sport no high school within 100 miles fields.

After years of playing on traveling youth teams, Bronson 2020 graduate Dylan Smith has taken his talents to Ferris State University where he plays for the Bulldog Club Hockey team.

It’s safe to say Smith may be the first, if not one of the few, athletes from Branch County to play hockey at the collegiate level and he is doing so for one of the premiere programs in the state.

Smith currently skates for the Ferris State D3 Club Team and has been playing travel hockey since 2010. Smith had spent time playing for the Junior K-Wings out of Kalamazoo, the Battle Creek Bruins who won the High School JV Division State Championship, and has played with the Southwest Michigan Blades.

The Ferris State Club Hockey team is not affiliated with the FSU Varsity Division One hockey team as the club team is part of the ACHA Division III hockey league and plays as an independent.

According to the club team’s website the goal of the Ferris State Club Hockey team is to “obtain the highest level of skilled players in order for us to reach the national title. We also set goals for community involvement and have a program called ‘Learn to Skate’ which helps new hockey player skate and enjoy hockey.”

The Ferris State University Club team is currently 9-9 on the season and ranked 19th in the Division Three Standings. Smith, a forward, has played in 17 games this season, scoring eight total points with two goals and six assists.

If you would like to keep up with Smith and the Ferris State Club team you can view the standings at achahockey.org or you can follow the Ferris State Club team on Facebook on their site Ferris State Clubdawgs Fan Page.

(Originally published at https://www.thedailyreporter.com/story/sports/2021/12/14/bronson-alum-dylan-smith-laces-up-his-skates-ferris-state-club-hockey/6509128001/)