Forward Part of Wildcats’ Resurgence This Season
by Anthony Travalgia/CHN Reporter (@A_Travalgia)
New Hampshire’s Morgan Winters is no stranger to adversity, a great example of how hard work pays off.
Growing up, Winters’ father was a professional boxer, which meant he spent a lot of his youth inside gyms, learning the skills that go into boxing. When he wasn’t in the gym, you could find Winters on the football field.
It wasn’t until Winters was somewhere around 11 years old that he traded in his football cleats for a pair of ice skates.
At first, hockey was an escape from the Florida heat.
“It was more so just like a spur of the moment. I had a crappy football practice and it was like 110 degrees outside in Florida, so hot,” Winters said.
“I got in the car and I just remember going to my dad and I’m like ‘I want to do something that’s a little bit easier, not easier but easier with the weather, a little bit colder.’”
Finding ice time in Florida was not easy for Winters. On a good day, the closest rink to him was about 45 minutes away. Thanks to Florida traffic, there were not many good days.
“I’m very thankful my parents have been able to drive me to practices even though it is an hour out of the day — driving there and back it’s two hours, that takes a lot of time,” Winters said. “I was pretty appreciative for all the things that they were able to do making it a little bit easier to play hockey down there, as it is a little bit harder, you can’t find rinks that often.”
Everyone’s journey to where they are in hockey today is unique, Winters’ path to New Hampshire is certainly different.
Winters’ first introduction to organized hockey was at the Squirt-A level. However, Winters never got to play in any games. Instead, he made the practice squad where he would practice with the team during the week, watching from outside the glass on weekends when his teammates would play games.
The following year Winters did enough to earn a spot on the local Peewee Double-A team, a stint that did not last too long; he was cut from the Double-A team a week into the season, eventually landing with the Single-A squad.
Despite a tough start to his hockey playing days, Winters stuck with it.
At 14, Winters joined a program that would travel out of state once every two to three months, participating in tournaments around the country.
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