Jesse Winchester

Classroom

Winchester isa geography major with a 3.09 cumulative grade point average through the spring 2007 semester. He can be found most weeknights studying in Colgate’s library, but on weekends when the weather is cooperative, Winchester enjoys spending time outdoors studying nature and wildlife. He is expected to graduate in May 2008.

Character

The captain of Colgate’s 2007-08 team, Winchester leads by example with his outstanding skill on the ice and his quiet confidence off the ice. Winchester has gained the respect of his teammates and opponents through his inspiring work ethic that saw him make a 32-point scoring increase from his freshman to sophomore seasons, the second-best improvement of any player in the country. Winchester was an assistant captain for the Raiders last season, and his drive to improve continued throughout his junior campaign, which ended in him being selected to the all-ECAC second team. Winchester’s combination of physical strength and scoring prowess made him an attractive prospect to many professional teams last season. Although he was wooed persistently by several of them, he ultimately decided to stay in school to finish his collegiate career – and his degree.

Community

Winchester is actively involved in the local community through his team’s community service endeavors. Each year, Winchester and the rest of his teammates host a community skate, Skate with the Raiders, in which both the men’s and women’s hockey teams share the ice with fans of all ages. Last year, Winchester and his teammates collected more than 200 toys for needy families during their holiday toy drive; raised more than $3,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in honor of an 8-year-old fan battling brain cancer; and raised more than $5,700 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation through their participation in the MS Walk in honor of teammate Mike Campaner, who was diagnosed with MS during the season. The team finished 29th in the state in fundraising for the MS Walk.

Competition

The simplest way to describe Winchester on the ice is that he does everything he can to help his team win. He has developed a strong scoring touch, but he won’t hesitate to pass the puck if his keen hockey sense tells him a teammate has a better chance of finding the back of the net. A well-built player, Winchester doesn’t shy away from the physical part of the game, and as the team captain, he is always the first to step up when a teammate is threatened. Winchester is unafraid to go into the corners to fight for a loose puck, and he excels when called upon to take faceoffs although he usually plays on the wing. He plays on both the power play and penalty kill units, and is among Colgate’s top defensive forwards. His steady improvement has put Winchester on track to become just the 47th player in school history to score 100 points in his career. Winchester was selected to the 2007 all-ECAC Hockey second team, and was named to the 2007-08 ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches Team.