Conte Commits
Hitmen defenseman to Attend Delaware
January 9, 2009

The Jersey Hitmen organization is proud to announce that defenseman David Conte has been accepted to, and will attend the University of Delaware, effective immediately. Delaware is currently ranked #4 in the country amongst ACHA Division 1 schools.

The path for Conte has been anything but normal. After spending the last two seasons the EJHL team Conte found himself with interests, but no answers. As the summer progressed the choices were narrowed down to Penn State and Delaware. However, attending either school would mean staying home for the first semester and attending community college. “It was a tough decision to stay home for the first semester, but in the end I feel like it was the right decision,” Commented Conte.

Conte decided to focus on his academics and put playing in the back burner during his semester at home. However, as the semester continued Conte realized that he needed to get himself in shape if he was going to play at either school this year. However, playing with the EJHL team never crossed his mind. “There were a few reasons I decided to play with the U-19 team as opposed to the EJHL team. As a part of the team that won the league last year and won the silver medal at the National Championships I learn to appreciate the importance of chemistry. With the EJHL team having the success they were having early on I did not want to interrupt that chemistry. Secondly, it gave me a chance to play competitively with my younger brother Michael, which is something I had never got to do before.”

U-19 coach Chris Barling was more than happy to have Conte in his locker room. “It was a great experience for our younger players to be able to learn from David over the past few months. It is not often that you can introduce a player into your lineup that has the experience he has. He has truly been through it all as a junior hockey player. In his first season with the Hitmen they were a mediocre team that struggled through much of the season. The following season they were racking up championships and David was a big part of that transition. For our younger players to witness first hand the work ethic and attitude that it takes to compete and succeed at the next level has been invaluable. I have known David and his family for a long time and wish him all the best at Delaware.”

Committing to Delaware could cause some controversy within the Conte household as David’s older brother, Hitmen alumni, John suits up for rival Penn State. “It will be fun to play against John. It’s a nice rivalry between the two schools and something I certainly look forward to.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Hitmen program for giving me the chance to be a part of a top notch organization for the past few seasons. I would also like to thank the University of Delaware and its hockey program for affording me the opportunity to continue my hockey career while attending one of the most respected colleges in the country.”