This story appears in the August/September issue of New England Hockey Journal.
Devan Tongue finds the fact that he’s still playing hockey today interesting.
The 20-year-old forward doesn’t come from a hockey family. It’s more of a baseball one. The ice game wasn’t a big part of his parents’ (Jeff and Tammy) lives. In fact, no one in his family really played the sport.
When Tongue was a kid, though, he noticed street hockey gear in his basement, picked up a stick and started shooting around a ball. Intrigued, his dad brought his 4-year-old son to the rink to see if hockey was something he would like to play.
“I guess it was,” Tongue said.
There’s no guessing about it. It was, and is.
Tongue, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, is coming off a splendid rookie season in the North American Hockey League with the Amarillo Bulls in which he finished fourth on his team in scoring with 42 points (14-28-42) in 52 games. The left-handed shooter led the Bulls in power-play goals with eight.
Tongue’s next stop will be Bentley University.
“Devan was an excellent player for us this season,” Bulls head coach and director of hockey operations Rocky Russo said. “His size and his skill-set allowed him to make an immediate impact for us on the power play. It took him some time to adjust to the speed and pace of junior hockey at five on five, but he was willing to work diligently to get acclimated. He continued to improve all season long, and we really saw him turn the corner before the Christmas break. I am certain that he will be an excellent addition to head coach Ryan Soderquist’s (Stoneham, Mass.) team at Bentley.”
Tongue’s decision to matriculate to Bentley represents a return home for the Hampden, Mass., native. His first hockey team was the Ludlow Wildcats, who were coached by a group of fathers, including his own.
“It was interesting playing for my dad,” Tongue reminisced. “It was also different because all my other best friends’ dads coached, too. It was a group of four or five dads. I enjoyed it. My dad was hard on me. I’ve always liked constructive criticism.”
It’s a good thing he does. When he was 8 years old, Tongue joined the New England Junior Falcons, who were coached by Nick Cocchi.
“Coach Cocchi was always really hard on his players, but you could either take it to heart and realize that he knows that you have so much more left in your tank and a way higher ceiling, or you could just fold,” Tongue said. “Having him as a coach at a young age and learning how to take in certain critiques and turn them into positives was good for my character.”
Tongue enjoyed one of his favorite hockey memories when the Falcons competed in the Bell Capital Cup in Ottawa. They didn’t win the championship, but the title game, a double-overtime thriller against the Assabet Valley Patriots, was one he’ll never forget.
“Even though the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, it was such a fun game to play in because it was so back and forth,” Tongue remembered. “With the talent and the skill level of all the kids, it was a high-paced game. The crowd was amazing. It was a great atmosphere to play in at such a young age.”
At age 13 and entering eighth grade, Tongue headed to Cathedral High School in Springfield, Mass. He played there through his sophomore season. While enrolled at the school, he also skated for the Springfield Rifles split-season squad.
Following his time at Cathedral, Tongue headed to Northfield Mount Hermon School, where he played for three campaigns, repeating his sophomore year. He also suited up for the split-season Boston Little Bruins while a student at NMH.
Tongue’s first season at NMH, 2016-17, also was the first campaign the club was coached by Kevin Czepiel, who transformed what was a struggling program into a formidable one. In 2017-18, NMH secured the most wins in school history with 24.
For Tongue, developing under the tutelage of Czepiel and seeing the team morph into a powerful group so quickly is another special memory.
“First of all, Coach Czepiel turned around the program in a year, and that speaks volumes to what kind of coach he is,” Tongue said. “When I was a sophomore, we didn’t have leaders, we didn’t have chemistry, and it was Coach Czepiel’s first year coaching, so we didn’t have much coaching experience. As the years progressed, we changed our record, and Coach Czepiel did a great job managing the team. A big thing with him is being professional about everything, and that was one thing our team bought in to. He also significantly impacted me and changed me as a player. He really helped me grow my game.”
Prior to his senior year Tongue was approached by the Bulls, but he didn’t rush to make a decision about his future. His only goal at the time was to graduate from NMH.
“I always wanted to get an education and get that diploma,” Tongue stated. “I would see what my options were after getting that.”
The opportunity to head to Amarillo, Texas, remained on the table after his graduation. It quickly became a no-brainer for him.
“I heard great things about the Bulls from a few buddies who played there,” Tongue said. “They loved the coaching staff; you’re treated like pros. They also loved the town.”
Tongue soon learned something else about playing for the Bulls: the NAHL is a tough league in which to succeed.
“I didn’t have any first-hand experience with it,” Tongue said. “I never went to a camp or watched a game, so I had no idea what the hockey would be like. When I got down there, the first thing I realized was the pace of play and how fast everything and everybody was. You had to do everything so much faster because if you didn’t the puck would be off your stick or you’d get hit. It was a totally different and faster pace of play than I was used to. It seemed like you had no time, and if you made a mistake it was seen as a much higher mistake because in prep school if you make a mistake you can recover and make up for it. If you make one or two mistakes in a game in the NAHL, it could cost you a goal.”
Tongue struggled at the start of the season before hitting his stride around the halfway mark. He recorded 19 points (7-12-19) in 29 contests before the Christmas break, and upon his return he registered 23 points (7-16-23) in 23 matches.
“When I got down there I was a little timid, not scared, and I didn’t feel like I was ready,” Tongue admitted. “As the season progressed I got more confident and then with that I was able to make more plays. With confidence you have the ability to do more things on the ice. Gaining confidence and maintaining it allowed me to push my game to the next level.”
Tongue credits the Bulls coaches for helping him boost his confidence. The players often had one-on-one meetings with the staff to talk about life, their respective game and what they had to improve. Tongue called the check-ins “vital” to lifting his confidence.
“You get to the NAHL and you’re shocked for a little bit at how good everyone is and how fast the game is,” Tongue said. “The coaches brought me in and told me to relax and play my game and everything will come together. And that’s what happened.”
Unfortunately for Tongue and the Bulls, the campaign was cut short and the playoffs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulls, who finished second in the South Division with a 39-10-2-3 record and 83 points, would’ve been postseason bound, already having clinched a playoff position. Instead, the team got a head start on preparing for next season.
For Tongue, that meant an early return to the Bay State. And although he wishes the 2019-20 season had a proper ending, he’s stoked about what’s to come at Bentley, both on the ice and in the classroom.
Concluded Tongue: “I committed to Bentley my junior year at NMH. I was approached by them in the winter and I toured their campus right after their rink was built. I loved the coaching staff there. A big thing for me growing up was to always get the best education I can, and that was prevalent with NMH and playing there. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to go to Bentley and get a great education there while playing hockey. It’s a combination of academics and athletics.
“I also saw a little reflection of NMH in Bentley, as in it got a new rink and the program was starting to turn from a school that had hockey to more of a hockey school. I think by Bentley building a new rink, it started getting more recruits, and as the years progress Bentley is going to become more of a college threat in the hockey world.”
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