Hawk gets shot at junior level

For most of his hockey career, James Hundley simply played for fun. Late in his prep career -- not wanting his playing days to end -- Hundley began playing for his future. And now Hundley has a future in hockey.

The 2004 graduate of Houston High School recently signed a contract with the Hudson Valley Eagles to skate for their Junior B squad.

The 5-foot-10 defenseman will report to the Eagle training camp, located in Troy, N.Y., in early August.

The Eagles, an affiliate of the United State Hockey League, are a new squad to the Junior B level.

After the Hudson Valley coaching staff contacted Houston head hockey coach Jamie Smith to inquire about Hawk players interested in playing junior hockey, Smith recommended Hundley. Hudson Valley was satisfied enough with Smith's recommendation to offer Hundley a contract without a tryout.

"The contract is no-trade, no-cut and guaranteed for six months," Hundley said. "They went off of what (Jamie) said. It felt good."

By signing a contract with a junior hockey squad, Hundley said he now is looking to work toward a earning the opportunity to skate at the college level.

"Even Division II or Division III would be huge," Hundley said. "If I had the opportunity, I'd do it for sure."

Hundley, a four-year letterman with the Hawks, saw drastic improvement throughout his prep career. Hundley said once he started to see himself improving on the ice, he became more eager to not let his hockey career end. After his junior season, thinking he may have just one year of competitive hockey left, Hundley began working harder in the offseason to become better on the ice.

"At first, in my freshman and sophomore year, I was doing it for fun," Hundley said. "With one year left, I started playing better. Then I thought I could go to the next level."

To prepare for a possible shot at the junior hockey ranks, Hundley began weightlifting regularly at the Alaska Club with teammates Jake and Wade Williams, and skating as much as possible. Hundley also hit a growth spurt late in his high school career, and the growth, combined with his added strength and speed, made him more suitable for the blueline at the junior levels.

Smith said Hundley is the most improved player he had last season.

"He's tough to get an eyeball on just because of his improvement," Smith said. "He was our number one defenseman last year."

Though his improvement makes it tough to judge the amount of success Hundley will have on the next level, Smith said Hundley has the traits to succeed.

"He's a big kid, got a squatty body," Smith said. "Very decisively quick and very physical."

Smith said Hundley was one of the top four fastest players on his squad last year.

Hundley helped lead the Hawks to three state titles during his four-year career. He capped off his career with a pair of post-season honors following his senior campaign. He was named All-Greatland Conference and all-tourney for the 3A state tournament.

Hundley is one of three Hawks to sign contracts with junior squads in the last year. Jake Williams and Jamie Bennett, both 2003 graduates of Houston, skated for Dubuque of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League -- a Junior B franchise. Both have the possibility to skate at the Junior A level next season.