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Hockey is amongst the most physical sports, arguably the most physical, depending on who you ask, with sports such as football and boxing in the equation. It takes a lot to play the game. First and foremost, you must know how to ice skate, or you can't play the sport, period. You must understand how to control your speed and balance with a stick and a puck while also doing it against defenders trying to prevent you from scoring.
Next in my Tremendous 24 series is someone I’ve known longer than anyone else in the group as we go way back to 2010. I was obsessed and passionate about basketball; he was the same for hockey. His name is Donnie Feldman.
Feldman was born in the small town of Suffern, New York, on January 26, 2000, but moved to Highland Falls, NY, near the West Point area where he’s been all his life. He described growing up in Highland Falls, a small town with just over 3,600 people, as a blessing and a curse.
“Close knit. Everyone knows everyone, so it’s a blessing and a curse… A nice close-knit community.”
Feldman learned the game from his dad and his cousins Brendan and Jack Riley. They were the ones who first got him on the ice. Both played at the collegiate level, and Jack played professionally with his father, playing college basketball for Quinnipiac during his school days. Once Feldman developed an intense passion for hockey, the player he grew up idolizing the most was NHL legend Sidney Crosby, who Feldman got to meet as a kid.
Feldman attended Highland Falls Intermediate School from third to eighth grade, where he and I met in fifth grade in 2010. During middle school, he played for Team Doritos in seventh grade as part of the World Select team. The games were held in Quebec, Canada, where Feldman played many different teams worldwide, including Canada, Europe, Australia, etc. Some players he played against went on to be in the NHL, such as Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks and Spencer Knight of the Florida Panthers, who recently took the Stanley Cup last season.
Feldman would attend James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls, where, unfortunately, they didn’t have a hockey team, so he had to get his reps and recognition outside of school. During his high school years, Feldman played for Westchester Express during his freshman and sophomore seasons before ultimately playing for the Connecticut Jr. Rangers his junior and senior seasons, a notable youth hockey program with notable alums that would play in the NHL, such as 2012 Stanley Cup MVP Jonathan Quick.
While playing for the Rangers, Feldman scored 19 points across those two seasons, which helped him gain more exposure playing against top-tier competition where he would get looked at by colleges. Once it became time to choose a college, Feldman decided to do a post-grad year in 2018-19 at Albany Academy to play junior hockey to help build up his body and withstand the physical rigors of hockey while also allowing him to become more disciplined.
“Doing a post-grad year at Albany Academy definitely helped me develop physically enough to get me to the point where I would make an impact in future years.”
After his time at the Academy, Feldman played for the Rochester Monarchs of the NCDC in 2019, where he suffered a broken ankle that year. While recovering from the injury, Feldman would do upper body workouts to keep himself in shape and attend physical therapy to help heal the injury, which took three months to recover from. Feldman recovered and returned better than ever from his broken ankle, this time playing for the New England Wolves of the EHL, where he was named the junior captain, helping lead the team to a 30-12 record.
During that season, Feldman proved very productive, scoring a career-high 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists) and being selected to the 2022 EHL North First All-Star Team. However, the Wolves lost to the New Hampshire Avalanche 2-1 in the playoffs that year, and Feldman was sidelined with an injury. Despite the disappointment, Feldman gained valuable confidence in his game and transferred to play for the Arcadia Knights afterward.
“The distance from home was far enough, but not too far, and then the balance between academics and athletics was huge for me… Where I could see myself setting myself for the future, so just a culmination of everything seemed like a good fit for me.”
Feldman was a part of the Knight's first recruiting class, with his first season being 2021-22, where the team struggled to find wins, finishing with a (5-20) record in their inaugural season. The following year, they went 6-17-3 overall and lost to top-ranked Utica 5-2 in the UCHC tournament. Feldman does not enjoy losing, but it taught him valuable lessons.
“It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, but it teaches you how to deal with adversity. That’s the biggest thing in life, right? How do you handle getting punched in the mouth? You do that and keep advancing forward, learning from it, and being better because of it.”
The Knights struggled to win in Feldman’s junior season, but they are off to a 4-4-2 start in his senior season. Feldman is not just an athlete; he has garnered All-UCHC academic selections for his work in the classroom and has shown his leadership off the ice rink.
During gameday, Feldman enjoys eating chicken parmesan for his pre-game meal to give him the energy he needs for the game. Outside of hockey, Feldman enjoys fishing, golfing, and hanging out with friends when he needs a break from the rink. He also enjoys listening to music, such as music artists such as Morgan Wallen, Lil Wayne, and so forth, listening to various genres.
When I asked him about his top five NHL players of all time, Feldman mentioned Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, and his idol, Sidney Crosby, before finishing with Gordie Howe. Feldman aims to be as successful as possible while helping others and giving back to those who helped him throughout his journey. He is currently in his senior year at Arcadia, majoring in business and management, and hopes to work in a successful business one day.
When I asked Feldman what he wanted his legacy to be, he kept it short and simple:
“Someone that always tried to do the right thing and helped people whenever he could.”
Feldman’s quiet demeanor yet fiery resiliency from overcoming a broken ankle in college to becoming an EHL North All-Star. He was a small-town kid from Highland Falls who found an alternative route to get exposure in hockey despite his high school not having a team and never giving up. His unselfish attitude, which always puts the team and people first, is why he embodies Greatness Within.
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