West Newsmagazine 1-9-19

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Justin Reynolds leads Spartans to
success on ice and off
By WARREN MAYES
Justin Reynolds is a leader.
The 6-foot, 180-pound defender is a team
captain for the De Smet Jesuit Spartans
hockey team. He also is student body president.
He takes both positions seriously.
“Being the captain is obviously a big
honor for me and something that I take a
lot of pride in,” Reynolds said. “With that
being said, I try to make sure the letter on
my chest doesn’t put me above my teammates
in any way either in their eyes or
mine.
“I try to just lead by example and be the
best version of myself on and off the ice,
hoping that the guys take notice and push
themselves the way I push myself.”
De Smet coach Chris Durso and his
assistant coaches pick the captains.
“We view the captains as an extension of
the coaching staff and our interface with
the locker room,” Durso said. “Justin is not
super vocal, but he’s not quiet.
Reynolds
“He is receptive to criticism, he learns
from it and adapts quickly. He is sometimes
afraid of conflict, but over the past
two years as captain, he has learned to
handle himself much better in that respect.
He cares deeply about the success of the
team and his teammates.”
Reynolds also likes being involved with
his school, which includes student government
all four years.
“For me, as a freshman, I saw it as an
opportunity to meet new guys and get more
involved with our school,” Reynolds said.
“I saw that I could really make an impact
in our community and wanted to improve
each student’s experience.”
At the end of his junior year, he decided
to run for student body president.
“I think he embodies everything the
school strives for in its goal to develop
young men into future leaders in the community,”
Durso said. “The school looks to
develop young men into men for and with
others. A lot of that is through servant leadership.”
“For me, being in student government
is just as important as maintaining good
grades and being a good hockey player,”
Reynolds said.
On the ice, the Spartans are off to a solid
start this season. Reynolds has played a
role in that, Durso said.
“He’s been a tremendous part of our success
early in the season,” Durso said. “We
have a strong core group of defensemen
with four seniors. So, we are pretty solid
back there. Early in the season, he was
also joining in on the offense and scoring
some goals. He ranks fifth on the team in
points and has five goals on the season so
far. He’s a guy we can count on to get some
power play time with our first power play
unit and he’s also a reliable penalty killer.”
De Smet reached the Challenge Cup
championship game last March. The Spartans
came up short against rival St. Louis
University High.
“Justin was a big part of last year’s
team,” Durso said. “As part of the
leadership group, he helped throughout
the playoffs with the other leaders
to keep the team focused on the next
game. He played really well down the
stretch of the season and throughout
the playoffs.”
The experience of playing for the
Mid-States Club Hockey Association
championship left an indelible imprint
on Reynolds.
“Our team started to play our very
best hockey toward the end of the
season and into the playoffs,” Reynolds
said. “Every single line and defensive
pairing seemed to click when it really
mattered. We obviously had great goaltending
with Will Oliver and along with that
each player played to their role and all 20
guys contributed on our state run.
“Playing at what was then Scottrade
Center was really surreal. I couldn’t believe
I was out there on TV playing in front of
thousands of people for a state championship.
That stage really made every guy play
their best game and is something I know
everyone in our room wants to get back to.”
But it’s not just for themselves that the
team wants to repeat that experience.
“High school hockey to me is everything.
There’s no other opportunity for young
hockey players to play in front of and for
a whole community. It’s really special to
play for something bigger than yourself or
a club.
“It’s all about the hundreds of De Smet
students that fill the stands each game.”
January 9, 2019
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