UNH Recruit Profile: Warren Foegele

Warren Foegele Commits to UNH
(Photo: St Andrews College)

The University of New Hampshire has been fortunate in attracting high-scoring forwards from the Province of Ontario, Canada including All-Americans Darren Haydar (Milton) and Trevor Smith (Ottawa) and team leaders Daniel Winnik (Toronto) and Peter LeBlanc (Hamilton). Earlier this week, another top prospect from Ontario made a verbal commitment to play for UNH beginning in the fall of 2015. 16-year-old Warren Foegele (DOB: 4/1/1996), a 6'1", 178 lbs. center/left winger from St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ontario, has accepted an athletic scholarship offer from UNH.

Warren Foegele of St Andrews College (Photo: CISAA)

Warren Foegele (Pronounced Foe-gull) lives with his parents in Unionville, Ont., about 20 miles north of Toronto, and is in his junior year as a day-student at St. Andrews College - a university-preparatory school in Aurora, another 20 miles north of his hometown. St. Andrews, plays hockey in the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association (CISAA) along with five other prep schools in south central Ontario and Western New York. UNH fans who follow the recruits may remember that Andrew Poturalski, currently playing for the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders (USHL), was the CISAA leading scorer in the 2010-11 season when he played for the Nichols School in Buffalo, NY.

Foegele and the St. Andrews Saints recently completed the 15-game, CISAA regular season in first place. Foegele scored 9 goals and 10 assists during the regular season and finished tied for second in league-scoring. He scored 2 game-winning goals.

The CISAA Playoffs began today and the #1 seed St. Andrews defeated #4 seed Appleby College 4-0 in the best-of-three series. Foegele lead the Saints scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist.

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to interview Warren Foegele, via email, about his background and his commitment to UNH:   

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Congratulations on your commitment to play for the University of New Hampshire. What are the main reasons you chose UNH?
Warren Foegele: Over the past two months we had many schools express an interest in me. I sat down with my family to identify the criteria for selecting a school. The main ones were; location, campus, academic programs, hockey program and the people.
UNH satisfied each of the requirements. The campus is located in a very scenic setting a short distance from the ocean and an hour from Boston. The campus is both functional and very beautiful. UNH offers a large variety of academic programs. I was interested in Business and they have an outstanding Business program.
UNH has a very good and successful hockey program. Under Coach Umile’s direction the team has many achievements to its credit. The facilities are very modern and very functional. Hockey is very big at the school and also for the state of New Hampshire.
This was our second trip to the school and on both occasions it was obvious that the people are very friendly and genuine. The coaching staff were very direct and sincere, the players enthusiastic and helpful and the staff very supportive.
It has always been an aspiration of mine to be a part of an elite Division 1 NCAA program and as of this year when UNH approached me things just fell right into place. With a great hockey and academic program, UNH couldn’t have been a better fit for me and I am extremely excited to be a part of such a prestigious program.

Mike Lowry: What other college programs were recruiting you?
Warren Foegele: There were many schools that were interested in me. I do not think it would be appropriate to name them.

Lowry: Have you and the UNH coaches agreed on a target date for you to enroll as a freshman at UNH and join the team?
Foegele: Yes, we have had discussions with the coaches about a starting date. The schedule is to have me start my freshman year in the fall of 2015. If by chance my growth and development exceed expectations, then the date could move up. Right now I am working towards 2015.

Lowry: At this stage in your hockey development, what are the strengths of your game? What areas are you trying to improve?
Foegele: My speed has improved significantly this year. I have a very explosive start. I am one of the quickest skaters in our league. I have good hand eye co-ordination which allows for puck handling with finesse. I have got visual perception and good hockey sense.
(I'm working) to get stronger and faster...improve my shooting release...improve my defensive play.

Lowry: Do you primarily play left wing, center, or both?
Foegele: I have played center for most of my hockey career. This year because of my speed I moved to left wing and have enjoyed great success. I enjoy playing wing.

Lowry: Do you plan on returning to St. Andrews to play in your senior year?
Foegele: I have been at St. Andrew’s from grade 6. I plan to return to SAC next year and graduate and I will play for the Varsity team again. I am applying to be a Prefect (like a student counselor) next year.

Lowry: Do you anticipate playing a year of junior hockey before coming to UNH? If so, what leagues would you consider playing in?
Foegele: Upon graduating from St. Andrew’s in 2014, I plan to play Jr A hockey in the fall of 2014. We have received several offers to play in the BCHL league. Our coach at St. Andrews has been contacted by a USHL team that would like me to play for them.

Lowry: Last summer, you were invited by the Ontario Program of Excellence to try out for Team Ontario in the World Under 17 Championship. What was that like?
Foegele: The U17 camps were outstanding. As a member of the final camp I got to play with and against the best 96 players. The camps are by invitation only.
Approximately 450 skaters are selected in the province and put into groups of 60 players per camp. 15 skaters from each camp advance to the next camp and so on.
The final camp had 60 skaters that made up four teams. 22 of this group represented Team Ontario in the U17 World Championships. All the players selected for the final team are members of a Major Jr.A team in Ontario (OHL).
I will never forget my experience at the three camps that I attended. I enjoyed the high level of competition and also to get re-acquainted with former team mates.

Lowry: As you finish up your junior year at St. Andrews, what are your academic strengths?
Foegele: I am a good student. My average is 86% and I am taking courses that will complement my desire for Business. I have good analytical skills and am a good debater. I manage my time well.

Lowry: Are there are other topics you would like to comment on?
Foegele: One area that has had a very positive impact on my hockey has been my training.
Outside of the hockey season I train with Gary Roberts, retired NHL player. Gary has developed successful training and nutrition programs. From April to June, Sept-October I train with Gary 3x a week. In July and August, we increase the frequency to 5x per week. His focus is to increase my strength, speed and agility.