We’re switching it up a little for this week here on Under-the-Radar. Rather than take a look randomly throughout DI, we’re going to do a deeper dive into one conference for each of our topics. For this week, we’re taking a look at the America East conference, and seeing what we can below the surface. It’s been quite the week for the America East. Tehoka was suspended, then quickly unsuspended, by the NCAA over an Instagram post, missing Albany’s one-goal loss to #2 Cornell. The real fun of the America East this year, however, is the parity in the league. Naming a favorite for their auto-bid to playoffs is nearly impossible at the moment. Let’s introduce our Under the Radar Player of the Week: Dylan Jinks.
Under the Radar Player of the Week: Dylan Jinks
It can be hard to get noticed for players balling out on teams out of the playoff hunt. While a lot of the attention in the America East goes to the biggest name, which is easily Albany’s Tehoka Nanticoke, the conference’s points leader is busy toiling away in Connecticut for the 0-4 Hartford Hawks. Senior attackman Dylan Jinks has been having quite the year for the Hawks, currently coming in 20th overall nationally in PPG and 12th in GPG. The New Jersey native recently tied the school record for goals in a game, having posted eight goals in the season-opener against St. Johns. Dylan Jinks was named the American East Player of the Week after that performance, and has continued to make a strong push for Hartford with sixteen goals and four assists through four games.
Three hat tricks in four games hasn’t quite been enough to carry Hartford to a win, but Jinks can’t be blamed for a lack of effort. The former America East Rookie of the Year has been a consistent force for four years, having recorded at least a point in all but one game as a junior, but he’s been on another level in his senior year. His sixteen goals this season, in four games, is only two goals off his season total as a junior. Hovering near 130 career points right now, a continued push could allow Jinks to finish in the top five in points for Hartford all-time, as he needs 180 to crack the top five. He’s also on pace to crack the top five in goals-in-a-season for the Hawks, and could even crack the top ten in career goals for the Hawks by season’s end.
The results haven’t been there yet for Hartford, but Dylan Jinks is still having one of the better careers in Hartford history, and he’s worth watching this season as he takes a big step up in his senior season and aims for some school records along the way. He may never get the attention that some of the bigger names in the America East get, but this is the end of a fantastic career, and one that Hartford certainly won’t soon forget.
