CAZENOVIA — Cazenovia High School (CHS) senior Jack Donlin was recently selected as the Section III Division I Ice Hockey Player of the Year and named First Team All-State.

Cazenovia Varsity Boys Ice Hockey is a combined athletic program with players from multiple school districts.

According to Donlin, the 2023-24 team had athletes from Cazenovia, Chittenango, Hamilton, Madison, Waterville, Sherburne-Earlville, and Canastota. In previous years, the team has also had student-athletes from Morrisville-Eaton.

“This is why we play with the larger schools in Division I,” Donlin noted.

Coached by Seth Howard and assistant coach Chris Cannizzaro, the team’s 26 players finished out its most recent season with a record of 13-7-1.

Following the regular season, the coaches in Section III voted on the player of the year, and coaches across New York State voted to select the All-State teams.

Donlin said he was honored to receive the coaches’ recognition.

“I’ve played high school hockey since eighth grade and have seen several great players given awards like these,” he added. “I am grateful to also have been selected.”

Donlin learned to skate at SUNY Morrisville IcePlex, and he has been playing hockey since he was five years old.

“I played youth hockey and traveled all over the northeast, Minnesota, [and] Michigan, and up into Canada,” Donlin said, adding that his favorite part of participating in high school hockey was getting to play in front of crowds of friends and family at every home game.

On April 3, CCSD Athletic Administrator Mike Byrnes described Donlin as one of the finest student-athletes the school has ever had.

“He puts in the work in his off-seasons, and he leads by example and by presence and action in-season in all his sports,” Byrnes said. “Younger students in our community look up to Jack as a local superstar. What’s really awesome about Jack being named the D1 Ice Hockey Player of the Year and making First Team All-State is that Jack’s primary year-round sport has evolved as he has aged [into] baseball, the sport he will play in college. It is a remarkable accomplishment to be considered the best of the best in a sport that he would tell you is not his number one sport [all] year-round. Jack is a refreshing example [of how] a student-athlete can be so accomplished [while] being a multisport standout and an accomplished classroom student. On top of all this, Jack is a tremendous human being [who always acts] with kindness and is respectful to others.”

This spring, Donlin is playing his final baseball season as a Cazenovia Laker. He has committed to play the sport at the University of Maine.

“They are Division I, and they won the America East championship in 2023, beating Binghamton University to make it to the [National Collegiate Athletic Association] Tournament,” said Donlin, who is a pitcher and first baseman.

The future of Cazenovia ice hockey comes into question

Cazenovia Central School District (CCSD) is currently facing a significant budget gap for the 2024-25 school year due to multiple factors, including a reduction in state aid as outlined in Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024-25 executive budget proposal.

The district has already gone through its budget line-by-line and made an estimated $700,000 in position cuts and financial reductions. It is also already proposing to use $500,000 in fund balance.

Even with the $500,000 in fund balance and $700,000 in budget reductions, the district is still facing a $1.85 million gap between its expenses and revenue based on the governor’s budget proposal.

On March 20, CCSD held a community discussion on the challenges facing the district this budget season and potential options to close the budget gap.

Superintendent Christopher DiFulvio explained that there are four ways to close the gap: cutting expenses further, increasing revenue through the tax levy, using fund balance, or doing a combination of those options.

During the presentation, DiFulvio described what it could potentially look like if the district were to decide to cut $1.85 million in programs and services to close the budget gap.

He presented a list of specific staff and programming that are being considered for reduction or elimination and explained that to balance the budget, all the listed cuts would have to be made in addition to the assumed cuts estimated at $700,000 and the planned $500,000 in fund balance.

One of the cuts proposed on the list was the hockey program.

“Hockey is specifically mentioned, [not] because the district has anything against hockey,” DiFulvio said during the March 20 event. “It’s up there because of the expense of the program. We had some other information, and when we read it, it spelled out hockey. . . . It doesn’t mean that we would [necessarily] cut hockey.”

Donlin said he attended the budget discussion in his role as student body president.

“All I can say is that I hope the athletes following me get the same opportunities to play with ‘Cazenovia’ on their chest,” he said. “Hockey makes Cazenovia a unique and special place. How many small towns have a great guy like Mark Costello operating an outdoor rink in the middle of their village?”

To learn more about CCSD’s athletic programs and the district’s March 20 budget discussion, visit cazenoviacsd.com.