CAZENOVIA — Cazenovia High School senior Gannon Houghton was recently drafted by the Utica Jr Comets to play hockey in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) of the United States Premier Hockey League.

The NCDC is a 13-team tuition-free junior hockey league that prepares players to skate at the Division I or Division III level and beyond.

The 12-round Entry Draft allowed teams the opportunity to draft 2001- through 2004-born players onto their organizational rosters.

“We are very proud of Gannon for this accomplishment,” said Houghton’s mother, Barb. “On May 21, 2021, the NCDC selected 155 players around the world for the entry draft. It is a great honor to be drafted and to skate at this level.”

Houghton has been skating for 15 years as a left defenseman.

He started playing hockey for the Center State Youth Hockey Association at SUNY Morrisville IcePlex.

“I enjoy how hockey makes me feel,” Houghton said. “I love competing and the friendships I have made during the years I have played.”

For the past three years, he has been skating for the Syracuse Nationals AAA team as a captain.

He also played on the Cazenovia High School Varsity Ice Hockey team his freshman and senior years.

Varsity Hockey Coach Seth Howard said Houghton’s leadership and work ethic made him a role model for some of the younger players this past season.

“I could see the development — physically, mentally, and as a teammate — from his freshman year through his senior year,” Howard said. “He was definitely a very good player as a freshman, but I saw a lot of growth leadership-wise as a senior, and he just blossomed as a player too.”

Howard described the athlete’s draft pick as “a step in the right direction.”

“I’ve had kids who have gone on to play juniors and have played college hockey, but when it comes to the NCDC and being drafted, it’s a big deal because it doesn’t happen as much, and you have to be a very elite prospect to have a team say they’re going to draft you and you are going to play tuition free,” Howard said. “He’s a good kid, and I am happy for him and hope he does well.”

Throughout his high school career, Houghton also played varsity soccer and lacrosse.

Like Howard, Cazenovia Central School District Athletic Administrator Mike Byrnes commended Houghton not only for being drafted, but also for being a “class act” off the ice and an ambassador for good sportsmanship, hard work, goal setting, and being a great teammate.

“Gannon is a prime example of an athlete who is exceptional in his main sport of ice hockey, but he continues to be well-rounded and challenges himself by playing additional sports he has less experience in; [he] found ways to excel in those as well and helped his team any way he could. I hope other younger student-athletes see Gannon’s athletic career as one to emulate. We congratulate Gannon on his achievement and know he will reach his next level goals in ice hockey and in life.”

Houghton, who was at school on the day of the draft, said he checked his phone a hundred times in anticipation of the announcement.

“When I saw my name I was pretty excited that my hard work was paying off,” he recalled.

In the future, Houghton hopes to play for a Division I college and further his education.

To learn more about the NCDC, visit usphl.com/ncdc.