Ben Finkelstein a force at SLU

St. Lawrence sophomore defenseman Ben Finkelstein, a native of South Burlington, Vt., spent his summer training with two of the more accomplished players in the Lake Champlain area.

Coming off a strong freshman season in which he ranked second on the team in assists (18), Finkelstein worked out with one of the most accomplished players in St. Lawrence hockey history — his former teammate and mentor, Gavin Bayreuther — as well as NHL defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who both hail from Canaan, N.H.

“It’s actually the same program I’ve always done,” Finkelstein said. “Those guys have always trained in New Hampshire. A lot of it is weight training for explosiveness, becoming a better athlete. We’re training for power and mobility.”

Finkelstein emerged as St. Lawrence’s second-best defenseman last winter as a freshman, behind only Bayreuther, who earned All-America honors. This year Finkelstein is being asked to fill the substantial shoes of Bayreuther, who was extremely productive over his four seasons at St. Lawrence while tallying 111 points (35 goals, 76 assists).

Bayreuther is now playing professional hockey in the Dallas Stars organization, and Finkelstein also likely has professional hockey in his future. The Vermont native was selected by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL draft after an exceptional career at Kimball Union. There, Finkelstein served as a team captain and was a high school All-American defenseman, earning All-New England and All-League honors.

Before Finkelstein explores his professional hockey dream, the St. Lawrence staff would like to see him make a contribution at the college level similar to that of Bayreuther.

“I learn a lot from those guys every summer,” Finkelstein said. “I see how they carry themselves as people and take care of their bodies. They act like pros; they’re easy to learn from.”