For most collegiate athletes, senior year is usually the last time they will play sports on a competitive level. However, for Dylan Reese, standout defenseman for the men’s hockey team, it was a case of one door closing, and another one opening.

Just four days after Harvard lost to Clarkson in the ECAC quarterfinals to conclude its season and his collegiate career, the senior was already in talks with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.

The Rangers had drafted him out of high school in the 7th round of the 2003 draft as a graduating high school senior. Reese forwent professional hockey for the time being to instead come to Harvard. But the dream of playing professional hockey never left him as his career at Harvard progressed, and he considered the options available to him after graduation.

“Every year as I got older, I saw guys who I played with go on to the pros, and I thought I could play at their level,” Reese said. “Upon finishing college hockey, I knew I wanted to pursue it as a career.”

Under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, the New York Rangers organization retained the rights to Reese until one year after he left school, and the blueliner was therefore obligated to sign with them.

He was given an ATO, or Amateur Tryout agreement, by the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League, which is the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. Under the stipulations of an ATO, a player does not have to be drafted—although Reese was—only eligible to sign with a team. According to Reese, since he had been drafted four years earlier and had no professional experience, this was the best option available to him.

“[The Rangers] told me that they’d like to see some more of me,” Reese said. “They wanted me to come in and join Hartford. It was originally scheduled to be a two- or three-week ATO.”

That was seven weeks ago.

Last Sunday night saw Reese still playing in a Wolfpack uniform against the Providence Bruins in the first round of the AHL playoffs, having seemingly won a spot on the roster.

“Hopefully, they have been impressed by my performance,” Reese said. “They originally brought six or seven other guys to get a look at, [and] now there are only two remaining. It has to mean something good.”

Since joining the team in March, Reese has played in 10 regular season games and seven playoff games, notching four assists while becoming a regular fixture on the roster.

“He looks very natural, looks like he belongs on the ice,” senior goaltender Justin Tobe said. “Some of us [teammates] went to see his first or second pro game, and he looked just like a regular.”

Reese made the decision to go to college before trying to join a professional team despite the fact that many current NHL stars like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin bypassed college and headed directly to the professional ranks where they were welcomed by capacity crowds and hefty paychecks.

“Joining at 22, rather than at 18 or 19 like some Canadian kids, I feel more mature and stronger in terms of hockey,” Reese said. “Harvard has one of the best coaching staffs in college hockey, [including coaches] who played pro. They helped me adapt to the type of player I need to be in the pros.”

The 5’11”, 201-lb. defensemen played in 121 games over his career at Harvard, compiling 40 assists and 21 goals, a high offensive total for a defensive standout.

“He plays with a little boy’s enthusiasm…and with a willingness to go into the lion’s den a little bit.” Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 said after Reese’s sophomore year. “That’s a characteristic most great players have.”

Not much has changed since then.

“I’ve been touting him since day one.” Donato said this season. “He’s a guy that can do it all.”

Reese was voted as the 111th captain of men’s hockey last spring for his all-around skills, both offensively and defensively, as well as for his team leadership. Such well rounded players have an edge that younger, less mature players often lack—a deficiency that can derail professional careers early on.

“Dylan is a natural leader, and he relates with a lot of different guys,” Tobe said. “And he is obviously one of the best defensemen in the college game this year—very calm and composed—but he can add some offensive punch as well.”

Playing professional hockey while at the same time attending one of the most competitive colleges in the nation is no easy task. Reese, an economics concentrator, could be considered the ultimate student-athlete, having to balance schoolwork for three classes with what is really a burgeoning career.

“I alerted my professors, and they were very helpful and let me send papers in online,” Reese said. “I try to get back for at least one day a week. But if I had four classes, it would probably be impossible.”

His hard work paid off as he was honored along with 13 of his fellow teammates as an ECAC All-Academic honoree.

However, with graduation only a month away, Reese will soon be able to devote his full attention to hockey. Although his contract with the Wolfpack and the Rangers organization only runs through August, Reese, a Pittsburgh native and longtime Penguins fan, has no desire to look any further than his current team should he ever make it to the NHL.

“I’ve always wanted to play in Pittsburgh, but right now the Rangers are obviously my first choice,” Reese said. “They are a class organization, the way they treat you. First class all the way.”

With Hartford’s season over after a Game 7 loss on Sunday evening, Reese has a long summer ahead of him to look back on his time at Harvard with fond memories, yet also to look ahead and realize that his hockey career could be just beginning.

The tagline for the latest NCAA sports ad campaign reads, “There are over 300,000 NCAA student-athletes, and just about all of us will be going pro in something other than sports.”

Dylan Reese can proudly say that he will not be part of “just about all of us.”