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LITTLE CAPS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: JAMES SIXSMITH

By Little Caps sportswriter , 11/06/14, 4:30PM EST

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LITTLE CAPS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: JAMES SIXSMITH

Many Little Caps dream of making a career out of hockey.  One Little Cap alum who has done so is James Sixsmith. 

James recently completed three seasons playing pro hockey for Lørenskog in Norway’s premier league, the GET-ligaen, where he quickly became a superstar.  In 2011-12, he put up 49 points in 26 games (plus 16 points in the playoffs).  The following season, he scored 67 points in 43 games (and 18 points in the playoffs).  And last season, he scored 52-points in 39 games.

That performance earned James a contract this season with Sodertalje Sports Klub (SSK) in Sweden’s Hockeyallsvenkan league.  Many NHL players have played in the league, including Marcus Johansson of the Washington Capitals.  “The level of play is very high and it's been a lifelong dream to play hockey and travel the world for a living,” James reports.

James played several season with the Little Caps, before going on to play for the Canterbury School and then Division I from 2003-2007 with Holy Cross.  He is still the all-time points (152) and assists (104) leader at Holy Cross, and in his senior year received the league's and the USCHO National Sportsmanship Award.

After college, James played for the Cincinnati Cyclones and Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL, and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.  He then moved to Germany, playing with the Cologne Sharks in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), and then with HK Jesenice in Austria’s “A” league, before moving on to Norway and now Sweden.

James has incredibly fond memories of his time with the Little Caps. “I feel like it was yesterday, even though I'm already 30,” he says of his Little Caps career.  “My family and I still to this day reminisce about the days in the hotel in various cities; when the parents would hang out at the bar while the kids ran crazy around the hotel.  I made lifelong friends playing for the Little Caps and that's something I truly cherish.”

His advice to our current players?  “If you take anything from me, have fun and enjoy the ride. It's supposed to be fun.  Playing for the Little Caps was some of the best times of my life.”