Will D’Orsi committed to Yale as a high school sophomore in 2013 believing that eventually joining that year’s national championship program would give him an excellent chance to become one of the nation’s top hockey players. Now a Yale junior, D’Orsi’s hockey plan hasn’t yet taken shape exactly as he hoped, but he is — without question — one of the nation’s top students.
His four career points at Yale are trumped by a 4.0 GPA as he pursues a degree in economics. In August, D’Orsi (Sudbury, Mass.) was named an AHCA Academic All-America selection.
That’s not to say D’Orsi, a former member of Team USA’s Under-17 Select Team for the 2013 Five Nations Tournament, has given up on his hockey goals.
“The biggest change in my role from when I came to Yale to now is my overall level of comfort in the locker room,” D’Orsi said. “My job, which I’m comfortable with, is bringing in new guys and feeling confident to say what needs to be said. I feel like a leader on the team in that sense. Maybe it’s not as a captain, but I do feel confident voicing my opinions.
“I can control how I approach every day. If I measure success only by ice time or shifts, I haven’t been as beneficial to the team as I can be.”
D’Orsi started developing his approach to academics as a prep school student at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, Mass. He transferred from Belmont Hill (Belmont, Mass.) after his freshman year and took to his new school’s approach to Catholic School education.
“It prepared me — aside from athletics — to be a great person through life,” D’Orsi said. “The all-boys Catholic aspect was really helpful. Plus, the academic platform is something I love and continue to use.”
D’Orsi mastered finding the balance between academics and athletics at St. Sebastian’s. By his junior season, he earned the role of first-line centerman and was named to the first of two All-ISL teams.
He also started to get noticed on a national stage. D’Orsi became recognized as one of the nation’s top prospects after taking part in the Select Under-16 Festival for two years before joining the U.S. Under-17 Select Team as part of the Five Nations Hockey Tournament in the summer of 2013.
D’Orsi, along with Thayer Academy’s Lincoln Griffin, were the only two Massachusetts prodigies selected to the Under-17 select team. D’Orsi finished with three goals and was Player of the Game vs. Germany for the gold-winning USA squad.
“That gave me confidence and got me extremely excited about playing hockey at the next level,” D’Orsi said. “I was proud to be in that situation, but I didn’t feel out of place at all. I had earned it. A lot of those guys are playing in college or even the NHL now. It solidified my belief that I could play at the highest level and continue to grow.”
Off the ice, D’Orsi was doing everything he needed to do to follow in the footsteps of his father, Scott, who played hockey at Yale from 1986 to 1990. The elder D’Orsi was a National Honor Society member during his junior and senior years. He graduated Cum Laude ranked in the top seven in his class. He earned the Yale Book Award, the U.S. Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence Award, Maxima Cum Laude on his Latin Exam, the highest GPA in his AP math class, and the Senior Chapel Speech Award.
“Will is a very determined and bright young man,” Yale coach Keith Allain said. “His commitment to academics goes hand in hand with his commitment to athletics. I believe he is a guy who totally invests in everything he does, constantly striving for excellence.”
Measuring about 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds upon his high school graduation, D’Orsi committed to a year playing with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL before enrolling at Yale in 2016. When he got to Yale, he found that the student-athlete balance was even more difficult at the collegiate level.
“It was a big challenge in two forms,” D’Orsi said. “The transition to the hockey program was the biggest jump I’ve had to make in hockey with what’s demanded of us. The fact that we’re at the rink every day and the work that’s demanded of us, it’s another step that I hadn’t had before.
“On the academic side, I definitely wouldn’t say I was completely prepared, but I had as good of a background as anyone given my experience at St. Sebastian’s. Still, I had to work to become a better student and time manager. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t overwhelmed at times.”
D’Orsi struggled to find a role on the ice as a freshman, playing in just 13 games with two assists. He matched his games played total as a sophomore last winter with 13, while collecting his first career goal.
Although D’Orsi has yet to fulfill the athletic promise he showed as a player on an international stage as a teenager, Allain says the forward has not fallen short of his expectations.
“Will is a fantastic team guy and most definitely a leader,” Allain said. “He competes as hard as he can for ice time, yet understands the team comes before the individual. His selflessness is uncommon and makes him a valued member of our team.”
D’Orsi could certainly be a sought-after member of a team of financial advisors or analysts post-college — what with his Academic All-America status. At Yale, he’s found he has a natural quantitative and analytical mind.
“Coming here, I had no experience with economics, but I knew I had a strong background as a math student,” D’Orsi said. “I’ve really enjoyed learning about the economy and how money flows and businesses operate. This area of study touches on the financial topics that interest me. I haven’t looked back on that decision.”
D’Orsi isn’t looking back on his first two years of hockey at Yale, either. As a junior, he’ll be vying for a more consistent role, although he’s not putting all of his stock in playing a regular shift.
“Our level of depth is exciting,” D’Orsi said. “I’m not too concerned with ice time. I’m expecting to be a contributor at a high level. If that’s not the case, I know plenty of other things I can do to help the team make it as far as it can.”
Allain can certainly respect the competitiveness Yale student-athletes face in the classroom and on the athletic stage. The former national champion coach knows that regardless of what role D’Orsi is given this year, he will get the player’s absolute best.
“It isn’t easy to compete at our level and be a top student at a place like Yale, but Will is quite successful at both,” Allain said. “He is bright, organized and disciplined and those traits are vital here at Yale and ensure that he will be very successful in his life after college. He is a special young man.”
