College Forward Sean Curtin Treasures His Illinois Hockey Past

By Ross Forman
Sean Curtin is in his fourth season skating for Purdue University Northwest, a right wing for the ACHA Division 2 team, with 18 goals and 30 assists in a career that has spanned more than 80 games.

He is a hard-working two-way forward with playmaking ability, skills honed in Illinois.

Curtin started playing hockey with St. Jude in the ADM youth development program. At age 6, he started as a mite in house league before moving to travel for his second year. “I spent the remainder of my youth hockey career playing for St. Jude,” he said. “I met so many impactful coaches throughout my time there. Paul Manning was the hockey director at St. Jude during a lot of my time there. He eventually moved on to coach Brother Rice and recruited me to play. My senior year of high school, St Jude made a club team that combined senior players from St. Rita and Brother Rice. It was kind of a full circle moment being able to play for St. Jude again. 

“I have countless memories of playing at St. Jude, especially all the out-of-state tournaments. We won a lot of those tournaments and lost some, too. During my time with St. Jude, I won multiple Presidents Trophies, which go to the team with the best record, and had a state championship appearance, losing to the Sabres.”

Curtin played four years for the Brother Rice varsity, where he was a Chicago Catholic Hockey League all-star as a junior and senior.

“Growing up, I went to public schools where sports didn’t factor too much. When deciding where I was going to go to high school, hockey was the driving factor,” he said. “Paul Manning ended up convincing me Brother Rice was where I needed to go to advance not only as a player but as a student and person as well. 

“As a freshman at Brother Rice, I played for both the varsity and JV teams. I was a very undersized 14-year-old, so playing varsity was a challenge. I valued the time I spent playing varsity that year because it taught me so much. I looked up to all the seniors on that team and being able to play with them in important games was monumental to my development as a player. Losing in the playoffs that year and seeing how it affected all the seniors made me want to play way harder and it shaped the way I played. By the time I was a senior, I was a captain and wanted to be a role model and try to have that same effect on some of the younger kids. Even now as a senior in college I carry some of those same lessons with me.”

Curtin, 22, who lives in Orland Park, graduated from Brother Rice in 2022. He will graduate from PNW in May with a degree in mechanical engineering.

“One of my favorite memories at Brother Rice was beating Mt. Carmel my senior year,” Curtin said. “Brother Rice and Mt Carmel have a very storied rivalry across (many) sports and academics that stretches back years and continues today. During my first couple years at Brother Rice, we struggled (against) Mt. Carmel. They were in a similar position as us and I grew up playing hockey and was good friends with a lot of kids on their team. This game had a big crowd. We ended up winning 4-3 in overtime and I had a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal. 

“Another great memory was beating St Rita in the first game of my senior year. It was at Southwest Ice Arena where I grew up playing, and it felt like every kid from Brother Rice and St. Rita were at the game. I had never seen the place so packed. I ended up having a goal and two assists; it was a great start to our season.”

Brother Rice head coach Paul Manning has nothing but fond memories of Curtin during his run as a Crusader, tagging him “one of the grittiest, most passionate players” he has ever coached. Manning added, “We never needed to worry if he was going to show up. If we had 18 of those (type players), we would win the CCHL and the Scholastic Hockey League.”

Curtin plays right wing for PWN, skating with a teammate from Minnesota and another from Russia. But he doesn’t have to look far for fellow Illinois natives. He has 10 teammates who formerly skated in Illinois and the team’s assistant coach is Chris Cimoch, who had a storied career at St. Rita and has a long family history in Illinois hockey.

“Having a (large) number of Illinois natives on my team shows how good Illinois hockey is at developing players,” Curtin said. “We have players on (PNW) from Russia, Ukraine, China, Canada and across the U.S. Illinois having a bunch of guys that mix with this group is impressive. It’s especially cool for me as I grew up playing with and against some players who are now on my (college) team.”

Curtin said a career highlight has been back-to-back conference championships at PNW and going 44-16 over the last two seasons, including being ranked as high as No. 5 in the Central Region for ACHA D2.

A personal hockey highlight was scoring four goals in a game during his lone season playing junior hockey in Florida.

“I learned to play hockey as a young kid at Arctic Ice Arena from Chris Cimoch Sr., and both of his sons, Jay and Chris Jr., played huge roles in my hockey development,” Curtin said. “In high school, I trained with Jay and Chris’ hockey organization, Cimoch Hockey Training. Both Jay and Chris helped me talk with coaches, build a highlight video and hockey resume for advancing to the next level. When I was playing junior hockey in Florida, Chris and Tom Pauly, both recruited me to play at PNW. The opportunity for a Purdue engineering degree while playing hockey for coaches I respect and believed in, was one I had to take.”

Curtin credits his Illinois past for landing at PHW.

“Illinois hockey prepared me exceptionally well. Being able to play against some really strong competition throughout my Illinois hockey career was incredibly helpful,” he said. “Playing for organizations like St. Jude and Brother Rice that have coaches and staff who truly care about you as a person while also pushing and challenging you to get better is all any player could ask for.”

Curtin said he had “many impactful coaches growing up playing hockey in Illinois.” He added, “All of them were different and had their own unique way of coaching. I can appreciate a lot of their philosophies, even now as this is my final season playing competitive hockey. As a player, specifically playing in Illinois, the competition and grit style of hockey that Illinois is known for went a long way in my personal development. You had to be willing to play a gritty, hard-working style of hockey to advance to any higher level, regardless of how skilled you are. Illinois was great at teaching you those principles.” 

Slapshots With … Purdue Northwest Forward Sean Curtin

Jersey Number: 86 – “When (first) selecting my number all the obvious choices like 88, 19 and 10, were already taken due to how good the Chicago Blackhawks were at the time. (The number) 86 was available and my dad told me to go with it because it was when he and my mom both graduated high school. Plus,1986 was technically the year that the 1985 Bears won the Super Bowl and my family are huge Bears fans.” 
Awards & Honors:
-    St. Timothy Senior Leadership Award from Cimoch Hockey Training (senior year at Brother Rice);
-    2021-22 NIHL all-star for St. Jude;
-    Managed a current 3.82 GPA, member of National Honor Society for PNW; will graduate with high distinction honors
Advice: “I would tell (high school players) to focus on what they can control. Show up every day with the mindset of improving. Don’t waste any opportunity to get better even if it’s a drill you’ve done a thousand times in practice. I know it’s cliché but stay on top of grades in school as that is what can help you the most. Also, you don’t need to play AAA hockey to advance to college/junior hockey. I am proof of that. AAA is great, but the cost and commitment might not be worth it for everybody and high school hockey offers all the development you will need if you have the right mindset.”  
Junior Hockey: “Some of my fondest memories playing hockey came when I played for the Florida Jr. Blades in Fort Myers, Florida after high school. A lot of high school players don’t know this but most college players at the D2 level or higher played some form of junior hockey before playing college. Junior hockey is a great way to play and develop as a player before going to college. Also, there are plenty of junior teams in Illinois and surrounding areas that are great for helping players improve. Junior hockey is specifically designed for development and it should be something anyone looking to play hockey at a higher level should consider.”
Favorite NHL Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Favorite NHL Player: Brandon Hagel
Favorite Sports-themed Movie: Rocky IV
Favorite TV Show: Peaky Blinders
Motivational Song: I Ain’t Worried by One Republic
Favorite Pre-game Meal: Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak from Jersey Mike’s Subs
Favorite app: TikTok
Celebrity You’d Like To Meet: Morgan Wallen