Jake Rock, a left-handed-shooting forward, has traveled a championship route – twice – since graduating from Plainfield North High School in 2021 and playing his second season for the Chicago Young Americans.
He played for the New Jersey 87’s, a Tier III junior league team, during the 2021-22 season and the 87’s won the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) Championship. After two seasons, Rock left the 87’s for Bloomington, Indiana, where he joined the Indiana University club team for the 2023-24 season – and the Hoosiers this past March defeated Miami (Ohio) in overtime to capture the ACHA Men’s Division 2 National Championship, the first national championship in IU’s 55-year history.
“Winning those two championships were both unreal,” said Rock, 22, who lives in Wheaton and formerly skated for the Huskies, Leafs and Team Illinois.
“Many former coaches (from Illinois) sent well-wishes and then congratulations via text. All my best friends are the guys I’ve played hockey with,” and many messaged him too before and after the championships.
Rock’s dad was at the rink in St. Louis earlier this year when IU skated to glory and during the final moments of the Hoosiers’ championship game, he was on FaceTime with two former teammates of Rock – one who was teammates with Rock during their house league days when they were 7 or 8 years-old and still best friends; another was a former teammate from TI, the Leafs and CYA.
“It was awesome to hear from (former coaches and teammates) after so many years,” Rock said.
Rock had one of his best Illinois seasons in 2019-20 when he scored 17 goals and 19 assists in 77 games for the U18 CYA team.
He has 6 goals and 4 assists so far this season for Indiana and has already equaled his point total of his rookie season for the Hoosiers.
“Illinois coaches take (the game) seriously, and they really care about their players. That’s super cool and great to see, what makes (Illinois hockey) so strong,” said Rock, working toward a finance and Spanish degree at IU. “Anything you ever need from your coaches, I’ve always found that they are more than happy to help. That goes back to my (early) Canlan house league coaches.”
Rock played hockey and baseball before sticking with the former after leaving Illinois.
“My path has not been super standard; it’s been unique, bouncing around. But it’s been fun,” he said. “I always wanted to play at the next level. I love the game and just wanted to keep going, see how far I could go.
“I never really thought of hanging up (my skates after graduating). I went to New Jersey and was living on my own, which was unique. The hockey (in New Jersey) was unbelievable. It was as if hockey was my job. We were at the rink almost daily at 9:30 a.m.”
Now at IU, he skates about four times per week – and at the same school where his parents both graduated from.
“Playing at the next level … it’s a great experience,” Rock said. “ACHA is great hockey, super competitive. It’s a big commitment, a lot of work.”
Illinois hockey certainly prepped him for the next level, he said.
“The coaches in Illinois have done an outstanding job. The foundation in Illinois, that is, the youth programs, are very strong,” he said. “(The rink in Bloomington, Indiana) is shut down during the summer; however, in Illinois, we have access to so many rinks; it’s a great situation.
“We are a lot more fortunate than we realize.”
Rock, who recalls playing street hockey with the neighborhood kids as a youngster, which got him hooked on hockey, added: “I met some of my best friends on the ice in Illinois – and I loved every second of that (experience).”