Blog 4 Darrell Boldon

Although he may be out of his element, one Canadian is taking advantage of what the University of Oklahoma has to offer on the rink and in the classroom.

On Aug. 11 22-year-old Darrell Boldon left his home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and started a three-day road trip to Norman, OK.

“I came to OU for the hockey team and energy management program,” Boldon said. “Back home in Alberta the oil and gas is really big so I figured why not go to school where I can get into both.”

Boldon plays forward for the fourth ranked Sooner hockey team. This weekend the team went 2-1 at the American Collegiate Hockey Association D1 Showcase in Springfield, Ill.

“Darrell’s been playing really well this year,” teammate and roommate Nick Holmes said. “This weekend he scored three goals in three games. I’d say he’s one of the better players on our team.”

Boldon began skating when he was 4 years old and has been playing hockey since he was 5. In high school he also played soccer volleyball and skied competitively. He said the things he misses most about Canada are the mountains, the snow and the cold weather.

According to WeatherSpark.com, the average snowfall in Calgary is 53 inches and the temperature varies between 7 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit. In Norman, the average snowfall is 7 inches and the temperature is between 30 and 96 degrees Fahrenheit.

“I miss being cold,” Boldon said. “The cold front this weekend was awesome. I’m hoping we get some snow soon.”

Boldon said the transition moving from Canada to Norman has not been difficult. He said the friendly nature of people in the South reminds him of people back home.

“Besides his accent, the biggest difference with Darrell is that he doesn’t care about football, which is hard to do when you go to OU,” roommate Joel Schanke said. “Canada’s sports culture is completely different than ours down here in Norman. They even have a picture of people playing hockey on their five dollar bill.”

 “The football down here is like the hockey back home,” Boldon said. “In Canada, hockey is praised like football is praised here. Everything revolves around hockey. When the Flames made their Stanley Cup run the whole city was behind them. It was crazy, like it would be here for the Sooners.”