Danny Kaufmann spent the summer in Washington, D.C., where he waited tables and shared living quarters with a childhood friend.
Through the course of the summer however, Kaufmann admitted that while they shared the same kitchen, he and John Carlson, a second-year defenseman with the Washington Capitals and Kaufmann’s best friend from growing up in New Jersey, didn’t spend as much quality time as one would expect.
While Kaufmann, a junior forward at Johnson and Wales, worked for tips and found time to train, it was exclusive of Carlson’s training.
“That is his work, so I had to work,” Kaufmann said. “Whenever we could, we worked out, but our paths didn’t cross much.”
But, Kaufmann explained, he trained much like he did in previous summers, in preparation for the season, and didn’t step onto the ice until the end of August. Then, he joined his team for captain’s practices that led up to the preseason, and the Wildcats opened the season November 2 with a 3-2 win at Stonehill.
In eight games this season, Kaufmann has emerged as the ECAC Northeast’s leading goal scorer, with 10 in his first eight games, helping Johnson and Wales go 6-1-1 and 3-0-1, second in the ECAC Northeast.
Kaufmann is tied for second in league scoring with Wentworth’s Mike Domsodi, each with 15 points, behind Johnson and Wales forward Jeremiah Ketts (eight goals, 12 assists). In Saturday’s 7-0 win over Salve Regina, Kaufmann scored two goals and had two assists.
“I’m just trying to get pucks and bury them,” Kaufmann said. “And a little luck helps, too.”
This week, the Wildcats travel to Western New York for a two-game nonconference series Friday and Saturday at Fredonia State — the first two games of a seven-game nonconference stretch for Johnson and Wales — and host Southern New Hampshire on December 14 before a 23-day holiday break.
“I’m not sure of the exact plans yet,” Kaufmann said of Johnson and Wales’ longest road trip of the season. “But it’s the same mindset as going into a regular game, and it’s not too much different than what we’ve all been through. 95 percent of our team played junior hockey, so we’re used to the road trips. There’s no real bad part about the trips, hockey-wise. It’s just sitting on the bus for a long stretch that can be rough.”
