Kirby Haraguchi to be Awarded Jordan Kocian Award

The Northern California Junior Hockey Association (NORCAL), honors the memory of Jordan Kocian each year by presenting the Jordan Kocian Award to a final year Midget who exemplifies desire, determination, dedication, leadership and inspiration in their approach to playing hockey and living. The award is for accomplishments outside hockey as well as inside hockey, it is for older midget players who have been role models to their peers and given their time back to the game and exemplified the spirit of Jordan Kocian.

Jordan Kocian began his hockey career with the Berkeley Bears. As a Midget, he played as a Junior Shark. He would be 32 today, but passed away in 1996 at the age of 21 from Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome, which causes an abnormal electrical conduction in the heart muscles. Those who knew Kocian have said that he touched their lives in a wonderful way.

Previously, the award was presented at the Jordan Kocian Tournament which was held annually in Berkeley over New Years where the award was presented by Jordan's parents, Lois and Craig Kocian. "This annual non-competitive event embodies the spirit Jordan Kocian had for giving back to the community. As a young adult he stayed active in guiding and coaching younger players." In recent years, the award has been presented at the annual NORCAL Playoffs held in March, during a Midget 18A game.

The recipient of the Jordan Kocian Award for 2008 is Kirby Haraguchi of the San Jose Jr. Sharks Midget 18A team. The award will be presented to Kirby during the NORCAL A/B Playoffs to be held 3/14-3/16 at Sharks Ice at San Jose in San Jose, California. The presentation will take place Saturday 3/15 on-ice just prior to the 2:45pm Midget 18A game. Kirby clearly exhibited the qualities that are sought in honoring the memory of Jordan Kocian, whether it be the dedication to the sport of hockey, giving back to the game and the community or just generally exhibiting the exuberance for the sport of ice hockey and life in general. Craig and Lois Kocian reviewed all the applicants submitted this year, and felt Kirby was a very deserving candidate.

As a member of the Jr. Sharks Midget 18A team Kirby plays a vital role both on and off the ice to help ensure the team's success. On the ice, Kirby is one of the team's most versatile players. This year he has been one of the club's most consistent forwards, but when called upon has made an effortless transition to defense, the position he played for most of his youth. While Kirby is a fantastic player himself, arguably his greatest strength lies in improving those around him. It can be said without hesitation that those he is paired with play better with him than they do with any other player on the team. But while Kirby may be relatively soft-spoken, his actions off the ice speak louder than his words ever could. Kirby leads by example, showing a level of commitment and responsibility that his fellow teammates aspire to achieve.

Kirby is just as successful away from the rink as he is on it. A senior at Cupertino High School, Kirby excels in all aspects of academia currently holding a 3.84 unweighted GPA in addition to several perfect marks (5) on various AP tests. He has received the Bank of America Award in Math and Science and is a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) and the Japanese National Honor Society. Kirby is also the school's Class Treasurer, a post that he has held for the past two years. Kirby is awaiting acceptance letters from the various colleges to which he has applied, where he plans to study electrical engineering.

In addition to his heavy student involvement, Kirby is also the Captain of Cupertino High School's Varsity Wrestling Team. Kirby has twice received the Wrestling Team's Scholar Athlete Award (given to the team member with the highest GPA) and is a California International Team Member of USA Wrestling, which has provided him the opportunity to showcase his skills around the globe, even as far away as Japan.

Kirby is also a valuable member of the local community, having donated his time at the National Diabetes Convention (helped with registration), a local Fish-A-Thon (helped disabled youth go fishing), and Aki Matsuri and Nikkei Matsuri cultural festivals (events for Wesley United Methodist Church and Japantown, San Jose).

Finally, Kirby has a unique connection to Jordan in that he was also diagnosed with Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome about three years ago. He had a few episodes of tachycardia, which prompted an emergency room trip, visits to a pediatric cardiologist, heart monitors, an EKG and a treadmill stress test. He had a catheter ablation done at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford after which the cardiologist said he had been cured. He was playing hockey again within three weeks after leaving the hospital and his parents are happy to say that he has had no symptoms ever since.

For these reasons and many others we feel that Kirby is an outstanding candidate for the 2008 Jordan Kocian Award. His tireless effort on and off the ice is equaled only by his exceptional academic and altruistic endeavors. He is an extremely kind, giving, and hard-working young man that embodies all of the qualities this prestigious award seeks to recognize.

As the 2008 recipient of the award, Kirby receives a plaque, and his name is engraved on the Jordan Kocian Award Perpetual Cup that will be on display at Sharks Ice at San Jose for the next year.

Previous award winners include:

1997 Jason Rivera - Fresno AA
1998 Paul Margolis - Sacramento A
1999 Evin Cowen - Santa Rosa A
2000 John Wachter - Santa Rosa B
2001 Jordan Smith - Santa Rosa A
2004 Ryan Sweet - Stockton B
2004 Conor Foley - Cupertino A
2005 Andy Dickerson - San Jose A
2006 Devon Luna - Santa Clara A
2007 Ryan Horton - Santa Rosa A