Cooper Flinton ’26 and Luke Haymes ’26 had a hard choice to make this past hockey season: continue playing for the Big Green or chase their dreams and go professional. After Dartmouth’s season ended on March 21 with a loss against Clarkson University, Haymes signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Flinton signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2021 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
To finish out the 2024-25 season, Haymes suited up for the Toronto Marlies and Flinton played for the Syracuse Crunch, which are the American Hockey League affiliates of their respective clubs. The two said they might try to finish their Dartmouth degrees by returning during summer terms. The Dartmouth sat down with Haymes, who is from Ottawa, Ont., and Flinton, who is from Auburn, N.H., to reflect on their time at Dartmouth and discuss their professional careers.
How did you make the decision to go professional rather than continue your collegiate career?
CF: A lot of conversations with my parents and my agent. The coaches were involved too, to see what’s best for us in our development, weigh both options to see what the opportunity is and try to make the best decision that will help me in my career.
LH: Similar note — lots of conversations with my parents, my agent and coaches who obviously helped me get to the spot where I was able to make a decision. I was assessing whether I was ready or not, what that would look like with the team, what teams had offered and what my career development would look like then.
Do you plan to finish your Dartmouth degrees?
CF: The plan as of right now is to get used to professional hockey. I’ll take the next year or two to get adjusted as best as I can and once I have life figured out, maybe come back in the summers and train here and finish out classes by taking them in the summers.
LH: I want to get settled with pro hockey first before I’m comfortable enough to come back for a summer and do the ten weeks here.
Was going professional always your goal?
LH: Definitely for me, it’s something I wanted to do since I was very young, when I started skating. To have that opportunity, from the development I’ve gotten through Dartmouth and the coaches, is really special and a good step towards fulfilling my dream one day.
CF: I think choosing Dartmouth was a step towards going to play professional hockey. That was in the back of my head the entire time.
How did it feel to take off your Dartmouth jerseys for the last time and put on your professional jerseys for the first time?
CF: It was weird. You put on the Dartmouth jersey so many times in a row that you get used to it. You’re living out your dream putting on a professional jersey and it’s surreal. It was a great feeling. The hard work is starting to pay off, but it’s definitely just getting started, and it’s going to require more than it did before to succeed.
LH: It was really sad to take off the Dartmouth jersey for the last time after the Clarkson game. I remember a couple of us sat in the room for an hour or two after the game not wanting to take it off. Growing up as a Canadian kid you always idolized the Leafs and to wear that jersey, it was really cool and a step in the right direction.
How does the culture on professional teams differ from the culture on the Dartmouth team?
CF: There are guys on my team that are married and have kids. They’re full-on adults, and this is their career. But they’re all cracking similar jokes to the ones we make here. It’s definitely a different culture because it’s a job and your career is on the line. There’s more internal competition in ways just because it’s your living.
LH: Just treating it like a job. The guys are super nice in my experience, but there definitely is a switch in culture. Guys are playing for their jobs, guys are playing to put food on the table for their children and families. There’s a different intensity that comes with that.
What are you going to miss most about Dartmouth?
CF: The guys. These are my best friends. We spend so much time together, they’re my family. I eat all my meals with them, work out, skate, go to classes. It’s really a brotherhood.
LH: The friendships you make, the camaraderie between teammates is unlike anything else I have experienced in life. Whether it’s road trips or being here eating breakfast together or early morning workouts in the spring, sharing those moments with your best friends and brothers is something I’ll never forget.
What are you going to miss the most about playing with each other?
CF: We played so much together that we have great chemistry. When we are playing, we have fun — that’s the point when you play hockey. Luke made it more fun for me. That’ll be the part I miss the most, having the friendship. Even on the ice, when things get tough, looking beside me and being on the ice with my best friend is a good feeling.
LH: Playing with [Flinton] has been a privilege these past three years. He is a great player. Whether it’s huge hits on the ice, on the bench [when] we’re up by a couple of goals and we become cheerleaders for the last five minutes of the game or we get sat together on the bench, there are a lot of different emotions that go on in hockey. To go through them with him was super fun. There were always smiles and jokes that went on and memories we will share for a long time.
This article has been edited for clarity and length.
