PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Earlier this month, Chris Duclair '27 spent a week on the ice as an invitee to the Philadelphia Flyers' development camp.
 
Teams across the NHL host week-long development camps in July that focus on player development, evaluation and building organizational culture. Attendees are typically the team's draft picks and select invitees, who work on fundamentals like skating, stickhandling and learning the team's offensive and defensive systems. The camps are designed to set their top prospects up for success when training camps open in the fall.
 
"Usually it's their drafted guys that go to camp," Duclair explained. "In this case, there were some guys that actually played for Philly, played in the playoffs, Denver Barkey and Alex Bump. Mostly it's for draftees and invites, which was my case. It's a chance to showcase what you got and develop and learn as much as you can."
 
As one of the select invitees to camp, Duclair got a firsthand look at the caliber of talent and intensity expected at the professional level. What he witnessed on the ice left a strong impression.
 
"The pace is high, but guys were also executing every single drill," Duclair said. "Passes were on tape. Stick positioning was there, body positioning, you name it, everything was just really consistent and very detail-oriented. I think bringing that sort of mentality into my senior season will help me a lot and help the team out as well."
 
Duclair felt he performed well on the ice and learned a lot.
 
"The development coaches had great things to say," Duclair said. "They gave me a lot of great advice that I'm excited to carry into next season, and I'm really looking forward to putting it into practice."
 
When asked if playing in the NHL was a goal, Duclair wouldn't allow himself to look that far down the road.
 
"The goal right now is to win another championship at Hobart, but you know, if I get to do that with my teammates for my last year, that'd be something special. I feel the rest will take care of itself."
 
Duclair is spending the rest of his summer in Miami. He's living with his brother Anthony, a veteran of 12 NHL seasons. Chris has a sales and marketing internship with Etico Management and is working out with Anthony to stay ready for hockey season.
 
Duclair has been a consistent offensive threat across his three seasons at Hobart. The left winger has tallied between 21 and 27 points each year, while winning national championships in 2024 and 2025. Duclair is coming off his most productive season to date, logging 13 goals and 14 assists during last year's run to a third straight national championship game. One of, if not the fastest, skaters on the team, he was voted to the 2025-26 All-SUNYAC third team.
 
A business management and entrepreneurship major, Duclair also earned All-American Scholar honors from the American Hockey Coaches Association.