By Alexis Demopoulos
Playing for the South Shore Kings for the past two seasons had a big role in defenseman Jackson Faughnan’s commitment to college. With the help of his coaches and team, Faughnan earned himself a NCAA commitment to SUNY-Brockport for the 2025-26 season.
Faughnan appeared in just 12 games for the Kings during the 2023-24 season, but it was a no- brainer for him to re-sign with them this season. So far in 25 games during the 2024-25 season, Faughnan has six assists and has been a key fixture on their blue line. Having won the Dineen Cup last season, the Kings have picked up right where they left off and currently have a record of 27-3-2 and hold first place in the New England Division.
“I can’t say enough good things about the Kings organization from the coaches, to the billet families, and all of the rink staff,” said the Binghamton, N.Y., native. “It’s a very smooth operation and in my opinion, one of the best organizations in junior hockey. After winning the Dineen Cup last year, it was a no-brainer to return for the 24-25 season and play for the Kings again. The league has also helped tremendously as there are college coaches at almost all of our games.”
Faughan started discussing the potential of committing to SUNY-Brockport with head coach Brian Dickinson prior to Thanksgiving. Faughnan expressed that the coaching staff really liked “my ‘stay-at-home defenseman’ and simple play style.”
There were a number of reasons why Faughnan was drawn to SUNY-Brockport from the coaching staff, the location of the campus being close to where he grew up and academically they offered his major – Actuarial and Data Science.
“SUNY-Brockport interested me because of its location being in New York and only about three hours from home,” said Faughnan. “I also liked that they offered an actuarial and data science program which is what I would like to pursue after hockey. Lastly, I found coach Dickinson to be a pretty personable and knowledgeable guy and I liked the team culture that he has built at Brockport.
“I enjoyed the smaller campus as well as the village of Brockport that surrounds campus,” explained Faughnan. “I enjoyed the overall vibe of the area and I felt pretty comfortable almost immediately after arriving on campus.”
As far as being a defenseman, Faughnan feels like the best parts of my game are his physical play below the dots in the defensive zone as well as simple but effective decision making when breaking the puck out of the zone. But, as far as what he hopes to work on in order to be an impact player next season, it is getting stronger.
“Since I have a pretty simple play style, I have been working to perfect the basics such as stickhandling and edgework on the ice and getting stronger and faster off the ice,” said Faughnan.
The NCDC congratulates Jackson Faughnan, his family, the South Shore Kings and SUNY-Brockport for his commitment.