The same unbridled energy that first steered David Ma toward the hockey rink as a youngster now serves him well on the international scene and at Princeton University.
“My mom knew how to skate a little bit, and as a kid I had a lot of energy, so they would always try to put me into activities and stuff and see what I could do to kind of burn that off so that I'd be able to sleep at night,” Ma said. “When I was 3, they took me to the rink for the first time and started skating. The first time I was on the ice, it was not great, from the report that my parents gave back to me.”
Ma quickly improved his skating skills, which local coaches noticed. They eventually suggested to his parents that Ma might like to give hockey a try.
“It just took off from there,” said Ma, who grew up in Yonkers, New York. “Just kind of a coincidence with the coaches kind of pushing that, and my parents needing me to do something so I wouldn’t go home and bounce off the walls.”
Ma’s parents both emigrated from China to Canada, before eventually moving to the United States. He said his parents were aware of the importance of hockey in Canada but grew to appreciate it more in hindsight.
“I don’t think they really understood how passionate people are about it,” Ma said. “They didn’t think too much about it until I started playing.”
Ma played in high school at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota. He had looked up to two older players at his local rink while he developed his hockey skills. Both of those players went to Shattuck, so that’s how he ended up making his way to the hockey powerhouse.
While at Shattuck, Ma played in two international tournaments. He was a member of the U.S. team that competed at the 2018 U17 Five Nations Tournament in Slovakia, and the 2019 U.S. team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Slovakia and Czechia.
“Those were some of my favorite trips, for sure, and some of my favorite memories,” Ma said. “You come together with a group in a short amount of time. Being able to bond with those guys was awesome. A big part of hockey and the team sport aspect, is creating some of those relationships you have.
“Also, the experience itself was sick,” Ma said. “It’s not often that you get to represent your country and also go on a trip somewhere. It was awesome, getting to play some of the best players from around the world.”
Before joining Princeton in the fall of 2021, Ma played with the Chicago Steel in the USHL and helped them win the 2021 Clark Cup championship.
Ma, a defenseman, has played three seasons at Princeton, missing all of the 2023-24 season with an injury. He bounced back to play 30 games in 2024-25 with six goals and seven assists.
While no player wants to miss an entire season due to injury, Ma saw benefits from the time off following his second shoulder surgery.
“Taking the whole year off was huge because I knew I came back fully healthy and way stronger, and ready to go,” he said. “I really enjoyed my decision there. I thought it was the right one.”
Ma, a two-time ECAC All-Academic selection, said he has learned to balance his hockey commitment with the classroom demands of an Ivy League school.
“You have to. There’s no way you can put the pedal to the metal the whole time,” he said. “At some point, it will stop turning, so you have to find time to rest and relax. That’s a huge key of growing up and learning.”
Having great teammates helps with that, too.
“This is definitely the best locker room that I’ve been a part of, in terms of people, because everybody here is super driven,” Ma said of Princeton. “That kind of comes with the standard of playing here.”
Ma said he still has a good amount of that energy that steered him toward hockey in the first place, but he’s become much better at channeling it.
“I’ve definitely toned down on that,” he said. “I’m not bouncing off walls anymore. I do still have that, but it’s a little more use it when I need to, and rest when you don’t. This school takes a lot out of you, so you’ve got to know when to push and when to rest.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
Source: usahockey.com