by Paul Cincotta posted 02/12/2010 Hanscom lieutenant balances life in Air Force, playing professional hockey with Lowell Devils
By Dave Toller
Air Force Academy Athletic Media Relations
Few people can actually say they have had a dream come true. 2nd Lt. Greg Flynn has had two: the opportunity to serve the country he loves and the chance to play professionally in the sport he loves. A 2009 graduate of the Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, Colo., Lieutenant Flynn is stationed at Hanscom.
By day, he is a contract manager in the 66th Contracting Squadron -- an officer diligently working on market research, negotiating contracts and sending them forward through the Air Force process.
By night, he puts on the number 37 sweater as a rookie defenseman with the Lowell Devils of the American Hockey League. A fiercely competitive defenseman with a razor’s edge, he goes toe-to-toe with players who will soon be, or have been, in the National Hockey League.
“Playing professional hockey is an unbelievable opportunity, but I am an officer in the Air Force and very proud of that,” Lieutenant Flynn said. “I cannot thank everyone involved in the process enough. Everyone has been so supportive and for that I am eternally grateful. To my coaches at the Academy who taught me to play at the highest level, my commanders here at Hanscom who have given me this opportunity and the Lowell administration who took a chance on an unknown. A heart-felt thank you.”
Lieutenant Flynn was a 2009 All-American at the Air Force Academy where he was the nation’s top scoring defenseman. His slap shot made him a threat on every power play. But it was his tenacious style of play that gave the Air Force a toughness it needed to win three straight championships.
In March 2009, Lieutenant Flynn assisted on both goals to help lead the Air Force to a 2-0 win over third-ranked Michigan in the NCAA Tournament. Air Force reached the Elite Eight for the first time in school history and posted a school record 28 wins.
Lieutenant Flynn’s work ethic carried over into the classroom as well. He was a three-time academic all-conference selection. In the final week of May 2009, he graduated from the Air Force Academy with a degree in management and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After taking 60 days of leave, he spent five weeks at a contracting school at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and started his first assignment at Hanscom. He practiced with the Devils in Lowell, Mass., for three weeks before going to the Air and Space Basic Course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., an entry level module for all new lieutenants.
Upon returning to Hanscom in early December, Lieutenant Flynn’s dream of playing professional hockey became a reality. He signed an amateur tryout contract and first practiced with the Devils, the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, on Dec. 8. His first game came on the road in Manchester, N.H., Dec. 19.
“I hadn’t felt nerves like that in a long, long time,” Lieutenant Flynn said. “Not even my first college game. I think the biggest reason is that I had not played a game since April against Vermont in the NCAA Tournament. Then once the game started and I played my first shift, it all went away and I was just playing hockey again.”
Similar to his days as a cadet, Lieutenant Flynn must find the balance between his Air Force career and athletics and put in the commitment necessary to succeed at both. He wakes up at 5:30 a.m. and gets to the office by 6:30. First and foremost, he must work a full duty day. After a couple of hours in the office, he leaves for Lowell for the Devils' practice (about 15 minutes away) in the late morning and then returns to Hanscom to complete his day into the early evening.
“The day is a little like playing at the Academy when I had class and then practice and back to the dorms at about 7 p.m.,” Lieutenant Flynn said. “The difference is now I don’t have homework.”
In his third career game, again at Manchester, Lieutenant Flynn had four shots on goal, the third most on the team. As of Jan. 22, 2010, Lieutenant Flynn had played in six games and had 12 shots on goal. He earned his first plus as a professional in a 3-2 loss to Syracuse on Jan. 14, a game in which he tied his professional career high of four shots on goal.
Lieutenant Flynn started playing hockey when he was seven. Not long after, his father built a rink on the side of their home in Lino Lakes, Minn. Lieutenant Flynn and his two younger brothers, Ryan (a senior forward at Minnesota and a Nashville Predators draft choice) and Jake (a junior defenseman at Centennial High School) had the pleasure of playing right in their own backyard, which was just a few miles north of Minneapolis. “From the time I was a kid, I always dreamed of playing in the NHL,” the lieutenant said. “I grew up a North Stars fan and always thought to myself, ‘Hopefully that is me one day.’ I think every kid that plays a sport when they are young, dreams of playing that sport professionally.”
While Lieutenant Flynn is playing at the highest level of minor league hockey, he knows he still has a long way to go before reaching the NHL.
“The biggest thing I need to do is adjust to the speed of the game,” Lieutenant Flynn said. “I need to improve on the little things of the game, being in the right place all the time and trying to be a step ahead of the game. The guys in this league are future NHL players. They know exactly where they need to be and what they are doing all the time. I have a lot to learn on the hockey side, but I know that my priority is the Air Force and I take a lot of pride in that.”
The Department of Defense policy is that an active-duty service member pursuing professional sports must serve a minimum 24 months (Lieutenant Flynn’s 24 months extends through May, 2011). At that point, an individual can apply for early release and that process is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. There are several conditions that would need to be met, including the individual being assigned to reserve unit and the situation having potential recruiting or public affairs benefits for the Air Force.
“He’s a big, tough, durable defenseman who can also make things happen when the puck is on his stick,” said Frank Serratore, Air Force Academy hockey head coach. “His greatest strength as a pro is that he doesn’t have a weakness. That makes him really enticing. The way he works, and his intensity, I would not bet against this guy in anything he wanted to do.”
From the time the seven-year old first laced up his skates, to a college All-American, a lieutenant in the United States Air Force and now a professional hockey player, Lieutenant Greg Flynn truly is living the dream.
Lowell, MA The Lowell Jr River Hawks have announced the addition of 3 new coaches to their staff for the 2009 / 2010 season. Defenseman 
