Sault native Cole Delarosbil is currently studying in France with his sights set on a business career.
The 24-year-old Algoma University graduate is currently pursuing a master's degree and is enrolled in the Corporate Financial Management program at the prestigious SKEMA Business School in Paris.
However, the business world wasn’t always Delarosbil’s first choice.
“Hockey was everything to me,” Delarosbil said from Paris in a virtual chat with SooToday.
“I tried out every year from the age of nine to about 16, and I honestly got cut 10 years straight. Triple-A hockey was never a reality for me but when I was 16 years old I successfully tried out for the Root River Rangers Double-A team.”
Delarosbil’s determination to succeed in hockey paid off.
“I was pretty excited that I made the team. It was a breakout season for me. I played centre and I was in the top three on the team in points,” he said.
After graduating from St. Mary’s College, Delarosbil made it to the Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and later played for the Soo Thunderbirds.
“I worked very hard and got to play for my hometown. We won the NOJHL championship in 2022. That was something special. We had a really special team that year,” he said.
Delarosbil, then 20, decided to trade his hockey stick for a briefcase and enrolled in Algoma University’s Bachelor of Business Administration program.
“It was time to start studying," he said. "I realized I had to make a career for myself.
"My dad was in finance and I always knew I wanted to do something in business. I took a couple years off between high school and university because hockey was a big commitment for me but I still wanted to learn, so I started reading a lot of books about finance on my own.”
Delarosbil started studying at Algoma in January 2022 and graduated in May 2025, completing the four-year Bachelor of Business Administration program in three and a half years.
“I had to catch up. I took summer classes,” Delarosbil said.
He appreciated the smaller class sizes and closer relationships with professors at Algoma University.
A high grade point average, involvement in Algoma’s business club and an internship at KPMG led to Delarosbil being admitted to a Master's level program at the SKEMA Business School in Paris.
“SKEMA wants to see your work experience, your personal projects, your involvement in student organizations. They want to know you're serious about your field and that you love what you do,” Delarosbil said.
His Master’s program at SKEMA began in September and continues until December 2026.
“It's pretty competitive, especially for international students, to get into SKEMA. I got rejected by other schools and that reminded me of when I got rejected at first in hockey,” Delarosbil said.
Not the type to get discouraged by rejection, Delarosbil is glad to have been accepted by SKEMA.
“I got declined by other schools but they weren't necessarily better. SKEMA was actually a better school and it accepted me,” he added.
He’s enjoying Paris as a student, seeing the city’s many historic sites and using his French language skills.
“I take the train every day and I see the Eiffel Tower. I’ve seen the Louvre,” he said.
Delarosbil is already applying for work in the corporate financial management world to companies in France, the UK, Toronto and Montreal.
“You have to be open to being in different places. For me, the business and finance world is competitive. I’m competing with very smart people and I guess that's what kind of drives me. I get that competitive edge from my athletic background,” he said.
Though in his 20s, Delarosbil already has some advice for people younger than him.
“A lot of young people have big dreams but sometimes the people around them say ‘be realistic, you can’t do this.’ I just want to make sure people know that if you have a dream you have to chase it, no matter what the cost, otherwise you're going to regret it for the rest of your life,” he said.