Photo by: Jacob Rokeach
As the Colorado Avalanche finished up their morning skate last Friday, three players continued to circle the ice. Although there would seem to be no similarities among these players when looking at the roster, these three men have one very strong connection: all three are ex-Pioneers.
Former DU standout players Anti Laaksonen, Mark Rycroft and Paul Stastny all are regulars in the Avalanche’s daily line-up. These three players may have some major differences between them, but all three share in their passion and love of the game and the city that has helped all three to get where they are today.
Each grew up in a different country, yet these players have all had very different roads that led them to the University of Denver.
Laaksonen, the oldest at 33, was recruited while playing in a men’s league in his native Finland.
“The coaches just started to talk to me while I was playing in Finland,” said Laaksonen of his recruiting process. “I then decided that it would be a really good opportunity and that I would go.”
Getting to DU wasn’t so simple for Laaksonen, however. Having to finish serving his 11-month commitment to the Finnish Army, as mandatory for Finland’s male citizens, Laaksonen studied English the entire time in order to be able to take entrance exams into DU.
The hard work did pay off in the end, as Laaksonen joined the Pioneers for the 1993-94 school year.
The road to DU was a little simpler for the other two DU alumni.
Rycroft, coming from British Columbia, Canada, was first contacted by DU while playing junior hockey, and is definitely not shy about his feelings for the school that he would attend, starting in the fall of 1997.
“I really liked the small school environment,” said Raycroft of his reasons for choosing to become a Pioneer. “Denver as a city is awesome, DU had just gotten a new rink, the coaches were great; the players too. I could really keep going with this.”
His love for the area and the school allowed Rycroft to make a quick transition from the land of hockey to the Rocky Mountain State, as he said that his adjustment was “the easiest thing ever.”
The path to DU for Stastny was an equally easy decision as with Rycroft. Stastny, son of Hockey Hall-of-Famer Peter Stastny, grew up in St. Louis and played juniors in the U.S. for River City of the U. S. Hockey League, paving the way for a chance to play college hockey.
“I really liked the whole atmosphere of DU,” said Stastny regarding his decision to attend DU. “The coaches were great and I was really treated well by all the guys [on the team.]”
He also credited his relationship with former DU defenseman and last year’s Hobey Baker Award winner Matthew Carle as a large reason for becoming a Pioneer.
Though all three of these players had very different careers at DU, the one thing that they all had in common was an extreme amount of success.
Both Rycroft and Stastny were named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team as freshmen. Stastny won the WCHA and USCHO.com Rookie of the Year Awards as well during his first season in a Pioneer uniform.
All three players played on winning teams that appeared in the NCAA tournament. Though Stastny was the only one to be on a national championship team (2005), both Laaksonen and Rycroft’s teams made it far into the tournament.
Rycroft won a WCHA Championship in 1999, with a team that he felt could have “won it all,” while Laaksonen and his Pioneer team were one overtime goal away from reaching the Frozen Four.
Though all three said that the success that they had as Pioneers was fun, they all felt that their time at DU was much more influential on their lives than a chance to hold up trophies.
“I matured a lot in my two years at DU, as a person as well as an athlete,” said Stastny, who turned pro following his All-American sophomore campaign a year ago. “I came in [to DU] as a kid, and I changed a lot. I learned a lot from the coaches and being on my own.”
Rycroft said that his experience helped him in a similar way to Stastny, saying that maturity was the thing that he gained most from his time as a Pioneer.
The time spent at DU had an even bigger impact on Laaksonen’s life. As a freshman at DU, Laaksonen had to work hard to adjust to taking classes in English, but the connections he made with the other students is what changed his life the most.
“I met my wife during my freshman year,” said Laaksonen, who won a silver medal playing for Finland in the Torino Olympics. “We have been married nine years now, and have two kids. We have such great memories at DU, and come back every summer.”
With all the great past experiences that these players have had in Denver, it has made it even better for them to be able to come back to the city as part of an NHL team.
“It’s awesome to get this chance,” said Rycroft of coming back to Denver after playing three seasons with the St. Louis Blues. “Denver is just a great city, and there is such a good quality of life here.”
For Stastny, who led the Pioneers in scoring last season, being given the chance to play for the Avalanche has a very special meaning to him. In coming to the Avalanche, Stasny gets a chance to play for the same organization that his father is still the second all-time leading scorer for the Avalanche/Nordique organization, only behind his son’s teammate, and current Avalanche captain, Joe Sakic.
“Getting to play in Denver makes everything even better,” said Stastny of his rookie season. “I have grown up around this organization because of my dad, and playing here is just a dream come true for me.” Stastny has had an exceptional start to his rookie season in the Avalanche, as he is currently ranks third on the Avalanche with 12 points, and is quickly earning respect with his teammates and with his coaches.
“We are really happy with his play; he’s had a really strong start,” said Avalanche head coach Joel Quenneville of his 21-year-old rookie forward. “He’s gotten exposed to different situations and responds well to what he is asked to do.”
Laaksonen and Rycroft have both been enjoying a strong start to the season as well, as part of the same forward line together. They have been able to add depth to the Avalance’s line-up by producing on penalty kills and recently putting up some points, said Quenneville.
“They give us a balance that not many teams in this league have,” said Quenneville of the two ex-Pioneers. “It was great to see them get on the board with a goal this past week.”
These three players are great examples of how the NHL has had an increasingly larger amount of former college players making it onto team’s rosters.
Currently, 25 percent-30 percent of NHL players once played in the college ranks, according to NHL.com. Some in the NHL credit the rise to the change in the rules two years ago, which allow for smaller and more skilled players to be successful. But, some, including Quenneville, feel that there is no specific reason.
“College hockey is very competitive,” said Quenneville. “It could have to do with the U.S. junior leagues getting much better and bigger with more teams, and also the increase in the number of kids that are playing hockey now [in the U.S.]”
Though many argue about what the best route to making it into the NHL. Most agree that it depends on the person.
“I feel that the education route was the way to go for me,” Stastny said about his choice to play college hockey rather than playing in a Canadian major junior league. “I feel it’s important to have an education. It’s something to fall back on, because you never know what can happen.”
What will be happening next for the three DU alums on the Avalanche is that they will continue working towards their goal of a Stanly Cup Championship.
“All I want to do is help us win,” said Rycroft. “I want to help the Avalanche win as much as I can. I love it here and I want to be here for as long as I can.”
Laaksonen, Rycroft and Stasny will return to action tonight as they take on the Los Angeles Kings at the Pepsi Center at 7:30 p.m.
