Tommies Take Center Stage

A DREAM COME TRUE

Tommie junior forward Andrew Kangas was recruited to St. Thomas as a Division III player, having received no Division I offers but he says, even as a freshman, he held onto the belief that he had the ability to play at the D-I level. While whispers of a potential move up to D-I had been making the rounds, it wasn’t until the summer of 2020 before the rumors were confirmed. 

St. Thomas forward Andrew Kangas lets go of a shot in the Tommies’ 2-0 loss to St. Cloud State on Oct. 3, 2021 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“I never really stopped working hard and trying to get better at the D-III level so when the opportunity came to go Division I, I felt like I was still getting better as a player and I never really stopped trying to improve,” said the 23-year-old Kangas who led Mahtomedi with a career-high 43 points as a senior in 2015-16. “So, when that reality came it was almost like, OK, here’s my chance that I felt like I deserved.”

But Kangas, a budding entrepreneur from Mahtomedi who already runs his own woodworking business, said he and the other returning players could not help but wonder if there would be a place for them once the transition was complete.

“There’s definitely a little thought that enters your mind like, ‘Oh, am I going to even be here next year?'” Kangas said. “Towards the end of the year last year, we skated with (Blasi) for two weeks and, just with the relationship I had with him during those two weeks, I had a good feeling that I was going to be a part of this team, which kind of settled my nerves a little bit.”

Kangas’ efforts paid off in his brief springtime audition for Blasi and, when the dust settled, the D-I dream became a reality for Kangas, who finished his D-III career with four goals and 13 points in 25 games.  But it wasn’t until Kangas stepped onto the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center ice in St. Cloud for the Tommies’ season opener against the Huskies that the reality of what he was about to do truly set in.

“You’re practicing with the team and you get free gear and the nice team clothes and apparel, but it didn’t really sink in until I hit the ice in warmups in St. Cloud and it was definitely an experience I’ll never forget,” said Kangas who went on to admit the novelty wore off sooner than one might expect.

“You obviously know it’s going to be faster and than any other game I’ve ever played,” Kangas said of the baptism of fire that was facing off with, at the time, the No. 2 ranked team in the country. “You know you’re going to have to play hard and tough but, just going through juniors and in practice, you’re ready and the adrenaline kind of takes over and you’re just out there playing another hockey game at that point.”