Gudmandson’s North Stars opportunity secured his college spot

At this point, it could have been the end of his hockey career.

But then, he found himself on the phone with then North Stars head coach and general manager Kevin Hasselberg.

“I got an opportunity to come down to the Battlefords and see if I could take the starting job,” the 23-year-old said in a phone interview from Fond du Lac, WI, where he now plays hockey at Marian University. “It was basically, ‘play like it’s your last day, you don’t know if you have another day.’ It essentially was for me.”

Before that conversation, it could have been the end of his hockey career.

He simply didn’t know what he was going to do or where he was going to go.

“It was my last year of junior so if that didn’t pan out, I didn’t know what other opportunities I’d really have,” he said.

When you seize an opportunity, another one often sprouts, and after an overage year where Gudmandson posted a sizzling .944 save percentage and 1.44 goals-against-average, scouts from NCAA schools came calling.

Lots of them.

A few offers from NCAA Div. I schools, a handful from Div. III schools, and a couple Canadian universities as well.

But he settled on the small campus of Marian University, located roughly two and a half hours north of Chicago.

“I chose Marian because of their reputation both academically and athletically,” Gudmandson said “They had the right program… [which] was a big factor for me but as well I had the opportunity to come in and play as a freshman.

Gudmandson is doing a double major in finance and accounting, and said he enjoys being at a campus where everyone knows the hockey team and students actually know their professors.

But even more so than the academics was the fact that Gudmandson not only got to play in year one, but start most games for Marian. He played in 18 of 27 games in 2014-15, posting a 2.85 G.A.A. and .911 save percentage.

Then last season, teammate Mike Baldwin won the starting job and Gudmandson only played in nine games.

Heading into his third season, the two of them will fight for the starting job.

“It’s been a battle the first two years,” Gudmandson said. “It’s really going to come down to who the coach thinks can win that night and obviously the work ethic you put in during the week.”

This year, an assistant coach from last year takes over the head coaching job, something Gudmandson thinks will work out fine. There’s lots of competition in his division – the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association – which Gudmandson said helps because if you win the division, you’re guaranteed a spot in the national championship.

Hopefully, Marian can make it past the semi-finals, something they’ve been unable to do the past two seasons.

“We have a more mature group [this year],” he said. “I think with the experience we have now and the depth, we should be able to … make a run for the national tournament.”

When his four years are up, Gudmandson would like to keep playing hockey, but regardless of whether that materializes or not, he’ll put his schooling to good use.

“It’s obviously been a goal of mine since day one to play professional hockey,” he said. “Whether I get a contract offer or not, my academic aspirations are to get into the financial industry.”

Just a few years ago, when Neepawa released Gudmandson, it seemed likely none of this would come to fruition.

But Hasselberg and Gudmandson had a chat, Gudmandson came to the Battlefords, and then ran with it in his final junior A season.

“The Battlefords organization does a great job in promoting their players to the next level,” Gudmandson said. “The fans in Battlefords are awesome, they made my experience there so much better. I think that’s what makes Battlefords such a great place to play – the community and the fans there.”

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.Kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Gudmandson’s North Stars opportunity secured his college spot

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