MINNEAPOLIS — In a perfect world, Nick Michel might have played four years of college hockey in the South, and come back to his home state with a degree to find a job in the financial world. But if it was a perfect world for Minnesota Gophers fans, they would also be prepping for a second season of watching Logan Cooley in maroon and gold.
When Cooley switched directions in the middle of the summer and signed with the Arizona Coyotes, it left the Gophers in need of two forwards to fill out their roster. That’s about the time that Michel, who earned his degree in global business from St. John’s and played two seasons of Division III hockey for the Johnnies, got a call from the Gophers hockey office.
“I went on my official visit there and the rest is history,” said Michel, who will play for the Gophers during the 2023-24 season while pursuing a sports management graduate degree. “It kind of happened pretty fast and obviously it helped that Cooley signed and they needed two forwards.”
So all Michel has to do for the Gophers is replace Cooley’s offense, right? He laughed at that idea.
“I don’t know if anyone can do what that guy did last year,” said Michel, who is 24 and played prep hockey for Holy Family Catholic. “It was incredible.”
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After a few years in the NAHL — interrupted by a few knee surgeries that kept him off the rink for a time — Michel’s college hockey career began at Alabama-Huntsville, for the final season of the Chargers’ program before they dropped the sport. While some would find the prospect of playing hockey in the land of cotton and Nick Saban to be odd, Michel found a home.
“I loved Huntsville. The school experience wasn’t the best, but I don’t think it was great for anyone during COVID,” he said. “It was all online classes and you didn’t really get to meet anyone except the hockey guys. But we had a great group and it’s refreshing to walk outside in the middle of the winter in flip-flops and play golf. I definitely took full advantage of that. I loved it down there.”
Alas, his southern adventure was short-lived, and with UAH dropping hockey, he found a home in Collegeville, earning All-MIAC first team honors last season while leading the Johnnies in scoring. Smaller in stature, Michel still plays a hard-nosed game.
“I just try to do the little things. I don’t mind getting pucks in deep and going in and playing the body,” he said. “I’m kind of a smaller guy but I like to get physical and chop it up. And when I have opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net, I can. I pride myself on doing a little bit of everything.”
Michel is a product of Waconia’s youth hockey system, where his father was one of folks who helped get the community’s rink built. He admitted that getting a chance to play for the Gophers in the coming season fulfills a childhood wish.
“It’s kind of a cliche, but if you’re a kid growing up in Minnesota, a lot of us dreamed of playing for the Gophers, so to get the chance to do that is pretty special,” he said. “Hopefully I can sneak into some games.”
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