College hockey’s national crown will be awarded this weekend amid the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas.
The Frozen Four gets underway Thursday night, with the Flames boasting a Frozen Foursome amongst the team’s rosters.
Calgary prospects Cole Reschny, Abram Wiebe and Cade Littler are part of the North Dakota squad that opens the tourney against Wisconsin Thursday, while Calgarian Eric Jamieson will patrol the point for the University of Denver, who have drawn Michigan in the semi-final round at T-Mobile Arena.
A fifth Flames prospect - defenceman Henry Mews - is part of that Michigan squad, too, but his freshman campaign was cut short after just 10 games last fall due to injury.
For Reschny, Calgary’s top selection in last year's NHL Draft, the Frozen Four marks the exclamation point on what’s been a season of discovery and growth. The centre landed in Grand Forks last summer, the latest stop in his hockey journey, one that’s taken him from his hometown of Macklin, Sask., to the B.C. capital, to the Peace Garden State.
“It’s been all I could ask for and more. It’s hard to put into words, but I’m very happy with the decision I made,” Reschny said of heading South at 18 following a 92-point campaign with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. “I can’t thank everyone here enough for giving me this opportunity: the coaching staff, the team around me, helping me out every day and pushing me every day.
“We’re so lucky with what we have down here. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this opportunity I got.”
Numbers-wise, Reschny has picked up where he left off this season. He’s averaged a point per game at North Dakota, earning Conference Rookie of the Year honours, and, alongside Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh, he helped Canada win a bronze medal at the World Juniors in Minnesota.
But it’s not the offence that he’s most proud of.
“I’ve grown not only as a player but as a person, becoming a young man, putting on weight off the ice, working in the gym and just translating (that) to the ice, I think my overall game has grown more and more,” Reschny explained. “That’s something I’m going to need to play at the next level.
“The offence has come with it, too, but I’m really focusing in on growing my 200-foot game more, and becoming a better player every day.”
So, too, has Reschny become steeped in North Dakota’s hockey tradition. The Fighting Hawks are in Las Vegas for their 23rd Frozen Four appearance to chase a ninth national championship and first since 2016. Over the past year, he’s embraced the college game - and college hockey culture - with aplomb.
“It’s something I didn’t realize until I came down here and joined this organization,” he said. “There’s so much rich history, how cherished this program is to the community, the city of Grand Forks, the state of North Dakota.
“We’re very fortunate to have everyone behind us, rooting for us. We’re pretty lucky to have them, and I have no doubt there’ll be quite a few in Vegas with us.”
Decked out in green, no doubt. And ready to cheer Reschny, Wiebe, Littler and the rest of the North Dakota squad on against a Wisconsin team that coincidentally features former Hitmen stars Daniel Hauser and Oliver Tulk.
“It’s not going to be easy, there’s four great teams in this tournament,” said Reschny of his group’s next challenge. “There’s going to be no easy games, it’s all going to be tight-checking, but I think we’re ready. We’ve trusted the process all year, we’ve put in the work.
“Our focus is on the first one Thursday, and let’s see what we can do from there.”
