Growing up playing hockey in Minnesota, Gophers junior Colin Schmidt always dreamed of playing collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota as a kid. However, his path to the team was atypical.

Schmidt grew up in Wayzata, Minn., a western suburb of Minneapolis just over 15 miles from the University, attending Gophers games throughout his childhood.

In his high school career with the Wayzata Trojans, Schmidt helped the team win the 2016 MSHSL Class AA State Championship after burying an empty-net goal in a 5-3 victory over Eden Prairie.

After the Trojans’ 2016 state-winning season, Schmidt verbally committed to playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota.

But when Don Lucia, the Gophers head coach during that time, resigned two years later in 2018 after 19 years of coaching at Minnesota, things didn’t go as planned when current head coach Bob Motzko took over the program. Schmidt said the transition period didn’t work out for him. So, he reopened his recruitment.

After graduating from Wayzata High School in 2018, Schmidt joined the Jamestown Rebels in the North American Hockey League for the 2018-2019 season. He played in 41 regular-season games, recording 27 points and five playoff games, where he tallied two goals and one assist.

Union College, a small private school across the state, recruited Schmidt during his time with Jamestown. Then he joined the Dutchmen for his freshman season in 2019.

Schmidt skated in 32 games as a freshman, accumulating one goal and four assists. He was named an ACHA All-American Scholar and earned ECAC Hockey All-Academic honors.

Following the 2019-20 season, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Schmidt then decided to unenroll from Union, step away from collegiate hockey and move back home to be closer to his family.

“I was in a place where I felt I was ready to step away from the game, partially because Union wasn’t the right fit for me. I was comfortable pursuing the next phase of my life,” Schmidt said. “It was a super difficult decision, one that I thought a long time about. I had been playing hockey my whole life. It becomes a part of your identity. It was something where my dreams changed.”

Before his sophomore year of college, Schmidt enrolled at the University’s Carlson School of Management to pursue an undergraduate degree in finance.

With his enrollment at Minnesota, the Gophers’ athletic compliance office approached Motzko in the summer of 2020, thinking the team brought Schmidt back for the 2020-2021 season because his name popped back into their recruiting portal and tracking list.

Motzko, confused, quickly responded with, “we didn’t,” and that’s when he found out Schmidt was attending the University. Then he called Rick Bennett, Union’s head coach at the time, to learn more about why Schmidt returned home.

During Minnesota’s 2020-2021 campaign, with only 13 healthy forwards on the roster and COVID-19 in mind, Motzko wanted to add another forward to his roster. So, he gave Schmidt a call around Christmas break to see if he would be interested in making a return to collegiate hockey and joining the Gophers for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.

“When I had the opportunity to join the team, I certainly had to think about it — if I would really enjoy it. [However], it wasn’t too tough of a decision after talking to my family,” said Schmidt, who decided to join the Gophers. “It was only a commitment for the rest of the season. There wasn’t much to lose. Then it ended up going really well.”

Although Schmidt didn’t see any game action last season, he was a part of the Minnesota team that finished with a 24-7 record en route to winning the 2021 Big Ten Championship.

There was no guarantee Schmidt would be back on the roster moving forward. He knew that before he joined the team. However, Motzko brought him back for the 2021-22 season.

After watching countless games at 3M Arena at Mariucci as a child growing up, Schmidt’s childhood dream came true. He hit the ice for his first collegiate game for the Gophers on Nov. 12 against Ohio State. The game marked the first time he had played in a college hockey game since March 2020.

Already this season, the 6-foot-4-inch, 230 pound right-wing has skated in 11 games as the team has battled injuries, COVID-19 and the absences of junior co-captain Ben Meyers, sophomore Brock Faber and freshman Matthew Knies due to the Olympics throughout the season.

Although it doesn’t officially count, Schmidt even scored a goal for the Gophers in a 5-3 victory against St. Thomas in an exhibition game on Jan. 2.

“It was quite the turn of events. Even after coming back this fall to the team, I was just appreciative that I had a spot on the team. I was never promised any playing time whatsoever. Truly, that was never really a goal of mine,” Schmidt said. “Nevertheless, it’s been really fun.”

Schmidt has skated in every game of Minnesota’s most recent six-game win-streak, helping them sweep three-consecutive series for the first time this season.

The winger is not only playing in these games, but he’s truly making an impact. Schmidt recorded his first point for the Gophers after setting up junior Jack Perbix’s game-winning goal in a 3-1 victory over Penn State Friday.

“What an unbelievable young man, my goodness. He is so well-respected and liked on our team. I’m so happy he’s getting the chance to play and play for the Gophers. He’s been terrific for us. We’re so happy for him,” Motzko said. “He’s just a first-class human being. To have him come into our locker room, the guys just embrace him like part of the family. He’s a glue guy.”

Minnesota has six players who have eclipsed 20 points and 15 players with at least double-digits in that same category this season.

The Gophers are playing some of their best hockey down the stretch. Minnesota holds an 11-3 record in the second half of the season while outscoring their opponents 50-28 in that span.

With one series remaining against Wisconsin, the Gophers are in second place in the Big Ten standings with 49 points, trailing Michigan by two points in the table. The Wolverines also have one series left this season against Notre Dame.

“From a team perspective, I think the sky’s the limit. We’ve been really turning the corner in the second half. We have a scary lineup right now,” Schmidt said. “I think there’s no one in the country we can’t beat, so we have a really good chance this year to win the Big Ten regular season, the Big Ten tournament, and win the National Championship. Those are the things we talk about in our locker room every day. It’s going to be a fun couple of months here.”