Kyle Okposo

National Jr. Evaluation Camp
islesinfo.com

Kyle Okposo, who yesterday decided to return to the University of Minnesota for his sophomore season, was today invited to the 2007 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., Aug. 3-11. Okposo is a returning player from last years Team USA squad at the 2007 World Junior Championships in Sweden.

Also invited to the camp is Islanders 2006 4th round pick Rhett Rakhshani, from the University of Denver. Rakhshani attended the camp last summer as well, but was not named to the squad that played in Sweden.

Participating players are candidates for the 2008 U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2007-Jan. 5, 2008, in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic.

The camp will feature practices and eight international scrimmages with a split squad of the best American players under the age of 20 facing off against Sweden and Finland.

Kyle Okposo to Return for His Sophomore Season
by gophersports.com, June 6, 2007

University of Minnesota men’s hockey player Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.) announced today that he will return to the Golden Gophers for his sophomore season. Okposo, a center, was the No. 7 overall draft pick of the New York Islanders at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

“After meeting with the Islanders to discuss my future, I felt it was in my best interest to return for my sophomore year,” Okposo said. “This is where I want to be to develop into a better player. I’m enjoying my time as a Gopher and am looking forward to helping us defend our WCHA Championships.”

Okposo earned All-WCHA Second Team and WCHA All-Rookie Team honors last season with totals of 19-21--40 to rank second on the team in scoring. Okposo was second on the team in goals and finished tied for third in the WCHA in freshman scoring. The native of St. Paul had eight multi-point games and a team-best three multi-goal games on the season. Okposo had a point in 29 of 40 games last season, a goal in 15 contests and an assist in 16 games.

“We’re obviously very happy that Kyle elected to return,” Head Coach Don Lucia said. “We’re looking forward to having him be a key player for us next season. I believe Kyle made the right decision and that he is best served coming back to develop, both as a person and an athlete.”

The Golden Gophers open the 2007-08 season with the IceBreaker Tournament on Oct. 12-13, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The annual season-opening tournament features Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Boston College and Michigan.

islesinfo.com comment: This is a good move for Kyle and his development. Personally, I think the Islanders played a major role in coercing Okposo to return for one more year because I believe he really wanted to turn pro. But ultimately it doesn't hurt. He will be a much better player for it with another year under his belt.

Okposo staying at U
Forward says the pros can wait until after his sophomore year
by Bruce Brothers, Pioneer Press, June 7, 2007

Kyle Okposo was in a jubilant mood Wednesday as he traveled to Faribault, Minn., to work out at the Shattuck-St. Mary's arena where he played high school hockey.

"The last month has been very stressful," Okposo said. "It's a really big relief for me. I'm really excited."

Okposo, the seventh overall pick by the New York Islanders in the first round of the NHL draft last summer, informed University of Minnesota coaches that he has decided to play his sophomore year for the Gophers next season.

"I went out there to talk to them, and after hearing what they had to say, I just thought it was the best thing to come back," he said. "Last year was a fun time. I'm only 19; I want to enjoy being a kid."

The 6-foot, 200-pounder from St. Paul, Minnesota's rookie of the year and its second-leading scorer with 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points, was second-team all-Western Collegiate Hockey Association as a freshman and could be a key ingredient in the Gophers' hopes to repeat as conference champion.

"He's a special player," said Gophers coach Don Lucia, who was in an equally good mood. "What's impressive with Kyle is that he was not only a good offensive player, he was a good defensive player."

Okposo said the Islanders' plans for where he might play next season if he didn't make the NHL team was a key factor in his decision, which he has been weighing for several weeks.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with money," he said. "It was a development issue."

Okposo, who had 23 points in his first 18 games but just seven in Minnesota's final 13 games last season, said he hopes to be a leader as a sophomore "and be much more consistent, especially at the end of the season."

His verdict offsets the decision this spring by defenseman Erik Johnson, the No. 1 overall NHL pick last year, to sign with the St. Louis Blues after his freshman season. The Gophers are waiting for a decision from defenseman Alex Goligoski, who reportedly is mulling an offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"We're 1 for 2," Lucia said, noting he is crossing his fingers that Goligoski, an All-American as a junior who underwent shoulder surgery two months ago, also will return.

2006-07 Update: April 1, 2007: Kyle Okposo went 2-3-5 in 9 games played with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the month of March. He was a +5 and went 1-1-2 on the power play. Okposo had a 3 game assist scoring streak (3 assists) from Feb. 24th to Mar. 3rd. On faceoffs he went a toal of 103-88 in 7 out of the 8 games played. Playoffs: Okposo went 2-1-3 in 6 playoff games played. In the first round of the WCHA playoffs, best of three series, Minnesota went up against Alaska Anchorage. The Golden Gophers won the series 2 games to 1 with all three games played at the Mariucci Arena in Minnesota. The Gophers won games one 6-2 on Mar. 9th. Okposo recorded a goal in game 2, a 2-1 loss on Mar. 10th. Minnesota advanced to the WCHA Final Five with a 3-1 win in game 3 on Mar. 11th. Okposo notched a shorthanded goal in the win giving him 2 goals in the series. Minnesota defeated Wisconsin 4-2 on Mar. 16th to advance to the WCHA Championship game vs. North Dakota. Minnesota would win the Championship with a 3-2 OT win. The Gophers were named to the West Regionals as the second seed. Trailing 3-1 to Air Force, Minnesota stormed back to win 4-3 on Mar. 24th. Okposo recorded an assist on the power play to ignite the comeback. In the Regional Final, North Dakota would exact some revenge and defeat the Gophers 3-2 in OT Mar. 25th denying Minnesota an appearance in the Frozen Four. Minnesota posted a record of 6-3-0 in March and overall they finished 31-10-3. Okposo finished second on the Gophers in scoring, second in goals scored and fourth in assists. He was tied for second on the team in shots with 117 and was fourth on the team with a +17. islesinfo.com comment: Minnesota's coach Don Lucia believes it would be good for Okposo to return for another year of college. While I agree it would probably be beneficial for him to get some more dominating success and experience at the college and WJC level, I wouldn't be surprised if Okposo turns pro for 2007-08. If Phil Kessel can do it with success like he's had in Boston, there's no reason to believe Okposo can't have the same success with the Islanders. 

March 1, 2007: Kyle Okposo went 1-5-6 in 6 games played with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the month of February. Three of his assists came on the power play. Okposo played a lot at center ice for the Gophers in February and he went 66-48 on faceoffs. He had a 5 game point scoring streak in which he went 2-7-9 from Jan. 20th to Feb. 3rd. The streak included three straight multiple assist games from Jan. 26th to Feb. 2nd and he recorded 7 assists in 4 straight games from Jan. 26th to Feb. 3rd. Minnesota went 4-2-0 during the month of February and they are 25-7-3 overall. The Gophers have dropped to a ranking of 4th in the nation. They won 4 straight to start the month but dropped their last two to St. Cloud State University. Okposo has scored only 2 goals in his last 13 games played. He recorded a goal and 2 assists in an 8-2 win at Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 2nd.

February 1, 2007: Kyle Okposo went 1-5-6 in 7 games played with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the month of January. He missed Minnesota's first game of the month Jan. 5th at Minnesota State Mankato while still playing for Team USA at the WJC's. He missed a total of 3 games with the Gophers while at the WJC's and the team did not skip a beat going 3-0-0. Okposo returned to Minnesota's lineup on Jan. 7th at Mankato and he assisted on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win. The assist increased Okposo's personal point scoring streak to 13 games in which time he went 11-7-18 from Oct. 28th to Jan. 7th. After going 3 games without registering a point which saw an end to the point streak, Kyle scored his only goal of the month on Jan. 20th in a 5-4 win vs. the Denver Pioneers. It was the first goal of the game. Okposo is on a current 3 game point scoring streak from Jan. 20th to Jan. 27th in which he has gone 1-4-5. He recorded back to back multiple assist games in two straight losses vs. North Dakota on Jan. 26th and Jan. 27th. The #1 ranked Gophers had a school record 22 game unbeaten streak (19-0-3) snapped on Jan. 12th when they lost 2-1 at Wisconsin. They had won 7 straight games prior to the loss and their only loss came in their first game of the season on Oct. 6th. Minnesota has gone 2-4-0 since Jan. 12th. In January they posted a record of 4-4-0 and on the season they are 21-5-3. They dropped to #3 in the nation.

January 1, 2007: Kyle Okposo went 5-1-6 in 4 games played with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the month of December. One of his goals came on the power play and he was a +4 on the month. Two of Okposo's goals were game-winners: 12/2 in a 2-1 win at Minnesota State Mankato and 12/8 in a 4-1 win at Michigan Tech. He did not play in 2 games for Minnesota while away in Sweden playing with Team USA for the 2007 World Junior Championship's. Okposo missed the Dodge Holiday Classic which consisted of games on 12/29 vs. Alabama-Huntsville and 12/30 vs. Ferris State. With Okposo recording a point in all 4 games during the month, he increased his personal point scoring streak to 12 games extending from Oct. 28 to Dec. 9th (11g, 6a). He had a 5 game point scoring streak from Nov. 25th to Dec. 9th (6-1-7) before leaving for the WJC's. Okposo also had a 5 game goal scoring streak (5 goals) from Nov. 25th to Dec. 9th. The Golden Gophers’ 9-0-3 WCHA record is the program’s best 12-game opening to the conference season since the 1990-91 squad went 10-0-2. The team went 3-0-1 during December with Okposo in the lineup and 5-0-1 overall on the month. Overall the #1 ranked Gophers are 17-1-3, losing only their first game of the season. WJC's: Kyle Okposo had a decent tournament but he struggled to finish which resulted in only an assist in 7 games. His Team USA lost their first two games but came back to win the last two of the preliminary round and got into the medal round. In the qurterfinal, Team USA defeated Finland 6-3 to advance to the semifinals against rival Canada. The semifinal was an exciting game with the Americans dominating, but Canada prevailed in a long shootout by a 2-1 score. Team USA defeated Sweden 2-1 for the Bronze Medal.

December 1, 2006: Kyle Okposo went 3-5-8 in 7 games played with the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the month of November. His play has helped Minnesota grab the #1 ranking in college hockey. They posted a record of 6-0-2 in November and are 12-1-2 overall. Minnesota has not lost since the first game of their season and are currently on a 14 game unbeaten streak. Okposo scored goals on 11/3 in a 3-2 win at Minnesota Duluth, a 5-5 tie vs. St. Cloud State on 11/10, and he tallied the game winner on 11/25 in a 8-2 thrashing of 7th ranked Michigan in what was the second game of the College Hockey Showcase. Okposo did not play in the first game of the Showcase on 11/24 against #6 ranked Michigan State. Despite missing that one game, Okposo has an 8 game personal scoring streak from Oct. 28th to Nov. 25th in which he has scored 6 goals and 11 points. He was a +7 in November. Kyle is in a battle with St. Cloud State's Andreas Nodl for the WCHA scoring lead overall as well as among rookies. Okposo leads the WCHA in goals scored. He often takes alot of faceoff's for the Gophers and is used sometimes at center by Gophers coach Don Lucia. Look for Okposo to be named to the U.S. National Junior Team very soon for the upcoming WJC's which will be taking place from December 26, 2006 through January 5, 2007 in Mora and Leksand, Sweden. Below: Check out Kyle Okposo's amazing between the legs goal scored against Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks on December 2, 2006.

November 1, 2006: Kyle Okposo has already become a star with the University of Minnesota. He leads the Golden Gophers with 7 goals scored in their first 7 games played. The first game of his collegiate career came against the University of Maine in the annual U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since that loss, the Golden Gophers have rattled off six straight wins. Okposo picked up his first career point, an assist, on October 13th in a 7-1 win vs. Wayne State. Kyle recorded his first two career goals, both on the power play, on October 14, 2006 in a 5-1 win vs. Wayne State. Okposo's power-play goal at 15:08 of the second period snapped a 0-for-30 scoreless streak on the power play for Minnesota, dating to last season (0-for-17 this season before Okposo's goal). He had a 4 game point scoring streak from October 13th to 21st in which he went 4-2-6. On October 28, 2006 Okposo exploded for a hat trick in an 8-1 win vs. Colorado College. All three goals came even strength, while his previous first four goals of the season came via the power play. In 85-plus seasons of Golden Gopher hockey, Minnesota has scored 11,007 goals in 2,531 games. Kyle Okposo scored Minnesota's 11,000th goal at 4:17 of the first period. His hat trick was Minnesota's first of the season and first since Ryan Potulny scored four goals in the 8-6 overtime loss to St. Cloud State in the semifinal of the WCHA Final Five on March 17, 2006. Okposo was named WCHA Rookie of the Week following his hat trick effort. He is currently second on the Golden Gophers in points with 9. His 7 goals is tied for the WCHA overall lead and his 9 points is tied for second overall among WCHA freshman. Kyle plays on a line with Ryan Stoa and Tyler Hirsch. He wears #9. islesinfo.com comment: This kid is going to be a star folks. The Islanders have a REAL keeper here. He scores goals and can skate. He's strong on his skates. The comparisons to Jarome Iginla are not off base and that's not because they are both black. Some believe he will be a better all around player for the Gophers than Phil Kessel was. Okposo is deadly with the puck once he gets around the net. I can't wait to see him get into an Islander uniform and hope it will be in 2007-08.

2006-07 Highlights

* Named first star with 2 goals (2 PP) in 5-1 win vs. Wayne State October 14, 2006.  Video Link Page
* Named first star with 3 goals in 8-1 win vs. Colorado College October 28, 2006.  Video Link Page
* Named third star with 2 assists in 5-4 win vs. North Dakota January 26, 2007.
* Named second star with an assist in 3-1 win vs. Michigan Tech March 2, 2007.
* Named third star with a goal (PP) in 2-1 loss vs. Alaska Anchorage March 10, 2007.

Kyle Okposo celebrates his first of 3 goals October 28, 2006

Blues Sign Johnson
excerpt, by Bruce Brothers, Pioneer Press, Apr. 19, 2007

Kyle Okposo, of St. Paul, beat out D Erik Johnson as the Gophers' rookie of the year. A first-round draft pick (seventh overall) by the New York Islanders, Okposo also is considered a prime threat to jump to the NHL, as is defenseman Alex Goligoski, who was the WCHA defensive player of the year this season. Goligoski's rights belong to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Islanders have been "leaving it up to me," Okposo said Thursday. "I'll make a decision sometime soon."

The second-leading scorer on the Gophers this season with 40 points in 40 games, Okposo said he is still taking classes at the U and will wait to talk to Islanders personnel after the season.

He said the decision of whether he'll stay at Minnesota or jump to the NHL would be made jointly. "If they want me to stay, I'll stay," he added. "If they want me to go, then I'll have to consider everything and make a decision. It's all on me, I suppose."

Lucia, whose team lost star forward Phil Kessel after just one season a year ago and also lost sophomore Kris Chucko and juniors Ryan Potulny and Danny Irmen to pro signings, has become accustomed to early departures, and the coach recruits with that in mind.

Okposo’s skill put him in minority
AP, April 2, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS - From the time he was a little boy, Kyle Okposo always had a hockey stick in his hands and a puck of some sort dancing at the end of it.

“He was always stick-handling in the garage or the basement or outside,” said his father, Kome.

“Playing a little hockey in the living room with a Christmas ornament and whacked at one a little too hard and hit the Christmas tree and knocked it over,” Kyle Okposo said sheepishly. “After that my mom just said you’re not going to play the rest of the year.”

Kome chuckles at the memory. “We grounded him a little bit, didn’t we?”

In a way, the punishment helped create a hockey player for the next generation. Though he’s only a freshman at one of the most storied hockey programs in the nation, Okposo leads the Gophers in goals scored.

“Really, he just has a knack to make that jaw-dropping or eye-opening play at any time,” said Gophers defenseman Mike Vanelli.

It’s not just that he’s the leading goal scorer on one of the best teams in America. It’s the way he scores them, with a creativity and flair that looks as though it belongs on a streetball court, not a hockey rink.

“Guys like Hot Sauce and AO, they’re fun to watch,” Okposo said of two stars of the And1 MixTape streetball tour. “The stuff they do with the ball is amazing.”

Speak to Okposo long enough, and basketball seems to come up as often as hockey. When Okposo was banned from the rink as a 6-year-old, he played hoops. And, like most kids his age, Okposo had posters of Michael Jordan hanging on his walls growing up and he gravitated to Jordan’s ingenuity and bravado.

“I was never really a hockey player growing up,” Okposo said. “I was, but I was a multisport athlete. Hockey was never my main focus. Basketball was always right up there.”

The two sports are very different, but Okposo has started to blur the line. One need only look to “The Goal” for proof.

In the first period of a game against Minnesota State, Mankato, in December, Okposo took a slip pass on the right side of the net. He had the puck on his backhand, but rather than try to jam it weakly past the goaltender as most players in that situation would do, Okposo had another idea.

He smoothly moved the puck to his forehand and slipped it between his legs and behind him, then shoveled it up and over stunned goalie Mike Zacharias’ glove.

Go ahead, try to watch the replay on YouTube just once. Good luck. There have been almost 30,000 others who have been mesmerized the same way.

Look closely, and you might be able to see a little Hot Sauce on that puck.

That goal, like Okposo himself, was a little different.

The teams he has played on are white as the ice on which he skates, but Okposo insists he never thinks about race.

“Every once in a while there will be a comment from a player, or even a referee, or a fan,” Michele Okposo said. “At this point he just thinks they’re stupid. Thinks it’s an ignorant thing. Puts it back on them. He couldn’t be a nicer kid.”

“My parents just raised me to be a humble person,” Kyle Okposo said. “That’s really big in my life. To be cocky and arrogant is something that’s not a good quality to have.”

His mom, of course, is a little more gushing.

“He really is a very lovely, sensitive guy of the next generation in a big ol’ macho sport,” Michele said.

On the ice, he couldn’t be more imposing. He crashes the net the way Allen Iverson goes to the basket, with fearless abandon, and creates opportunities for his teammates.

In last weekend’s humbling sweep at the hands of North Dakota, which knocked Minnesota out of the No. 1 ranking for the first time in months, Okposo was on the ice for all six Gophers goals and managed four assists.

He’s a playmaker, already destined for the NHL after the New York Islanders made him the No. 7 overall pick in the 2006 draft.

Kome is still coming to grips with the fact that his son is on the brink of achieving a dream most kids have growing up, but few realize.

“It’s big if other kids, African-American or not, would want to look up to him,” said Kome, who emigrated from Nigeria when he was 16 to attend college in the United States. “It would be great if any kid looked up to him. I look up to him.”

Men's hockey: Okposo may jump to NHL
Gophers coach Don Lucia is waiting for decisions by three of his players before making plans for next season.
by Dean Spiros, Star Tribune, March 31, 2007

The prospects are growing that Gophers freshman center Kyle Okposo will mirror the move made last year by Phil Kessel and make the jump to professional hockey after one season.

Though sources say the New York Islanders have not made an offer, indications are Okposo is prepared to accept a deal commensurate with being the seventh pick in the 2006 draft.

"If the money is right, I would have to look at it," Okposo said. "But I'm not at the point where I have to decide anything."

Okposo said he has every intention of honoring Gophers coach Don Lucia's request to have a decision in place by June 1.

"I know he is exploring his options," Lucia said. "No offers has been made as far as I know. If he should get a good offer, I know he will look closely at it."

Okposo is confident he is ready to play in the NHL. He bases his belief on workouts he has had with NHL players as well as input he has received from others in and around the game.

Lucia has said he believes Okposo would benefit from another season of college hockey.

Okposo's goal production dropped off significantly the second half of the season. He finished second on the team with 19 goals. Okposo said he missed the playmaking skills of linemate Tyler Hirsch, who was dismissed from the team over the Christmas break.

"My role changed in the second half," Okposo said. "In the first half, Hirschy had the puck a lot. I had the puck on my stick a lot more in the second half, focusing more on trying to set up my linemates.

"But I was more than happy to do whatever I could to help the team win. It's all about winning championships."

Okposo said he sees himself as a center in the NHL and would like to play in the manner of Colorado's Joe Sakic, who can distribute the puck but also score.

Asked if he was preparing as if Okposo will not be on the team next season, Lucia said not yet. "If the time comes that Kyle does decide to move on, we have covered ourselves," he said.

The Gophers have commitments from four forwards for next season: Mike Hoeffel, Patrick White, Taylor Matson and Nick Larson.

Okposo Earns All-WCHA Honors
gophersports.com, March 15, 2007

Kyle Okposo a freshman center, earned All-WCHA Second Team and WCHA All-Rookie Team honors with totals of 19-20--39 to rank tied for first on the team in scoring. Okposo leads the team in goals and ranks third in the WCHA in freshman scoring. The native of St. Paul has eight multi-point games and a team-best three multi-goal games on the season. Okposo is looking to become the first freshman lead the Golden Gophers in scoring since Thomas Vanek led Minnesota with 31-31--62 in 2002-03. Vanek was also the last freshman to lead the team in goals in 2002-03. The No. 5 overall draft pick of the New York Islanders at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Okposo has a point in 28 of 36 games this season, a goal in 15 contests and an assist in 15 contests.

Minnesota Advances to WCHA Final Five with 3-1 Win over Alaska Anchorage
gophersports.com, March 11, 2007

The Maroon and Gold owned a 29-12 advantage on the shot board, out-shooting the Seawolves (13-21-3) 19-5 in the final two periods. Ben Gordon notched the game-tying goal with a power-play marker early in the second period, followed by Mike Carman's even-strength game-winning goal at 8:44 of the third. Kyle Okposo put the game away late in the final stanza with a shorthanded marker.

The Maroon and Gold iced the game in the third period with Carman and Okposo's goals to earn the trip to St. Paul. Carman played the hero at 8:44 of the period taking a pass from Ryan Flynn in the slot and firing a one-timer to beat Lawson to the glove side. Tony Lucia earned the second assist on Carman's seventh goal of the season and first since Feb. 17 at Colorado College.

Minnesota put the proverbial nail in the coffin with only 1:25 remaining in the game with Okposo's shorthanded tally. Lucia and Okposo skated into the zone on a 2-on-1 with the coach's son firing over the net. The puck bounced high off the end boards and fell in front of the net for Okposo to bat out of mid-air to beat Lawson to the 5-hole. The shorthanded goal was Okposo's first and pushed his team-leading goal total to 19. For the period, the Golden Gophers out-shot the Seawolves 8-3.

Hockey with class
Gophers freshmen and future pros Erik Johnson and Kyle Okposo are enjoying the college life while they still can.
by Bruce Brothers, Pioneer Press, Feb. 12, 2007

Erik Johnson and Kyle Okposo are big men on campus who share a small living space.

Their room in the University of Minnesota's Territorial Hall is crammed with two loft beds, study areas beneath each, a tiny refrigerator with dust on the outside and unknown growing organisms on the inside, a 17-inch LCD television connected to an Xbox, a couch, two laptops and piles of clothes in various stages of cleanliness.

In other words, it's a typical residence for 18-year-old freshmen.

But these are atypical students.

Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 222-pound defenseman, was selected No. 1 overall in last summer's NHL draft, by the St. Louis Blues. Okposo, a 6-foot, 200-pound forward, was drafted No. 7 overall, by the New York Islanders.

They could be rookies in the NHL, but both grew up following the Gophers and decided last summer that, for one year at least, they would prefer Minnesota's maroon-and-gold sweaters to the NHL's greenbacks.

"The money will always be there," Okposo says.

"That's exactly the same thing I say," Johnson added.

Johnson discussed his options with Blues officials last summer and concluded he would benefit from a season or two in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, not to mention a year or two of college curriculum. It doesn't hurt that playing for the Gophers paved the way to the NHL for Jordan Leopold, Thomas Vanek, Keith Ballard and numerous others.

"You're going to have fun in college and play hockey where you want to play," Johnson said.

Johnson's and Okposo's day begins in a 49-year-old dormitory, where on this day a Justin Timberlake song breaks the silence. The "JT" ring tone on Johnson's cell phone stirs two titans of intercollegiate hockey to life.

"My phone fell on the floor last night," he explains, "and I didn't feel like climbing down to get it."

If this day is like most, the two will grab some of their handiest clothes and slip into their handiest footwear — basketball shoes for Okposo and leather slippers without socks for Johnson — and amble two blocks to Stadium Village at Oak and Washington, where they are regulars at Bruegger's Bagel Bakery.

How often do they visit?

"Four or five days a week," Okposo says, looking across the table at Johnson. "Or seven."

"Probably every day," Johnson says with a grin.

Each consumes one side of a large booth, not to mention coffee, orange mango juice and a similar main course: a bacon, egg and cheese bagel for Okposo and a sausage, egg and cheese bagel for Johnson.

Mondays through Thursdays for Johnson and Okposo are built around Gophers hockey practice, which takes place mid-afternoons at Mariucci Arena or Ridder Arena. Fridays and Saturdays are game days.

Off the ice, their daily schedules shift like a team's manpower on the penalty kill.

"Monday and Wednesday I get up and go to class," Okposo says of his 8 a.m. ice hockey coaching class. "I usually just get up before class."

The two freshmen, both 18 and both from the Twin Cities, are good students from diverse backgrounds. Johnson, who is from Bloomington and played high school hockey at Holy Angels before joining the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., compiled a 3.16 grade-point average during the first semester. Okposo, who is from St. Paul and played prep hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault before a season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the U.S. Hockey League, reluctantly reveals that his first-semester GPA was "between 2 and 3" but that he is under instructions from his parents "to get a 3.8 this semester."

He shakes his head and lowers his eyes.

"I didn't really apply myself last semester," he admits.

Johnson began the second semester in the same ice hockey coaching class as Okposo, but the hour arrived "too early," he says. He is currently registered for perspectives in American history, oral communications, mastering college study skills, a writing lab and a one-day online class about "cash or credit."

Besides hockey coaching, Okposo is studying introduction to business and business careers, mathematics, public speaking and American history.

The business-oriented classes might come in handy because neither is expected to stick around campus for more than a season or two.

The topic of how long they'll be Gophers comes up, "but not that much," Johnson says.

"We talk about it," Okposo says with a laugh, "but nothing ever gets accomplished. It's the same thing over and over."

The two are pals who have known each other "since we were probably about 10," Johnson said. "We grew up playing on the same summer teams."

They picked each other to be roommates.

Do they get along?

"Not usually," Johnson says with a grin.

Okposo shakes his head and laughs.

"We do," he says.

"Real well," Johnson says.

As a few snowflakes drift down on this morning in late January, Johnson's eyes light up.

"I just love the snow," he says, noting that his love of snowboarding has been shelved because of hockey.

"I don't think the coaches like it when we go snowboarding or skiing," Okposo says. "It's like playing basketball; if you roll your ankle playing basketball, it doesn't sit well with the coaches."

The two insist their lives on campus are mostly uneventful, revolving around studies and hockey — not necessarily in that order. Okposo rotates dinners at Stadium Village spots or the dorm. Johnson gives a thumbs down to dorm food and often goes home to join his parents for dinner. Otherwise, he usually can be found at the dorm.

"I'm more of a loner," he says. "I stay here and chill out. I do like it. It's a good place to get away."

Okposo, who lived in a dorm for three years at ShattuckSt. Mary's, finds the situation at Minnesota as comfortable as an old skate.

"I don't go home too much," he says. "I like to just be here."

Like most students, sleep ranks high among their priorities. The different schedules are no problems, because "we're both decently heavy sleepers," Okposo says.

Despite their level of celebrity, the two get little attention from other students.

"We just get some eyes, maybe," Johnson says.

"School's pretty fun," Okposo says. "You sit by different people every day; it's just interesting to see."

"I'm enjoying myself, meeting a lot more people," Johnson says.

Although they play hockey daily, they are not enveloped by the sport. Unlike their counterparts in the pro ranks, they have six days between games, which gives them time to see their parents and hang out with friends.

Both say they enjoy the relaxed pace.

After breakfast, the two swivel in opposite directions: Johnson hops into his 1996 Toyota 4Runner and drives across campus to class while Okposo, who on this day has no classes, takes off in his 2002 Saab 9-5 to his mother's home in St. Paul.

Later, after practice at Mariucci Arena, they return to Territorial Hall to square off in an epic game of video soccer, passing the time until some visitors disappear so they can flip open their cell phones and get on with the social lives of two college freshmen.

Minnesota Snaps Losing Streak with Dominating 8-2 Win at Alaska Anchorage
gophersports.com, Feb. 2, 2007

The Maroon and Gold got multi-point nights from six players with three-point nights from Jay Barriball (2-1--3), Mike Howe (1-2--3) and Kyle Okposo (1-2--3), and two-point games from Derek Peltier (2-0--2), Ben Gordon (1-1--2) and Blake Wheeler (1-1--2). Minnesota improved to 10-1-1 on the road this season and handed the ninth-place Seawolves (11-13-3, 7-13-1) their fifth loss in the last seven games.

The Maroon and Gold responded in the second period with four goals to take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. At 3:22, Howe notched his fifth goal of the season, taking an Okposo pass and beating UAA goaltender Nathan Lawson for the power-play goal. With the marker, Howe pushed his point streak to four games (2-2--4) and his goal scoring streak to two games.

At 3:48 of the third period, Derek Peltier ripped a shot from the point through traffic in front to beat Olthuis to make the score 5-1. Earning assists on the play were Okposo and Howe. With his helper, Okposo recorded his third consecutive two-assist game. Peltier's goal was his first since Dec. 30 vs. Ferris State.

At 16:41, Okposo wrapped up the game's scoring with his team-leading 17th goal of the season, taking a Gordon pass in the slot and beating Olthuis with a nice backhander. Howe earned the second assist for his first multi-point game of the season. For the period, the Maroon and Gold out-shot Alaska Anchorage 10-9.

Teen Dreams
(excerpt) by Gare Joyce, ESPN Magazine, Jan. 29, 2007

Scouts compared the performance of this physical, skilled power forward to Jarome Iginla's when he led Canada to gold 11 years ago. Kyle Okposo's scoring touch and furious forechecking were key in the Americans' elimination-game win against Finland and bronze win against Sweden. The St. Paul native is a star for the Gophers - it's hard to see him staying beyond this, his freshman year. A much-improved situation on Long Island makes his jump to the pros next season a mortal lock.

North Dakota Runs Over Minnesota for 7-3 Win, Sweep at Mariucci Arena
gophersports.com, Jan. 27, 2007

Top-ranked Minnesota ran into a North Dakota squad running on all cylinders tonight as the 15th-ranked Fighting Sioux (15-11-2, 9-9-2 WCHA) broke open a 3-3 tie with four unanswered goals to cruise to a 7-3 win and a two-game sweep over the Golden Gophers (21-5-3, 13-4-3) at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota scored three power-play goals, but lost the 5-on-5 battle as UND scored four even-strength goals to post its first sweep in Minneapolis since Feb. 15-16, 1980.

North Dakota's top line of Ryan Duncan (2-2--4), T.J. Oshie (2-1--3) and Jonathan Toews (0-2--2) accounted for four goals and five assists to hand the Maroon and Gold its first sweep since Dec. 2-3, 2005, vs. Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers got multi-point nights from Kyle Okposo (0-2--2) and Derek Peltier (0-2--2), and goals from Erik Johnson, Ryan Stoa and Mike Howe.

Minnesota tied the game at 2-2 at 14:34 of the first period with Stoa tipping a Peltier shot from the point to beat Lamoureux to the glove side. Okposo got the second assist on the power-play goal.

The Golden Gophers took their one and only lead just 1:24 later as Howe re-directed an Okposo pass to beat Lamoureux to the stick side. Peltier got the assist on the power-play goal to record his first multi-point game of the season.

Minnesota Falls 5-3 to North Dakota to Drop Third Straight Friday Game
gophersports.com, Jan. 26, 2007

The top-ranked Golden Gophers saw a 2-0 lead vanish as 15th-ranked North Dakota scored four unanswered goals to cruise to a 5-3 win tonight in front of 10,197 fans at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota (21-4-3, 13-3-3 WCHA) lost its third consecutive Friday night game, while the Fighting Sioux (14-11-2, 8-9-2) improved to 7-1-1 in their last nine games.

Kyle Okposo led the Maroon and Gold with two assists, while Ryan Stoa, Alex Goligoski and Justin Bostrom lit the lamp for Minnesota. North Dakota got three-point nights from Ryan Duncan (2-1--3) and Jonathan Toews (1-2--3) as UND's top line of Duncan, Toews and T.J. Oshie combined for three goals and four assists. The Golden Gophers scored two of their goals on the power play and one with the extra attacker during a delayed penalty. UND, meanwhile, scored three 5-on-5 goals, one power-play marker and one shorthanded tally.

The Golden Gophers jumped out to the game's first lead only 2:03 into the contest on a power-play goal by Ryan Stoa. Mike Howe gained possession low on the left side and threw the puck to the front of the net where it ricocheted off of Stoa's skate and a UND defender's foot and past netminder Philippe Lamoureux low on the stick side. Kyle Okposo gained the second assist on Stoa's ninth tally of the season and first since Dec. 9 at Michigan Tech.

The Maroon and Gold cut the lead to two goals at 18:42 with its second power-play goal of the night. Taking an Okposo pass at the point, Erik Johnson shot with Justin Bostrom tipping the puck in front to beat Lamoureux for his second goal of the season. For the third period, Minnesota out-shot UND 17-7.

KYLE OKPOSO TALKS BOB SANSEVERE LISTENS 
'I WANTED TO BE MICHAEL JORDAN'
Pioneer Press, Jan. 22, 2007

I was born to be on the rink. When I'm on the ice, it's like I'm free and I can do anything.

It took me a long time to get over my temper. I had a really bad temper when I was younger. There was a lot of screaming and I'd just be mad all the time. About a year and a half ago, it got better. Life's too short to be doing that. What made me realize it? Just maturing and being away from home.

On the ice, you've got to keep your emotions in check. I've really been working on being mentally tough. That's the biggest thing, especially with anger. You've got to keep it bogged down inside of you.

I'm not happy after a loss. I've been like that my whole life. I'm a very competitive person. I hate to lose.

Erik Johnson is my roommate. Who's neater? It goes through stages. I'll be messy for a week, and then he'll be messy for a week. We'll get in phases where we'll just start cleaning.

If I had a time machine, I would go back to watch Michael Jordan play. Back when he and Scottie Pippen were winning all those titles. I love watching them. They were like magicians.

Hockey is my passion, but I still like basketball.

My favorite superhero is Superman. The only thing that can stop him is Kryptonite. I liked watching the Superman show growing up. I've watched the movies. They're pretty cool, too.

My favorite cartoon character as a kid had to be Scooby Doo. I love all the characters from that show. I love Shaggy because he's kind of stupid and doesn't know what's going on. It's a great show.

I played football when I was in the eighth grade. I was a fullback and defensive end. I always played basketball, but not in high school. I played hockey and golf in high school.

I went to Shattuck-St. Mary's for high school and played hockey there my freshman through junior years. As a senior, I played in the USHL (United States Hockey League).

If I wasn't playing hockey, I'd want to start my own business. It would have something to do with sports.

What will I buy when I sign my first pro contract? If I have enough money, I'd want to buy a Range Rover. I've always wanted a Range. It would be a sweet car to have. Other than that, I haven't really thought about it.

I drive a Saab now. It's a 2002.

Coaches were the biggest influences in my life.

Growing up, me and my sister always wanted to be lawyers or doctors. But always in the back of my mind was hockey. I wanted to be Michael Jordan, too.

The worst thing I did as a kid? I was about 8 years old and coming home from a fair my elementary school hosted. It was only four or five blocks from my house. I was about a block away from home and this car pulled up to me. The guy said, "Hey, you want a ride home, Kyle?" I had no idea who he was. He said, "Yeah, I know your dad." I didn't really ask any questions. I just popped right in. He gave me a ride home. I found out later it was one of my dad's friends, but I had absolutely no idea who it was. My parents gave me a huge lecture about going with strangers.

The between-the-leg shot against Mankato was instinctive. I didn't think about doing it before I did it. That was really the only play I had to try and score. I couldn't make it to the backhand because a defender was there. I had to come back through my legs. I practice it all the time. I first tried it when I was 13. I think I saw (former Shattuck star) Zach Parise do it in practice. I said, "That's pretty cool. I've got to try that." I think they played it once at a New York Islanders game. (Okposo was the Islanders' first-round pick in the 2006 NHL draft.)

The best day of my life was winning the Clark Cup championship with Des Moines last year (in the USHL).

I don't think about being the first African-American on the Gophers' hockey team. I'm a hockey player. A lot of people ask me about it. I pretty much give the same response: I don't even think about it.

My dad was born in Nigeria. He lived there until he was 16.

My dad never played hockey. Neither of my parents did. My mom's dad used to skate. He gave me an old pair of skates that are hanging on my wall. They've got to be from 1940.

My mom and dad met in pharmacy school here at the University of Minnesota. My dad is a scientist with a pharmaceutical company, and my mom is a pharmacist.

I like hanging out with my friends and playing video games, like any teen-age kid would. I like "NHL 07," of course. And I like all the Madden games. I like FIFA soccer and Tony Hawk video games. I used to play Tony Hawk all the time.

After I was drafted, EA Sports put a camera on me and asked what it would feel like when I'm in one of the NHL video games. It's so weird to think about all those (video-game) players I used to play with and model myself after. I'd be saying, "That's going to be me some day." And now, it actually could be.

I usually play with Calgary now (in "NHL 07"), just because they have a good all-around team. I like Dion Phaneuf, and I like Jarome Iginla, too. And I love being Detroit because Pavel Datsyuk probably is my favorite player. He's so skilled with the puck, it's ridiculous.

I want the people of Minnesota to know I'm just like everybody else. I'm just kind of a normal guy.

I love golf. I'm OK. I'm probably an eight handicap. I can blow up a few rounds, and I can shoot 73 in a round.

Movies are another passion of mine. I'd have to say my favorite movie is "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington. Denzel is my favorite actor.

I cook a little bit. Steak is my favorite meal. I throw a lot of seasoning on it. I love cooking steak and potatoes.

My favorite possession changes from year to year. Last year, I wore three rubber bands on my wrist. I wore them for the three rounds of the (USHL) playoffs. I took one off after each round we won. This year, I'm wearing a hockey lace on my wrist. It's from an old skate lace. I wanted to wear it because it's part of me. I wear it all the time. I put it on at the beginning of the year. Showering with it on keeps it pretty fresh.

My teammates would be surprised to know I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm a Harry Potter freak. I've read all the books. We were overseas the summer before last, and I brought the sixth book. I barely came out of my room because I was reading it the entire time. I love the movies, too. They're great.

Rap is my favorite music.

I sing all the time. I'm a huge singer. Not a very good voice, but I try. Simon Cowell would say I have an awful voice.

I try to never miss "Prison Break" and "The OC." Out in Sweden, we watched 1½ seasons of "Prison Break" and two seasons of "The OC" and one season of "Nip/Tuck."

Will I be back at the U next year? That decision will come at the end of the season. First, I want to win an NCAA championship here. I want to be a leader on the team and do what I can to help out.

Oh, no, there's no guarantee I'm leaving after this year; absolutely not. We're talking about housing for next year.

The best advice I ever got was to be humble.I don't really listen to bad advice. It goes in one ear and out the other.

If I could trade places for a day with anyone, it would be Michael Jordan in his prime.

I want my epitaph to say, "Here lies Kyle Okposo, who was a good person and a humble human being."

Men's hockey: U's Okposo lives passion
by Dean Spiros, Star Tribune, Jan. 11, 2007

Kyle Okposo wanted to be Michael Jordan.

His parents, Michele and Kome, could tell by the posters on his bedroom wall, the shoes on his feet and the hours upon hours he spent under the basket in the driveway, rain or shine.

Okposo's friends would come to know it too, watching how he handled the ball, how he racked up the points, on the playgrounds in St. Paul.

That dream, Okposo said, died in the 10th grade, when hockey became his passion.

Now the leading goal scorer on the nation's top-ranked team, the Gophers' 18-year-old freshman center is a measuring stick in his own right.

In that sense, maybe the dream still is alive, particularly if viewed as the continuation of a method that has been recognized as a blueprint for success: The relentless drive not only to get better, but to be the best. To make winning a habit as well as an expectation.

To be like Mike.

"He's still my favorite athlete," Okposo said.

Those who know Okposo's sporting history best will not be surprised if greatness is in his future. That's music to the ears of the New York Islanders, who claimed him seventh overall in the 2006 NHL draft.

"Kyle has always been interested in those athletes who have the desire to take their talent to the edge of what is humanly possible," his mother said. "For a long time his favorite bedtime story was Kirby Puckett's book, 'Be The Best You Can Be.'

"When he watched Michael Jordan, he saw someone who was one with the ball. He saw the game as an art form. He loves the art aspect of sports."

A search on YouTube will reveal an Okposo masterpiece, his between-the-legs shot that proved to be the game-winning goal against Minnesota State Mankato on Dec. 2.

Bernie McBain, who counts Okposo among the elite Minnesotans he has coached on the youth level, already has seen enough to declare Okposo the best player in college hockey. And he knows of where such sleight of hand was born.

"He didn't play hockey in eighth grade [at St. Thomas Academy]," McBain said, "but that doesn't mean he wasn't working on his skills. He spent hours on stickhandling and shooting skills.

"When he played with us that summer, the game started to become more fun for him because he could do things the other players couldn't do."

Shattuck was transforming

Until that summer, Okposo's intentions were to attend Cretin-Derham Hall, with his athletic aspirations focused on football. J.P. Parise changed all that.

The former North Stars forward, now the director of prospect evaluation at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, offered Okposo the chance to play hockey at the private school.

Like McBain, Parise saw a gifted athlete who needed work on his skating. There was nothing that said he couldn't catch up to the others, and then, they reasoned, watch him take off.

"He's a peach," Parise said. "A smart kid, very humble. And he works so hard to get better."

There is a converted tennis court at Shattuck that now serves as an informal outdoor practice area for players to work on their stickhandling and shooting. Danielle Hirsch, a Shattuck alumnus who plays for St. Cloud State, said those who have been regulars on the court amounts to a who's-who of Shattuck hockey.

"Sidney [Crosby], Jack [Johnson], Zach [Parise], guys like that, they always were there," Hirsch said. "The best players were the ones giving the extra effort. Kyle was one of those players.

"Kyle's passionate in everything he does."

Hirsch, the sister of Tyler Hirsch, the Gophers forward who was dismissed from the team in December, became good friends with Okposo their sophomore year at Shattuck. They began dating this past summer.

J.P. Parise got to watch Okposo in the recent World Junior Championships. "I couldn't believe how much his skating has improved," he said. "He took what was a weakness and made it a strength."

Strong individual, teammate

Nineteen games into his Gophers career, it would be hard to find a weakness in Okposo's game. Along with leading the team in goal scoring, he uses his 6-2, 195-pound frame to his advantage and is responsible at both ends of the ice.

"It's fun to coach elite players who are good kids and have that work ethic to get better day in and day out," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "Kyle's good in every area [of the game], and he's a good teammate. That's a nice combination to have.

"He was brought up right. You can see that in how respectful he is in everything he does."

Kome Okposo said it is humbling to hear such praise for his son. Both Kyle and his 20-year-old sister, Kendra, were raised to value education, he said.

Kome said he held onto hope that Kyle would attend Harvard until the day Lucia offered him a hockey scholarship.

"Kyle wouldn't even look at another school after that," Kome said. "But I was fine with his decision. His mother and I are both happy to support what passions our kids have."

Yet, still the learning continued. Aware of his son's drive to succeed, Kome returned to Kyle's admiration for Jordan, and used it as a teaching point.

"We talked about Jordan's talent, but also about how it was when the Bulls started winning championships that Jordan's stature grew," Kome said. "It was his ability to make Scottie Pippen and the others around him better, that people came to identify him with. It's important to work together and not try to things all by yourself."

Lucia sees the affection Okposo's teammates have for him and concludes the message has hit its mark.

Okposo propels U
Freshman center's two goals ignite victory over Michigan Tech
by Bruce Brothers, Pioneer Press, Dec. 9, 2006

HOUGHTON, Mich. — As far as Michigan Tech hockey coach Jamie Russell is concerned, Kyle Okposo can go directly to the National Hockey League, and it can't happen soon enough.

Okposo, the dazzling freshman center for the No. 1-ranked Gophers who was the seventh overall pick by the New York Islanders in last summer's NHL draft, picked up two goals and an assist in the first 21 minutes of play Friday night to propel Minnesota to a 4-1 victory over Michigan Tech in front of 2,676 at MacInnes Arena.

"He's a kid who's not going to be in this league very long," Russell said. "In fact, I might call the Islanders and say, 'Here's a kid, you've got to have him right now.' "

Okposo and winger Tyler Hirsch supplied much of the offense — Hirsch had a goal and two assists — as Minnesota skated to its 17th consecutive game without a loss. The Gophers extended their record road-game unbeaten streak to 19 games dating to last season and go into tonight's rematch with a 14-1-3 overall record and 8-0-3 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

"One loss, can't really complain about that," Hirsch said.

A senior who has 21 points in 13 games this season, Hirsch returned from a two-game benching last weekend for poor work habits in practice, and his presence was felt immediately.

"You see the difference in our team with Tyler back in the lineup," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "I thought he was outstanding, and in many ways he was probably the best player on the ice tonight."

"It feels good to be back," Hirsch said.

"He's a great addition to our team," Okposo said.

Minnesota grabbed a 1-0 lead when Hirsch scored on a power play 10:51 into the first period and made it 2-0 exactly four minutes later when Hirsch circled with the puck in the neutral zone, slid it to Erik Johnson near the Minnesota blue line, and Johnson whipped a long pass to Okposo behind the defense for the score.

It was the 13th goal of the season for the 200-pounder from St. Paul, and he scored his 14th when he banged in a pass from Hirsch at the goalmouth just 47 seconds into the second period. He leads the nation's freshmen.

"I'm sure a lot of his goals are off Tyler's passes," Lucia said.

Hirsch passed the credit to Okposo. "He always knows where the net is," he said. "It's nice to play with a guy like that."

Three-Point Nights From Hirsch and Okposo Lead Minnesota to 4-1 Win at Michigan Tech
gophersports.com, Dec. 8, 2006

Using a three-goal first period and three-point nights from Kyle Okposo and Tyler Hirsch, the top-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey team earned a 4-1 win over Michigan Tech tonight in Houghton, Mich. The Golden Gophers (14-1-3, 8-0-3 WCHA) took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission and never looked back to push their nation's best unbeaten streak to 17 games (14-0-3, 12-0-3 WCHA).

Okposo tallied two goals and an assist, while Hirsch had totals of 1-2--3 to help the Maroon and Gold move its road unbeaten streak to 19 games (15-0-4) and its WCHA unbeaten streak to 23 games (19-0-4). Minnesota got a strong netminding effort from Kellen Briggs who improved to 7-0-2 on the season and moved into sole possession of second place on the school's career wins list with his 74-28-8 record. The Huskies (6-7-2, 3-6-2), meanwhile, saw their starting goaltender - Michael-Lee Teslak - pulled from the game after the Golden Gophers jumped ahead 3-0.

Minnesota out-skated Michigan Tech in a wild first period that featured numerous offensive chances and several big hits. The Golden Gophers got on the board at 10:51 with Hirsch picking up a loose puck from a Mike Vannelli shot and beating Teslak low to the glove side from the left circle. Okposo gained the second assist on the power-play goal. With the goal, Hirsch now has a point in 11 of 13 games this season.

The Maroon and Gold pushed its lead to two just four minutes later with Okposo's first goal of the night. Erik Johnson threaded a long pass from the UM blue line to spring Okposo on a breakaway where he faked a forehand shot and went high over Teslak with a backhander to push his goal-scoring streak to four games. Hirsch got the second assist on the play.

At 16:32, Minnesota made it 3-0 with Tony Lucia's third goal as a Golden Gopher. Blake Wheeler gained the MTU zone, fought through a check and fed Lucia who shot from a sharp angle at the left circle, beating Teslak low to the glove side. Mike Vannelli was credited with the second assist on the tally. For the period, Minnesota out-shot Michigan Tech 13-8. After the period, Teslak was pulled in favor of Rob Nolan.

The second period saw the last of the game's scoring as both teams lit the lamp once to make it a 4-1 score at the second intermission. Okposo pushed the score to 4-0 just 47 seconds into the period with his second marker of the night. On a beautiful tic-tac-toe play in the Husky zone, Alex Goligoski fed Hirsch who found Okposo on the far side to beat Nolan to the glove side. With the goal, Okposo now leads the team in goals (14) and points (22).

Bucs Alumni to Skate for Team USA at World Junior Championships
bucshockey.com, December 6, 2006

Des Moines, Iowa --- Former Des Moines Buccaneers forwards Trevor Lewis and Kyle Okposo have been named to the United States National Junior Team that will compete at the World Junior Championships from December 26, 2006 through January 5, 2007 in Mora and Leksand, Sweden. 

Lewis and Okposo were both members of the 2005-06 Buccaneers and led the team to a share of the Eastern Division title and the organization's fourth Clark Cup Tier I National Championship. 

"It's a great honor for both of them and our entire organization is very proud of them," said Buccaneers head coach and general manager Regg Simon.  "They’ve both worked very hard and have been extremely dedicated to be selected to go represent our country on the international stage."

Okposo, who was the 1st overall pick in the 2005 USHL draft by the Buccaneers, would also receive many honors while in Des Moines.  He was named the Clark Cup Finals MVP, USHL Rookie of the Year, All-USHL First Team and to the All-USHL Rookie Team.  Additionally, he played in the USHL All-Star game and was teammates with Lewis on the USA Junior Select Team at the Viking Cup.  He would also be selected in the first-round of the NHL draft – 7th overall – by the New York Islanders.

"There are seven USHL alumni on the USA World Junior roster," added coach Simon.  "I think that speak volumes about our league and the ability to develop high-end players."

The World Junior Championships features the world’s top players in the U-20 age group from ten different nations.  First held in 1977, the tournament has helped launch the careers of USA Hockey greats Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick, as well as all-time greats Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Five Golden Gophers Named to U.S. National Junior Team
gophersports.com, Dec. 5, 2006

University of Minnesota men’s hockey players Mike Carman (Apple Valley, Minn.), Jeff Frazee (Burnsville, Minn.), Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn.), Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.) and Ryan Stoa (Bloomington, Minn.) have been named to the U.S. National Junior Team for the upcoming 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship. This year’s tournament will be held from Dec. 26, 2006, to Jan. 5, 2007, in Leksands and Mora, Sweden. The University of Minnesota has more players on the U.S. National Junior Team than any other institution.

Okposo, a 6-0, 200-pound freshman center, owns totals of 12-7--19 in 16 games this season to rank first on the team in goals and points. A two-time WCHA Rookie of the Week already this season, Okposo is currently riding a 10-game point streak and a three-game goal streak. The St. Paul native spent the 2005-06 season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL, finishing second on the team and sixth in the league in scoring with 27-31--58 in 50 games to earn USHL Rookie of the Year and All-USHL First Team honors. In his last international appearance, Okposo posted totals of 4-3--7 in five games at the U18 Junior World Cup in Slovakia. Prior to coming to the USHL, Okposo played his prep hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, posting totals of 93-98--191 in 136 games over two seasons. Okposo was drafted by the New York Islanders with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Kyle Okposo Named WCHA Rookie of the Week
gophersports.com, Dec. 5, 2006

University of Minnesota freshman center Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.) has been named the WCHA Rookie of the Week, following Minnesota’s three-point weekend against Minnesota State. Okposo pushed his point streak to 10 games with two goals last weekend to help the top-ranked Golden Gophers move their nation’s best unbeaten streak to 16 games.

In Friday’s 5-5 tie at Mariucci Arena, Okposo scored the Golden Gophers’ third goal (a power-play marker) to complete UM’s rally from a 3-0 deficit. For the game, he had three shots and was even. In Saturday’s 2-1 win in Mankato, Okposo scored the game-winning goal with a highlight-reel lamplighter midway through the first period. Taking a Ryan Stoa pass down low, Okposo went to the net, slipped the puck between his legs and behind him, and went high to the glove side to beat MSU goaltender Mike Zacharias. For the game, he had two shots and was a +1. For the weekend, he had five shots and was +1. With his to goals, Okposo moved his goal-scoring streak to three games. He leads the team in goals (12) and is tied for the team lead in points (12-7--19).

The award is the second Rookie of the Week accolade for Okposo.

Gophers' bold moves beat stubborn Mavericks
Okposo's dazzling goal backs Briggs' solid goaltending
by Bruce Brothers, Pioneer Press, Dec. 3, 2006

MANKATO, Minn. — University of Minnesota coach Don Lucia made a bold move Saturday night, and then Gophers freshman Kyle Okposo made a bold move of his own.

Those moves were enough to counter a message the Gophers received from Minnesota State Mankato.

Minnesota's 2-1 victory turned on a fancy pond-hockey move by Okposo that gave the Gophers their final lead midway through the first period. Both goalies were unbeatable after that in front of 4,934, the seventh-largest turnout at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center.

A soft, short pass by Ryan Stoa sprung Okposo in front of Mavericks goalie Mike Zacharias, and the 200-pounder from St. Paul cut across from right to left, pulling the puck from his backhand to his forehand and then flipping a quick shot between his legs into the top of the net.

"It was kind of a practice move you work on every now and then on the pond," Okposo said. "It worked tonight."

Kyle Okposo's Highlight Reel Goal the Difference in 2-1 Win at Minnesota State
gophersports.com, Dec. 2, 2006

Freshman forward Kyle Okposo's jaw-dropping, highlight reel goal midway through the first period was the difference tonight as the top-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey team edged Minnesota State 2-1 in Mankato, Minn. The Golden Gophers (13-1-3, 7-0-3 WCHA) got all the goals it needed in the first period to push the nation's longest unbeaten streak to 16 games (13-0-3, 5-0-3 WCHA) and remain undefeated in the WCHA. The win gave the Maroon and Gold a three-point weekend against the Mavericks (3-10-2, 2-7-1) and moved Minnesota's unbeaten streak over MSU to 16 games (13-0-3).

The Golden Gophers took its 2-1 lead into the first intermisson, scoring a power-play goal and even-strength tally with a Minnesota State goal sandwiched in between. Minnesota got the game's first lead at 4:42 on Blake Wheeler's 10th goal of the season. Jay Barriball gained the puck behind the net and found Wheeler out front to beat MSU goaltender Mike Zacharias low to the stick side. Erik Johnson picked up the second assist on the power-play goal.

Just 27 seconds later, the Mavericks responded when Kurtis Kisio skated to the net on a 2-on-1 and shot high to UM netminder Kellen Briggs' glove side for his first goal of the season. Jason Wiley and Nick Canzanello were credited with assists on the play.

Minnesota re-gained the lead at 9:30 with a highlight reel lamplighter by Okposo. Taking a Ryan Stoa pass down low, Okposo went to the net, slipped the puck between his legs and behind him, and went high to the glove side to beat Zacharias. Mike Vannelli earned the second assist on the eye-popping goal, Okposo's team-leading 12th of the season. For the period, the Mavericks out-shot the Maroon and Gold 14-10.

The score remained the same through the rest of the game with Minnesota State out-shooting Minnesota 9-5 in the second and UM owning the 9-6 advantage in the third period.

Phenom-enal
by Dane DeKrey, collegehockeynews.com, Nov. 14, 2006

We may as well talk turkey about standout freshman Minnesota forward Kyle Okposo:

1) He's black.

2) He plays hockey.

3) Nobody cares.

"Those days are long gone," said Golden Gophers coach, Don Lucia, in reference to racial intolerance in college hockey. "When you look at Kyle, you look at him as a hockey player and a terrific person first; his race gets masked by his character."

For Okposo, the only color that seems to matter is red — that of the lamp he is notoriously known to light, and at alarming rates. Already leading the WCHA in goals, having tallied 9 in his first 10 games, Okposo is proving he is worth every bit of being the seventh overall pick in last year's NHL Entry Draft.

But for the St. Paul native, it's donning maroon and gold that widens his already ear-to-ear grin.

"It's been a lifelong dream for me to play at the U," said Okposo, who is the first African-American player in team history. "It just feels real good to contribute to the team and try to fill the roles as best I can."

With the gaping holes left by last season's departures, which included Hobey Baker finalist, Ryan Potulny, Lucia and company couldn't be happier with the incredible start to the season by the Gopher freshmen.

For starters, fellow phenom Jay Barriball and Okposo are second and third on the team in scoring, with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Couple that with two first rounders — including the No. 1 overall pick last June — in Erik Johnson and David Fischer on defense, and the future of Gopher hockey, as usual, has fans licking their chops.

But with all the talent that is Minnesota hockey, it is Okposo who seems to add a different, much-needed dimension to an always high-scoring roster — grit. Rarely losing physical battles either in front of the net or in the corners, Okposo's some 200-pound frame never shies away from a little lunch-bucket hockey, something that the team seems to have been lacking in years past.

"I just try to lace 'em up and throw my weight around," said Okposo of his bruiser brand of hockey. "I do think there's some grittiness in me, but I just try to work hard every shift I get."

Okposo, who played for the Des Moines Buccaneers in the United States Hockey League last season, saw his raw talent — both physically and fundamentally — be catered to and developed by head coach Regg Simon and crew.

"Kyle embodies the way we play here in Des Moines," said Simon. "Our guys play our games honest, meaning we stress winning puck battles and finishing hits, and I think a year here helped Kyle in that area."

Okposo returned the favor when his "put it in your skates" mentality helped the club win its first Clark Cup championship since 1998 — picking up Rookie of the Year and Clark Cup MVP honors along the way.

"In my time here, he's the best all-around hockey player we've ever had," said Simon, who has been at the helm of the organization for four years. "As far as doing everything very, very well, that's Kyle; he can score, hit, drive the net, play defense, kill penalties ... there just aren't any holes to his game."

Already drawing comparisons to Jarome Iginla, another superlative hockey player who just so happens to be African-American, Okposo understands and embraces the need for diversity in the historically white dominated sport.

"Hopefully, I would like to do as much as I can to get more minorities playing hockey," said Okposo, whose father is Nigerian and mother Caucasian. "Diversity is really good for the sport, but in general, I just want to see more young black kids playing sports."

Lucia expanded on Okposo's opportunity of becoming the conduit to a more diverse sport.

"I think Kyle can be a real role model, having grown up a few miles from campus, he's somebody that people can look up to," said Lucia. "I think there are a low number of African-American players because they have few to look up to — well, Kyle is someone they can emulate. He has that aura about him, people respect how hard he works; he's a good student and a good citizen, just about everything we want in a Gopher hockey player."

A prototypical fan favorite, one who hits, scores, and visibly loves to play the game, Okposo is steadily emerging as the new face of Minnesota hockey. And while that face may be a bit darker than what Gopher fans are used to, the 18-year-old is proving that skill, not skin, is all that matters.

"The last year and a half of my life has been a blast," said Okposo. "From the USHL to the NHL draft, and now here in Minnesota — I couldn't ask for anything more."

Neither can we.

Inside College Hockey
Nov. 2, 2006 excerpt

Two of the three goals in Minnesota freshman Kyle Okposo's first collegiate hat trick last Saturday were scored with the forward snapping wrist shots over Colorado College goalie Drew O'Connell's glove hand and into the upper right corner of the net. That got us wondering why Okposo picked that spot, so we asked him after the game. With a bit of a guilty smirk, Okposo admitted that he'd worked with O'Connell at a goalie camp over the summer and had made a mental note that high glove was the best place to shoot on the Tigers' backup.

Kyle Okposo Named WCHA Player of the Week
gophersports.com, Oct. 31, 2006

University of Minnesota junior defenseman Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids, Minn.) has been named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and freshman forward Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.) has been named the WCHA Rookie of the Week, following Minnesota’s two-game sweep of Colorado College last weekend at Mariucci Arena. Goligoski recorded a four-point weekend with 0-4--4, while Okposo scored three goals in the 8-1 win over the Tigers on Saturday.

Okposo showed why the New York Islanders picked him with the seventh overall selection at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft with an outstanding performance in last weekend’s sweep of Colorado College. In Minnesota’s 8-1 win on Saturday, Okposo recorded his first career hat trick and the Golden Gophers’ first three-goal game since Ryan Potulny scored four goals in the 8-7 overtime loss to St. Cloud State in the semifinal of the WCHA Final Five on March 17, 2006. Okposo scored UM’s first, fourth and fifth goals (all 5-on-5 markers) to notch Minnesota’s first hat trick of the 2006-07 season. His first goal at 4:17 of the opening period was Minnesota’s 11,000th tally in school history. For the game, Okposo had three shots and was a +4. A night earlier in UM’s 2-0 win, he had five shots. With his three-goal weekend, Okposo pushed his season totals to 7-2--9 to lead the team in goals and rank second in points. His seven goals are tied for the WCHA lead, while his nine points rank second among WCHA freshmen.

The award is the second Defensive Player of the Week honor for Goligoski in his career and the first Rookie of the Week accolade for Okposo.

Kyle Okposo Nets Hat Trick to Lead Minnesota to 8-1 Win, Sweep of Colorado College
gophersports.com, Oct. 28, 2006

Freshman forward Kyle Okposo recorded his first career hat trick as a Golden Gopher to lead the third-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey team to an 8-1 rout and two-game sweep of WCHA rival Colorado College tonight at Mariucci Arena. Okposo scored Minnesota's first, fourth and fifth goals to help the Golden Gophers (6-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) to their sixth straight win and their largest margin of victory since a 7-0 victory over Minnesota Duluth on March 3, 2005.

The Maroon and Gold scored two shorthanded goals for the first time in two seasons and held the Tigers (3-4-1, 0-2-0) to a lone 5-on-5 goal in the first period for Minnesota's 12th consecutive win at Mariucci Arena. Ten different Golden Gophers tallied a point, led by three-point nights by Okposo (3-0--3), Tyler Hirsch (0-3--3) and Alex Goligoski (0-3--3). Also adding multi-point games were Blake Wheeler (1-1--2), Jay Barriball (0-2--2) and Erik Johnson (0-2--2).

Minnesota's top two lines of Ben Gordon-Wheeler-Barriball and Ryan Stoa-Okposo-Hirsch accounted for six goals and six assists to push CC's losing streak to four games. The eight goals allowed by the Tigers were the most since a 9-1 loss to Wisconsin in Colorado Springs on Jan. 14, 2006.

The Maroon and Gold blew the game open in the second period, scoring four times to take a 6-1 lead into the second intermission. Mike Carman started the scoring barrage only 1:02 into the period with Minnesota's first shorthanded goal of the season. Skating into the CC zone on a 2-on-1, Carman gpassed to Alex Goligoski on the far side before getting the return pass to beat O'Connell to the open net on the glove side. The lamplighter was Carman's second of the season.

Six minutes later, Okposo netted his second goal of the night in similar fashion to his first tally. Once again, Hirsch forced a CC turnover at the blue line and fed Okposo in the slot to go high to the glove side to make the score 4-1.

At 9:46, Okposo recorded his first career hat trick as a Golden Gopher, executing a perfect give-and-go with Barriball. Okposo skated into the zone and passed to the far side to Barriball who returned the favor to set up Okposo to beat O'Connell to the stick side. The hat trick was Minnesota's first of the season and first since Ryan Potulny scored four goals in the 8-6 overtime loss to St. Cloud State in the semifinal of the WCHA Final Five on March 17, 2006.

No. 8 Minnesota Cruises to 5-1 Win, Sweep over Wayne State
gophersports.com, Oct. 14, 2006

The eighth-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey team completed the two-game sweep of Wayne State tonight, cruising to a 5-1 win in front of 9,809 at Mariucci Arena. The Golden Gophers (2-1-0) used two-goal nights from freshmen forwards Jay Barriball and Kyle Okposo, and snapped their extended power-play scoreless streak with three lamplighters with the man advantage.

Ten different Golden Gophers tallied a point, led by two-point nights from Barriball, Okposo, Ben Gordon (0-2--2) and Alex Goligoski (0-2--2). Minnesota held the Warriors (0-2-0) to only 23 shots, including one in the third period, to push UM's all-time record over College Hockey America teams to 13-0-0.

From there, it was all Maroon and Gold as Minnesota scored three power-play goals in a span of 2:15 to take the 5-1 lead. At 15:08, freshman Kyle Okposo scored his first goal as a Golden Gopher, taking a Tyler Hirsch feed, skating to the front of the net and beating Bothwell low to the glove side. The goal snapped a 0-for-30 scoreless streak on the power play, dating to last season (0-for-17 this season before Okposo's goal).

At 16:38, Barriball made it 4-1 with a 5-on-3 power-play goal for his fourth marker of the year. Erik Johnson fired a one-timer on net with the rebound coming to Barriball on the left side to go top shelf over Bothwell. Gordon picked up the second assist for his second multi-point game of the weekend.

Just 45 seconds later, Okposo tallied his second power-play goal of the night, taking a Ryan Stoa pass and solving Bothwell with a backhander to the glove side. Goligoski earned the second assist on the 5-on-4 power-play lamplighter. For the period, the Golden Gophers out-shot the Warriors, 19-16, for a two-period total of 38-22.

University of Minnesota Player Bio

Strong and powerful skater with natural competitive instincts and excellent hockey sense • owns a very good burst of speed • drives hard to the net and is difficult to contain • displays very quick hands • likes the physical game and has a “no quit” attitude.

High School
Spent the 2005-06 season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL • head coach was Regg Simon • finished second on the team and sixth in the league in scoring with 27-31--58 in 50 games • led the league with eight game-winning goals and was second in plus/minus at +28 • named the USHL Rookie of the Year • also was a member of the All-USHL First Team and USHL All-Rookie Team • represented the Buccaneers in the USHL All-Star Game, earning Team East Player of the Game honors • helped the Bucs to the Clark Cup Championship, leading the league in playoff scoring with 5-11--16 in 11 games • named the Clark Cup MVP • two-time USHL Offensive Player of the Week • was the first overal selection of the 2005 USHL Entry Draft • played for Team USA at the U18 Junior World Cup in Slovakia, posting totals of 4-3--7 in five games • led all U.S. players in scoring with 3-7--10 in six games as Team USA won the bronze at the the Viking Cup in Camrose, Alberta • named the tournament MVP •played his prep hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School • head coach was Tom Ward • finished third on the team in scoring in 2004-05 with totals of 47-45--95 in 65 games • helped the Sabres to a 59-8-2 record and the Midget Major AAA National Championship in 2004-05 • posted totals of 46-53--99 with 86 penalty minutes in 2003-04 • helped Shattuck to a runner-up finish at the Midget Major AAA National Tournament • scored 75 goals and 101 assists in 75 games as a bantam at Shattuck in 2002-03 • drafted by the New York Islanders with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft • participated in the 2006 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp • becomes the first African-American hockey player to play for Minnesota • becomes only the fifth player under Don Lucia to list one of the Twin Cities as his hometown – Mike Vannelli (St. Paul), Matt Koalska (St. Paul), Troy Riddle (Minneapolis) and Mike Lyons (St. Paul).

 

	Isles Select RW Kyle Okposo 7th Overall
	July 24, 2006:  From THN: RW Kyle Okposo Born: April 16, 1988, St. Paul, Minn. 2005-06: Des Moines (USHL) Shoots: Right ISS:  13th overall Kyle Okposo quit hockey in grade 7. He was sick of the coolest game on ice and switched to basketball instead. A year later, he traded in his sneakers for skates and hasn't looked back.

Fast forward to his rookie season in the USHL and Okposo skated away with rookie-of-the-year honors. The St. Paul, Minn., native scored 27 goals and 58 points in 50 games, also earning a spot on the first all-star team.

"He is a strong skater, competes hard and is a solid two-way player," says a scout.

Okposo plays a pro-style game. He isn't afraid to go into traffic and can take a hit as well as dish one out. He's the latest marquee 17-year-old to make a verbal commitment to play for the University of Minnesota. 

NHL scouts who watched him this season - Okposo was dazzling with his speed and acceleration at the USHL All-Star Game in February - can't wait to see him develop for two or three years in college.

Islanders: "Kyle is a big, strong guy who runs over people," said GM Neil Smith. "Islanders fans will be excited to see him play. We had him very high on our list."

"Kyle has a certain edge to his game," said head coach Ted Nolan. "He drives to the net well. He's a big kid, and we're very excited to get him."

CSB: Report: Is a strong powerful skater with a very good burst of speed who comes off the boards and out of the corners using his good balance and strength to hold off opponents....drives hard to the net and is difficult to contain while displaying very quick hands both when stick-handling in traffic and releasing his shot on net....reads the play extremely well both on the offense and on defense and makes players around him better by doing smart things without the puck....plays on both the power-play and penalty killing units and is very dangerous when the game is on the line....is capable of dominating offensively when he has the puck....likes the physical game and has a "no quit" attitude....knows his defensive responsibilities, blocks shots and is tenacious in his coverage in front of the net....is a fearless competitor who has lots of stamina and durability and leads by example....a member of the 2005 U.S. Under-18 Select Team in Piestany, Slovakia....played on the USHL Viking Cup team 2006....played in the 2006 USHL All-Star Game....selected to the USHL First All-Star Team and All Rookie Team....named the USHL Rookie of the Year....will attend the University of Minnesota in the Fall of 2006.

Personal Profile: Nickname is Opo Bro because "Trevor Lewis called me it one day and it stuck"....favorite team is the Colorado Avalanche....favorite player is the Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin....wears jersey number 8 because of "Great 8" (Ovechkin)....has that his father has been the most influential on his career because "he has always been there to push me and challenge me" and admires him for "always working for what he gets"....patterns his game after Philadelphia's Peter Forsberg because "he can do it all"....most memorable hockey game ever played was the National Championship Finals in 2005 because his team won 7-0....most memorable hockey games watched are Colorado vs. Detroit playoff games because "they are always great"....favorites include: the OC (TV show), Wedding Crashers, Sandlot (movies), Eva Mendes (actress), and Bone Thugs (musical group)....if he could have dinner with any three people they would be Michael Jordan - "unbelievable athlete and leader," Phil Esposito - "want to ask him about his career," and Mario Lemieux - "one of the best ever."....Parents are Kome & Michele, and he has one sister, Kendra.

McKeen's Hockey: Extremely sturdy on his feet, nearly impossible to knock over .. Can stickhandle through traffic and plays a fearless style .. Non-stop motor - is consistently moving and trying to make a play with and without the puck .. Backchecked and forechecked equally hard .. Boasts a heavy shot that is accurate, especially his wicked wrister .. Finds open space on the ice and has no problem getting shots on the net.

ISS: His [physical] strength is something that allows him to hold off opponents and at times, get off his tremendous shot to either score or create offensive opportunities. Although he isn’t the tallest player that is eligible, he is thick and uses that to create a very powerful stride that chews up ice quickly. He also has shown a vision that is uncommon for a player that is pegged as a power forward and uses that to get his line-mates the puck in prime scoring areas.

Redline Report: Plays a very complete, two-way game. Tremendous grit, passion, determination, leadership skills, and hockey sense in all three zones. Can play centre, but with his strength and toughness is more suited to play along the wall. Unbelievably strong on the puck; drives through checks and carriers guys on his back. Freakishly strong for his size. A big hitter who opens up the ice with his physical play. Has a powerful stride and doesn't get beaten to loose pucks often, but needs to keep improving first step quickness. Has top-notch character and work ethic. Tends to overhandle the puck at times and needs to learn to distribute it more. Never had a natural scorer's hands and finishing touch you like to see in a top 10 pick, but scored the type of goals in the playoffs this spring that he wouldn't have cashed in as recently as last October. Improving that element was the last piece of the puzzle for us.

Facts: Okposo was the #1 overall pick in the 2005 USHL Draft by the Des Moines Buccaneers.

Hockey's lure too great for Okposo, Stewart
By Larry Wigge, nhl.com, June 26, 2006

Damp. Dark. Dreary. Sometimes the rinks where we send our youngsters to play hockey are filled with a stench of musty old clothing and pipes that sweat and drip from years of use and abuse. That's pretty much the setting for the beginning of most young hockey careers.

Not very glamorous. But there's something about an early morning skate -- and I mean really early in non-hockey areas around North America where ice isn't readily available -- hearing pucks banging off the boards and the sound of skates digging into the ice.

For those who grew up playing hockey, it's something that's hard to get out of your blood.

While working the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver Saturday, there were two stories that transcend that love-for-hockey and not-being-able-to-get-it-out-of-your-blood theme.

Meet Kyle Okposo from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Chris Stewart, from Scarborough, Ontario -- two players who switched from hockey to other sports for one full year. Think about it, one full year of development, and then they came back even better and both were singled out as first-round picks in the Entry Draft.

Okposo went to the New York Islanders with the seventh pick overall, while Stewart was the 18th overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche. I always love stories that have a hint of conflict, and that's exactly the case with this one, because Okposo and Stewart left the game for different reasons and at very different points in their development. Toss in some multicultural backgrounds and lifestyles and you have plenty of ironic twists to deal with.

It's not as hard to give up a year of hockey when you're 6 to play basketball and then rebound to achieve such a high ranking like Okposo did. But, for Stewart, giving up the game at 15 and bulking up from 225 pounds to nearly 260 to be a high school tight end is a bit of a different path to the big leagues, when few players who give up the game for any length of time can get their game back on track.

When Okposo was 6, he switched to basketball, partly as punishment for knocking down the family Christmas tree with a puck, infuriating his parents, who weren't big on their son playing hockey to begin with. Kyle's dad, Kome, grew up in Nigeria as a star soccer player before coming to the United States at 16 and his mom, Michele, grew up in Minnesota and was a pretty decent tennis player. Kome and Michele met at the University of Minnesota -- ironically that's where Kyle has enrolled to play hockey in 2006-07.

"I think we tried everything possible to discourage him from playing hockey," Kome laughed after watching his son get drafted by the Islanders, who just happen to be owned by Charles Wang, who is Shanghai, and the team is now coached by Ted Nolan, who is an Ojibwa Indian.

Are you beginning to get that multicultural feel yet?

Kome Okposo added: "We gave in and bought Kyle a pair of skates and some sticks, hoping that he still might play soccer. But we couldn't get him away from hockey other than the year that Michele grounded him from hockey for knocking down the Christmas tree.

"I wouldn't tell my wife this, but Kyle won me over to his playing hockey when he was little. It was fun watching him. You could see he had a passion for the game, and look at the results. I would never have written a story that ended with him being drafted by an NHL team. Never."

When the Okposos finally relented and let Kyle go back to his first love, the ultra-competitive kid would ask his parents to drop him off at a nearby St. Paul outdoor rink, with orders to give him at least three or four hours to skate and find a pickup game to play. He spent his high school career skating for Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn., and posted an amazing 175 points his freshman season on the Bantam Tier I team. He followed that with 100-point sophomore and junior seasons.

Last season, the 6-foot, 195-pounder dominated the United States Hockey League -- scoring 27 goals and 58 points in 50 games for Des Moines and was named USHL Rookie of the Year.

"When they drop the puck, I feel like I'm just free, I can just go and do anything," he said. "I always try to treat games as another opportunity to showcase myself and see what the team can do, because during the week it's just practice and school, and school really wears you down. So it's kind of like when I skate on the weekends, it's just go out there and play and have a really good time."

Okposo's passion for the game started with the sell-job he had at home. On the ice, because his father is Nigerian and his mother white, he's heard his share of slurs over the years. It hurt, but he learned to put it aside and focus on the game.

"I don't think about that stuff too much," Okposo said. "It comes up once in awhile, but I just try not to think about it. I just want to go and play."

But Okposo is not averse to becoming a spokesman on diversity issues. Neither is Chris Stewart, son of a swimming pool installer in the Toronto area and second brother in a family that includes five younger sisters in a small, two-story townhouse in Malvern, Ontario.

For Okposo, the quit-hockey-for-basketball is almost a forgotten story, because it happened so long ago and he is such a competitive kid on the ice.

"He's got skill, but he runs over people," Neil Smith said after making Okposo his first pick as general manager of the Islanders. "He plays a Cam Neely-type game."

St. Louis Blues scout Mike Antonovich has been watching Kyle since he was 15. He sees a different comparison.

"I see great speed, acceleration and hands and a kid who is really, really competitive," Antonovich said. "When he drives to the net in traffic, he's almost unstoppable.

"Kyle reminds me of Jarome Iginla at the same age. I remember back to 1993, when my son, Jeff, was on the same team in Kamloops with Iginla. To me, Okposo is as good, if not better, than Iginla was then ... and he has the same kind of upside and potential to be even better."

N.Y. Islanders select Bucs' Okposo at No. 7
by Lisa Colonno - desmoinesregister.com

Kyle Okposo made Des Moines Buccaneers history by slipping a blue New York Islanders' sweater over his head on stage at GM Place Saturday.

One of his best friends and key linemates this season, Trevor Lewis, walked across the same stage soon after at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Islanders selected Okposo with the seventh pick overall of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest drafted player in the Buccaneers' 26-year history.

The Los Angeles Kings chose Trevor Lewis with the 17th pick overall through a trade with Minnesota.

The duo led the Buccaneers last season to the team's first Clark Cup since 1999. They turned Saturday into one of the best draft showings ever for the Buccaneers, becoming the team's first players taken in the first round.

"That's Buccaneers' history," said Buccaneers president Shawn Edwards, who watched the draft on television. "It is kind of like when we won a playoff round - it was that exciting for me. They are both great guys and great leaders... It was fun and a hoot to watch them."

Buccaneers defenseman Shane Sims was selected in the fifth round, 126th overall, by the New York Islanders. Sims is expected to return to play in Des Moines in the fall.

Okposo will play college hockey at Minnesota in the fall, but started down the path to professional hockey Saturday.

Islanders general manager Neil Smith liked Okposo's playing style.

"Kyle is a big, strong guy who runs over people," Smith said in a release. "Islanders fans will be excited to see him play. We had him very high on our list."

Okposo plans to room with Erik Johnson during their first college season if his defenseman friend does not turn pro. Johnson, whom Okposo has known for about 10 years, was selected first overall Saturday by the St. Louis Blues.

Highest NHL drafted players to wear a Buccaneers jersey:
Name Pos. Year Pick
Kyle Okposo F 2006 7th
Trevor Lewis F 2006 17th
Jeff Petry D 2006 45th
John Doherty D 2003 57th
Ethan Philpott F 1993 64th
Brett Skinner D 2002 68th
Erik Cole F 1998 71st
Mike Erickson F 2002 72nd

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press
June 25, 2006

Two picks after Kessel went, the New York Islanders took Okposo, a strong-as-a-bull forward who played at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn., before moving to Des Moines of the United States Junior League, where he was named rookie of the year last season.

"It was a big decision for me. I felt it was time to move on, time to play at that next level," Okposo explained.

Islanders coach Ted Nolan said his team sees in Okposo "a certain skill and talent, but a certain edge that all of the top players seem to play with."

June 24, 2006: It is possible that St. Paul native Kyle Okposo (No. 11) will be available. The 6-foot, 195-pound right wing was the rookie of the year with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League. He fits the mold of a forward the Wild covet — fast and fearless with extraordinary vision at both ends of the ice. Okposo has committed to the Gophers next season, which would make him convenient to scout.

Gophers likely to leave mark on NHL Draft
Three in the top 10?
MNDaily.com - June 21, 2006 - by Chris Lempesis

Kessel and Johnson might be joined in the top 10 Saturday by another member of the 2006-2007 roster, incoming freshman forward Kyle Okposo.

Okposo was ranked 11th in the Central Scouting final rankings but McGuire said his stock has risen because of his performance in the USHL playoffs.

Okposo's team - the Des Moines Buccaneers - won the USHL Championship with Okposo earning Rookie of the Year honors.

"He's a really good prospect too," Thompson said. "He's an average-sized guy but very well built. Obviously really a dedicated, intelligent individual."

Thompson also said that the Wild have a list of 14 players whom they would unanimously be excited to get with their two first-round picks and that Okposo definitely is one of those players.

Three Former Buccaneers Invited to World Junior Camp
June 13, 2006 - bucshockey.com

Three former Des Moines Buccaneers will be participating in the 2006 USA Hockey World Junior Evaluation Camp from August 5-14. The camp will feature the top forty-five players in the United States age twenty and under.

Two players from the 2006 Clark Cup National Championship team will be forwards Trevor Lewis and Kyle Okposo. Joining them will be forward Chad Rau, who competed for the Buccaneers during the 2004-05 season.

"What's especially pleasing is that Trevor and Kyle are both going to the camp fresh off a season in the USHL," said coach Simon. "I think speaks volumes of the talent level and the ability to develop players in this league."

Lewis (Murray, Utah) had a very productive second season with the Buccaneers. He led the team in scoring with 75 points on 35 goals and 40 assists. In 2006, Trevor was named USA Junior Hockey Player of the Year, USHL Player of the Year, All-USHL First Team, the Curt Hammer Award winner, and he played in the USHL All-Star game. He also competed for the USA Select Team in the Viking Cup in Camrose, Alberta Canada. He will be playing for the University of Michigan next season.

Okposo (St. Paul, Minnesota) was the first overall pick in the 2005 USHL Draft. This season, he was named USHL Rookie of the Year, All-USHL First Team, USHL All-Star Game MVP, Clark Cup Playoffs MVP, and also competed with the USA Select Team in the Viking Cup. He finished second on the team in scoring behind Lewis with 58 points on 27 goals and 31 assists, and will play for the University of Minnesota next season.

Rau (Eden Prairie, Minnesota) was selected by the Buccaneers in the 2003 USHL Futures Draft. During the 2004-05 season, he led the team in scoring and finished second overall in the USHL with 71 points on 31 goals and 40 assists. He would go on to be named 2005 USHL Rookie of the Year and was an All-USHL First Team member. He also won Gold medals at the Four Nations Cup and the U-18 World Championships with the USA U-18 team. Rau received a scholarship after his season with the Buccaneers to Colorado College, and in his freshman season tallied 30 points on 13 goals and 17 assists. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted him in the 7th Round in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

"There are only twenty-four forwards in the entire country to that get invited to that try-out," said coach Simon. "The fact that Chad, Kyle and Trevor are all former Buccaneers makes us very proud and we wish them the best of luck."

Storm’s Rising
June 8, 2006 - New England Hockey Journal

Kyle Okposo’s last name is Nigerian for thunderstorm, and the Des Moines Buccaneers power forward has emerged as a coveted prospect after blowing away USHL competition.

By Kirk Luedeke

Kyle Okposo may be the 2006 NHL Entry Draft’s biggest riser.

The University of Minnesota-bound power forward prospect led his Des Moines Buccaneers to the USHL Clark Cup championship after an outstanding season as that league’s best player.

Okposo, whose name is Nigerian for thunderstorm, plays the game like his namesake. He’s a powerful skater whose quick stick and superior vision make him a threat to score each time he’s on the ice. He’s also a physical player who willingly goes into traffic and sacrifices his body to make the play.

“I look at myself as trying to help my team win,” said Okposo, downplaying his Clark Cup MVP performance this spring – one that evoked awe from coaches and scouts alike who saw him put his club on his back and carry them all the way from a league-worst finish in 2005, to the top a year later.

The St. Paul, Minn. native was a standout performer at Shattuck St. Mary’s, a Minnesota prep school that has produced current NHLers Zach Parise and Sidney Crosby among others. Okposo’s Shattuck teammates also included Jonathan Toews, a top NHL 2006 draft prospect. Okposo’s success there led to a full scholarship with the Golden Gophers, for whom he should one day form a powerful nucleus with fellow 2006 draft standouts Phil Kessel and Erik Johnson. In the meantime, he was the top selection in last summer’s USHL draft, flourishing in his year at Des Moines.

“I benefited a lot from the success of my teammates. I think that when I was at Shattuck, I was more of a 1-on-1 player, but coming to the USHL was great for me because I learned to use my linemates more and play to their strengths as well as mine,” he said.

Okposo’s father, Kome, came to the United States from Nigeria at age 18 and put himself through medical school, where he met Kyle’s mother, Michele. He instilled the importance of a work ethic in his son at an early age and is a critical component to Okposo’s hockey success to date.

“My parents have been a tremendous influence in my life,” he said. “They’ve always been behind me and made sure that I know right from wrong.

“I talk with my dad at least once a month about who I am and where I’m going. He’s always told me how much he wants me to be more successful than him, and so he’s been there to help keep me focused on my goals and to make sure that I know he’s there for me if I ever need him. It’s an unbelievable relationship that defines me as a person and athlete more than anything else.”

Okposo’s exploits in the USHL caught the eye of some of the sport’s top talent evaluators.

“I think that Okposo is the best player to come through that league in the past decade – possibly ever,” said Kyle Woodlief, chief scout and publisher of the independent scouting review Red Line Report. “He’s got size, skill, hockey sense, character – the whole package. I think that there were perhaps questions about the level of competition, but you just look at what he did and how he progressed from the beginning of the season to the end, and it was as dominant a performance as any I have seen.”

Woodlief isn’t the only one who recognizes Okposo’s enormous upside either.

“Without question, he carried that team,” said one NHL Eastern Conference scout of Okposo’s USHL campaign. “He’s a very talented player, but aside from that, he’s got the natural sense, the impressive character and a real passion for the game that manifests itself in everything he does. You look at the fact that he comes from a great family too, and he’s just one of those players who jumps out at you.”

Okposo is the rare specimen who not only plays the game at a high level, but also understands what defines success in the team game. It isn’t about him, and according to Okposo, never has been.

“I do what I can to help the team win, period,” he said. “If the coach asks me to play defense, I’ll do it. The team comes first in everything I do. That means that I give 100 percent and no less in practice and in games. That means that if I have to do more than go out and score a goal or set up the play to win a game, then that’s what I have to do. I’m only as good as the team is, and I measure my success by how my team performs.”

By winning the championship, Okposo has gone a long way toward silencing the doubters, who point to the USHL as an inferior league and downgrade the Buccaneer forward against his peers playing major junior.

“The gulf between (the USHL) and major junior isn’t as wide as some would think,” said an NHL Eastern Conference chief of scouting. “The CHL is a superior league to the USHL, but to measure Okposo’s accomplishments solely against that perception is taking a pretty myopic view of what he brings to the table. Kyle’s a legitimate player and has one of the highest ceilings of any prospect in the class.”

The Kyle Okposo file

CSS Mid-season rank: 13 (NA)
CSS Final rank: 11 (NA)
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 195 pounds
Born: April 16, 1988 in St. Paul, Minn.
Shoots: Right
Parents: Kome and Michele
Hobbies: Golf
Major: Undecided

Stats
Year, Team, League, GP, G, A, PTS, PIM
04-05, Shattuck St. Mary’s, USHSW, 65, 47, 45, 92, 72
05-06, Des Moines, USHL, 50, 27, 31, 58, 56

Buc Wild With Kyle
May 24, 2006 - insidecollegehockey.com - by Paul Shaheen

Keeping current with college recruits can be difficult at times, especially when so many of them carry the same name. For example, Turris wasn't the only outstanding postseason performer with the first name of Kyle.

Kyle Okposo led the Des Moines Buccaneers to the United States Hockey League's Clark Cup title. The 18-year-old, who’ll enroll at Minnesota this fall, is sure to go in the first round – perhaps in the top ten – at next month’s NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver.

A St. Paul native, Okposo’s father is a Nigerian immigrant who came to the United States when he 18, eventually settling in Minnesota’s capital city. It’s also where his son got hooked on the game on ice.

A right-shooting forward, Okposo progressed quickly through the minor hockey ranks quickly, and then skated for the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary’s program in Faribault, Minn., for three seasons. It was at Shattuck where he first caught the collective eye of the Golden Gopher coaching staff, and he eventually committed to coach Don Lucia before donning a Bucs sweater.

This season was Okposo’s lone tour of duty in USHL and it wouldn’t be a shock if the league’s coaches chipped in to buy a parting gift for the 6-foot, 195-pound forward, happy as they must be to see him go. In 56 games, Okposo – who'd spent most of his career at center but transitioned to the wing with the Bucs, scored 35 goals and 75 points to wind up second in the circuit in scoring.

In the postseason, Okposo shared the USHL scoring lead with teammate (and Michigan recruit) Trevor Lewis. Both tallied 16 points, but Okposo, who scored five playoff goals to Lewis’ three, stirred the Bucs’ drink – but it took a stern chat with Des Moines coach Regg Simon two games into the Clark Cup final series against Sioux Falls to jump start hi game.

"To be honest, his first two games or so were only average," said Simon, a former Alaska Anchorage standout. "I pulled him aside and said, 'Kyle, you have to be better, and you can be.' So what does he do? He goes out and scored the OT game winner in game three."

Okposo’s all-around game shined in games four and five. He tallied two assists in that span, including a critical helper in the series clincher.

"I'm still working on finding my teammates on the ice, but I'm really learning to love to score," Okposo told Red Line Report earlier this season. "I may not have a lot of open-ice hits, but I'll go into the corner when I need to and roll to the net."

He'll do all that and more at Minnesota.

"He's all class," Simon said. "I'd let him date my sister and believe me, I'm pretty protective."

Kyle Okposo's NHL.com Blog
Friday, May 19, 2006

A quick look back

The Old Barn on Hickman Street is what pushed me over the edge to come to Des Moines and play hockey in the USHL this past year. When I saw that I had been drafted to Des Moines with the first pick in the 2005 USHL Draft, I was a little hesitant about coming. I knew that their team the previous year was not very strong.

I came down to Des Moines from St. Paul, Minn., and met with coach Regg Simon before tryout camp and he convinced me that I needed to take a step up to the next level.

I made the decision that Des Moines was where I would be playing right before tryout camp. When I got there in the fall, I was extremely nervous. I only knew two players, Ben Ryan and Donnie Hallmark. Switching schools and moving farther away from home was also a tough thing to deal with right away, but after the first few weeks everything fell into place.

We started out in preseason not living up to our own expectations as a team. We thought that we really had a chance to turn things around in Des Moines after the past season, but we were only about .500. We also started the regular season slow in the first five games, but after that, we caught fire taking the USHL by storm. We were leading in the Eastern Division through the first half of the season. I, like my team, started off the season pretty slow, being almost too tentative at times.

Right after Christmas, I was asked to play on the Viking Cup team which was basically a USHL all-star team composed of '89, '88, and '87 year birthdates. We had a pretty good showing, but lost in the semifinal game, 3-2, after blowing a 2-0 lead in the third period. I played pretty well in the tournament and was named MVP, which was a great honor.

When Brian Foster, Trevor Lewis, and I returned to Des Moines, our team took a huge blow. We lost our captain and leader John Vadnais. This was extremely difficult for our team to get over and we went on a five-game skid. We recovered however, and, at the end of the season, found ourselves tied for the East Division championship with Cedar Rapids.

I had a successful regular season and received Rookie of the Year honors, as well as being named to the First-Team All Stars. I finished with 27 goals and 58 points in 50 games.

Our first playoff series was against Green Bay. We had pretty good success against them during the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole different season and we did not take them lightly. We were fortunate enough to sweep the series and move to the next round.

The second round was with our division rival, Cedar Rapids. We had struggled against Cedar Rapids all season and it had home-ice advantage against us. We won the first game in overtime and we knew we could beat them. We ended up sweeping that series, as well, winning two games on their ice.

The finals were against the regular-season champion Sioux Falls Stampede. They were a tough team and we had only beaten them one out of five tries in the regular season. The first game was at our rink because they had a circus going on at their barn. That certainly helped us out. We were able to muster a 2-0 victory with outstanding play from out goalie, Troy Davenport.

Our heads might have gotten a little big after that game and they spanked us 5-2 in Game 2. Game 3 was at their rink and we really needed that game to take away home-ice advantage for them. We won the game 3-2 in overtime and bussed back to Des Moines that night to prepare for our game the next night. Game 4 was a sold-out crowd at our rink and the place was jumping. We really wanted to win the Clark Cup on our ice, but it did not work out that way and we lost the game, 2-1.

The final game was played at their rink on a Monday night in front of another sold-out crowd. We blew a 2-0 lead in the second and they came back to tie it, 2-2. They had the momentum going into the third, but we scored a goal with about 15 minutes left to take the lead. We hung on to win the Clark Cup and we went ecstatic, bringing the Cup back to Des Moines for the first time since ?99.

I played well in the playoffs and was named playoff MVP, which was a great honor. But, I would trade it any day just to hold the trophy with my teammates.

Currently, I am finishing high school in Des Moines and will be returning home to Minnesota on the May 26.

Okposo, 18, led the Buccaneers to the Clark Cup Championship, the championship of the USHL, by scoring five goals and 11 assists in 11 postseason game. He was also a plus-12 for the postseason and was named the Clark Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player. In the regular season, Okposo scored 27 goals and added 31 assists in 58 games to be named regular-season MVP, as well, as the Bucs went from worst to first during the 2005-06 season.

A year earlier, Okposo played for the famous Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep program, leading that program's Midget Major AAA team to the national championship. The 6-foot, 195-pound forward, from St. Paul, Minn., has already committed to the University of Minnesota to begin play with the Golden Gophers this winter.

Already a top NHL prospect, Kyle Okposo's stock continued to rise after he was named the Planet Hockey Most Valuable Player of this year's Clark Cup Playoffs.

The Buccaneers forward scored five goals, including two game-winners, and assisted on 11 others as Des Moines captured the USHL's Clark Cup title as Tier 1 national champions. He was also a plus-12 in the 11 postseason games.

The 17-year-old St. Paul native was named the USHL Rookie of the Year and to the All-USHL First Team after finishing the season sixth in league scoring with 58 points on 27 goals. Next season, Okposo, ranked No. 11 overall among North Americans by NHL Central Scouting on its final report of 2006 draft eligibles, will skate at the University of Minnesota.

The official sponsor of the Clark Cup Playoffs MVP, Planet Hockey is the worldwide leader in hockey skills training with more than 60 locations throughout North America.

• 2006 - Kyle Okposo, F, Des Moines
• 2005 - Alex Stalock, G, Cedar Rapids
• 2004 - Kevin Regan, G, Waterloo
• 2003 - Danny Irmen, F, Lincoln
• 2002 - Andy Franck, G, Sioux City
• 2001 - Ray Fraser, G, Omaha
• 2000 - Aaron Smith, F, Green Bay
• 1999 - Pete Fregoe, F, Des Moines
• 1998 - Nate Mauer, F, Omaha

Okposo Scores Game 3 Winner in Overtime
April 28, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers came away with a 3-2 overtime win over the Sioux Falls Stampede tonight in Sioux Falls. Kyle Okposo tallied the overtime goal to put the Buccaneers up 2 game to 1 in this best of five series. It was a very even game throughout regulation. Sioux Falls struck first in the first period on Casey Parenteau's goal. The Buccaneers answered on Donnie Hallmark's goal just 35 seconds later. Sioux Falls struck again early in the second period on Mark Magnowski's goal just 52 seconds into the period. Two minutes later, the Buccaneers answered again on a Trevor Lewis goal.

Stampede Drop Bucs in Game 2
April 26, 2006

The Des Moines Buccaneers found themselves on the short end of a 5-2 game in Sioux Falls tonight. Sioux Falls tied up the Clark Cup Finals series at one. The Bucs found themselves down 2-0 just three minutes into the contest. The Bucs could not make up that two goals despite their hard efforts. Shane Sims and Kyle Okposo scored the two Buccaneer goals.

New CBA agreement affecting colleges(excerpt)
April 25, 2006 - MNDaily.com - by Chris Lempesis
full article

The team that selects Phil Kessel, 18, will keep his exclusive rights "through August 15 following the graduation of his college class," as stated in an e-mail sent to the Daily from Tyler Currie, National Hockey League Players' Association media relations coordinator.

But, hypothetically, if Kessel were to leave school early, the e-mail states the team that drafts him will keep his exclusive rights "until the fourth June 1 following his selection in the Entry Draft."

If Kessel were not to sign by either date, he then would become a free agent. Other more complex stipulations were made under the new collective bargaining agreement for drafted players' rights as well, for example, how it applies to players 20 and older who already are in college.

Players drafted in 2005 and 2006 who decide to sign with their respective teams now can earn a maximum annual salary of $850,000 in base and bonus, with a maximum of 10 percent of the salary being in the bonus.

The agreement states that number will jump to $875,000 for 2007 and 2008 draftees, $900,000 for 2009 and 2010 draftees and $925,000 for those taken in 2011, the last year of the new agreement. However the 10 percent max bonus will remain the same.

It is the players who have been recruited for this year and beyond who will have to deal with the fallout of the changes because the "transitional players" will, for the most part, be gone to the pros or returning for their senior seasons by the end of the summer.

One of those players is 18-year-old Kyle Okposo, a highly regarded Gophers recruit. Okposo was named the United States Hockey League's Rookie of the Year last season.

Okposo is projected to be a first-round selection for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft as he was ranked 13th among North American players in the NHL Mid-Term Rankings by Central Scouting, released in January.

Okposo admitted he didn't really know all that much about the new agreement's structure as far as it applies to draftees and, thus, couldn't say whether it will affect how long he will stay at Minnesota.

"I've just kind of decided to play that one by ear," Okposo said, "and see if the opportunity comes and if I think I'm ready to leave or stick around for four years; that's a possibility, too. I'm just going to play that one as it comes."

A wait-and-see approach will have to be taken to see how much the college game will be affected by the changes in the agreement. But one thing seems to be a certainty: The college game will be affected.

Bucs Win to Take A 2-0 Series Lead
April 12,2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers take a 2-0 series lead over Cedar Rapids tonight with the 3-1 victory at 95KGGO Arena. Aaron Palushaj, Kyle Okposo and Aaron Bendickson all notched a goal in the win. Cedar Rapids forward Chad Costello, a Des Moines native, scored the lone RoughRider goal. Buccaneers goalie Troy Davenport had another superb night between the pipes, stopping 39 of 40 shots.

Bucs Win Game 1 in Overtime
April 11, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers opened up the Eastern Division Finals with an overtime win in Cedar Rapids. Colin Vock scored a shorthanded goal for the game-winner to put the Bucs 1-0 in this best of five series with Cedar Rapids. The Buccaneers got on the board first with a goal by Kyle Okposo midway through the first period. Cedar Rapids countered with a goal by Phil Axtell before first intermission. Cedar Rapids struck again early in the third period with a goal by Gary Steffes to put the RoughRiders up 2-1. Later in the period, Aaron Bendickson tied the game up at two forcing the game to overtime. With Trevor Lewis in the penalty box for cross checking, forward Colin Vock buried a shot from the blue line to get the win.

Bucs Sweep Green Bay
April 1, 2006

The Des Moines Buccaneers were able to sweep Green Bay in the opening round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. The Bucs took the first two games at home before traveling to Green Bay for Game 3 and were able to come out with a 3-2 victory to advance to the next round. Green Bay took an early 1-0 lead on an Eric Gryba goal midway through the first period. The Bucs scored three straight goals by Shane Sims, Kyle Okposo and Ken Rowe to take a 3-1 lead in the third period. Green Bay's Sergio Somma kept the Gamblers in the game with a powerplay goal with less than eight minutes left to go in the game. However, the Bucs were able to hold on for the victory.

Newcomers, etc.
MNDaily.com - March 31, 2006 - by Chris Lempesis

As of now, Lucia said it looks as though two key players who missed the season with medical redshirts - senior forward Tyler Hirsch (personal reasons) and sophomore defenseman Nate Hagemo (shoulder/neck) - will return to action next season.

Those two will join a talented incoming class that is headlined by 6-foot, 5-inch, 227-pound defenseman Erik Johnson (U.S. National U-18 Development Team), also considered to be a candidate to be chosen No. 1 overall in June, and the 2006 United States Hockey League Rookie of The Year, forward Kyle Okposo.

Buccaneers Come Up Big In OT
3-11-2006 - bucshockey.com

Tonight at 95KGGO Arena the Des Moines Buccaneers beat the Tri-City Storm 4-3. Kyle Okposo netted the game winning overtime goal :45 seconds into the period. Shane Sims got the scoring started for the Buccaneers in the first period. The Storm struck back in the first tying the game at one going into the intermission. Halfway through the second period the Storm struck again to take a 2-1 lead. Aaron Bendickson struck for the Buccaneers at the 12:02 mark to tie the game at 2. In the third period, Colin Vock was able to regain the lead for the Bucs with a goal 1:52 into the period. Tri-City was able to retie the game at 3 with 10 minutes remaining in the period. With the win the Bucs remain in first place in the East by one point over Cedar Rapids.

Bucs Win Thriller in OT versus Chicago
March 4, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers win a thrilling 4-3 game in overtime at 95KGGO Arena over the Chicago Steel. Kyle Okposo netted the game-winning goal with 42 seconds remaining in the overtime period. The Buccaneer fans erupted as the Bucs stay in first place in the Eastern Division. The game was tight throughout, with a scoreless first period, Aaron Bendickson was able to put the Bucs on the board first early in the second period. Kyle Okposo added a goal in the second as well. Each goal was matched by the Steel to have the score notched at two at the end of the second period. Chicago took the lead with eight minutes left in regulation only to have Trevor Lewis tie the game up with less than four minutes left.

Offensive Player of the Week
Kyle Okposo - Des Moines Buccaneers
Players of the Week - January 9, 2006 - USHL.com

Des Moines forward Kyle Okposo has been selected USHL/LPH Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. While leading the Bucs to three straight wins over the weekend, Okposo netted four goals, added four assists, had ten shots on goal, and finished the weekend plus-six. Despite missing time to participate in the Viking Cup, Okposo is in the top of every offensive category; +30 (1st), 5 GWG (1st), 20 goals (3rd), 41 points (3rd), 21 assists (5th).

Last week, Okposo returned to the Buccaneers after leading team USA to a bronze medal in the Viking Cup.  The Viking Cup is a tournament in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, that features the best junior hockey players in the world.  This year it featured such teams as Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland.  Okposo led the team with 10 points in the tournament.

Bucs Top Waterloo 4-1
January 8, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers won their third straight game after a 4-1 win over the Waterloo Blackhawks. Brian Foster came away with another win in goal for the Bucs by stopping 37 of the 38 he faced. It is his seventh win of the season. Colin Vock, Kyle Okposo, Ben Van Lare and Aaron Palushaj were each able to score a goal in the win. Two of the Bucs' goals were shorthanded goals while one was a power play goal. They were also able to kill off all nine of the Blackhawks power plays.

Strong 3rd Period Gives Bucs 6-1 Victory
January 7, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers were able to score four goals in the final period to come away with a 6-1 victory at over Lincoln at 95 KGGO Arena. The game started off a little slow in the scoring column in which the first period was held scoreless. The Bucs were able to score two goals in the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Lincoln fired back late in the period with a goal of their own. However, one goal was taken away due to a penalty to keep the Bucs in the lead 2-1 going into the second intermission. The Bucs had a very strong third period by racking up four goals to finish the game with a five goal lead. Troy Davenport played a magnificent game in net for the Buccaneers by stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced. Kyle Okposo and Trevor Lewis continue their scoring rampage by netting two goals each. The scoring tandem have accounted for 12 points in the last two games. Ken Rowe and Ben Van Lare were able to score a goal each in the game as well.

Bucs Take Get Another Win at Chicago
January 6, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers got their 20th win of the season on a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Steel. Brian Foster racked up another win in goal by stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced giving him a 6-2-1 record on the season. Six different Bucs were able to find the net in the game. Kyle Okposo, Trevor Lewis, Ken Rowe, Shane Sims, Ben Van Lare and Ben Ryan were able to score goals to help give the Bucs the win. The Bucs have won the last four out of the last five games they played dating back to the beginning of December.

Lewis, Okposo and Foster help USA win Bronze Medal in Viking Cup
January 3, 2006 - bucshockey.com

The USA Junior Select Team was able to capture the bronze medal at the Viking Cup in Camrose, Canada. Bucs' Forward and University of Minnesota Golden Gopher recruit Kyle Okposo led the team with 10 points in three games and Bucs' Forward and University of Michigan recruit Trevor Lewis was not far behind with 8 points in three games. Bucs' goalie Brian Foster was able to come away with wins in all three games he participated in. He compiled a .890 save percentage and 73 saves in the tournament. Okoposo, Lewis and Foster will rejoin the Bucs for their next game Friday, January 6th versus the Chicago Steel in the Windy City.

Three current Des Moines Buccaneers are playing for the United States Junior Select team.  They opened play in the 2006 Viking Cup International Hockey tournament with an 8-4 victory over Slovakia on Monday afternoon at McLean Arena in Camrose, Alberta.  Des Moines Buccaneer Trevor Lewis led the way with a hat trick in the victory.  Lewis scored a goal in each of the three periods.  One of which was short-handed.  Buccaneer teammate, Kyle Okposo, assisted Lewis on his short-handed goal.  The line that consisted of both Lewis and Okposo combined for five points in the contest.  Lewis was also named as one of the captains of the team.  Joining Lewis and Okposo on Team USA is Bucs’ goalie Brian Foster who didn’t see ice time versus Slovakia.

Four Buccaneers Listed on Top 10 USHL Prospects
December 8, 2005 - bucshockey.com

Four current Des Moines Buccaneers found their way onto the top ten USHL prospects according to hockeysfuture.com website.  Hockeysfuture.com is one of the top online prospects magazines.  Players making the list include forwards Kyle Okposo and Trevor Lewis along with defensemen John Vadnais and Chase Ryan. 

Topping the list was forward Kyle Okposo.  He is a St. Paul, Minnesota native who has committed to play college hockey for the University of Minnesota next season.  He was also the Buccaneers #1 pick in the last USHL Draft.  After 22 games, Okposo has 14 goals and 14 assists, second on the Buccaneers in scoring. His 28 points place him tied for fifth in the league in scoring.

Bucs Win Fifth Straight with 7-3 Victory
December 4, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Division with their 7-3 victory over Omaha tonight at 95KGGO Arena. It is the Bucs fifth win in a row. The Bucs have recorded points in their last nine games.

Omaha got on the board early in the first period on a Chris Moran goal. The Buccaneers then struck back with a goal from last week's USHL Offensive Player of the Week Kyle Okposo at the 12:25 mark. The second period was very similar to the first with Omaha striking first with Chris Moran's second goal of the night late in the period. The Bucs then countered again with a goal from Ken Rowe with 2:35 left in the period.

The third period was a scoring fest. The Buccaneers scored five goals. Just 42 seconds into the third period, Kyle Okposo was able to find the net for his second goal of the game. Colin Vock was able to get the puck past Eddie Neville with a shorthanded goal. Trevor Lewis found his way into the scoring column by scoring two goals in just under two minutes. Omaha's Tony Lucia was able to find the net to make the score 6-3. ; Ken Rowe then put the finishing touches on the scoreboard with his second goal of the evening with just under three minutes left to go in the game.

Bucs Sweep Weekend, Regain 1st Place
November 28, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers (13-3-3) had yet another successful weekend to leapfrog themselves back into first place in the Eastern Division after Cedar Rapids fell to Tri-City in a shootout in their lone game of the weekend. The Bucs now hold a two point advantage on the defending Clark Cup champions.

On Friday Night, the Buccaneers traveled to Tri-City and were able to come away with a 3-0 shutout with the help of goalie Troy Davenport. It is Davenport's second shutout of the season. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers were able to score a goal in each of the three periods. The first period goal came from Scott Kozlak just 2:26 into the game with an assist from Ben Van Lare and Rob Johnson. Kyle Okposo then scored an unassisted goal only 34 seconds into the second period to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead. Ken Rowe then put the game away with empty net goal with only 15 seconds left in the game.

After the shutout victory on Friday Night, the Bucs then traveled down the road to battle rival Omaha and came away with a 5-2 victory. Kyle Okposo led the way with two goals along with Aaron Palushaj who generated one goal and two assists. Tom Gerken and Rich Purslow also found the net for the Bucs.

Offensive Player of the Week
Kyle Okposo - Des Moines Buccaneers
Players of the Week - November 28, 2005 - USHL.com

Buccaneer forward Kyle Okposo has been named USHL/LPH Offensive Player of the Week. The first overall pick in the 2005 entry draft had four goals including a shorthander, and two assists and finished the week plus-six while leading Des Moines to three straight wins. At plus-20, Okposo has the best plus/minus in the league. The budding superstar has been stellar at both ends of the rink and has the Bucs atop the Eastern Division.

Buccaneers Dominate in Exciting 8-1 Win over Indiana
November 23, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers add another win to their record after dominating the Indiana Ice 8-1 at 95KGGO Arena.  The Bucs started the game off hot by scoring four goals in the first period.  The Bucs were able to stay hot by adding two more goals in each of the periods thereafter.  Buccaneers goalie Brian Foster played a wonderful game in net.  He ended the game with 18 saves and only allowed one goal.

The 11-3-3 Bucs had eight different players score a goal.  Forward Rob Johnson started the rout off by making a magnificent move to get the puck by Indiana goalie Cody Reichard.  Goals followed by Aaron Palushaj, Jeff Petry and Kyle Okposo.  For Petry, it was his first goal in a Buccaneer uniform.  The second period put three more goals on the scoreboard to make the score 7-0.  The three goals were scored by Ken Rowe, Alex Laseen and Alan Dorich. 

Indiana found the scoreboard late in the third period when Neil Sauter was able to get the puck by Bucs goalie Brian Foster to make the score 7-1.  However, with three seconds remaining in the game, Colin Vock put the final touches on the dominating win with yet another goal.

Gophers sign six
MNDaily.com - November 23, 2005 - by Chris Lempesis

After Saturday night's 4-3 win over Denver, Minnesota announced the names of the six players who have signed national letters of intent to play for the Gophers for the 2006-2007 season.

Minnesota signed three forwards and three defensemen during the early signing period.

The three forwards include Ryan Flynn (6-3, 212 pounds), currently a member of the U.S. National Development Under-18 team; Michael Carman (6-0, 179 pounds), also a member of the U-18 team; and Kyle Okposo (6-1, 205 pounds), a member of the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League.

The three defenseman include Erik Johnson (6-5, 227 pounds), a member of the U-18 team along with Flynn and Carman; David Fischer (6-3, 175 pounds), a senior on Apple Valley High School's squad; and Kevin Wehrs (5-10, 170 pounds), a member of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.

Bucs Impressive Comeback Falls Short
November 19, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Buccaneers made an impressive comeback to force overtime but fall to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 4-3 in a shootout. Cedar Rapids darted out of the gates with three goals in the first period to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. The Bucs, however, fought back to tie the game at three late in the third period to force overtime. The loss drops Des Moines to second place in the East Division, one point behind Cedar Rapids.

Cedar Rapids started off the game with three power-play goals in the first period by David Strathman, Kevin Wehrs, Ted Purcell while the Buccaneers were held scoreless. The Buccaneers then rallied off three unanswered goals from Trevor Lewis, Alex Laseen and Ben Van Lare. The five minute overtime was held scoreless which forced the shootout. Cedar Rapids was able to slip two shots past Buccaneers goalie Troy Davenport which turned out to be one more than the Bucs were able to get by RoughRiders goalie Alex Stalock. Chad Costello and Gary Steffes were the goal scorers in the shootout for Cedar Rapids while Kyle Okposo had the lone score for the Buccaneers.

Three Buccaneers Chosen for 2006 USA Hockey Junior Select Team
Lewis, Okposo and Foster Top the List of USHL Players - bucshockey.com

Des Moines, Iowa - November 17, 2005 USA Hockey today announced the 22 players and three alternates named to the 2006 USA Hockey Junior Select 18 and Under Team. The squad will compete at the 2006 Viking Cup in Camrose, Alberta, Dec. 26-Jan. 2.

The roster is comprised of representatives from the United States Hockey League, the North American Hockey League, and the Atlantic Junior Hockey League.

Among the 14 forwards joining the U.S. Junior Select 18 and Under Team are the Des Moines Buccaneers' Trevor Lewis (Murray, Utah) and Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.). Lewis currently ranks second among all USHL scorers with 12 goals in 13 games and is seventh in points with 18. Meanwhile, Okposo is ranked 12th in points with 15 (7-8).

Buccaneer goalie Brian Foster(Pembroke, N.H.), who has recorded a 2.50 GAA and .917 save percentage for Des Moines, will backstop Team USA.

"Our staff, team and organization are very proud that these individuals will represent our country on the international hockey stage," said Regg Simon, coach and general manager of the Des Moines Buccaneers. "All three of them have worked hard for this honor and they certainly deserve to be playing with the best players our country has to offer."

Sellout Crowd Watches First Place Bucs Dominate Lancers
November 12, 2005 - bucshockey.com

It was NASCAR Night at 95KGGO Arena which had the #3 car making a ton of noise.  Dale Earnhardt Seniors’ car wasn’t the only one raising the roof in volume.  A sellout crowd of 3,526 rambunctious Buccaneer fans were making a ton of noise themselves as they had plenty to cheer about in a 7-3 Bucs victory over the Omaha Lancers.  It was the Bucs seventh win in their last eight games.  With the Bucs win they regain first place in the East Division.    

Omaha struck first in the scoring early in the first period when a Brett Bruneteau shot trickled past Buccaneers goalie Brian Foster.  Colin Vock scored the first Buccaneer goal with 1:27 left in the first period.  Just three minutes into the second period, Bucs forward Ben Ryan found the net to put the Bucs up by a goal.  It didn’t take Omaha long to strike back when Tony Lucia scored a goal just 15 seconds after Ryan’s goal.  The Buccaneers then went on a scoring rampage by scoring four straight goals towards the end of the second period and early in the third.  Ken Rowe, Kyle Okposo, Aaron Palushaj and Tom Gerken were the Buccaneers who were able to find the net.  Omaha got a third period goal from Ryan Turek to make the score 6-3.  Trevor Lewis finished off the scoring with an empty net goal to put the Lancers away for good.

Bucs Win Three Straight
October 28, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers win their third straight game versus the Chicago Steel 4-1 at 95KGGO Arena. Rich Purslow netted two goals for the Buccaneers. Rich has scored three goals in the last two hockey games. Trevor Lewis also added another goal to up his total for the season to nine.

Lewis started the scoring in the first period while Purslow knocked in his two goals in both the second and third period to give the Bucs a comfortable three goal lead. Nathan Perkovich had the lone goal for Chicago midway through the third period, taking the shutout away from Bucs goalie Troy Davenport. Kyle Okposo finished off the game with an empty net goal to seal the game for the Buccaneers.

Bucs Have Successful Weekend Road Trip
October 24, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Buccaneers were able to improve their record to 4 - 2 - 1 with wins over Green Bay and Sioux City respectively. The weekend started on Friday night as they traveled to Green Bay to play the Gamblers. Your Buccaneers came away with a 4-2 win behind two goals from Rob Johnson. Shane Sims also added a goal along with Kyle Okposo who capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal.

Your Buccanners then traveled to Sioux City on Saturday and took the second meeting between the two team 4-1. Trevor Lewis had another two-goal night to help the Buccaneers win on back-to-back nights. He scored both of his goals in the third period, while one was an empty-netter. Rich Purslow scored his first goal of the season to start the scoring for the Buccaneers. Kyle Okposo followed Purslow with a goal just four minutes later.

Bucs fall to Sioux City , 4-3 in a Shootout
October 14, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers fall to the Sioux City Musketeers in a shootout 4-3. The Bucs are now 2-2-1 on the season. Sioux City opened the scoring in the first period with Mike Beck's goal just six minutes into the game. The Bucs fought back early in the second period when Trevor Lewis and John Vadnais scored back-to-back goals within the first six minutes of the period. Sioux City then got the lead back with back-to-back goals of their own. Spencer Heichman and Sam Gagner added two goals in the final six minutes of the second period. It did not take the Buccaneers long to tie the game at three when Kyle Okposo scored just 14 seconds into the third.

The score remained tied at three for the remainder of the third period to send it to overtime. The overtime period did not provide a winner in the hard-fought game. A shootout was needed to settle the score. Chris Spicer was able to put the puck past Buccaneers goalie, Troy Davenport, which proved to be the game winning goal. Musketeers goalie Phillip Tetzlaff turned away the four shots the Bucs fired at him, giving him the win.

Bucs Shutout Chicago 5-0
October 1, 2005 - bucshockey.com

The Des Moines Buccaneers got their first game in the win column tonight with a 5-0 shutout victory against the Chicago Steel at 95KGGO Arena. Goalie Troy Davenport played an outstanding game; turning away all 33 shots he faced giving the net minder his first shutout of the season.

Trevor Lewis was the player of the game by scoring three points, two goals and one assist. Aaron Palushaj had three points as well; all of which came from assists. Kyle Okposo also added two points with a goal and an assist. The other two Buccaneers goals came from Donnie Hallmark and Colin Vock.

Bucs Down Rival Omaha in Physical 4-3 Win
September 17, 2005 - bucshockey.com

Tonight Buccaneer Arena had the atmosphere more like a playoff game than a pre-season game as the Des Moines Buccaneers dropped the Omaha Lancers 4-3 in the final game of the 2005 Buc Bowl. The game lasted two hours and 27 minutes as many physical moments electrified the large crowd.

The Bucs struck early when Aaron Palushaj scored the first goal just 1:33 into the game. However, Omaha was quick to answer with a Martin Huskka goal which tied the game at one. Buccaneers forward, Alex Laseen, ignited the Buccaneer Arena crowd with a breakaway goal midway through the first period. Omaha started the scoring in the second period with a controversial goal with a goal 7:13 into the period. Bucs' forward Kyle Okposo followed with a slick goal 14:25 into the second period. Ken Rowe scored the game winner on a power play shortly after Okposo's goal with 3:47 left in the second period.

Bucs Win 4-2 in First Pre-season Game
September 9, 2005 - bucshockey.com

Expectations continue to increase for the Des Moines Buccaneers after a Bucs pre-season win against the defending USHL Clark Cup champion Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the pre-season opener at Buccaneer Arena. The puck dropped on the 2005-2006 pre-season and the Buccaneers did not disappoint the home crowd with an exciting 4-2 win.

The Buccaneers found themselves down early when Gary Steffes from Cedar Rapids scored the first goal of the game at the 1:59 mark in the first period.  However, the Buccaneers rallied back in the second period when the 1^st pick in the 2005 USHL Draft, Kyle Okposo, scored the first goal of the Buccaneers pre-season. After Minnesota Gopher's recruit Okposo scored, Buccaneer newcomer Ken Rowe, who is from Faribault, Minnesota scored two goals including the game-winner at the 6:43 mark in the third period. Returning Buccaneer scoring leader Alex Laseen added the finishing touches to the scoring with an empty-net goal with 41 seconds before the final horn pleasing the Buccaneer faithful.

USA Wins Behind Okposo's Hat Trick
August 15, 2005 - bucshockey.com

PIESTANY, Slovakia - Kyle Okposo scored a natural hat trick in the third period to help the U.S. Under-18 Select Team to an 8-1 victory over Slovakia here yesterday at the Under-18 Junior World Cup. With the victory, the U.S. finished fifth in the event with a 3-1-1 record.

The United States took a 3-0 first-period lead in its third game against Slovakia in less than a week. Cameron Cooper struck first with an assist from Ben Smith at 1:54. Mike Borisenok made it 2-0 at 6:36 with assists from Ben Ryan and Kevin Wehrs before Borisenok set up Smith at 15:47 to give U.S. a comfortable cushion after the opening 20 minutes.

After a scoreless second period, Team USA scored five times in the third, with Okposo accounting for the first three goals of the final frame. Tyler Ruegsegger gave Team USA a 7-0 lead at 13:33 of the with assists from Brian Keane and Barry Almeida. Following Slovakia?s lone goal at 14:53, Ruegsegger helped return the favor by assisting on a shorthanded goal by Almeida at 17:14.

Team USA goaltender Neil Conway allowed just one goal on 27 shots. Meanwhile, the United States peppered a pair of Slovakian goaltenders with 51 shots. Okposo was named Team USA's player of the game.

Okposo give USA tie with Goal!
August 9, 2005 - bucshockey.com

Kyle Okposo (Des Moines) scored the game-tying goal with 6:19 remaining in regulation to lift the US Under-18 Select Team to a 2-2 tie with Finland today in its first game at the Under-18 Junior World Cup in Piestany, Slovakia. The US jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Michael Forney (Sioux Falls) goal at 4:33 of the first period. Finland tied up the game with an even-strength goal at 12:04 of the first and then took the lead while on a two-man advantage at 5:54 of the second. The United States out-shot Finland 39-29 in the game. US goaltender Billy Sauer (Chicago) kicked out 27 shots in the game.

Notes:
Prior to the game, Okposo was named captain of the U.S. team and Steven Kampfer (Sioux City) and Tyler Ruegsegger (Shattuck-St. Mary's were named assistant captains. Tomorrow, the U.S. faces off against Russia. (This article was brought to you courtesy of the U.S. Hockey Report / www.ushr.com)

Box Score:

FIN 1 1 0 0 -- 2
USA 1 0 1 0 -- 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Forney (Pacioretty), 4:33; 2, FIN, Juutilainen (Antonen, Heikkinen) 12:04. Penalties: USA, Borisenok (hooking) 4:47; FIN, Heikkinen (tripping), 8:51; FIN, Antonen (roughing) 15:30

Second Period - Scoring: 3, FIN, Kemppainen (Heikkinen, Stahlhammar), 5:54 (PP2). Penalties: FIN, Stahlhammar (tripping) 2:23; USA, Okposo (hooking), 4:37; USA, Wehrs (roughing), 5:10.

Third Period - Scoring: 4, USA, Okposo (Youds), 13:41. Penalties: USA, Ruegsegger (hooking), 12:34; FIN, Stahlhammar (unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:34.

Overtime Penalties: USA, Wehrs (slashing), 0:25; FIN, Puustinen (roughing), 0:25.

Goaltending:
USA, Sauer (65:00; 29/27)
FIN, Helenius (65:00; 39/27)

The Des Moines Buccaneers are proud to announce that 2005-06 team members Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, MN) and Ben Ryan (Brighton, MI) have been selected to play for the 2005 United States Under-18 Select Team.

Okposo (1st round pick/1st overall) and Ryan (2nd round pick/17th overall) were both chosen for the team by playing at the 2005 USA Hockey Select 17 Festival in St. Cloud, MN, earlier this month. They are just two of twelve forwards selected from the entire country to represent the United States on the international hockey stage.

The team will compete in the 2005 Under-18 Junior World Cup August 9th - 14th in Piestany, Slovakia, and Breclav, Czech Republic. They will play Finland, Russia and Slovakia the first three days of the tournament, with the medal rounds slotted for the 13th and 14th.

IIHF Development Camp in Vierumaki, Finland
July 11, 2005 - iihf.com

Team Turquoise doubled up on Team Red in an 8-4 victory in the first game of the day. Emillen Rouyer (FRA) Owren Zamir (ISR) and Samuel Gyurkov (BUL) each scored twice in the win for Team Turquoise, which got five of its goals in the last 10 minutes of the game. Kyle Okposo (USA) had a hat trick in the losing effort for Team Red. Nichlas Hardt (DEN) also scored for Team Red.

IIHF Development Camp in Vierumaki, Finland
July 10, 2005 - iihf.com

Team Green scored two goals in the last 1:20 of the third game, but it wasn't enough to top Team Red, which hung on for the 6-4 win. Team Red's Kyle Okposo (USA) gave his team the early lead, netting the natural hat trick in the first period. Each team scored once in the second period, with Dean Kelly (IRL) scoring for the red team and Yannick Haedendonckx (BEL) scoring for Team Green. David Ruzicka (CZE) and Andrew White (CAN) scored the late goals in the green team's last-minute push.

IIHF Development Camp in Vierumaki, Finland
July 6, 2005 - iihf.com

The second game of the day was an offensive battle as Team White claimed an 11-5 win over Team Red. Tyler Swyston (CAN) and Volkan Toptaner (TUR) each netted a hat trick in the win. On the red team, Kyle Okposo (USA) and Nichlas Hardt (DEN) each scored twice.

Kyle Okposo first pick in 2005 USHL Draft
May 12, 2005 - USHL.com

With the #1 overall pick in the USHL draft today, the Des Moines Buccaneers selected Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep team star Kyle Okposo.

A 4/16/88 birth date, Okposo is considered by many to be one of the premier players in the country for his age group. A powerful skater with natural competitive instincts, Okposo displays excellent hockey sense to go along with his skill and lethal shot. His ability to use his skating and skill in a high-tempo style game made him one of the most sought after players in the country. The Buccaneers will look to rely heavily on this with the departure of some key players from last season's team.

"We are very excited that we drafted Kyle with the number one pick. He's a proven winner and a natural leader, and was certainly the best player available," Buccaneers Head Coach Regg Simon said. "With the loss of Chad Rau (Colorado College), we'll need to replace some of our goal scoring ability at forward. I feel we've filled that void with Kyle."

Coach Simon also added, "With a good group of returning players, we were looking to add specific pieces of the puzzle to the make-up of our team. Kyle was the natural choice because he already plays our style of hockey."

Okposo helped guide his Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep team to the Midget Major AAA National Championship this past season. He is also verbally committed to the University of Minnesota and will be headed to the Gophers in the fall of 2006.

Kyle Okposo
D.O.B. 4/16/88
6' 195lbs.
Right-hand Center
Hometown: St. Paul, MN
Last Team: Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep

Michele Okposo has seen the way the children swamp her son, Kyle Okposo, whenever he's skating at a St. Paul rink or dropping off an old pair of skates at a used sporting goods store.

And she can't help but think the 17-year-old is perfect for what's coming next.

Kyle Okposo hails from St. Paul and is also the first Gophers recruit to list one of the Twin Cities as his hometown since former Gophers Matt Koalska and Troy Riddle joined the team in 2000.

"He goes up to the rinks in the wintertime, and all the kids from the neighborhood hope to see him," Michele Okposo said. "I think the recognition of him being an African-American and being from the inner city will be huge. One of his favorite books as a child was Kirby Puckett's 'Be the Best You Can Be,' and this has the same kind of feel to it."

In many ways, Kyle Okposo will be unique to the Gophers and college hockey.

But in others, he'll be all too familiar.

While several Gophers players have played for inner-city hockey programs, the last to graduate from a Minneapolis or St. Paul high school and play a game was defenseman Mike Lyons. Recruited out of Johnson High School in St. Paul by former coach Doug Woog, Lyons played one season for current coach Don Lucia in 1999-2000.

Granted, that trend owes plenty to the ever-growing number of precollege options, which include the U.S. National Team Development Program, prep schools such as Shattuck-St. Mary's and junior hockey.

But it also stems from a dying support for inner-city high school hockey, which has been dwindling on the state scene for the last 10 years.

In the 1960s and 1970s, programs such as Johnson High School and Southwest High School in Minneapolis dominated the local hockey landscape. But the last inner-city school to even win a consolation championship in the state tournament was Minneapolis Edison High School in 1994, and no city team has qualified for the state tournament since 1995.

"When I was a kid, the parks were just packed full of kids skating," said Riddle, a member of two national-championship teams at Minnesota. "Now, you won't find but one or two kids there."

On the way out

For players such as Kyle Okposo, Riddle and Koalska, the road usually splits around age 16.

That's when the private schools and hockey academies start calling, forcing players to choose between the program they grew up with and a chance to get noticed by major colleges.

For Kyle Okposo, leaving home for Shattuck-St. Mary's was simply what he needed to do if he wanted to play for the program that had been his favorite since childhood.

"I used to go to sleep with their trading cards next to my bed, and I memorized all the stats of guys like Jordan Leopold and Erik Westrum," Kyle Okposo said. "I looked at a couple other schools, but I always wanted to play for Minnesota."

In an era when the best opportunities almost always involve a change of address, the prospect of moving to play an already expensive sport spells a dead end for some players.

Of the 26 players on Minnesota's team this season, only Garrett Smaagaard went from his home high school to the Gophers - and he graduated from local powerhouse Eden Prairie.

An inner-city athlete wanting to play major college hockey often doesn't have that luxury.

"That's what's kind of sad about it," Riddle said. "Hockey's not exactly a cheap sport, and if you haven't dedicated your life to it, it's tough to catch on."

Taking back the city

While the days of Minneapolis and St. Paul being hockey hotbeds are long gone, several local programs are attempting to start over.

John Foley, a former youth pastor at Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, started the DinoMights program in 1995 as an outreach to children ages 7 to 15 in the Central neighborhood of the city.

Approximately 70 percent, Foley said, come from low-income families.

"We offer tutoring, Bible studies and community service; hockey is just part of what we do," Foley said. "It started as a Rollerblade night for the kids, and we went from there."

The program is a member of the NHL Diversity Task Force, and it fields four teams made up primarily of minority students.

Most of the equipment is donated, and the program rents it out to players for the season.

But even Foley is struggling to keep players.

With an onrush of new developments in the neighborhood, increasing property values have sent many families to the first-ring suburbs in search of affordable housing, and Foley said he knows his time with players isn't a given anymore.

"The ghetto's not the ghetto, and the city's not the city anymore," Foley said. "Three or four years is still good. But it's not as long as you'd like."

When he arrives in 2006, Kyle Okposo won't represent a complete change from the status quo. He will, however, come to the Gophers with a background different from any player Lucia has ever recruited.

And he's ready for that.

"A lot of kids know who I am, and it's great to be able to give something back to the area I grew up in," he said. "If I have success at Minnesota, I can show a lot of kids it can be done."

Minnesota Recruits
February 21, 2005 - by Aaron Blake - MNDaily.com

And even without Phil Kessel in the mix next year, the Gophers' next two recruiting classes will be special.

Fans at Mariucci got to see a good-sized chunk of those classes Saturday. Under-18 team forward Ryan Stoa and goaltender Jeff Frazee are signed up for next year while forward Peter Mueller (who is just below Kessel on most 2006 prospect lists) and defenseman Erik Johnson are committed for 2006-07.

Toss in Blake Wheeler, who was taken fifth overall in the 2004 NHL Draft, for next season and Shattuck-St. Mary's star Kyle Okposo for 2006, and it's clear the Gophers will be competing for national titles with or without Kessel.

Okposo verbals
by Ben Goessling - January 18, 2005 - MNDaily.com

The Gophers received a verbal commitment Saturday for the 2006-07 season from Kyle Okposo, a forward from the Faribault, Minn., Shattuck-St. Mary's school.

Okposo, who turns 17 in April, is currently second on the team in goals with 31 and third in points with 55.

He is the fourth member of an impressive 2006 recruiting class that already includes three players from the U.S National Team Development Program: forward Peter Mueller (thought to be the top under-17 player in the country), forward Mike Carman and defenseman Erik Johnson.

"He's a nice kid, and he's going to be a good frickin' player," said J.P. Parise, Shattuck-St. Mary's director of hockey. "The 'U' is going to be great for him. (Coach Don) Lucia's got that team going all the time."

Okposo's parents both attended the University, and Parise said Okposo has appeared destined to play for the Gophers.

"I told him the best advice I could give was that he needs to visit other schools," said Parise, whose son Zach Parise played at Shattuck and starred for North Dakota before leaving for the New Jersey Devils' system.

"He could have gone to North Dakota, but deep inside, it was Minnesota."

From the Pioneer Press: 

Kyle Okposo, a junior at Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Faribault, Minn., has committed to play hockey at the University of Minnesota in 2006.

Okposo, a 6-foot, 195-pound offensive star from St. Paul, has piled up 58 points this season on 32 goals and 26 assists in 40 games for the Sabres, who have a 34-7-2 record. He scored 100 points as a sophomore.

"We are very excited for his opportunity to play collegiate hockey as a Gopher," said Kome Okposo, Kyle's dad.

Shattuck-St. Mary's coach Tom Ward said Okposo is "well-rounded, skillful, powerful. He's got great hands, and he's a big, strapping kid. And he's just a young kid, 16 years old. But what makes him unique is he's very humble, very respectful."

2005 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge
January 2, 2005

Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.), an addition to Team USA from Shattuck St. Mary's Prep School, scored his second goal of the game at 18:08 of the second frame to close out the U.S. scoring in a 9-2 win over Finland.

Redline Report
by Kyle Woodleif - USAToday.com - December 22, 2004

3. University of Minnesota — Homegrown products Blake Wheeler and Ryan Stoa are two of the biggest and most skilled power forward prospects in the nation, and they added a quality netminder in Jeff Frazee. Throw in nice complementary pieces in defenceman R.J. Anderson and speedy pivot Justin Bostrom, and that's a good day's work.

And speaking of Minnesota, nobody did as well for the long term as the U of M. The Gophers have already filled their stocking for 2006 by latching onto what Red Line believes are the two best '88 born players in North America: gigantic and tremendously skilled defenseman Erik Johnson, and offensively gifted centre Peter Mueller.

In fact, we'll go further and make this very early prediction: Johnson and Mueller lead a quintuplet of Minnesotans who, 15-20 years from now, will go down as the best class of players to come out of a single U.S. state in a single birth year ever. That's right — EVER! The other Land-O-Lakes '88 birthdates with potential star quality are humongous (6-5/228) defenseman Tysen Dowzak, skilled centre Kyle Okposo, and power winger Mike Forney. All five could become first round NHL draft picks in 2006. If Minnesota could ever get the rest of these homegrowns in the fold, they might as well start building a permanent trophy case to house all the national championship hardware they'll be collecting until about 2010.

'Package' arrives
December 22, 2004

by Bruce Brothers - Pioneer Press

When Kyle Okposo was 6, his parents hoped hockey was just a phase.

They crossed their fingers, thinking that common sense would emerge and he would turn to a more logical activity, such as soccer. Nonetheless, they bought him a pair of skates and allowed him to hoof it to the outdoor rinks of St. Paul.

When Kyle started knocking over trees, however, his mother put her foot down.

"Funny story," his dad, Kome, recalled. "His mom grounded him from playing hockey when he was 6 because he hit the Christmas tree with a puck."

Kome and Michele Okposo had no idea that 10 years' worth of flying pucks later, 16-year-old Kyle would be fending off college hockey recruiters from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Harvard and just about every other highly regarded university program.

"He can pick his spot," Tom Ward observed.

Ward is the prep coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minn., where Okposo is a 6-foot, 195-pound junior with a nose for the net and a love of the game.

Eyes grew wide, even at home in St. Paul, after Okposo netted 175 points as a bantam two seasons ago and 100 points as a sophomore last year at Shattuck-St. Mary's.

"I'm proud of him," Kome Okposo said. "But knowing his heart, I really shouldn't be too surprised by how well he's doing. He has a passion for the game."

RIGHT INGREDIENTS

J.P. Parise, a former NHL all-star who directs hockey operations and coaches bantams at Shattuck-St. Mary's, said Okposo has "the package."

"He's a good learner, and he's a rink rat," Parise said. "He's always around the rink. Even as a bantam he'd be at the rink, watching the prep team. He just wants to play."

In other words, he's a perfect fit at Shattuck-St. Mary's.

A brochure for the school depicts colorful scenes of a picturesque campus on a hillside above the Cannon River. The school espouses a 150-year legacy of "combining a rigorous academic program and outstanding programs in the arts, athletics, student leadership and service."

In addition, Shattuck-St. Mary's moniker could be Hockey High School.

Of its 307 students, 160 pay $3,000 to play on one of the school's eight hockey teams. That's on top of the $29,700 for tuition, room and board, although Parise points out that about $1.2 million a year in scholarship money is available to students "on a need basis."

Parise, a former Minnesota North Stars captain, has watched many puck prodigies weigh down the shelves at Shattuck-St. Mary's arena with trophies that appear wedged into position, and then left to gather dust while the current teams concentrate on acquiring more.

Ward, a former assistant at the University of Minnesota, said Okposo has few weaknesses, adding that Okposo embraced the suggestion of lessons from renowned skating coach Jack Blatherwick, an example of Okposo's attitude and enthusiasm.

"He's well-rounded, skillful, powerful," Ward said. "He's got great hands, and he's a big, strapping kid. And he's just a young kid, 16 years old. But what makes him unique is he's very humble, very respectful."

BORN IN THE USA

After Shattuck-St. Mary's (29-6-3) won its Showcase Tournament last weekend, Okposo had 30 goals and 21 assists for 51 points. He believes his best attributes are strength and stickhandling, but he concedes that he needs to work on his skating and quickness.

His hard work and ability have made it possible for him to travel four times to Europe, including last summer to play for the first time for Team USA in an under-17 tournament in Germany.

"I just felt a sense of pride that I never really felt before, having the USA on my chest," Okposo said. "It felt great, just representing my country."

Parise believes Okposo eventually will pull on a sweater bearing an NHL logo.

Okposo smiles at that.

"That's always been my dream, to play in the NHL," he said. "Hopefully, one day it'll come true."

He comes by his athletic ability naturally. His older sister, Kendra, participated in soccer, basketball and track at Cretin-Derham Hall. Kome Okposo was a standout soccer player in Nigeria, but he focused on academics after graduating from high school at the age of 16. Kome attended college at Wisconsin-Superior before earning his doctorate at Minnesota.

Kome, a senior scientist for a pharmaceutical company, had never seen ice before he arrived in the Midwest, Kyle said with a laugh, adding that nobody in his family had ever played hockey.

Consequently, it was no surprise when the elder Okposo had Kyle dribbling a soccer ball around the living room at an early age. Kyle also developed the ability early on to maneuver in the classroom. He has a 3.7 grade-point average, sometimes shoots in the 80s on the golf course, plays a mean game of three-on-three basketball, still has a feel for soccer and remembers what to do with a football from his days in junior high at St. Thomas Academy.

Multitalented, yes. But his face lights up when the subject turns to hockey.

"When they drop the puck, I feel like I'm just free, I can just go and do anything," he said. "I always try to treat games as another opportunity to showcase myself and see what the team can do, because during the week it's just practice and school, and school really wears you down. So it's kind of like when I skate on the weekends, it's just go out there and play and have a really good time."

And win.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Okposo's teams at Shattuck have produced their share of hardware, but over the past two seasons, they came up short in the 18-and-under national finals.

"I have two runner-up national championships," he said. "I'd like to change that this year."

If college recruiting is any indication, that could happen. Defenseman Taylor Chorney has committed to North Dakota, forward Kevin Deeth to Notre Dame and forward Michael Gergen to Minnesota-Duluth. Forward Jonathan Toews is headed to North Dakota or Wisconsin.

But unlike those seniors, Okposo has another year to think about college.

"I've narrowed it down a little bit," he said. "I'm just going to talk with the coaches and see what they think is best, and talk with my family and see what they think. The coaching obviously has to be good, and I just want to have fun. College should be fun. Obviously a good team. My parents would like me to stay close to home, but I'm looking out East, too. We'll see."

His parents, who met at the University of Minnesota, say they'd like to see Kyle play there. But the decision will be Kyle's, his dad said.

Okposo occasionally shakes his head about the attention he has received, saying that when people start telling him how good he is, he sometimes wonders if "they just want something from you."

Although he's enjoying being recruited, he's still surprised by it.

"It's actually hard to believe," he said. "I would never have thought that I'd be in any type of situation like this. My family didn't either. I just thought I'd play hockey with my friends once in a while and play basketball with my friends. It's fun to do this. I like it. I just love playing the game."

Over the past 10 years, hockey has become a fixture in the Okposo household, and everyone sees the game in a new light. Kome even got his first pair of skates a few years ago as a gift from Michele's family in Anoka. He tried them, then tucked them back in the box and decided he would be better as an observer than as a participant. Along the way, he has picked up the finer points of the sport.

"My dad is actually a hockey expert now," Kyle said with a smile. "He tells me stuff, and I won't listen to him, and my coaches tell me the same thing, and then I'll listen to them. My dad will say, 'If you would have listened to me, you would have been doing that a long time ago.' I'll say, 'Yeah, yeah …' One day I might listen to him."

If he does, he might be reminded to keep his shots on net and away from Christmas trees.

MNDaily.com Sports
Nov. 30, 2004

- Kyle Okposo, a junior at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn., made an unofficial visit to Minnesota during the weekend and visited the locker room after the Gophers' win Saturday.

Okposo, a forward, finished second in scoring on the U.S. Under-17 Select Team, which took second place in the Five Nations Tournament during the summer in Europe.

Team USA dominated play against Russia from early in the first period. At 2:13 Tony Romano (Smithtown, N.Y./Suffolk PAL) scored on the power play, as James Marcou (Kings Park, N.Y./Suffolk PAL) and Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./Detroit Honeybaked) assisted on the play. Joe Whitney (Reading, Mass./Belmont Hill School) converted at 11:21 from Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary’s) and Kevin McNamara (Chestnut, Mass./St. John’s Prep) to make the score 2-0. At 12:25 Doug Rogers (Watertown, Mass./St. Sebastian’s) increased the U.S. lead to 3-0. Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo./Shattuck-St. Mary’s) and Tysen Dowzak (Fergus Falls, Minn./Shattuck St. Mary’s) were credited with assists.

The second period saw two more U.S. goals to bring score to 5-0. At 6:40, Okposo took a pass from Brian Gibbons (Braintree, Mass./Thayer Academy) to beat the German goaltender. Gibbons and Okposo then assisted Whitney, who recorded his second goal of the game at 11:44.

At just :56 of the third period, Cory Callen (Annadale, N.J./Salisbury School) notched another U.S. goal, with an assist from Brian Day (Danvers, Mass./Governor Drummer Academy). Kane netted Team USA’s seventh goal at 6:07 from Arne Krogh (Anchorage, Alaska/Alaska All-Stars) and Marcou. Germany got on the board at 13:29 to bring the score to 7-1. Less than a minute later, at 14:10, Callen scored his second goal of the contest, with Rogers getting the assist. Germany closed out scoring, adding a power-play goal at 16:44 to make the final tally 8-2.

Kane led scoring for the U.S. with seven points (4-3), while four U.S. players had five points each: Okposo (3-2), Romano (2-3), Gibbons (1-4) and Marcou (1-4).