University of Minnesota Athletics
The Unsung Hero: Senior Jake Fleming
3/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
As a child, growing up playing hockey in Minnesota, Fleming always dreamed of being a Gopher hockey player. “I think most kids who played hockey in Minnesota see the Gophers on TV all the time, so you kind of become a fan that way,” Fleming stated. “I always loved watching them, and I always wanted to come here.”
This was especially true for Fleming when he left Minnesota his sophomore year of high school to join the National Development team in Michigan and later, Nebraska to play in the USHL. He made a life-changing decision at an incredibly young age, but it turned out to be a good one. Fleming learned an immense amount on the team and really solidified his skills to make him the hockey player that he is today. He spent three years away from home with the team and at times, he definitely missed playing hockey back home in Minnesota. “I really enjoyed the Minnesota atmosphere, cold winter, skating outside, and going to high school hockey games,” he said.
Though playing hockey on the National Development team was a great opportunity and a wonderful experience for him, he was ready to come back home.
For most seniors in high school, deciding on the next step can be quite a difficult task, but for Fleming, the choice was not as difficult. “I really wanted to come back to the University of Minnesota so that I could be close to home, and so my parents could watch me play in college,” Fleming stated. “It was never really up in the air for me. As long as they wanted me, I was going to come here.”
With two national championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances under his belt, Fleming has had nothing short of a dream hockey career at the University. Following up on such an impressive several years was met with low expectations with a team that was losing many of its top guns. Despite the large number of new incoming freshmen on the team, the Gophers are proving themselves to be an indestructible unit this year.
With anticipation of a rebuilding season, the Gophers have surpassed expectations of not only the fans, but also themselves. “We thought it was going to take the first half of the year to get the freshmen acclimated and they’ve all adjusted very well,” Fleming said. “They adjusted early and played very well. That’s really helped us.”
he play of his teammates and success over the first half of the season has Fleming setting high goals in hopes for a strong finish. “I want to finish this year off strong,” Fleming said. “I want to get back to the Frozen Four at least, so that we can have a chance to go out on top again and make it three for four championships before I graduate.” The way the team has been performing, they will definitely be making an appearance at the Frozen Four for Fleming’s final season.
Fleming feels he has several different roles on the team. One of his biggest roles is that of penalty killer, which is vital to the team, but he often does not receive the attention he deserves. It is a tough job that most players do not enjoy. Fleming understands the importance of his role. “It’s not the most glamorous job, but everybody has to have a role on a team of 26 guys,” he stated. “I take that role and take pride in it.”
Head coach Don Lucia agrees that penalty killers do not get the most attention. “The penalty killers don’t get the glory, they block shots,” he stated. “The power play guys get all the glory, but the penalty killers are just as important as far as their role on the team.” In comparing it to other sports, Lucia equates the penalty killers to the offensive linemen on a football team or the rebounders in basketball. “Jake is one of the guys you have to have. He’s been a regular his whole career,” Lucia said. “He’s scored some big goals and he’s been our top penalty killer on our top penalty kill unit for the four years he’s been here.”
Another role he has is to create energy on the ice in any way he can, by drawing penalties and disrupting the opponent. The duo of Fleming and Garrett Smaagaard packs quite the punch against their opponents, even some of the best lines in the nation. Fleming simply appreciates that Lucia has the confidence in them to put them in and know they are going to do well. His final role, and arguably his most important, is that of captain. With his wisdom and experience on the ice, Fleming was an obvious choice to be a leader for this year’s younger team. Though Fleming takes the role very seriously, he knows it is important to have fun as well. “I just try to lead by example on and off the ice,” Fleming said. “I try to work hard every day, and have fun with the guys.”
His tactic seems to be working and all of his teammates deeply respect and look up to Fleming and his wide array of accomplishments.
Fleming’s greatest accomplishment in his mind is the game-winning goal he had against Colorado College, in Colorado his sophomore year. Having lost the Friday night game by a devastating score of 7-1, the Gophers’ chances of beating the top-ranked team in the nation looked pretty grim. After scoring the game-winning goal, many people credited Fleming for turning around the season, for after that, the Gophers went on to win their second consecutive National Championship. That same year, Fleming was also the winner of the ‘Unsung Hero Award’ for the lack of recognition he received during a highly impressive year for him. “It was a rewarding year for me because I went from being a freshman with a more limited role to my sophomore year where I was really contributing,” Fleming said. “So that’s pretty rewarding for me because myself and my line played such a big part in repeating the National Championship.”
As he obviously excels on the ice, Fleming also manages to shine off the ice. Fleming has worked very hard over the past few years to graduate in the traditional four years. In order to graduate this spring, he was forced to take summer classes for the past few summers in order to balance out during hockey season. Fleming is very excited to graduate and though he has not yet narrowed down what he would like to do in the future, he has many options ahead of him. “I have three options. I can go to work in the business world, I can coach, or I can play hockey,” he said. “I haven’t decided what I want to do yet, I just want to keep my options open and see what happens in the spring.”
Having become not only a member of the Gopher squad, as was his childhood dream, Fleming has become captain, and one of the most valuable players in Gopher history. Without him, the Gophers will lose a large component of the team. “It will be a big loss,” Lucia said. “He’s got great character, he’s a great leader, and he’s an outstanding student.”
The well-rounded forward will undoubtedly do well in whatever option he chooses because no matter what arena you find Fleming in, he is guaranteed to shine. “Jake is one of those guys you can count on every day,” Lucia said. “He’s everything we want in a Gopher hockey player.”
story by Raya Jewell, athletic communications student assistant Though senior forward and captain Jake Fleming does not get most of the credit on the team as a penalty killer, he definitely deserves it. As his final year as a Gopher is winding down, his leadership, character and skill will be one of the biggest losses the Gophers have had to suffer in recent years.
As a child, growing up playing hockey in Minnesota, Fleming always dreamed of being a Gopher hockey player. “I think most kids who played hockey in Minnesota see the Gophers on TV all the time, so you kind of become a fan that way,” Fleming stated. “I always loved watching them, and I always wanted to come here.”
This was especially true for Fleming when he left Minnesota his sophomore year of high school to join the National Development team in Michigan and later, Nebraska to play in the USHL. He made a life-changing decision at an incredibly young age, but it turned out to be a good one. Fleming learned an immense amount on the team and really solidified his skills to make him the hockey player that he is today. He spent three years away from home with the team and at times, he definitely missed playing hockey back home in Minnesota. “I really enjoyed the Minnesota atmosphere, cold winter, skating outside, and going to high school hockey games,” he said.
Though playing hockey on the National Development team was a great opportunity and a wonderful experience for him, he was ready to come back home.
For most seniors in high school, deciding on the next step can be quite a difficult task, but for Fleming, the choice was not as difficult. “I really wanted to come back to the University of Minnesota so that I could be close to home, and so my parents could watch me play in college,” Fleming stated. “It was never really up in the air for me. As long as they wanted me, I was going to come here.”
With two national championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances under his belt, Fleming has had nothing short of a dream hockey career at the University. Following up on such an impressive several years was met with low expectations with a team that was losing many of its top guns. Despite the large number of new incoming freshmen on the team, the Gophers are proving themselves to be an indestructible unit this year.
With anticipation of a rebuilding season, the Gophers have surpassed expectations of not only the fans, but also themselves. “We thought it was going to take the first half of the year to get the freshmen acclimated and they’ve all adjusted very well,” Fleming said. “They adjusted early and played very well. That’s really helped us.”
he play of his teammates and success over the first half of the season has Fleming setting high goals in hopes for a strong finish. “I want to finish this year off strong,” Fleming said. “I want to get back to the Frozen Four at least, so that we can have a chance to go out on top again and make it three for four championships before I graduate.” The way the team has been performing, they will definitely be making an appearance at the Frozen Four for Fleming’s final season.
Fleming feels he has several different roles on the team. One of his biggest roles is that of penalty killer, which is vital to the team, but he often does not receive the attention he deserves. It is a tough job that most players do not enjoy. Fleming understands the importance of his role. “It’s not the most glamorous job, but everybody has to have a role on a team of 26 guys,” he stated. “I take that role and take pride in it.”
Head coach Don Lucia agrees that penalty killers do not get the most attention. “The penalty killers don’t get the glory, they block shots,” he stated. “The power play guys get all the glory, but the penalty killers are just as important as far as their role on the team.” In comparing it to other sports, Lucia equates the penalty killers to the offensive linemen on a football team or the rebounders in basketball. “Jake is one of the guys you have to have. He’s been a regular his whole career,” Lucia said. “He’s scored some big goals and he’s been our top penalty killer on our top penalty kill unit for the four years he’s been here.”
Another role he has is to create energy on the ice in any way he can, by drawing penalties and disrupting the opponent. The duo of Fleming and Garrett Smaagaard packs quite the punch against their opponents, even some of the best lines in the nation. Fleming simply appreciates that Lucia has the confidence in them to put them in and know they are going to do well. His final role, and arguably his most important, is that of captain. With his wisdom and experience on the ice, Fleming was an obvious choice to be a leader for this year’s younger team. Though Fleming takes the role very seriously, he knows it is important to have fun as well. “I just try to lead by example on and off the ice,” Fleming said. “I try to work hard every day, and have fun with the guys.”
His tactic seems to be working and all of his teammates deeply respect and look up to Fleming and his wide array of accomplishments.
Fleming’s greatest accomplishment in his mind is the game-winning goal he had against Colorado College, in Colorado his sophomore year. Having lost the Friday night game by a devastating score of 7-1, the Gophers’ chances of beating the top-ranked team in the nation looked pretty grim. After scoring the game-winning goal, many people credited Fleming for turning around the season, for after that, the Gophers went on to win their second consecutive National Championship. That same year, Fleming was also the winner of the ‘Unsung Hero Award’ for the lack of recognition he received during a highly impressive year for him. “It was a rewarding year for me because I went from being a freshman with a more limited role to my sophomore year where I was really contributing,” Fleming said. “So that’s pretty rewarding for me because myself and my line played such a big part in repeating the National Championship.”
As he obviously excels on the ice, Fleming also manages to shine off the ice. Fleming has worked very hard over the past few years to graduate in the traditional four years. In order to graduate this spring, he was forced to take summer classes for the past few summers in order to balance out during hockey season. Fleming is very excited to graduate and though he has not yet narrowed down what he would like to do in the future, he has many options ahead of him. “I have three options. I can go to work in the business world, I can coach, or I can play hockey,” he said. “I haven’t decided what I want to do yet, I just want to keep my options open and see what happens in the spring.”
Having become not only a member of the Gopher squad, as was his childhood dream, Fleming has become captain, and one of the most valuable players in Gopher history. Without him, the Gophers will lose a large component of the team. “It will be a big loss,” Lucia said. “He’s got great character, he’s a great leader, and he’s an outstanding student.”
The well-rounded forward will undoubtedly do well in whatever option he chooses because no matter what arena you find Fleming in, he is guaranteed to shine. “Jake is one of those guys you can count on every day,” Lucia said. “He’s everything we want in a Gopher hockey player.”
story by Raya Jewell, athletic communications student assistant
