University of Minnesota Athletics
Catching up with Pat Micheletti
8/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Pat Micheletti is one of the most accomplished players in the history of Minnesota hockey. He ended his four-year career as a Gopher ranked second in school history in points (269) and goals (120). He is also third in career assists (149) and penalty minutes (403). Today, Pat handles all public and community relation efforts for Minnesota-based Excelsior Energy. GopherSports.com caught up with Pat and took a trip down memory lane with him.
GopherSports: Pat, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. You were drafted in 1982 by your home state team. Did you feel any additional pressure going into your freshman season with the Gophers?
Pat Micheletti: Not really. I was more focused on playing for the Gophers. It was more excitement than pressure.
GS: You are from Hibbing, Minn., home to sports greats like Roger Maris and Kevin McHale and other famous names like Bob Dylan. Did where you grew up affect your career at all? Did they inspire you?
PM: Not really. What affected me more were my older brothers who played college hockey. They were my inspiration.
GS: You mentioned your brothers and some of them also had success in hockey. Joe played in the NHL, Andy played in juniors, and Tom and Don played in college. You also had four other siblings. Who was the best hockey player in your family?
PM: The best way I can say it is that they all brought something different to the table and it was beneficial for me to see how they played. Some were better at different things than others in the family. They all had different talents, which was helpful for me.
GS: You left the U as the second leading scorer in school history with 269 points, but you are also third all-time with 403 penalty minutes. It is pretty remarkable for a person to be ranked so highly is both categories.
PM: Being the second leading scorer is something that I'm very proud about. On the flip side of it, I obviously wish I hadn't taken as many penalty minutes as I did. However, there was a method to my madness and I had to stick up for myself and stick up for my teammates and that was part of the way it was.
GS: When you played at Minnesota, you played at Williams Arena, or Old Mariucci Arena. What was it like playing in "The Barn"?
PM: There's not a better place to play a college hockey game-period. There was something that electrified a person when you walked up the wooden steps from the locker room out up onto the ice. It was like a transformation for me every Friday and Saturday night. When you walked up those steps and onto the ice, it was electrifying, just electrifying. I knew it gave me an edge every night when I did that. It was like a light switch that told me it was time to play.
GS: Minnesota-Duluth had some of their best teams around the time you played at Minnesota and Denver, Wisconsin , and North Dakota were always competitive. Who was your biggest rival in college?
PM: Playing for Minnesota, there's a target on your back every night. Did I like playing against some teams better than others? Maybe so. The list goes on: Wisconsin, Denver, North Dakota and Duluth were huge, huge rivalries. But that's what was great about playing at Minnesota-you had to get up every weekend to play because you knew the team you were playing against was trying to beat you. That was a great part about being a Gopher.
GS: You scored 60 or more points in each of your last three seasons as a Gopher. What moment or game sticks out to you the most when you look back at your time wearing the maroon and gold?
PM: All of them do in terms of being a Gopher, having such great teammates for all four years. Individually, it was probably my Senior Night-my last regular season game at the Old Mariucci-where we beat North Dakota, 6-0, and I had four goals and two assists. The great thing about it was that before the game, my parents came on the ice and I told them, "This night's for you." That was the best night-the best night ever-as a Gopher.
GS: How do you think college hockey and the sport of hockey in general have changed since your playing days?
PM: Obviously the guys today are bigger, faster, and stronger. From that sense, the players are certainly much better. However, I think what's been lost a little bit is that the athletes in general probably aren't as skilled. I don't know if the skill level, in my opinion, has improved tremendously. I think the natural speed and strength has, but I think there were a lot of guys who were overall a lot more skilled or perhaps a little smarter. They went about the game a little differently.
GS: Injuries caused you to retire at a pretty young age. How long do you think you would have played if you stayed healthy?
PM: Probably another ten years. I was going pretty well after I left the North Stars and went to Europe and I thought I had another ten years in me. It was unfortunate that I had to retire when I did.
GS: You played in four different professional leagues, worked in management, and did some hockey broadcasting. Which job was the best?
PM: Obviously I love to play. Being a part of a team is something that sticks with me the most in my career-being with teammates in the locker room, working with guys, going through the same thing, and dealing with the ups and downs. That was the best part of being in sports-being part of a team atmosphere. Playing at the U was definitely at the top of my list. To this day, I cannot believe I played there and to this day I am still in awe of the players that played there before me. That's why I went to the U and that's why I love the University of Minnesota so much-because of the players that played before me and knowing that I had to up my level to uphold the tradition that the players before me brought to the U.
GS: Who was the best player you ever played with and against?
PM: That's too hard. I played with so many good ones and I played against so many great ones-from the Russians to the Czechs to the National Hockey League players and other North American players. There are too many. I played with a lot of good ones, so that's a tough question to answer.
GS: You spent some time playing with Scott Bjugstad, uncle of incoming freshman Nick Bjugstad, at the U, on the Springfield Indians and on the North Stars. He was a Hobey Baker finalist and won Team MVP in your freshman year at Minnesota. What can you tell us about him?
PM: Scottie was a great leader. He was great to me. First off all, he is a great person. He really showed me the ropes when I got to Minnesota. He had a chance to play with my older brother Don at the U, as well. He was a great role model for me coming in as a freshman and he helped me understand what it meant to be a Gopher-the standards that you had to uphold to. He was a great player. There's not many players that could shoot the puck like Scott could, but he was just a great team guy who wanted to win. He was also a pretty inspirational guy to follow, with him being a senior during my freshman year. I have nothing but great things to say about him. He was a great teammate, he loved the U, and wanted to play for the U-and that was the only thing on his mind. He was nothing short of a great role model for a freshman coming in.
GS: What is your favorite hockey memory outside of college? Your championship in the Italian League? Your first NHL goal? Something from your time at Hibbing?
PM: My first NHL game was pretty special. Winning championships and being part of a team is the ultimate for me, though. One thing I look back on in career is the teammates I had, the guys I played with, the guys that had my back, and going for the ultimate goal. Obviously winning a championship in the Italian League where we went 29 games without a loss was pretty special, but just being with the team and all going for the same goal was a lot more important than individual stuff.
GS: Is there anything else you would like to add before we let you go?
PM: I can't stress enough what it meant to be a Gopher, that I was in awe to be a Gopher. I hope people realize that I was there to help uphold the tradition of being a Gopher and of the guys that played before me.
