University of Minnesota Athletics
Alumni Corner: Larry Olimb
6/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
GS: You played both center and defense at Minnesota. Did you have a preference?
LO: "I think what worked out best was playing center and then playing defense on the power play. I started playing defense in bantams so I was more comfortable playing defense at the beginning of my career. But once I got more adjusted to playing center I think that was probably a better position for me in the WCHA based on my size and skills. Having the bigger, stronger guys on our team play defense was more advantageous for all of us."
GS: What brought about your change from defense to center? Did you request it or did the coaches ask you to make the change?
LO: "We had basically six defensemen returning from a real good team and had Tom Pederson who was my age. So we had too many defensemen and too many really, really good defensemen. Fortunately, Doug Woog gave me a chance to play forward to keep me in the lineup."
GS: It worked out pretty well, as your 159 assists are the most in program history.
LO: "It did work pretty well."
GS: If you continued to play defense, you do not think you would have been in the lineup?
LO: "Not that first year, no. I played defense probably 10 games or so, a couple at the beginning and a couple when Tom Pederson went to the World Junior Championship around Christmas time. We had five returning juniors and seniors, a couple of sophomores and Tom Pederson and myself. I was not one of the top six defensemen, no question about that."
GS: You played in the original Mariucci Arena. The new building first held a game in 1994, so a lot of fans never saw a game in the old building. How would you describe playing a game in the old barn?
LO: "I am kind of a traditionalist, so playing in a building where guys played in the 50s and 60s and on through was special. I loved the atmosphere of the old barn and the wooden rafters. It had bench seating and people stood around one end of the rink. It was very unusual and is hard to describe. There were a couple of unique things that you would not see today. One was that in the first and third period, over our net, was the ceiling. It went right over our net because of the basketball bleachers on the other side. It was angled as well, so you could stand in the goal crease and flip a puck up 15 feet and it would hit the ceiling. It is pretty unusual now to think about it, but that is just the way it was. Now you would never have a hockey rink like that.
"A second thing that was unusual was that the dressing rooms were down in the basement of the building. We walked down a hallway into Williams Arena to get to the room. (Watch the Gophers take the walk from the locker room to the ice) From there you could also walk under University Avenue to get to the old football stadium and that is where we had our weight room. For games and practice, you had to walk up a big set of wooden stairs to get to the rink. It was exciting and very unusual. You walked up these stairs and the rouser is playing as you sprint out onto the ice in front of the crowd, which as I remember was very vocal and a lot of fun. It was pretty much always a full house. That was Mariucci Arena, that was Gopher Hockey. From our dressing room, we also had to walk by the visiting team room to get to the rink. There were never any incidents as they did a good job controlling that area, but I do remember a few times where the coaches would stop and talk to the officials.
"There is no question that the new building is a much better place to watch a game. It is more comfortable and there are good seats. People would talk about being up in top rows of the old building and their view would be impeded by a pillar or something else. Nobody has that problem at the new building. The atmosphere changed when they moved across the street as well. I am not saying it is not as good because when things are going well it is awesome in the new building too. But I am very happy and proud to be part of the tradition that was able to play in the old building."
GS: We mentioned earlier your program-record 159 assists. That has to be a pretty special feeling for you when you think about all the great players who have played at Minnesota.
LO: "It definitely is, and I am proud of the accomplishment. The first thing I always think of is the guys who were more talented than I was at scoring points usually did not stay around for four years. Aaron Broten comes to mind as a guy who played for two years and had close to 200 points (Broten had 72 goals and 106 assists in 86 career games). Part of it is that, but I am also well aware that being the career leader by no means makes me the best at anything. I am proud of the fact that I had great teammates and like to think that I played the game a certain way that helped bring out the best in others. Goal scoring was not what I did best, passing the puck was. I was grateful to be able to play with a good group of guys. We had a lot of fun."
GS: You helped generate hundreds of goals. Can you pinpoint one or two great finishers who you really enjoyed playing with? A player that if you put the puck on his stick, you knew he would finish it?
LO: "That would be Trent Klatt. We played together for two full years, so I would have to give him credit for most of those. Trent was a great goal scorer and was a big strong player. We complimented each other because he could dig the puck out of the corners and he could finish. The other name that comes to mind would be Darby Hendrickson, but we only played together for one year. As a freshman out of high school he came in and made it look real easy. He scored 25 goals as a freshman and that was impressive. There were several guys, but Trent probably helped me the most because we played together and Darby made it look the easiest when I was there."
GS: Is there one play or assist that instantly sticks out in your mind when you look back at your career?
LO: "I remember the one that broke the record. It was in a playoff game at home against North Dakota and I believe Cory Laylin scored the goal. That one certainly sticks out because that would have been the first round of the playoffs my senior year.
"I really got excited from making a pass where a guy could tap-in a backdoor goal, one where the goalie is on the other side of the net. That is what scoring a goal felt like to me. That is what really got me excited, if I could pull the defense and the goaltender to one side and hit Trent Klatt or somebody else on the other side for a goal."
GS: You left the Gophers with 159 career assists and were one of nine players in program history to record more than 200 career points. Can you tell us what you did after your career ended?
LO: "I tried playing pro hockey for a little bit and had one season with the Minnesota Moose in the International Hockey League here in town. That did not go too far, so I got into commercial real estate. It was a Gopher teammate of mine, Dean Williamson, who was in the business and gave me my start. I did not know what I was going to do when hockey ended but he told me to give it a try. I got an internship with the company he was working at in 1995 and have been in commercial real estate ever since."
GS: You were a Gopher for four years and understood the tradition and pride of Gopher Hockey. What advice do you have current players?
LO: "It is the old cliché, but it is the truth. You do not realize it when you are going through it, but college hockey and college in general is a special time in your life. You want to enjoy it as much as you can. If a guy is ready to go to the NHL then I can certainly see why a player would want to do that and I do not have a problem with that. But looking back now, I would say that, 'You do not know how good you have it and to enjoy it as much as you can. It goes by so fast.' Hopefully this is still the same case today, but some of my best friends and fondest memories are from guys I played college hockey with."
GS: As a kid growing up did you always want to be a Gopher or how did things work out where you decided to come to Minnesota?
LO: "As a kid, I grew up loving to play the game and would always dream about scoring a big goal in an NHL game or something like that. We were not able to watch games on TV like people are today, so I did not grow up watching Gopher Hockey. I did not grow up wanting to go to a particular school. I just loved the game and when the opportunity came in high school, I certainly looked around. However, the University of Minnesota was the best fit for me and it was not a real difficult choice. I am very appreciative to Doug Woog and all that he did. It was just a different time and I never looked too far ahead. I just loved playing the game whether it was youth hockey or in high school. When the opportunity arose I was happy to jump at the chance to play at the U."
GS: Do you still play at all?
LO: "I do not. I have been involved in coaching a lot since I have been done, but no men's leagues for me. I coached Wayzata girl's high school hockey for six years from 2000-06. I have also helped with the 12-and-under girl's team and now I have two mites of my own so that will probably be the next thing I help with."
GS: Last year, you did some television work for FOX Sports North. Can you tell us how that went?
LO: "I really enjoyed it. It was fun for me. Obviously, I have always followed Gopher Hockey and am a big fan and feel like I am part of the program. But to do part of the broadcast and be at the game and be around the arena and see the players and coaches was fun. I only did a handful of games, but it was nice to visit with people like Dave Shyiak from Anchorage who I played against when he was at Northern Michigan. When Michigan State came to town Rick Comley was their coach and he was Northern Michigan's coach so it was nice to see some familiar names and faces. It was exciting and fun for me to be around the game again. The perspective of doing color on TV was a learning experience and there were a lot of really good people at FSN who helped me through the process. I felt more comfortable at the end then I did at the beginning, as it is a learning process. I would like to do it more and get better at it, but I am not sure what will happen this winter."
GS: You are from Warroad, Minnesota. Can you put into words about what makes Warroad so special in regards to hockey?
LO: "Hockey is part of the culture and tradition of the town. I live in Plymouth now and hockey is huge. A lot of people play it here, but there are also a lot of people who do not have any interest in it. Well, in Warroad, everyone knows about the game and everyone is able to play the game if they want to. The thing that makes it special is that it is a total community event, everyone volunteers and gets involved. The thing I remember, even in youth hockey, when we would play games and tournaments was that the community would come and watch the game. In the bigger cities, the families would come and watch and maybe some diehard fans. But in Warroad everyone is involved and everyone knows about the games being played.
"They do not have it anymore, but for 50 years and when I was growing up they had a senior hockey team called the Warroad Lakers that Cal Marvin ran. It would be like town baseball in southern Minnesota. The Lakers were a team of men who worked around town, maybe at Marvin Windows. That was another hockey event that was going on all winter that got the community involved in. They played in a league out of Manitoba and they won the Allan Cup for three straight years in the 1990s. The Allan Cup goes to the amateur hockey champion in Canada, so it was a big deal. Warroad is actually going into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame this winter. But that was another reason the town was so passionate about hockey. They played a couple times a week and most nights they would practice. When we were in high school we would skate with the Lakers in practice, which was mostly a scrimmage. So that was part of the fabric of what hockey in Warroad was. Everyone was involved and the community got behind it and that is what makes hockey special in Warroad and the small communities in northern Minnesota."
GS: You mentioned Manitoba. Did you grown up a Winnipeg Jets fan?
LO: "Yeah, a little bit. One of our own, David Christian graduated from Warroad in 1977 and played on the 1980 Olympic team was drafted and went from the Olympics to Winnipeg. Most people in Warroad were probably Winnipeg fans and those were the games we were probably able to see the most. It is exciting to see the NHL back in Manitoba and that area."