University of Minnesota Athletics
Kyle Rau Signs with Florida Panthers
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) -- Gopher Hockey senior captain and All-American Kyle Rau has signed an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers and will report to the team's AHL affiliate in San Antonio on an amateur try-out.
A native of Eden Prairie, Minn., Rau closed out his college career with 164 points (67 goals, 97 assists) in 160 games, ranking the two-time team captain 18th all-time on Minnesota's career points list and fourth among Gopher Hockey players under Don Lucia. A Second Team All-American as a junior and a two-time All-Big Ten selection, Rau tallied 40 or more points in all four years at the University of Minnesota. The forward scored 23 game-winning goals in his career (most among active NCAA skaters) and tallied the deciding goal to clinch the Big Ten regular-season title in back-to-back years.
"Playing for the Gophers meant the world to me, and I'm very proud of all the things we accomplished as a class and as a team during my four years here," Rau said. "It's an honor and a privilege to play at Minnesota and to be a captain here, and I really appreciate the opportunity I had to play with the best teammates in the country in front of the best fans in college hockey."
In his four years with the program, Rau helped the Gophers win four regular-season conference championships for the first time in Minnesota's modern era along with four-straight NCAA tournament appearances and two runs to the NCAA Frozen Four. In his final year with the Gophers, the team captured the Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament title, giving the Maroon & Gold its first conference playoff title since 2007. Over the last four years, no team in college hockey had more wins than Minnesota with 105.
"Kyle Rau is the kind of player you want leading your program -- a fierce competitor on the ice and a hard worker off it it," Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said. "He and the senior class had an incredible run over their four years here. That's something to be very proud of, and we certainly thank Kyle for his four years here and wish him the best at the next level."
The Gophers had considerable success when Rau found his way on to the stat sheet. The team boasted an 83-15-8 record when the forward tallied a point and a 42-4-0 mark when he notched more than one point in a game. The senior captain missed just three games in his career (two of which occurred while Rau was representing the U.S. at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship) while Rau played in 133-straight games to end his career including every game of his final three seasons with the program.
A four-year letter winner for the Gophers and a three-time academic all-conference recipient, Rau is set to graduate from the Carlson School of Management. Rau was honored as Gopher Hockey's John Mayasich Outstanding Student-Athlete Award winner last year and was also recognized as the Henry L. Williams Legacy Award winner, which annually recognizes the top male student-athlete at the University of Minnesota who excels in competition and in the classroom while representing the values of the athletics department. The forward is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award as well.
Rau, who led Eden Prairie High School to two Minnesota Class AA state titles in 2009 and 2011 and was named Minnesota's Mr. Hockey in 2011, was selected in the third round (91st overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers.
