University of Minnesota Athletics
Freshman Faceoff: Curt Simonson
9/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
As we get closer and closer to the 2015-16 Gopher Hockey season, we continue our "Freshman Faceoff" series today with incoming defenseman Curt Simonson.
A native of Grand Rapids, Minn., Simonson joins the Gophers after two seasons in the North America Hockey League where the defenseman skated in 79 regular-season games with eight points (four goals, four assists). He spent the 2013-14 season with the Coulee Region Chill and the 2014-15 season with the Minnesota Magicians. Prior to his time in the NAHL, Simonson spent three years playing at Grand Rapids High School with 30 points (six goals, 24 assists) in 69 games.
First question and the most important one - why did you want to play hockey here at the University of Minnesota?
I guess the biggest reason was definitely growing up in Grand Rapids -- a big hockey community -- I watched the Gophers all the time on television and when I got the chance to come here and play I definitely hopped right on it.
You played at Grand Rapids High School, they've developed quite a few Gophers - Alex Goligoski, Pat White, Jake Bischoff - not to mention Coach Lucia is also a Grand Rapids alum. Talk about your time at Grand Rapids and what that meant to you to be a part of that.
It's a great town to grow up in. Grand Rapids is a small community, but it's a huge hockey community. It's very easy to grow up in and a lot of fun for skating on outdoor rinks all the time. It's just a great tradition to be a part of.
Growing up you were friends with Jake Bischoff, how excited are you to be playing with him now on the Gophers?
I grew up playing with Jake all the way through high school and after thought I never figured it would happen again. I'm definitely very excited to have the chance to play with him again.
When did you learn how to skate and do you have a favorite memory?
I learned how to skate basically when I was two or three years old. We were always out on outdoor rinks with family and friends messing around, so that's where I learned how to skate.
You had said Hockey Day Minnesota in 2013 was your favorite memory (Simonson had two assists in the 3-2 overtime win including a helper on the game winner), how cool was that to have it in your hometown and to win in overtime?
It was definitely an unbelievable experience. It was kind of like a dream come true. We all grew up playing with each other on an outdoor rink and then once we heard that we were going to host it, it was even more special. Hockey is such a big part of life in Grand Rapids - it was really special for the whole community.
From Grand Rapids you went on to play in the NAHL, how important was that for your development as a player?
That was a huge step. It's a great league to advance your skills in and stuff like that. It was a huge opportunity for me to develop more as a player and person.
While you were playing in the NAHL, you had a pretty serious injury. Talk about coming back and being able to play after something like that.
It was definitely an eye opener. I was pretty down after it happened, thinking hockey was going to be over with. I looked at it as more of being lucky to even just be walking. I definitely didn't think I would be playing after that, but everything seemed to go well. I love playing hockey, and I'm thrilled to be able to compete at this level after everything.
Off the ice, what are your interests?
I'm either in the woods or on the lake.
You've been on campus for a while now, how's the adjustment going?
It's an adjustment. I'm not really used to the big city type, but it's going well so far.
With such a big class of newcomers, how has the chemistry been between all of the freshmen?
It's been going good. I think everyone's really comfortable with each other, and it's a good group of guys. It will be fun to just keep building with each other and keep growing as a group.
| Previous Freshman Faceoff Features | |||
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| Ryan Norman | |||
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| Brent Gates Jr. | Jack Ramsey | Tommy Novak | |
