University of Minnesota Athletics
Kyle Rau to Make NHL Debut
2/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Feb. 20, 2016 
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) - Former Gopher Hockey captain Kyle Rau, who tallied more points than any other Gopher in the last decade, will make his NHL debut on Saturday with the Florida Panthers when he and former Minnesota teammate Nick Bjugstad host Blake Wheeler and the Winnipeg Jets.
Rau will be the 111th Gopher Hockey alum to play in the NHL and the 17th University of Minnesota alum to suit up in the NHL this season. The forward is the third member of last year's Gopher Hockey roster to play in the NHL this year along with Brady Skjei (New York Rangers) and Mike Reilly (Minnesota Wild).
In his first full professional season, Rau is tied for the Portland Pirates (AHL) team lead with 17 goals this year and ranks second on the squad with 27 points.
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 in the Don Lucia era. 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 and tallied the deciding goal to clinch the Big Ten regular-season title in back-to-back years.
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. In his four years with the Gophers, no team in college hockey had more wins than Minnesota with 105.
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, he is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management.
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.
-Pride On Ice-
Rau will be the 111th Gopher Hockey alum to play in the NHL and the 17th University of Minnesota alum to suit up in the NHL this season. The forward is the third member of last year's Gopher Hockey roster to play in the NHL this year along with Brady Skjei (New York Rangers) and Mike Reilly (Minnesota Wild).
In his first full professional season, Rau is tied for the Portland Pirates (AHL) team lead with 17 goals this year and ranks second on the squad with 27 points.
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 in the Don Lucia era. 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 and tallied the deciding goal to clinch the Big Ten regular-season title in back-to-back years.
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. In his four years with the Gophers, no team in college hockey had more wins than Minnesota with 105.
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, he is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management.
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.
-Pride On Ice-
Players Mentioned
Thursday, May 07
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Monday, March 30
Wednesday, March 25