Former Grand Rapids captain Hunter Bischoff was the first to commit to Augustana – The Rink Live

Note: Rink Live profiles each of the 26 players on Augustana University’s inaugural men’s ice hockey team.

SIOUX FALLS, SD Among all the Augustana University men’s hockey team’s first-ever NCAA Division I program, Hunter Bischoff has a high ranking.

Bischoff, a 20-year-old forward from Cohasset, Minn., was the first player to verbally commit to play with the Vikings in May 2022. Bischoff will play the 2022-23 season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, which will be his last. junior hockey season.

That Bischoff made this commitment with all the unknowns for Augustana means a lot to Vikings head coach Garrett Raboin.

“It was on the back end of a great Robertson Cup with his North American (Hockey) League team,” Raboin said of the Anchorage Wolverines. “That team went on a real special run. They were a team that came together that never really played together, got better all year and it culminated at the end of the season.”

The Wolverines, like Augustana, were in their first season as a youth hockey team.

Last fall, he played for the Youngstown Phantoms in the American Hockey League and helped the team win the first Clark Cup. So Bischoff has played on some chemistry teams.

“He’s a smart, honest hockey player,” Raboin said of Bischoff, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds. “He was used in every situation, the penalty kill (for Youngstown) and the 3-on-3 puck.

“He’s a guy that the Youngstown staff valued tremendously. They could get him out in any situation and they could count on him.”

Before juniors, Bischoff played three seasons on the Grand Rapids High School team and captained the Thunderhawks.

“He’s a tremendous student and we’re really excited about him,” Raboin said of Bischoff.

Bischoff is majoring in business planning.

station: Forward
Age: 20
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 182
Home town: Cohasset, Minn.
Last season: Scored four goals, 10 points, 14 penalty minutes and was a plus-4 in 55 regular season games for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. Helped the Phantoms win the Clark Cup.
Season 2021-22: Scored 13 goals, 36 points, 20 penalty minutes and was a plus-11 in 56 regular season games for the Anchorage Wolverines in the NAHL. Helped the Wolverines reach the Robertson Cup championship game in his first season, scoring five goals and seven points in 10 playoff games.
Before juniors: Played three seasons on the Grand Rapids High School team. In his career, he scored 31 goals and 59 points in 64 games.