Jan. 30: Former U hockey player arrested in drug case

A once-rising young hockey star who had his career derailed by injury during his freshman season with the University of Minnesota sat in the Hennepin County jail for three days, suspected of felony drug possession.

Nate Hagemo, 21, was jailed without bail from midday Saturday until early Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance while in a south Minneapolis neighborhood.

Police have yet to forward the case to prosecutors.

Late Saturday morning, Hagemo was pulled over near 51st Street and Aldrich Avenue S. after police were alerted by a resident to suspicious activity near his vehicle. Hagemo agreed to let officers search his car, Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said Tuesday.

Inside, officers found syringes and a drug kit. One of the syringes appeared to be filled with what police suspect is heroin, Garcia said.

Garcia said Hagemo told police he was still part of the Gophers hockey team but was staying home last weekend because of an injury.

Hagemo, of Edina, and a 39-year-old St. Paul man were arrested.

Hagemo's older brother, Tyler, declined to comment Tuesday. Don Lucia, Hagemo's college hockey coach, also declined to comment.

Hagemo played for the Gophers in the 2004-05 season, but a shoulder injury in October 2004 cut deeply into the defenseman's playing time. The next season, he played only a couple of games because of the injury. Another comeback try in 2006-07 failed before the season even started.

As a freshman at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Hagemo helped his team win the 2002 Class AA state title. In 33 games with the Gophers, Hagemo had two goals and eight assists.

Hagemo was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the 2005 NHL draft but never played.

Holy Angels coach Greg Trebil said Tuesday afternoon that Hagemo "was just a great kid," adding that he was unaware of anything in Hagemo's past that would have signaled trouble.

Trebil said he suspects that the career-ending injury "had to be really difficult on him. ... With young people, they tend to measure their worth with what their doing in their lives, especially when it comes to sports."

Over the past summer, Hagemo was helping young Minneapolis hockey player Gabe Hillman get ready for youth-level tryouts in the fall.

Hagemo met with Hillman "every week, twice a week, when one day he just stopped showing up," Gabe's older brother Jared Hillman said Tuesday. Hagemo "talked to my mom, and he said that things were not going well for him."

Saturday's arrest wasn't Hagemo's first contact with Minneapolis police. In 2006, he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to burglarize a house in southeast Minneapolis and was ordered to pay restitution. In 2007, he was ticketed for refusing to take a blood alcohol test after a traffic accident. A drug kit was found in the vehicle, police said.

In December, Hagemo was ticketed for careless driving and having a revoked license.

Star Tribune staff writer Michael Rand contributed to this report. pwalsh@startribune.com • 612-673-4482 dchanen@startribune.com • 612-673-4465