Away ice, home turf for CC standout

Chad Rau of Eden Prairie is coming home this weekend to play one last time at Mariucci Arena, a venue that could have been his everyday rink. Instead, he is a high-profile senior center for Colorado College.

Rau was the media's preseason pick for WCHA player of the year and is living up to the hype. He leads the Tigers in scoring with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points, one point behind the national co-leaders heading into this weekend.

"It will be good, exciting," Rau said, contemplating the Tigers' series tonight and Sunday against the Gophers. CC lost to Minnesota 2-1 in overtime at the Xcel Energy Center in the WCHA Final Five semifinals last March, but the Tigers have not played at Mariucci since October 2006.

Gophers coach Don Lucia said he tried to recruit Rau, who had 102 points in two seasons on the Eden Prairie varsity, then left as a senior for Des Moines. He was the USHL's rookie of the year that season, scoring 31 goals.

"We talked to him," Lucia said. "It was that class when we had [Phil] Kessel, [Ryan] Stoa and [Blake] Wheeler, which is a pretty good group of forwards."

Translation: Rau might not have been the U's top recruiting priority.

Kessel left the Gophers for the NHL after one season, Wheeler after three. Both are thriving as Boston Bruins; Kessel is third in the NHL with 18 goals, while Wheeler has nine goals as a rookie. Stoa, a redshirt junior, is on a tear, too. He has 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points.

"Would we have liked to have [Rau]? Sure," Lucia said. "But it has worked out well for him and he is a very, very good player and deserving of everything that has happened to him."

Last season Rau was named to the all-WCHA first team. He led the conference in goals with 28 and the nation in short-handed goals with six.

"He is a constant, consistent scoring threat for us and has been for his entire four years," Tigers coach Scott Owens said. "He is someone you can put in all situations."

His strengths? Offensive instincts, vision, Rau said. Plus often-overlooked traits. He rarely takes penalties -- 11 minors in 3 1/2 seasons; he wins faceoffs -- 61.2 percent this season.

Econ major, NHL aspirations

His college choices came down to three schools, Colorado College and Denver -- "Colorado is a beautiful place" -- and Minnesota. He chose CC on a gut feeling. "I felt comfortable there and I was intrigued with their block plan," Rau said.

Say what? Is that a checking system? Actually, the block plan refers to academics. Students at CC complete one class in 3 1/2 weeks, then start another. "It's pretty intense but really favorable to an athlete," Rau said. "If you miss class one day, it's one class."

Rau will graduate in May with an economics degree. Rau has his hopes set on an NHL career, then someday plans to earn a master's degree in business.

Toronto has his NHL rights. The Maple Leafs picked him in the seventh round, 228th overall, in 2005. Their contract offer this past offseason was not enticing enough for him to leave CC early, but Toronto has since named a new general manager, Brian Burke.

"I don't know what their plans are for me," said Rau, 5-11, 180 pounds. "Yes, I'd like to play in the NHL. It's every kid's dream."

Hockey is a family passion

Chad's parents, Mike and Lynne Rau, have four sons. The oldest, Matt, is in his second-year of medical school at Creighton. He played hockey for Eden Prairie and St. Olaf.

Mike, a former defenseman at old Edina West, had Matt and Chad on skates at ages 5 and 3. Since 1996, there has been a 30-by-65-foot rink in the Raus' backyard until this season.

Mike's youngest sons, twins Curt and Kyle, have outgrown it. They are sophomores on Eden Prairie's varsity team and are attracting college interest. They have played on one peewee A and two bantam A state championship teams. Everyone in his family offers opinions on his game, Chad Rau said. "It's pretty cool," said Rau, whose chance to be a critic will come over Christmas break when he will watch his younger brothers.

No matter how he plays, Chad Rau remains a hero to one mite hockey player, Garrett Smith, 7. When Garrett needed brain surgery five years ago. Rau visited him in the hospital several times.

"[Garrett] still talks about Chad Rau. A couple of the things he gave him are among his favorite toys," said Lee Smith, Garrett's father and the Eden Prairie high school hockey coach then and now. "[Garrett] is excited to watch him."

The Gophers, too, will be keeping a close eye on Rau this weekend.