Patrick Reusse: WCHA took its time to call St. Cloud State captain

ST. CLOUD — Garrett Raboin completed his second USHL season with Lincoln, Neb., in the spring of 2005. He turned 20 on March 27. There was no meaningful contact with coaches from the WCHA or the other major hockey conferences.

He had been strong academically at Detroit Lakes High School. He had chosen a career path: working with special-needs students, as did his parents in Detroit Lakes.

Why not find a Division III school, play some hockey and start working on a degree?

"The second year was better than the first at Lincoln," Raboin said. "The team was improved. I was playing more, including on the power play. I was waiting for an answer to, 'Where is your career going to go?' "

Raboin and Lincoln improved again. They lost in the second round of playoffs. Raboin turned 21. And still there were no offers from big-time programs.

Finally, the call came from Bob Motzko, looking toward his second season as St. Cloud State's head coach. Raboin could walk on and compete for duty.

"I jumped at the opportunity," he said. "I was over here all the time the next few weeks, trying to spend time with the [returning] players. I wanted to know everything that was expected from a player in the WCHA."

That started with a 4-2 upset loss at Mankato on Friday night. The teams were in St. Cloud for a rematch on Saturday night. Raboin was out with a right ankle injury sustained in an end-of-February series at Wisconsin.

How many games had he missed with injuries in his career? "Tonight will be the second," Raboin said on Saturday. "The first was last night. It's frustrating."

It was Senior Night -- and Raboin wanted to be included in more than the ceremonies. The good news is St. Cloud will be hosting a first-round series next weekend. That starts the road that all of Huskyland pleads will lead finally to an NCAA victory.

The Huskies were 0-2 in an NCAA first-round series against Lake Superior State in 1989. They have made six more NCAA appearances (all since 2000) and are 0-6.

"This year's team is different," Raboin said. "Maybe it's experience -- there were only four incoming freshmen. I'm not sure if it's attitude, or the mix of personalities, but it's a different feeling."

Raboin is a 3.6 student. His major is in special education for developmental disabilities. His parents, Bruce and Amy, both work in that field in elementary schools in Detroit Lakes. Garrett has worked an internship with those students at Sauk Rapids.

"My parents' students were around our home all the time, and they were great," he said. "My kids are autistic or Down syndrome. It's fascinating every day to see how their minds work."

For instance?

"One of my autistic kids taught himself how to play the piano," Raboin said. "He doesn't read music, doesn't study notes. He goes by what he hears. He goes to church, and he hears a song, goes home and works it out by himself on the piano. It's incredible.

"Plus, he's really into anything mechanical. Anything you want to know about the workings of a washing machine, or an elevator ... he'll break it down like you can't believe."

Maybe we can add that as another reason this undersized defenseman didn't see it as a bold decision to go back to Lincoln for a third time in his long-shot quest to find success in the WCHA.