Carsen Richels wasn’t sure what he was going to do from a hockey standpoint after leaving New Hampshire, where he had played the first two seasons of his collegiate hockey career.
Returning to his home state of Minnesota made sense.
“I definitely wanted to be close to home and in a more comfortable setting,” Richels said.
He found a place where he could do just that, signing on with St. Scholastica, one of the nation’s top 15 teams in the USCHO.com poll.
This is his second season with the No. 8 Saints (12-3, 5-1) and he’s currently leading the MIAC in goals (11) and is among the assist leaders as well, racking up eight, tied for the seventh-most in the league.
He has it made. He’s thriving on the ice and his family gets to see him play more often.
“It’s pretty nice,” Richels said. “My parents are super big fans but didn’t get to come out too much when I was at UNH. They haven’t missed a game this year. It’s nice to be familiar with where I am at and it’s helped me be more confident in my game.”
Confidence was something that seemed to elude the talented forward in the 35 games he played in while at New Hampshire during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.
“It was something I lost when I went out East. It affected my play. But I’ve found it again. It’s showing on the ice,” Richels said.
It didn’t take long for it to show through at St. Scholastica as he earned All-MIAC honors last season, scoring 19 goals and dishing out 21 assists for a Saints team that had a season to remember, winning the regular-season MIAC title and nearly making the NCAA tournament.
“Confidence is the biggest thing for anyone playing any sport,” Richels said. “If you are confident you perform better. You trust and believe in yourself. My confidence continues to grow.”
Richels played other sports growing up, like football and lacrosse, but hockey was always his main sport.
“I always wanted to play college hockey since middle school,” Richels said.
He set the stage for that opportunity while in high school, shining at Blaine, first as the team’s rookie of the year and then as a captain his senior year. A three-time all-conference pick, Richels was a Mr. Hockey finalist in 2020.
While he was once uncertain on how things would go after his time at New Hampshire, he’s glad he stuck with the game he has always loved.
“For me, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after UNH, but the friendships and the team aspect keep me going,” Richels said. “You get to go through everything with them, whether it’s the tough workouts or games.”
The great thing for Richels is he is on a team stacked with talent.
Arkhip and Filimon Ledenkov are two of the nation’s best offensive threats. Filimon has tallied 18 assists, the most in the MIAC, to go along with six goals.
Arkhip has racked up seven goals and 10 assists while Nathan Adrian (five goals, 11 assists), Tristan Shewchuk (six goals, seven assists) and Jacob Seitz (seven goals, four assists) all have double-digit point totals. Brodie Girod (six goals, two assists) isn’t too far behind.
“We’re confident when we go to the rink we are going to do well,” Richels said. “We have four lines that have all played well and it’s nice going into a game knowing that no matter who is on the ice, they are going to do their job.”
And being a ranked team means there is no room to take your foot off the gas pedal.
“We realize we are going to get everyone’s best shot. You can’t take a night off. We have to take each game and play the full 60 (minutes),” Richels said.
As Richels continues on with his senior season at St. Scholastica, he’s focused on doing his part.
“I’m happy with how I’m playing and trying to help the team win any way I can,” Richels said.
