Article by Felicity Harding. Photo by Samantha Roering.
Every hockey player has their own story for how they got their start in hockey. For St. Cloud State men’s hockey defenseman and captain, Josh Luedtke, hockey became a part of his life at a very young age. When most kids were starting to walk, Luedtke was already learning to skate.
“I actually started [skating] back when I was two years old. My dad built an outdoor rink in our backyard, so he would throw me and my brother out there,” said St. Cloud State men’s hockey captain, Josh Luedtke. “I got involved in youth hockey in Minnetonka, so I played there my whole life, and outdoor hockey was always a big part of it.”
Luedtke started hockey at a young age, but he did play in other sports growing up. Luedtke played soccer up until seventh grade and then played lacrosse.
While Luedtke played other sports, hockey was always the main sport for him, allowing him to experience the largest hockey championship in the state of Minnesota, the Minnesota High School Hockey Championship at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota. Not only did Luedtke get to play in the championship, but he also was able to win the championship with Minnetonka in 2018.
“Every kid in Minnesota always grows up and dreams of playing in that state tournament. You go [to the Xcel Energy Center], and it’s packed. Just playing in that game was so surreal.” Luedtke said of the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament. “Being able to win the championship was so special, and to be playing with guys that I’d grown up my whole life with some of my closest friends it’s something I’ll never forget. It was a dream come true and I’m really, really thankful for that. I’m just very blessed to have won [at the tournament].
After playing in a successful high school career, Luedtke went on to play a year of juniors in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers before coming to St. Cloud State. Playing a year in the USHL was a pretty big learning experience for Luedtke as he was away from home and had to learn to play at a higher level of hockey than high school. This learning experience helped prepare Luedtke for his time at St. Cloud State.
When deciding to commit to St. Cloud State, one thing that really stood out to Luedtke was the culture at St. Cloud State.
“It’s a family like culture. Staff, players, everyone cares about each other so much here,” Luedtke said.
In just his sophomore year, Luedtke was able to play and win at the Xcel Energy Center again with the Huskies in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.
“[Playing in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff was a] really cool experience for me. Growing up in Minnesota and going to the Xcel Energy Center watching Wild games there, and then having won a Minnetonka state high school championship there was awesome,” Luedtke said. “A super cool experience to have won [the Frozen Faceoff] with those guys. We had a special group that year and it is something that I’ll never forget.”
In what is now his fourth year at St. Cloud State, Luedtke is the captain for the men’s hockey team. During his time with the Huskies, Luedtke has formed many friendships with the Husky teams and was able to learn from former captains in Spencer Meier and Dylan Anhorn.
“Learning from [Spencer Meier and Dylan Anhorn] was so big for me,” Luedtke said. “They’ve taught me how to do the right thing and lead by example too. Those are guys that I’ll always look up to and still can connect with too to reach out about leadership and just to see how they’re doing.”
From being the wide-eyed freshman trying to soak everything in while being welcomed by the captains, to now being the captain welcoming the freshman Luedtke strives to make sure him and the leadership group are making the new freshmen feel comfortable and welcomed in the St. Cloud culture.
The freshmen have been able to find a lot of success early on in the season, finding themselves on the scoresheet frequently to help the Huskies to a 6-1 record.
While the end goal is winning the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and a national championship, the Huskies still have the rest of the season to go. Under Luedtke’s leadership and the success of the underclassmen, the Huskies have a bright future ahead. But the future is not what the Huskies are focused on now.
“Obviously we don’t want to look too far down the road so we just want to take it one game at a time and be as successful as we can within the games that we’re playing right now,” Luedtke said.
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