For Jack Ahcan, winning a Gold medal as a member of Team USA at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championships afforded him the chance to fulfill another childhood dream.

Before the Minnesota Wild took on the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 17 at the Xcel Energy Center, Ahcan was called upon to lead the crowd of over 19,000 fans in the traditional “Let’s Play Hockey” cheer, a ritual Ahcan observed numerous times throughout his childhood.

“When I was younger, we’d come to Wild games all the time,” Ahcan said during the first intermission of the Wild’s 4-3 loss to the Devils, as he and his brother Roman took in the action. "My uncle would bring me to games, and my parents too.”

In the years that followed after the initial trips to St. Paul from Burnsville, Ahcan rose through the levels of the Burnsville youth programs.

Ahcan was named a Mr. Hockey finalist as a senior at Burnsville High School, starred for the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the United States Hockey League, has staked his claim on the blue line at St. Cloud State, and recently finished the 2017 World Juniors with +3 on-ice rating.

Ahcan attributes Team USA’s success at the World Juniors to a seamless camaraderie up and down the lineup.

“We had quite a few Minnesota guys, and the (National Team Development Program) guys knew each other, so from the start everybody knew everybody,” Ahcan said, adding that the team had a chemistry so evident that head coach Bob Motzko commented on it during the pre-tournament camp.

“Coach brought up that during camp we had a pulse,” Ahcan explained. “Everybody was talking and chit-chatting on the ice.”

The other Minnesota natives joining Ahcan on the Team USA roster included goaltender Jake Oettinger, fellow defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forwards Joey Anderson and Kieffer Bellows.

Ahcan also had a familiar face behind the bench in Motzko, his coach at St. Cloud State.

“I got a big hug from him after the (Gold medal) game,” Ahcan said with a chuckle. “Probably would never have given him a hug before that.”

Defeating rival Canada in a shootout at the Bell Centre in Montreal, home of the NHL’s Canadiens, is certainly worthy of a hug from your coach.

“With all the history in that rink, being in Montreal, that game was unbelievable,” Ahcan said. “I’ve never heard a louder place in my life,” Ahcan added. “I thought the roof was going to fall off.”

Fortunately, the Bell Centre roof remained intact, allowing Jack and his father Tim to share a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

“My dad was telling me, he was up in the stands, ‘I’ve never seen you smile like that,’” Ahcan said, flashing another smile at the memory. “I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.”