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Catching up with Mr. Hockey: Kyle Rau & Justin Kloos

02/20/2018, 10:30am CST
By Andrew Vitalis - Let's Play Hockey

Eden Prairie’s Kyle Rau and Lakeville South’s Justin Kloos are both currently playing in the Minnesota Wild organization.


Eden Prairie’s Kyle Rau (left) and Lakeville South’s Justin Kloos (right) won the 2011 and 2012 Mr. Hockey Awards, respectively.

Kyle Rau and Justin Kloos will always be connected for a lot of reasons. Both sped through the Minnesota high school hockey scene as if they had jet engines on their skates and a tracking device attached to the pucks they shot towards the net. Both played for the University of Minnesota, and in the process, served as team captain for the maroon and gold. This season, both have suited up for the hometown Minnesota Wild – hometown kids experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime dream of playing professional hockey for the state they grew up in.  

There is one more connection – both won the prestigious Mr. Hockey Award as high school seniors while playing for Eden Prairie and Lakeville South, respectively. Rau received the hardware in 2011 and Kloos followed in 2012. Now six years later, both are teammates with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Still, even today, despite all of their accomplishments, Rau and Kloos look back at the experience and a smile comes to their face. They both remember it like it was yesterday.

Where does the award rank compared to other accomplishments in your hockey career?

Rau: “It’s something that I will always be very proud of. Only one guy gets the award per year so it’s definitely a huge honor. I remember at the time, I was thinking about leaving after my junior year to go play juniors, but I stayed, and part of the reason I wanted to stay was to play with my friends and take another run at the state title and possibly win Mr. Hockey. I was very excited when it happened; it was a huge honor.”

Kloos: “It was a special day. Unfortunately, our season ended a little early, not the way we wanted. We finished winning the third-place game and I think it was the day after. I was playing with a bunch of great friends on that team and I knew, either way, whether we won state or not, I was going to be sad. It was my senior year and I had been playing with these guys for the last seven or eight years, and I was going to miss going to the rink with them. They were my best buddies and guys I had grown up with. They all came out and supported me and were there when the announcement was made. It was definitely one of those life moments. I guess I had never dreamed of winning an award like that, but once you look at some of the names on the list and you realize you are always going to be associated with those names, it’s a pretty special moment. It was special for my family for sure and I was very grateful for all of the support I received from everyone.”

What types of things do you remember most from that day looking back on it now?

Rau: “I was at the banquet. I don’t know if they still hand out the Minnesota Wild jersey still with the winner’s name on the back, but I remember the guys walking around with the Wild jersey folded up. You couldn’t see the name on the back, so you couldn’t see who won, but I remember trying to see if I could sneak a peek. I wasn’t able to. Then after I won it, I remember having to talk in front of all of those people.”

Kloos: “I just remember that time period as being special. A couple days before that, when our team upset Duluth East in the state tournament, I was able to do it with my best buddies. We really weren’t given much of a shot, and to do it in front of 19,000 people at Xcel Energy Center, it was probably one of the most special moments of my hockey career. Then my Gopher days, my freshman year, beating St. Cloud to go to the Frozen Four and then playing in the national championship, some of those moments I will never forget and are definitely special. The whole thing along with that are the amazing relationships I’ve built as well. I’m still in contact with guys I played juniors with, tons of guys from high school and a bunch from college, so it’s pretty cool how tightly knit the hockey world is and how I’ve been able to stay in touch with guys.”

What type of advice would you have to offer to the 2018 Mr. Hockey candidates?

Rau: “You look at guys who have won it. They have all come from good teams, so I think being a good teammate would be my main advice. Be a good teammate and help your team the best way you can. The individual stats will fall into place. You definitely have to put the team first.”

Kloos: “Just enjoy it. You’re not going to earn your ticket to the NHL in the next month and a half no matter what. Just enjoy it, play with some passion and work your tail off. You never know what can happen. Know that no matters what happens in the next month and a half in high school hockey, that time period is not going to be the ultimate decider on where your hockey career goes.”

 

Andrew Vitalis can be reached at lphprep@yahoo.com.

 

Photos: Mike Thill

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Tag(s): State Of Hockey  News  Andrew Vitalis