Kari Gibb/MDN Minot Minotauros’ Forward Trevor Stachowiak skates with the puck in playoff action against the Austin Bruins last weekend.

“I remember when my older brother [Nick] talked me into trying on a pair of skates and getting on the ice with him,” said Trevor Stachowiak. “I didn’t like it much. I was kind of bored just sliding around. I finally convinced my parents to let me have a stick [hockey stick] and that made all the difference to me. I have been skating ever since and I might skate without a puck, but I do not ever skate without the stick!”

Stachowiak was born in Dallas, Texas, but moved to the Chicago, Illinois area when he was three years old. That would explain the draw of ice and hockey at a very young age.

“I don’t remember anything about Texas,” said Stachowiak. “My only memories of growing up involve Chicago and very early on I became a Blackhawks fan.”

Stachowiak is one of only three players in Minot Minotauros history to have played four years with the organization. As the ‘old man’ on the ice for the team, he leads nearly every category historically for the Minotauros but there is one thing else that he would rather have. A Robertson Cup, the trophy awarded to the winners of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

“I don’t pay much attention to individual accolades,” said Stachowiak. “My goal, shared by every member of the team, is to win a championship here. That really is the only thing we focus on.”

Championships serve as both an inspiration and a goal for the skater, who turned 21 in February. His biggest sports moment that impacted him centered around Chicago’s hockey history.

For 16 NHL seasons, Patrick Kane was a Blackhawk and part of three Stanley Cup winning teams before being traded to the New York Rangers. It was the first of those three championship teams where Kane scored the goal in overtime that lifted the Blackhawks past the Philadelphia Flyers and ended the 49 year Stanley Cup drought in Chicago.

“Kane scored the overtime winning goal,” said Stachowiak. “That moment left me wanting to have that type of moment for myself for sure. A championship moment for us this season would replace that memory- or go a long way along that path.”

Despite being from Chicago, Stachowiak is very happy to call Minot his second home now.

“They [Minotauros] were at a camp I was attending and the talks and recruiting started there,” said Stochowiak. “It was my first time away from home. My mom and I drove from Chicago and she got on the plane back home in Fargo. Next thing I know, I was in Minot.”

For the past four years, around nine months each year, Stachowiak has lived with his second family. Eric and Shelly Carbo invited the young Chicago native to join them in their home.

“They [Carbos] have been amazing,” said Stachowiak. “I have known Abby and Rylan for roughly half their lives. I am the youngest in my family, so I got to be an older brother here.”

Living in Minot is not much different than home in Chicago – there are winters and there’s ice to skate on. That’s all the singularly-focused Stachowiak really needs.

“I would highly recommend this organization and these coaches to any young player thinking of developing their hockey game,” said Stachowiak. “The way they [Minotauros] run this organization is great. I am very glad to have spent my time here and I feel it has prepared me for the next level of play.”

The right handed and shooting forward will likely pick a college to play for after the season is over. If he can parlay that time into an NHL experience, he will do that as well.

“I will deal with the next steps in life when I get to them,” said Stachowiak. “I will study finance, probably. My favorite subject in school was math. If not that then something else. I am doing what I love now, where I love doing it and will make those decisions for the future when needed.”

The hope for Stachowiak, and the rest of the team, is that the season keeps running until the championship series is over. For now, the Minotauros will be in Austin, Minnesota for Game Three on Friday, April 26, and Game Four if needed on Saturday, April 27, at the Riverside Arena.