歪歪漫画

ST. CLOUD, Minn. 鈥� When Ben Hanowski walks into the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center main entrance, he can look up to his right and see a familiar face celebrating.

There are a number of key players and scenes from the history of St. Cloud State hockey since 1931 on the east wall of the atrium. The mural is 14 feet wide by 30 feet tall. Among all of the players and scenes, the one with Hanowski celebrating and pointing appears to be the largest.

鈥淲e wanted to have players from all eras and from important moments with either significant plays or identifiable people that are going to withstand the test of time,鈥� former St. Cloud State men鈥檚 hockey coach Bob Motzko said. 鈥淲hat Hano did for us was so special that there it is: front and center.

鈥淗e was one of the greatest high school players to ever play in the state and he chose to stay close to home. He was a part of the era of elevating our program to even higher levels.鈥�

Hanowski, 28, played for the Huskies from 2009-13. He helped the program win its first NCAA Division I playoff game in 2010 and then win its first WCHA regular season title and reach its first Frozen Four in 2013. He has been back in the Brooks Center this spring as he works out to prepare for his fifth season playing in the top German hockey league.

So what鈥檚 it like to see yourself bigger than life on the side of a wall on a public building?

鈥淚t鈥檚 funny,鈥� said Hanowski, who finished his degree from St. Cloud State last summer. 鈥淲e have some friends in the area and when they go to the rink, they say, 鈥極h, there鈥檚 Ben.鈥� That鈥檚 always cool.

鈥淪t. Cloud will always be a special place to me. To be able to go back there and be around the guys who are on the team and be around the program is always fun. It keeps me young, too. Those young guys have a lot of energy.鈥�

Hanowski has played the last two seasons for the Cologne Sharks of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He battled some injuries and had 10 goals and 10 assists in 31 of the team鈥檚 52 regular season games.

鈥淚 had a bad groin pull and then I got tangled up and pulled my hamstring when I got back,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a tough year. It was the first year I鈥檝e missed any games over there. I had three healthy years.

鈥淭o have two injuries and have them really close together was really tough. It was like eight weeks (out) with the hamstring. That was the first time I鈥檝e been out for an extended period of time in a season.鈥�

Hanowski came back from his injuries to play in 11 playoff games, helping the Sharks reach the league鈥檚 semifinals.

In 2017-18, he had 18 goals and 39 points in 52 games for Cologne. The two seasons before that, he had 41 goals and 76 points in 104 regular season games for the Augsburg Panthers in the DEL.

When he was with Augsburg, he was reunited with Drew LeBlanc, who was a four-year teammate and a two-year co-captain with Hanowski at St. Cloud State.

鈥淲e lived in the same (apartment) building, too, he was one floor above me for two years,鈥� Hanowski said. 鈥淏esides four years at St. Cloud, I probably spent 5-6-7 years with Drew at Minnesota Hockey Camps in the summer.

鈥淭hen (with Augsburg), two years we were road roommates. So I鈥檝e spent a lot of time with Drew,鈥� he said of St. Cloud State鈥檚 2013 Hobey Baker Award winner. 鈥淭he second year, I was on the same line with him and that was really fun. He鈥檚 an easy guy to play with. I always have fun and we鈥檝e gotten closer and closer over the years.

鈥淣ow I just try to smoke him when we play them. I always tell him that I鈥檓 going to go after him and I don鈥檛 want him to score. But he usually does OK against us. He scored a game-winner against us and I was so mad. But it鈥檚 always fun seeing Drew and he鈥檚 someone I鈥檒l always be close to.鈥�

Hanowski has enjoyed success throughout his hockey career. He helped put the Little Falls boys high school team on the map, helping the Flyers to four straight Class 1A state tournaments from 2006-2009.

Hanowski is the state鈥檚 all-time leader in career goals (196) and points (405) and is second in assists (209). He also owns state records for the most points in a season (135 in 2008-09). His 73 goals that season are No. 2 in state history (Jaxon Nelson, Luverne, 78, 2015-16) and his 71 assists in 2006-07 are the state鈥檚 fourth-best mark.

Hanowski was taken in the third round (63rd overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He went straight from high school hockey to college and finished with 62 goals and 113 points in 156 games with the Huskies.

His senior season with the Huskies, LeBlanc returned from injury and, with the help of a strong freshman class, St. Cloud State reached the national semifinals. Hanowski鈥檚 rights were also traded (along with Kenneth Agostino鈥檚 and a first round draft pick) to the Calgary Flames for Jarome Iginla on March 28, 2013.

After St. Cloud State鈥檚 season ended, Hanowski joined the Flames for five games and scored his lone NHL goal against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul.

In 2013-14, he played 11 games for the Flames and also had 13 goals and 31 points in 55 American Hockey League games for the Abbotsford Heat. Hanowski had 16 goals and 25 points in 56 games for the Adirondack Flames in the AHL in 2014-15 and then was looking for a contract the next fall.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a great season and I had some injuries that year,鈥� he said of his last season in the AHL. 鈥淭hat league was getting younger and I was 25 at the time. I didn鈥檛 get (a) qualified (contract offer) from Calgary and I waited, waited, waited and there wasn鈥檛 much out there for me.

鈥淭hen September came around, (Augsburg) had offered me something earlier in the summer and I was sick of waiting around. I knew Drew was there and a couple of other guys on the team and it seemed like a good fit. Melissa was going to be done teaching and she was going to come with me.鈥�

Melissa, his wife, is from Annandale, Minn., and the couple lives in Sartell, Minn., during the offseason with their 18-month-old daughter, Lillian.

1/3: A photo of a celebrating Ben Hanowski on a mural inside the main atrium of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The mural was added to the entrance as part of an arena renovation in 2013. (Mick Hatten/The Rink Live)

2/3: Ben Hanowski (10) hugs Cory Thorson (8) after the St. Cloud State men鈥檚 hockey team won the NCAA Division I Midwest Regional in 2013 in Toledo, Ohio. Thorson is now an assistant coach at St. John鈥檚 University and Hanowski will play professionally for his fifth season in Germany this fall. (Courtesy of St. Cloud State University)

3/3: Ben Hanowski was a captain his last two seasons for the St. Cloud State mens hockey team. The 28-year-old from Little Falls is preparing for his seventh full professional hockey season. (Courtesy of St. Cloud State University)