A 20-year old Okotokian was debating where to go after the climax of his Junior hockey career before a stateside road trip made the decision straightforward.
Cory Kapeller, a recent graduate of the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), committed to the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies to play Division III hockey after going on campus visits to a pair of schools in the Land of 1,000 Lakes in March.
“I had some offers from a few other schools and I went down to go on a visit to St. Olaf and St. Thomas,” Kapeller said. “When I got to St. Thomas it was just an amazing campus, the coaches were really nice, all the guys are nice and their hockey program is really good too. They made it to the national tournament this year.”
“It was a pretty easy decision once I got actually got down there and saw everything.”
The Okotoks native chose wisely.
The University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) is one of two schools to surpass 1,000 wins in program history among Division III schools. The Tommies, competing in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, boast 30 straight seasons with winning records and have qualified for the NCAA tournament on 15 occasions.
Kapeller, an assistant captain with the Canucks in 2011-12, said his strong showing in the postseason propelled him forward up the ranks of prospective Division III players.
“I had a really strong first round of playoffs against the Camrose Kodiaks,” Kapeller said of the Canucks’ upset series win over Camrose. “And the coaches said I was a big part in helping win that series.”
Following the series Canucks head coach Ryan Barrett reiterated the message to St. Thomas head of recruiting and assistant coach Parker Burgess.
“Ryan Barrett talked to Parker that’s kind of what he told him and that’s seemed to sell him (on me) a bit,” said Kapeller.
The five-foot-10, 175-pound winger was a two-way force who played above his weight in three seasons with the Canucks, amassing 13 goals and 45 points in 159 games for Calgary. Upon graduation into the ranks of Canucks’ alumnus, Kapeller’s head coach advised him to see first hand what’s in store for him at his potential college destination before making a decision.
“He just told me that I’m going to want to go somewhere that I’m going to enjoy being at for my four years so he said if I could get down there to take a look, just to make sure that it’s somewhere that I’d actually want to be, to definitely do that.”
Kapeller said St. Thomas got on his radar at the three-quarter pole of the AJHL season.
“I started looking at Division III schools when I thought that probably wouldn’t get a Division I offer and (St. Thomas) came up,” Kapeller said. “I have other friends that are playing Division III and they said it would be a really good school to go to as well.”
Fellow Okotokian Dave Williams and former Canuck Chad Golanowski, friends of Kappeler’s, suggested to the Okotoks native that St. Thomas is a desirable locale in their experiences with Minnesota-based St. Scholastica.
Kapeller, a graduate of Holy Trinity Academy, said the academics of the Twin Cities-based private Catholic liberal arts university also appealed to him.
“Their business program was great too and that’s what I’m looking to take,” he said. “I was hoping to go into law school after business, my mom’s a lawyer so I’m hoping to follow in that.”
Division III schools can’t offer athletic scholarships, but instead give out financial aid packages which vary in duration and amount. Kapeller’s package is for the full four years.
