Horn’s hockey career continues to show promise

Addie Reine
January 4, 2010
Filed under Sports, Sports Center, Winter Sports

Christian Horn is what some might consider a rookie when it comes to hockey, considering he is only a sophomore on the Varsity team at BSM. However, playing constantly on USA and Elite teams in addition to the BSM season gives this “rookie” a whole lot more experience than most players will get in their entire career.

The Early Years

Horn’s instinct to play hockey came naturally when he witnessed his older brother, playing. “I looked up to him a lot,” said Horn. Starting his career in hockey twelve years ago with the Plymouth/ Armstrong Association, Horn has secured his place on the A teams.

A distinct memory of Horn’s is playing with his step-brother Patrick Steinhauser, a junior on the BSM team, throughout those years and up until today. The shaping of Horn’s presently successful hockey career is drawn from many fulfilling experiences; however, one that Horn distinguishes as highlight of his young hockey career dates all the way back to age 10. “My first year squirt team made it to the district championship game,” said Horn.

Career

Now Horn plays for the varsity hockey team here at BSM, where he was one of only two freshmen on the team last year. In spite of being what some might consider to be a rookie on the team, Horn shocked teammates and spectators by scoring a total of 39 goals throughout the season.

But this hockey player’s work is never done. Even after the varsity season there’s a never-ending schedule of training and preparation. “There’s the BSM season and then after the season I train for Selects,” said Horn.

Over the past summer he was selected to play on the USA Under 17 team in a tournament in Germany. To be picked for Selects there’s an extremely difficult tryout process through which Horn was selected for this past year. “They invite you to try out and if they like you, you go to a National Camp in New York and, depending on how you play, scouts pick 20 kids to play on the USA team on Germany which plays during the summer,” said Horn.

Placing third in the extremely competitive tournament bursting with highly-skilled athletes, Horn racked up 4 goals and 3 assists in the 5 games their team played.

Excessive summer training and the USA team experience paid off again when Horn was selected for yet another team this fall. “I played in the Elite League, which was a good experience,” said Horn.

The Elite League is a highly competitive program that made up of about seven selected teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. The best players throughout the region are put onto teams depending on where they go to school and play during the fall.

During the spring and summer, in addition to training for hockey, Horn also plays on both BSM’s varsity lacrosse team and elite travel teams. “[I play for] Minnesota/ Northstar Elite, where we travel around the country and play tournaments.” said Horn.

National Recognition

Although he doesn’t want to boast, on top of being well known in the BSM community, Horn’s success has drawn the attention of those outside the BSM community as well. “I get free stuff from companies sometimes to promote their equipment,” said Horn. “They know I’m right-handed.”

Horn’s friends are proud of his success. “He’s basically good at everything he does,” said Horns’ friend Dom Burg.

Goals

Hectic as all of this may sound, Horn keeps focused on his goal: playing collegiate hockey. Not having a solid idea of where he would like to end up playing, Horn is keeping his options open. “I’d like to go to the U of M or Wisconsin or somewhere out east like BU [Boston University], BC [Boston College], or Miami of Ohio.” said Horn.

Beyond collegiate hockey, Horn hopes one day to play professionally. “Every kid wants to play in the NHL,” said Horn. Even though he doesn’t have a specific team in mind, Horn does have certain professional players that he looks up to. “Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin from the Washington Capitals, who is great at scoring goals,” said Horn.

Horn also looks up to players from BSM. “Patrick Daly because he is an all-around all-star player and Josh Winter, who keeps me grounded,” said Horn.

Regular Kid

At times the urge to relax sets in, and Horn unwinds like any other kid his age, “If you’re on the ice for three weeks straight, you just kind of need a break,” said Horn. “I hang out with my buddies and not really worry about anything.”

When Horn looks back on his hockey career, he has nothing but positive things to say. “It’s impacted me in a good way, and I’m thankful for my success,” said Horn.

Realizing that hockey is a huge commitment, Horn doesn’t let that stop him in any way. “It does take a lot of time out of your life which kind of sucks, but when you look at it in the long run it’s all worth it,” said Horn.