Brandon Koch, a 3.75 star prospect, recently committed to Air Force, where his brother Matt is currently a junior on the team. Brandon Koch, who earned an A- grade at the NAHL Showcase, has good vision and mobility with a lot of upside. The Hastings, Minn., native played for Shattuck St. Mary’s and joined the Coulee Region Chill after graduating.
Neutral Zone chatted with Koch about his youth hockey experience in Minnesota, his time in the NAHL and why he committed to Air Force:
NZ: How and when did you start playing hockey?
BK: I first put on skates when I was two years old. I had a pond in my backyard and my brother, he’s four years older than me, was into hockey so I started playing because of him and put skates on and enjoyed it and it took off from there.
NZ: What’s your earliest memory of playing hockey?
BK: Probably my second year of squirts, I remember our team was 28-5 so we were pretty good, winning games and having a lot of fun. That’s I would say is my first memory.
NZ: What was your youth hockey experience like growing up in Minnesota?
BK: It was fun. I had some good friends that I enjoyed playing hockey with. I did our normal travel league and then there were some buddies I had around my house and we always spent three, four, five hours out on my pond in the backyard on the weekends.
NZ: How did you end up in the NAHL?
BK: I played last year at Shattuck and coach Egan ended up showing up to one of our practices and offered me a tender. I ended up discussing it with my parents and I thought it was a good option for me so a couple weeks later I signed that tender and went to the tryout, ended up making the team and just went from there.
NZ: What were the developmental benefits for you playing at Shattuck St. Mary’s?
BK: My first year I was fortunate enough to have coach Tom Ward who’s now the assistant coach at Buffalo in the NHL which was huge for me. He wasn’t the coach that took it easy on players but I knew he did it out of the love for each kid because he wanted the best for each person and I’d say that was one of my turning points in my career was having him as coach.
NZ: What other schools reached out to you and where did you go on visits?
BK: Air Force was the only school that I had talked to and that reached out to me and the only place I visited.
NZ: What made you decide on Air Force?
BK: Their hockey program has gotten better year after year, they’re currently in the top 20 and the school side of it was a huge part of my decision too. They’re really good academically and the financial part of it is great too.
NZ: What’s the best experience you’ve had in hockey?
BK: I’d say my best experience was probably last year with my team. We had a great group of guys my senior year at Shattuck and they helped me go to the rink every day and enjoy every minute of it.
NZ: What would you say your best on-ice skill is?
BK: I have really good vision, I’m able to make a pass that no one could see coming.
NZ: What area of your game are you trying to improve the most?
BK: Trying to be a little more physical in the defensive zone.
NZ: Your brother is at Air Force right now, so how much of a factor did that play into your decision to commit?
BK: I don’t know if it was much of a factor other than he was a great resource to ask questions and get his input, but at this point, I don’t think I’m going to be going in next year. So I don’t know if, more than likely I wouldn’t be able to play with him so I couldn’t base my decision off of him other than getting his input about how he likes it and that kind of stuff.
NZ: What’s the toughest challenge you’ve faced in hockey?
BK: The toughest challenge is probably going into my sophomore year, that summer I broke my wrist and I was out for three months, couldn’t do anything so I think that was a huge setback for me that I had to overcome through pushing myself the next few years.
Photo Credit: Hickling Images
