Ice in his veins (Dustin Byfuglien story)

Here is a really nice story that I found on line about Dustin Byfuglien. It's worth a read and a nice story about a kid from Roseau that made his way through life struggles to be the NHL player he is today.

Hockey Is Life reads a banner hanging at the Memorial Arena in Dustin Byfugliens hometown of Roseau, Minn., 10 miles south of the Canadian border.

The statement isnt hyperbole for the 20-year-old Norfolk Admirals rookie, who has skated out of a difficult childhood and is on the cusp of an NHL career.

Raised by a single mother battling unpaid bills and factory work, Byfuglien (pronounced BUFF-lin) all but grew up in Memorial Arena. If the ice wasnt available or he couldnt talk his way into the play, hed sit in the stands for hours, watching alone.

The boy was not interested in school, and academic ineligibility meant he never played for the storied Roseau High Rams. Theyve won six state championships since 1946, including a 1990 title run against bigger schools that is Minnesotas hockey version of Hoosiers.

Left with all his pucks in one bucket, Byfuglien at age 17 took the only shot he had, leaving home for Canada and major junior hockey.

In Roseau, a town of about 2,800, there was skepticism about the kids future. If he couldnt be bothered to make passing grades back home, how likely was he to apply himself up North?

But Byfugliens move panned out. The Chicago Blackhawks made the 6- foot-3 defenseman an eighth-round pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft, and two years later handed him a $300,000 bonus and a three-year contract and shipped him to Scope. In 25 Admirals games, he has five goals and 10 points and is rated a plus-2 .

With a few years of toil and a second contract, Byfuglien could be financially set for life. His childhood poverty means he pinches a penny harder than most Admirals, and his simple tastes run toward outdoor recreation and time with friends. [Read the rest of the story]