Most promising hockey players who are born and bred in Minnesota set their youthful sights on attending the University of Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State or several other NCAA schools in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Edina native Casey Dornbach looked east instead — all the way to Massachusetts.
“I always dreamed of attending Harvard,” said the freshman forward for the Crimson. “You have the rich tradition of the program combined with the academics, and I’m fortunate I got the opportunity.”
Growing up in hockey-mad Minnesota got the 5-foot-11, 181-pound Dornbach indoctrinated into the game when he was just 2 years old, thanks to his father, Greg, a Miami (Ohio) letterman in the 1980s and a former Hartford Whalers draft choice.
“Ever since I can remember, my dad was bringing me out there to skate at the outdoor rinks,” recalled Dornbach. “I played with Edina my entire youth career, and in summers with the Minnesota Blades, where I was lucky to have really good teammates.”
Those teammates included University of Minnesota forward Rem Pitlick, St. Cloud forward Jack Ahcan and Vancouver Canucks sharpshooter Brock Boeser.
Dornbach put up six goals and 19 assists for 25 points through the Crimson’s first 25 games this season and had a hand in 14 power-play goals. He got going in his first game with Harvard, notching his first career point on an assist in a 7-6 overtime loss at Ivy League rival Dartmouth just before Halloween.
“I think he’s a guy who’s a playmaker, definitely,” said Harvard head coach Ted Donato (Dedham, Mass.), himself a former Crimson forward. “He can mix in both and score goals. He’s slotted on the power play, distributing the puck around, and he’s made some big plays for us.”
Dornbach ranked second on the squad in both assists and points as February came to a close, and he was the team’s top scoring forward, all while adjusting to a higher level of play in college.
“It’s a little combination of everything — speed, size and skill,” he admitted. “The intensity and physicality of the ECAC was a jump. The USHL was a great league, and it helped me out a lot and shortened the transition. Getting comfortable took time, and the coaches and everyone involved have made it a lot easier. It’s a great opportunity.”
Dornbach starred at Edina High School from 2013 to 2016, captaining the Hornets in his second full season while notching 32 assists and 59 points in 73 career outings overall. He also got to participate in the annual Minnesota State Boys’ High School Hockey Tournament that draws skaters and spectators from all over the state, often filling the nearly 18,000 seats of the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “I’d grown up watching it and being a fan, and to get an opportunity to make it is tough to do.
“It’s a pretty big deal back home,” he continued of the state championship event. “I was fortunate to win it my sophomore year, and it was an unbelievable experience and something I’ll never forget.”
Edina High itself has produced the likes of former NHL player Paul Ranheim, former Boston University forward Kieffer Bellows and current New York Islanders captain Anders Lee.
Dornbach also played two years and put up 36 points with Team Southwest in Upper Midwest High School Elite League Hockey, a circuit that developed Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittlestadt, Quinnipiac University sniper Odeen Tufto and 2018 NCAA champion Nick Swaney with Minnesota-Duluth.
After high school, Dornbach spent two winters with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, whom he led in scoring with 56 points his second season, good enough for eighth place on the league scoring scroll. In all he recorded 48 assists and 80 points for the Junior A Stars in 117 appearances, before finally heading off to Harvard.
“I think the two years in Lincoln really helped me transition,” he admitted. “It was a little break from school, and you come in with a fresh start.
“Those two years were key in my development, to come in and play (at Harvard),” he added. “You learn to live on your own in juniors, and to handle some of the things that come at you after high school and make your transition smoother.”
Dornbach, 21, has spent the 2018-19 season manning the starboard side on a line with freshman center Jack Drury and sophomore left wing Henry Bowlby, the latter a former teammate with both Edina and Lincoln.
“It’s been good,” said Dornbach. “Bowlby followed the same path I did — three years of high school, two years with Lincoln. He’s a year older, grade-wise, but we’re both 1997s (birthdates).”
Also on the Crimson roster this season is sophomore blueliner Benjamin Foley, another Edina alumnus, plus freshman goaltender Derek Schaedig, an additional Lincoln product.
“Schaedig and I played together last year” said Dornbach. “Bowlby and Foley were juniors when I was a sophomore at Edina and we won a state tournament. It’s good to have those guys around.”
Also facilitating Dornbach’s development in his inaugural NCAA season has been skating on the Crimson’s top line with Drury and Bowlby, a unit that was averaging better than two points per game together through Feb. 18.
“My linemates make it easy,” said Dornbach. “They’re unbelievably skilled, and they make it easy to have success. It’s a lot of fun playing with high-caliber guys like that.”
“It’s a good line,” added Donato. “Casey and Bowlby have some history together, all the way back to Edina High. There’s some chemistry there, and Drury complements them very well. They’re very young, but they’re guys we’ve put in situations to make a big impact, and they’ve certainly taken advantage of that.”
The Crimson were 14-8-3 overall and ranked in the national top 20, and stood fifth in ECAC Hockey with a 10-6-2 mark with just two regular-season weekends remaining in league play.
“I think we have to take it one game at a time,” said Dornbach. “There’s been some pretty cool moments, but there’s a long way to go.”
He cited a 4-1 victory over Ivy League adversary Cornell at Madison Square Garden in November as one of the highlights so far of his rookie collegiate campaign, one of a trio of three-point outings he has recorded so far this season.
“Having some individual success is great, too,” said Dornbach. “Winning against Cornell at MSG was definitely a special moment.”
“Casey has been an impact player for us,” Harvard junior defenseman Adam Fox told The Crimson in late November after Dornbach posted three assists in a 6-1 home win over Colgate. “There were some guys in his class that had a little more hype, but he’s a pretty smart player, and obviously (has) a lot of skill.”
In November alone, Dornbach led all NCAA Division 1 freshmen with 14 points and posted five multiple-point outings en route to earning ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month accolades. He scored an overtime game-winner against visiting Rensselaer in January, and in February, the Minnesota transplant received his first-ever exposure to a uniquely New England event — the one and only Beanpot tournament.
“It was a really cool experience,” stated Dornbach of his first two career games at TD Garden.
The Crimson finished third after falling to Boston College in OT the first week, before besting Boston University in the consolation contest. “I didn’t know as much of what to expect as our Boston guys did,” elaborated Dornbach. “We got a taste of it but didn’t get to play for a championship, which gives us motivation for next year.”
There are still championships for Harvard to compete for this spring, both at the league and national levels, as the Crimson seeks to earn both its second ECAC Hockey title and NCAA tournament berth in three seasons.
“We have to keep buying in to our system,” said Dornbach. “We have a pretty close group, and we believe in each other. We can make a run, but we have to take it one day at a time, and never settle and get better.
“We’ve learned from our losses, and we’ve also beaten some highly ranked teams,” he continued. “It’ll come down to how bad we want it, sticking to Coach Donato’s system, and going from there.”
Dornbach hopes to translate his skill and experience into a professional playing opportunity one day, but as a freshman he realizes that’s not in his immediate future.
“That’s a long way to go, and I need to keep getting better,” he pointed out. “It’s all about performance, and I’ll see what happens down the road. My mindset is on winning a national title, and going as far as we can. Team success is more important, and it helps you individually.
“My dream is to play in the NHL, and I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” he added. “Right now, it’s not really my focus.”
Dornbach has been settling in nicely in Cambridge, although like other Harvard hockey players before him, he’s learned that the Ivy League truly embraces the complete concept of a student-athlete. “It’s a pretty special place,” he said. “They don’t give athletes any leeway, and you’re expected to do your schoolwork. You’re forced to develop applicable skills and be disciplined.”
That includes making the most of your time on the ice, as well as off it.
“There’s not a lot of free time,” said Dornbach. “You go to the rink with the right mindset, and do your work. It’s tough to do (it all), but we embrace it. I knew what I was getting into, coming to Harvard, and you have work to do.”
He reiterated there were no shortcuts, in hockey or school, as players learned important life skills for after college. It also wasn’t day-to-day drudgery. “You have to have fun doing it,” said Dornbach, “and it’s cool to be in the city of Boston.”
The sky appears to be the proverbial limit for the playmaking winger from Minnesota. “I think he’s got a ton of upside to grow,” said Donato. “He’s made a lot of plays for us in key moments, and any time you jump up a level, there’s a little bit of an adaptation. In college, after your freshman year, you regroup and see what you need to improve on and be better, and the future is bright for Casey.”
