ST. CLOUD — Growing up in Lindstrom, Minnesota, Blake Lizotte dreamed of playing in the NHL. Most hockey players have players that they look up to. For Lizotte, that player was Sidney Crosby.
Lizotte has spent the last five-plus seasons as a center for the Los Angeles Kings. But on July 1, Lizotte signed a two-year free agent contract with an annual salary of $1.85 million to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
So Lizotte is on the brink of playing with a player that he idolized.
“I’m pretty fired up about playing in Pittsburgh and playing with some pretty special, all-time players there,” he said Tuesday. “As a kid growing up, (Sidney) Crosby was a guy in his prime and he was always that one player that I looked up to and idolized and even tried to play the most like. To play with him now is something that I’ll cherish forever.”
Los Angeles Kings forward Blake Lizotte (46) and forward Carl Grundstrom (91) and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (7) celebrate after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the third period on Sept. 25, 2022, at SAP Center at San Jose.
Robert Edwards/USA TODAY Sports
Lizotte, 26, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kings after his sophomore season at St. Cloud State. In 320 career NHL games, Lizotte has 37 goals, 106 points, 154 penalty minutes, won 50.4% of his faceoffs and is a plus-34. When the Kings decided not to re-sign him, Lizotte was not overly surprised.
“My contract being up and having the (salary) cap space that the Kings had at the time, it would have been tough for them to have me there,” he said. “The writing was a little bit on the wall. Then again, you never know. Any moment, they could trade six guys and there would be cap space. You could tell that this was a higher chance of happening, but you never know until it happens.”
Anytime you spend that much time in one spot, there are some strong feelings and relationships that get established. But Lizotte is not bitter about leaving the Kings.
“The organization is great and I can’t say a bad word about them. They’re first class,” he said. “My teammates there … I made some lifelong friends. That part of leaving is always going to be tough. The reality of this business is that you get traded on a moment’s notice. In your head, you’re always thinking, ‘when is that day going to come?’ When it does come, it’s sad, for sure. But you keep in touch with the people in L.A. and your world kind of grows into Pittsburgh.”
While Lizotte played five seasons with the Kings, he did not make Los Angeles his home. He and his wife own a home in Chisago County and he spends his summers in Minnesota.
“I didn’t spend one summer in L.A.,” he said. “I wanted to get back as soon as I could to the slower pace of life and my wife and I have a house on a lake, so we spend a lot of time on the water. It’s a refresher when we get back here.”
Forward Blake Lizotte (27) of the St. Cloud State Huskies controls the puck against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs during the Friday, Jan. 11, 2018, game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minn.
Clint Austin / The Rink Live
This week, Lizotte has been back at St. Cloud State, working out with about a dozen former Huskies during the team’s pro camp. Lizotte played for the Huskies from 2017-19. His sophomore season, he had 14 goals, 42 points, 28 penalty minutes and was a plus-28 in 37 games. He was named to the All-NCHC First Team and a second team All-American after helping the Huskies to back-to-back NCHC regular-season championships.
On the surface, it may seem like jumping to pro hockey would be an easy decision for a player. That is what they work for their whole lives. While Lizotte was being courted by several NHL teams after his sophomore season, the final decision to leave SCSU was not easy.
“I loved it here. That was heartbreaking to leave,” he said. “Making that decision was probably the most difficult decision of my life. Everything about this place, I just love and cherish those times and I wish I could play six years here. But the timing for me was after two (years).
“I’m thankful to God that I ended up here and blessed enough to spend two years here and now being able to play pro. Now, I have lifelong friends from here after two years here. You really build a bond quickly here and this place always has a special place in my heart.”
Being back for the pro camp, he got a chance to work out with the current Huskies and catch up with former SCSU teammates, including Ryan Poehling, Clark Kuster, Spencer Meier, Micah Miller and Jimmy Schuldt.
“It’s a lot of fun, especially seeing old teammates, training together and hanging out and catching up on life — that’s always the best part,” he said. “To see the new recruits here at St. Cloud is fun. It’s fun to get to know them and show them the ropes and tell them stories about pro hockey and stories about St. Cloud when we were here. The camaraderie is a lot of fun.”
Los Angeles Kings center Blake Lizotte (46) and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler (4) skate for the puck during the first period on Dec. 20, 2022, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Kiyoshi Mio/USA TODAY Sports
Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for stcloudlive.com. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 for The Rink Live and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. Besides covering Huskies hockey, he is also covering other sports at SCSU and high school sports. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mick@stcloudlive.com
For more coverage of St. Cloud and the surrounding communities, check out St. Cloud Live.