SARTELL — Spencer Meier’s pro hockey career lasted one season. He played 32 games for the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays in 2023-24.
The only negative was that his body finally gave out.
“It was a great spot,” Meier said of North Charleston. “I was able to live out a childhood dream of playing professional hockey, which was awesome.
“It came down to, I was dealing with really bad sciatica my senior year of college. Doctors wanted me to get surgery, but I wanted to live out my childhood dream of playing professionally. If I had gotten surgery, who knows if someone would have taken the chance to sign me. I continued and did a bunch of rehab. I tried to get it to the point where it was playable for a year. It was. Was it awesome? No.”
So the 26-year-old hockey retiree moved home to Sartell. Through a family friend, Alex Huisken, Meier got a job as a recruiter for
which is based in Sioux Falls, S.D. Even better, Meier was able to work from home.
“If they needed someone for their management or marketing, I would do the interview process for them,” he said. “I liked it. It was just kind of a starting point for me after playing. You rely on your network and your resources. My friend had an opening. I always knew I wanted to get into coaching. I had to get a job to pay the bills for a bit until I created
Spencer Meier watches a youth hockey player doing a drill at Scheels Athletic Complex in Sartell.
Contributed / Spencer Meier
“It was time to move forward with what I love and what I do. I want to take the next step in my coaching journey.”
At the end of October, Meier decided to end his time with GPAC and devote himself full time to being a youth hockey instructor. When Name Image Likeness (NIL) came into play for college athletes in 2022, Meier started the Spencer Meier Hockey Camp, a day camp in August for youth ages 5-12.
Meier also has been an instructor for the Central Minnesota Development Program camp, which is for youth ages 5-15 in June and July.
320 Hockey is now Meier’s full-time job. He is running power skating camps for players ages 5-15 from June 1-July 30.
“Talking with people around the community — I’m a humble guy — but I just realized that this is what I’m good at,” he said. “I’m good at coaching. I’m good with kids. I love doing it.”
Meier, who’s 6-foot-4 and 207 pounds, had a lot of success as a player. He graduated from
in 2017 after being a four-year letter-winner for the Sabres. He played one game that spring for the NAHL’s Minot Minotauros. Then in 2017-18, he played for the Fargo Force and helped them win the Clark Cup as the USHL’s playoff champion.
He had been recruited to play for
by head
and his staff. But Motzko left after the 2017-18 season to become the head coach at the University of Minnesota. Meier kept his commitment and played five seasons for the Huskies under new
Spencer Meier carries the NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff championship trophy after the St. Cloud State men’s hockey team defeated Colorado College, 3-0, on March 18, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Contributed / Spencer Meier
“We had a great team,” Meier said. “I was able to learn from guys like Jimmy Schuldt, Jon Lizotte. The Poehlings were on the team: Ryan and Nick and Jack. My class was a really great freshmen class.”
The Huskies won the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions and went 30-6-3 overall. Unfortunately, American International defeated SCSU in the first round of the NCAA regional that was held in Fargo.
“That was Lars’ first year,” Meier said. “He was awesome. We were the No. 1 seed going into the tournament and, unfortunately, win and move on and lose and be done. It can be great or it can stink. That year it stunk. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a couple bounces.”
There were no playoffs his sophomore season (2019-20), due to the pandemic. His junior season, NCHC teams played their first 10 games of the season in a bubble in Omaha. They were allowed to travel for the last 15. The NCHC Tournament was in Grand Forks, N.D., and the Huskies finished second. SCSU went on to beat Boston University, 6-2, and Boston College, 4-1, to advance to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh. The Huskies defeated Minnesota State-Mankato, 5-4, with Nolan Walker scoring the game-winner with 53.2 seconds left. Massachusetts defeated SCSU, 5-0, in the national championship game.
“It was a really good year for St. Cloud State,” Meier said of his first of three seasons as the team’s captain. “We knocked on the door there. When St. Cloud State gets there again, they can knock it over instead of just knocking on it.”
St. Cloud’s Spencer Meier skates with the puck during practice for the NCAA Regionals at Scheels Arena on Thursday, March 28, 2019. David Samson / The Forum
During his senior season, Minnesota-Duluth swept SCSU in the NCHC quarterfinals and then lost to Quinnipiac in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
During his fifth season, the Huskies defeated Colorado College in the Frozen Faceoff championship game. In the NCAA regional in Fargo, SCSU defeated Mankato before losing to Minnesota.
“Some people say that was the national championship game because that was a really good game,” Meier said. “I’m still not sure why the NCAA committee put Minnesota and Mankato in the same region (with us). That just should not have happened. We were three of the top 10 teams in the country and in the same region.”
Meier finished his career tied for fourth in SCSU history in games played (171). He had 17 goals, 45 assists and was plus-13.
“St. Cloud State is the best place on earth to play college hockey,” he said. “You talk to anyone (who played there) and they’ll tell you the same. I know there’s a lot of negative rumors floating around in the media about St. Cloud. St. Cloud is in a really good spot and is going to be a powerhouse for years to come.”
Meier is also happy that he is able to return the favor for Larson’s coaching. Larson’s son, Lane, recently completed his junior season at Sartell and Meier is an assistant coach under
“It’s pretty cool to try to give back to the people that helped you,” he said. “If I can just kind of scratch the surface of what Brett did for me with Lane, that would be awesome.”
Meier was recently asked if he would be willing to help with a hockey day in the community for an event for Scheels. Hockey Day 320 with Spencer Meier will be from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, at Scheels in St. Cloud.
“There will be giveaways, some fun prizes,” he said. “Blizzard from St. Cloud (State) will be there. There will be a lot of cool players and high school coaches there. It’ll be a resource for all the families to come and check out what’s available in the community for development and camps.
Spencer Meier explains a drill to youth hockey players during a recent camp.
Contributed / Spencer Meier
“I did a garage training video. It’s super simple, but super important for kids who don’t know what to do in the garage. I put together a quick video and we’ll give out a puck to each person who comes and the puck will have a QR code on it. Then, you can scan the QR code and it will go right to the video. It’s just simple drills and tips that kids can do in the garage.”
It is all part of what Meier is trying to do to give back to the local hockey community that means so much to him.
“This community is awesome and is so special to me,” he said. “That’s another reason why I wanted to start something. We need places for our players to grow and develop into good hockey players.
“My whole thing is ‘work hard, be a good person.’ That’s my slogan for my camp. I want kids to come into the camp, have a good time and have fun with the game. We want to teach kids life lessons that go beyond the rink and to be good people as well. I’m super excited for it. It’s going to be awesome. The response has been really good. I’m already looking for more ice because the power skating sold out quick.
“I want to keep power skating to a smaller group so I can make sure I hit every individual and they can get the coaching they need.”