DICKINSON — When Sierra Raatz glided off the ice after her senior day in 2023, she thought her competitive hockey career was over.
After four seasons with the Dickinson girls’ varsity team, Raatz assumed her that was it.
The program rarely sent players to the next level, but a conversation with her brother a few weeks later made her realize the game didn’t have to end there.
“I think that’s my biggest thing, like my impact, that I want people to realize that you can make it through senior year, and if you love the game, why stop?,” Raatz said. “There’s days that it is hard, because it’s a higher level. It’s a level that not a lot of people go to, but the days that I struggle with it, I think back to all the kids I’ve coached, realizing that they’re able to see someone’s playing still and [see that] it doesn’t end after high school.”
Raatz now plays for Adrian College in the ACHA after beginning her college career at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake.
Coaching has always been part of her life. Her father, Don, has been a staple in the Dickinson youth hockey program since the early 1980s, helping develop generations of local players.
Whether it was at the West River Ice Center or in their own backyard, Raatz was rarely far from the game.
Before eventually building a permanent rink, the family put together a makeshift setup in their yard.
“I remember being a little kid, and my dad would take a two-by-12 and put it up as a border, then throw down some tarp and put some water in it. And my mom, my dad and my brother and I would just go out there and skate around, nothing big at the time, it was just for fun.”
The Raatz family outdoor rink
Contributed / Don Raatz
That makeshift rink eventually became something much bigger when Dickinson Parks and Recreation was tearing down an outdoor rink near the Big Sticks baseball field.
When the Dickinson Hockey Club asked for help dismantling it, Don borrowed a dump truck and trailer and hauled the spare boards back to the family’s home.
“I remember one day I was so confused, because he was showing up with this trailer full, and I was like, ‘That’s from the rink, what are you doing?’” Raatz said.
The backyard rink became a staple at the Raatz home for years and was only taken down last year as the kids gradually moved out.
“[I loved] just having people come over or just going out there by myself and skating around,” Raatz said. “Stepping on the ice of a rink is awesome, but there’s something about stepping on the outdoor rink that just sounds 20 times better.”
Raatz finished her career at Dickinson and played two seasons at Lake Region State, totaling nearly 40 points, before transferring to Adrian College in Michigan.
Just like many in the community, Raatz is optimistic about the future of Dickinson hockey.
Having coached mites and minis, she has watched participation steadily grow — something she hopes will eventually strengthen the girls’ programs.
“If you could get a JV team, like how the guys have it, I think the more we can get the women’s program and the girls program to grow, that’ll be for the better,” Raatz said.
Raatz, who is in the middle of her third season of college hockey, has become a modern-day example of hockey’s growth in Dickinson.
“Knowing that you can keep playing after high school is a huge thing, and not a lot of athletes in any sport get to do it, let alone being from North Dakota,” Raatz said. “So any way that you can get into playing at the college level, go for it.”
Carter is a sports reporter for the Dickinson Press. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2025 with a journalism degree.