“I get the Yukon Cornelius comparisons a lot. Especially around Christmas. Thormund from Game of Thrones. I stand out. I can’t hide out there.”

You’d be remiss to not notice Utica Comets defenseman Colton Saucerman on the ice. At 5’9” what he lacks in stature he makes up for with his bodacious red beard. This season Saucerman has taken hockey Twitter by storm with his loud play and even louder appearance.

“Right after college I was losing my hair so my buddy told me to shave my hair and grow out my beard. My first full season of pro is when I decided to grow my beard out. I got to camp and the boys were loving it. It’s really taken off since,” said Saucerman.

On December 12, 2018 Saucerman made a huge splash in Utica when he scored his first career AHL goal less than 48 hours after being called up on loan. Between the loud start, the beard and the personable press conference interviews, the undrafted Saucerman burst onto the scene as hockey’s everyman.

The 26 year-old Colton Saucerman grew up in Colorado Springs where his father made sure he could skate by age 3. The Saucerman family were long-time season ticket holders for Colorado College’s hockey and it was at these games where Saucerman fell in love with the sport.

“After my second year of bantam ‘man I think I can do something with this.’ I knew I for sure wanted to play college hockey. That was the goal. Growing up I watched more Colorado College than Colorado Avalanche and at that point pro hockey wasn’t really on my radar.”

After years of playing for the Colorado Thunderbirds AAA hockey program, Saucerman joined the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL in 2009. He spent three seasons in the league split between the Buccaneers, Dubuque Fighting Saints, and the Lincoln Stars. Once his USHL days drew to a close, Colton began to draw interest from some college programs.

“I was playing in Lincoln and one of the assistant coaches for Northeastern, Jerry Keefe, came up to me after a game. He told me that they thought I could be a huge asset for Northeastern. Everyone wants to feel like they’re an important part and Jerry made me feel that I was that piece that they needed on the blue line.”

Northeastern ended up being a great fit for Colton. He got ample opportunity to play important minutes, gained experience on the blue line, and showcased his talents. But almost as important as his comfortability on the ice, Saucerman was thrilled to be a part of the Massachusetts collegiate hockey scene. 

“It’s obviously not a hard sell to live in Boston. But the school was a huge draw and I was excited to play in big games like the Beanpot Tournament. At Northeastern you’re playing in big games all of the time. Because of the conference it seemed like we were playing a top 15 school every week and I wanted to play against the best.”

Saucerman ended up playing over 140 games at Northeastern, but none quite meant as much as the Beanpot Tournament games. Established in 1952, the Beanpot is an annual four team tournament in Boston where the Northeastern Huskies, Boston College Eagles, Boston University Terriers, and the Harvard Crimson duke it out. This meeting of cross-town rivals tends to bring out some of the best energy and atmosphere that the NCAA has to offer.

“Those games were the best because of the atmosphere. It meant so much for the locals and the students. The games are so big. The tournament is always circled on the calendar. In my freshman year we were struggling late into February and I was talking to an alumni and he said, ‘the season isn’t a failure if you can go and win the Bean Pot’. He didn’t even care if we necessarily made the playoffs.”

In each of his four seasons Colton had solid production and ended his time with the Huskies with 64 career points. But of all of his seasons, the team’s successful 2015-16 season stands out as a personal highlight. That team was headlined by Zach Aston-Reese, Nolan and John Stevens, and Matt Benning. That year the Huskies went on to win the Hockey East Conference Championship.

“It was my final season and we went on an awesome run. We ended up winning 23 of our last 24 games to win the East that year. It was an amazing stretch of hockey. That was just a team that refused to lose.”

After winning the Eastern Conference, the Huskies were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. Once the season was over, Saucerman ended up jumping straight into a professional hockey career.

“In my last season I was thinking about jumping on somewhere when the college season wrapped up. I was fortunate enough that after the first round of the NCAA playoffs that South Carolina was interested. I had heard nothing but great things about Charleston so it was a no-brainer.”

Colton ended up signing on with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL for the final four games of the 2015-16 regular season. In the playoffs Saucerman turned a few heads with eight points in 15 playoff games.

One thing that stood out to Colton about that South Carolina team was the veteran presence and leadership.

“It’s tough to be the oldest on a team as a senior in college then get thrown on a team and be ‘the young guy’ again. You go from being the top dog to paying your dues again.”

“That’s why it was awesome to have such an experienced team. For a development ECHL team we had a lot of veterans. I really enjoyed my time there because I was around guys that had been here before. Some guys had been there 4 or 5 years, and then you had Trevor Gillies who was an 18 year pro. I learned how to do things right and carry myself like a professional. They really helped me transition to the next stage of my career.”

Like many before him, Saucerman noticed the on-ice jump from college to the pros immediately.

“Guys are stronger and make decisions and playing at a faster pace,” Colton explains. “It’s a different style of game. College hockey is very up and down, run and gun. Professional hockey is much more system based and all about executing. The best guys in the world play a team structure and still can break out with skill. That’s why they’re in the NHL.”

Since turning pro in 2016 Saucerman has bounced around through ten organizations in the ECHL and AHL in four seasons. While this type of movement could be discouraging to some, Colton has stayed positive and taken the different opportunities in stride.

“It can make it seem like a longer year,” Colton elaborates. “You feel like you’re always travelling. Everybody’s chasing the same dream. Moving around so much though, I see it as I’m getting more chances to show that I can make an impact. I’m getting a lot of different eyeballs on me whether it’s coaches or scouts on the east coast and the west coast. I think I’ll be better for it.”

Of all of the coaches he has had along the way, Manchester Monarch’s Rich Seeley is somebody that has particularly had an impact on Saucerman’s career. With Manchester, Saucerman’s 49 points in 68 games has been one of his most productive stops. Colton attributes a lot of this performance to the way Seeley has allowed him to play his game.

“Rich was an awesome coach in Manchester. He was a young coach not too far removed from his playing career so he really connected with the guys. He gave me the opportunities and instruction to succeed and as a result I even got a few chances in the American League.”

Saucerman’s game revolves around creativity and joining the rush as an offensive defenseman. But as a smaller player, Saucerman has to has to bring more to the table in order to compete night in and night out with the physical tolls the position entails.

“If you were to ask my teammates what sets me apart, they would say my energy. I bring enthusiasm to the rink every day. I know every day won’t be my best game or performance but I still bring a consistently positive attitude. You can always control how hard you work. I don’t shy away from contact. As a smaller guy it just means I have to fight harder out there.”

Away from the ice Saucerman is a leader who puts in an honest effort to help out his teammates and also acts as a great representative for any team he plays for.  This past June he was elected by his peers to serve on the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA)  Executive Committee, a respected position that he didn’t necessarily mean to get into.

“I got into the PHPA because our Player Rep from Manchester couldn’t make it to the PHPA Annual Meeting last year and I was asked to go in his place,” Colton explained. “I had always been interested with some of the union stuff. I got down to Orlando and learned a lot from the insurance side and marketing initiatives of it to the hockey operations.“

“I was actually elected to the Executive Committee which was a pleasant surprise. I take a lot of pride in the fact that other Player Reps thought I’m deserving. I’m doing my best to represent guys the best I can.”

In November Saucerman was traded from the Monarchs to the Idaho Steelheads where he racked up a quick 8 points in 10 games. Colton attributes some of this strong showing to coach Neil Graham employing a similar trusting approach that he was used to with Seeley in Manchester.

“This year Neil was similar in Idaho with his coaching style as Rich was. A very young and energetic coach who relates with his players. He’s been nothing but positive and was very supportive after the trade. He let me play my game.”

A nice start to the season in Manchester and Idaho led to Saucerman getting promoted to the AHL’s Utica Comets where he has stuck for the moment. As the season progresses, no matter where he plays, Saucerman has made it clear that he’s going to bring it every night.

“The main thing I try and focus on every year is consistency. Every night I just want to be consistent. Points come when you play with great players but you won’t be put in those situations if you don’t bring it every night. It’s been the same in Manchester, Idaho, South Carolina. The points will come as long as you’re doing the right things.”  

While his beard has made a name for him, Saucerman is ready to show that he brings a lot to the table. He’s ready to prove that the best has yet to come.