Kaeden Edstrom spent his last season of junior hockey in 2024-25 with the USPHL’s Rogue Valley Royals and was hoping his strong play in Southern Oregon would lead to a college opportunity.

Earlier this summer, the Fairplay native saw his hard work pay off with a commitment to NCAA Division III St. Scholastica in Minnesota.

“The opportunity to commit with St. Scholastica arose from a connection that my head coach with the Rogue Valley Royals, Bobby Ruddle, had with a previous teammate from his playing days,” said Edstrom. “Colin Bailey, the assistant coach at St. Scholastica, played with Bobby in Florida, where they were defensive partners. As Coach Bailey was looking for a final piece on the team, Bobby reached out to him and they discussed my ability to contribute. Rather quickly, Coach Bailey messaged me and we had two conversations before I made my commitment to the team.”

Edstromn is stoked to be heading to Minnesota for his college career, both on and off the ice.

“St. Scholastica is a storied program with great history,” said Edstrom. “Academically, it appealed to me that they offer sports physiology as a major, which easily leads to a career in training athletes. My aspiration is to play professional hockey, but hockey ends for everyone one day, so to get a degree simultaneously is very important. Athletically, the Saints ranked 23rd in the country last season and have had a very successful track history of moving players on to the next level. Because of my hockey goals, I not only needed a team that believed in me to do that, but also a place that could objectively facilitate that desire to be real.

“School has always been a priority for me because as I said before, hockey ends one day regardless of levels played. I was influenced greatly in this area by my eldest sister Brittanie who studied at Oxford University for a short time. So I knew having an education to back my athletic ability was crucial.”

Edstrom started playing hockey when he was just three years old, “with convincing influence from my family.”

“There isn’t a rink in Fairplay, so my family drove me to Breckenridge almost every day so that I could get on the ice and pursue the game I love so much,” explained Edstrom. “My dad, brother and second sister all played hockey, so it ran deep in my roots. My dad only played in high school before pursuing Division I football. My brother, however, was a goalie and played juniors, college and got some pro experience in the ECHL, although not playing games. My second sister Terah stayed a player, playing for two schools at the NCAA D-III level. So looking back at it, it’s easy to see that my family played a massive role in me pursuing hockey.”

During his youth hockey days, Edstrom played for the Summit Lightning and the Colorado Springs Tigers.

“Both organizations played massive roles in my development, from getting me started to giving me exposure at a higher level,” said Edstrom. “There were a few coaches that stood out to me, like Chris Miller in particular. Coach Chris was my head coach in Bantams and taught me so much about accountability and responsibility as a man, more than just an athlete. Another great coach, despite not being a team coach, has been Evan Cowley. I met Evan in 2016 at the Global Goaltending Retreat in Breckenridge. While he is still playing professionally, his guidance has been pivotal in developing my game.

“I will say, although he never coached a team of mine, Justin Goldman, founder of the Goalie Guild, has played the biggest role in my career, whether it be through tutelage himself or connecting me with others who could help my journey. There are many coaches outside of Colorado that played big roles as well, like Nick Johnson, Brian Gratz, Maria Mountain, and Chuck Thuss.”

Moving forward, Edstrom is ready to jump back into school and take his game between the pipes to a new level with the Saints.

“My goals short term are to win every day, raising the level of accountability and integrity I live with,” Edstrom said. “Additionally, to have a great freshman year, succeeding in my classes and to go to school and help my team succeed in whatever facet that may be as a freshman. Long term, I aspire to start and succeed at the D-III level before moving on to play professional hockey after school for as long as I can.

“Following hockey, I want to continue helping others reach their goals on and off the ice, through training younger players.”

Photo/Duke Jones

— Matt Mackinder

(August 30, 2025)