Not many college hockey players get the chance to play for their dream school. But for a select group of kids that one day find themselves at the school of their dreams, they carry an extra sense of pride every time that they step on the ice.
For the Badgers, Tim Davison, Jake Bunz, Jarod Zirbel, Jake Linhart and Jason Ford all dreamed about playing for Wisconsin since they were little kids. All five current Badgers grew up in Wisconsin, and their careers have been dedicated to finding their way to UW.
“For any kid growing up in Wisconsin to be able to come here and put the red and white sweater on, it’s pretty surreal,” Zirbel said. “It’s something a lot of kids dream about and for me, it’s a dream come true.”
Like Zirbel, the rest of the in-state Badgers have dreamed of playing at UW their whole lives. Not all, however, knew that they would ever get that chance.
“It’s something I wanted to do, but it’s not something that I knew that I was going to be able to do or how far I was going to make it,” Ford said. “So it was definitely a goal that I worked towards, and when it came true it was something special.”
For others, there was never any question about whether or not they would wind up at Wisconsin.
“I was always like, ‘I’m going to be a Badger no matter what,’” Bunz said. “In juniors I started getting recruited by other schools and I always entertained the thought of going somewhere else and I went on a few visits, but in the back of my mind I was like, ‘This wouldn’t be the best thing ever for me.’ I wanted to go to Wisconsin no matter what.”
“When you step on the ice and hear the band playing, that’s something that always stood out to me when I was a kid, and I just thought that was the coolest thing,” Linhart added. “I was actually at the national championship game in 2006 at the Bradley Center, and ever since then I just wanted to come here.”
Still, all five in-state Badgers, regardless of their expectations, agreed that playing youth hockey in Wisconsin and being in-state kids helped prepare them for playing collegiate hockey at the Division I level for the UW.
“I think that there are a lot of good opportunities out there for Wisconsin players to go anywhere within the state and play good quality hockey and get themselves prepared for juniors or beyond,” Bunz said.
Since making the jump from youth hockey in Wisconsin to playing for the university, the five have made sure not to take any moment for granted living out their childhood dream of wearing the Cardinal and White.
“I remember growing up and coming here to watch games and my dad saying, ‘Oh, maybe you will make it here someday,’ and as a kid you are like, ‘Oh, wow, that would be awesome,’” Zirbel said. “And then you finally make it here, you are kind of reminiscent of those days when you remember watching all those guys that played here before you and won games and national championships and then you get to come here and try to do the same thing. It’s pretty awesome.”
The rest of the in-state Badgers felt a similar pride in playing for such a storied program. Dozens of NHL stars have stepped out on the ice at the Kohl Center, and they proudly wear the Badger name as a badge of honor.
“I mean, honestly, every day I’m living a dream. It may be cliche, but growing up in Green Bay, I grew up a Badger fan and every day is just surreal and I try not to take it for granted,” Davison said. “To be a Badger is something special, and then especially to be an in-state kid to be a Badger to get that opportunity, a lot of kids would kill to be in my skates, so I try not to take it for granted, and I try to get better every day and just take full advantage of my opportunity.”
