The Colorado Buffs men’s Division I hockey team is 5-4-1 through its first 10 games.
The black and gold lost key players from last year, including their top two point scorers Max Pasiennik and Adam Trunko. Despite losing two of their leaders, many talented Buffs returned to the team. The Buffaloes have the second most points in the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL), mainly due to playing two more games than any other team.
The Buffs have a bright future rooted in a strong sophomore class, led by forward Brodie Pearson. Pearson finished his first season with the Buffs a top four contributor in points, averaging 0.89 points per game with 25 total points.
Senior Drew McConaughy joins three other Buffs playing in their fourth year at Colorado. McConaughy has been the only consistent producer in his class, scoring over 60 points dating back to the start of his sophomore campaign.
Another returner, Rapolas Marcinkevicius, scored 13 goals for Colorado in 2023-2024, which was second most on the team, trailing only Pasiennik’s 15. Marcinkevicius is entering his third year for the Buffs and currently leads the team in assists (nine) and total points (11) through 10 games.
Now in his second season, Pearson looks to take on a bigger role for the Buffs.
The sophomore’s journey to becoming a hockey player started 165 miles northwest of Boulder, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Pearson was born in Vail but moved to Steamboat Springs shortly after. He started skating at two years old and has been perfecting his craft ever since.
Hockey has been prominent in the Pearson family for a long time.
“My dad grew up playing in Edmonton, he played AAA,’” Pearson said. “And my Uncle played in Prince Albert.”
Pearson’s hockey career took off when his family moved to Kelowna, Canada after his freshman year of high school.
The sophomore joined the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) and was changed for the better. The CSSHL is a specialty school district designed to help talented student-athletes become the best they can be. In three years, Pearson benefited tremendously from the training regimen and values in the CSSHL.
“Once I got there, I wish I’d been doing it forever," Pearson said. “They do a really great job at what they’re trying to do.”
Pearson dominated his first two years in the league, being the fourth-highest point scorer in both years. That changed when he moved up to the Kelowna U18 team in his third and final year in the CSSHL. That U18 team consisted of multiple NHL players, including the 6th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Tij Iginla, and the projected top overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna.
For the first time in his career, Pearson was not one of the best players on his team, forcing him to take a smaller role. Pearson was not flustered and instead took it as an opportunity to learn from his teammates and work on different aspects of his game.
“They’d (Iginla and McKenna) bring it every day in practice," Pearson said. “I definitely changed … and learned a lot about penalty killing that year.”
Practicing and playing alongside transcendent players pushed Pearson to become the best hockey player possible. Changing his study habits and mindset helped improve his game.
“I started to watch a few players that play more of those second line, third line,” Pearson recalled. “And I just tried to add where I could in the game, because I know those are going to score.”
Pearson was a leader during his first years in Canada and now has the opportunity to become a leader for this Colorado squad.
The experience and connections that Pearson has gained throughout his journey can help him step into a leadership role for the Buffs.
Pearson, a sophomore, along with McConaughy, a fourth-year, and Marcinkevicius, a third-year, now look to bring the best out of their respective classes to help Colorado win the WCHL for the first time in over five years.
The black and gold have the weekend off before hosting Division 2 program Metropolitan State University of Denver on Oct. 18. The game will be broadcast on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel.
Cover photo by Tyler Philips/Sko Buffs Sports
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