Staff file photo / Brian Yauger Kade Stengrim rounds the back of the net during a contest against Cedar Rapids in November.

This past summer was a new experience for Phantoms forward Kade Stengrim.

For the first time, Stengrim was locked in on hockey.

After years of also playing baseball and football, notching an 800-yard, eight-touchdown season on his high school football team, Stengrim opted to pursue hockey instead.

The fourth-round (60th overall) Phase II Draft selection, went to camp with the Phantoms and made the team. While planning on returning home if he didn’t make the club, the 6-foot-4 forward was more than happy to stick to ‘Plan A’.

Stengrim has seen his role grow quickly since making the team, and he is becoming a staple member of the team’s forward group.

“I think the thing with young players, and specifically Kade, is they kind of show you when they’re ready,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said after Stengrim’s first goal in October. “I think, and a credit to him, his attitude and work ethic and willingness to get better, and just the way he comes in the rink every day with a huge smile on his face, it’s pretty special. I think the last couple weeks, the kid kind of showed us through the way he practices and his understanding of what we’re trying to do, that he’s ready to take on a bigger role. So we’re gonna move him through that curriculum. I think it was great to see him, and obviously he’s all smiles. He’s a pleasure to have around. So we’re excited for the kid.”

Part of Stengrim’s summer was spent representing Team USA during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup alongside fellow Phantom Carter Murphy.

While not registering a point in those five games, the St. Cloud State commit still racked up some valuable experience.

“It was awesome. It was a lot of fun,” Stengrim said. “The group of guys there were awesome dudes. My role was kind of limited, but I thought I played my role well, for sure. Just kind of being around those high level guys, whether there’s a couple guys that play major Junior in the CHL, but almost all of them play here in the USHL, so playing against those guys was fun, and playing with them wearing the USA jersey was pretty special.”

Through 13 games with the Phantoms, Stengrim has registered 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists). With veteran talent there to rely on to show him the ropes, Stengrim also credits the attitude that’s gotten him this far.

“For me personally, just come to the rink with a smile on my face every day and just (treat every day as) an opportunity to get better and be with my buddies and kind of hang out, but also working our tails off,” Stengrim said. “I think having older guys there that have been through it definitely helps, especially coming to the league at a younger age. It helps, for sure, but I think for me personally, it’s just the mindset of coming to the rink and getting better every day.”

As he looks to grow his game, Stengrim honed in on physicality as something he wanted to embrace more. At 6 feet 4 inches, the forward has plenty of size to use. Now it’s just putting that size into action.

“I think it’s more of a mentality thing,” Stengrim said. “I don’t even know how to put it, just being hard to play against and doing things that I guess doesn’t make you easy to play against. Whether that’s backchecking or forcing turnovers, or being hard on the forecheck, just don’t make things easy for the other team to (play). Whether it’s getting (the puck) out of their own zone, just kind of being hard to play against and playing with an edge.”

That will become even more important as the Phantoms make a push toward the Clark Cup. While they share a goal, the team knows they’ve got a long way to go before they get there.

“We’re all really close,” Stengrim said. “We all have the same goals in mind for the end of the year for sure. Just kind of stick together, know that everything comes a day at a time, be patient, be where our feet are, for sure, but we know that at the end of the year, this spring, come playoffs, we’ve got to be playing our best hockey. We’re all really excited, and we just need to be playing our best hockey at the end of the year.”