Barrett Blackwood had a hockey stick in his hands when he was just a wee lad. His father had played for the University of Minnesota in his younger days, and had hoped that his son would take to it just as he had. He couldn't have been more correct about that. Barrett was a natural with a stick from day one. It was after lacing up the skates when Barrett started to struggle. The young man wasn't graced with a lot of balance, and so he had to work incredibly hard to translate his natural hand and eye coordination onto the ice. He didn't need any motivation from his father, no matter how much he struggled. Barrett loved the speed, grace, and power of the game of hockey and he wanted to make his father proud. That was always in the back of his head, even on the day he promised his dad that he would play for the Golden Gophers one day. Barrett could think of no greater honor to his father than to play for the same team he had, and not just play there, but to one day be a star. This was the path that he set out on to accomplish as a young man.