Avalanche goalie is Beantown bound

April 3, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Adam Kraus is only 19 years old, but his hockey career has already taken him to some unexpected places.

Just a year after traveling farther north than he could ever fathom, Kraus is headed east to play hockey and attend one of the more prestigious universities on the country's Atlantic coast.

Late last week, the Alaska Avalanche goaltender committed to play hockey at Boston University.

&#8220Boston, it's such a historical city, going to school there is a dream,” Kraus said Monday, as he was preparing to leave Wasilla for his hometown of Irving, Texas. &#8220I know it will definitely make a lifelong impression on me. It doesn't get much better than that.”

Alaska has already made an impression on Kraus, a Texan who lived in sunny Southern California before making the daring move to the Last Frontier.

When the Avalanche began to court the 6-foot-3 netminder, his first reaction was, &#8220no way.”

&#8220Living in Alaska?,” Kraus said. &#8220I was kind of worried about it.”

Kraus skated for the L.A. Junior Kings Midget AAA squad before coming to the 49th state. Former Alaska Avalanche assistant coach Corey Millen learned about Kruas from former NHL teammate Nelson Emerson, now the general manager of the Kings.

Kraus said Millen called him the day before the North American Hockey League draft in May, and said they wanted to tender him. Kraus said he preferred not to go to Alaska and did not agree to sign with the Avs. But on draft day, the Avalanche selected him anyway.

But his opinion of making the move north quickly changed.

&#8220Once I went to tryouts, I was really looking forward to coming up here,” Kraus said. &#8220I went from sunny weather to mountains, snow and moose in my backyard.”

Kraus said the first time he saw a moose wandering through the backyard of his host family, he took pictures and immediately e-mailed a shot to his parents back home.

Although Kraus was living in a land completely foreign to him, he quickly found a home in the Avalanche net.

There Kraus became one of the busiest goaltenders in the NAHL. He finished the season fourth in the league with 1,363 saves.

He also faced 38.3 shots per game, the most of any goaltender in the 17-team league.

&#8220Personally, I feel (this season) really helped me develop,” Kraus said. &#8220Facing so many shots, it forced me to step up to the play every night. Every game I had to play well.”

Keith Morris, Kraus' coach in Alaska for the last five months said the number of shots he faced is impressive, but what he really looks at is the saves percentage.

&#8220The saves percentage is the big thing,” said Morris, a coach and scout at the college level before joining the Avs organization. &#8220Most of the season he was around 92 percent. That's outstanding.”

Kraus recorded 10 of Alaska's 16 wins in goal this season. He stopped 50 or more shots five times, 40 or more shots 10 times, and saw fewer than 30 shots in only eight of his 38 starts.

Morris said Kraus does possess several attributes that contribute to the success he's had.

Kraus is big, 6-3, and still growing. That's important considering the change of the position in the last 10 years, Morris said. Teams now generally favor the big goaltenders who cover a lot of net.

Kraus is also naturally athletic, Morris said, and has fluid movement between the pipes.

But it's also his attitude and work ethic.

&#8220The way he prepares himself for the game of hockey,” Morris said. &#8220Adam works as hard as any goaltender I've ever coached.”

Kraus considered offers from five different Division I schools. St. Cloud State, UAA and Colorado College, all of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, were all in the mix, as was Canisius, of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

But after visiting Beantown, Kraus knew Boston is where he wanted to be.

&#8220Being in a city like Boston, seeing the arena - one of the nicest arenas in the country; every year they're competing for a national championship,” Kraus, who plans to study business at BU, said. &#8220I always wanted a shot to compete for a champion.”

Kraus has been playing hockey since he was 6 years old, and has been away from home for the last three years.

He considers his tenure with the L.A. Junior Kings as one of the greatest periods of his life, mostly because of the time he was able to spend with his grandfather, whom he lived with while playing for the California midget program.

Kraus lived with his grandparents at a home 85 miles away from the Kings' home rink for a year-and-a-half. But for every game and practice, Kraus said he and his grandfather would make the 170-mile round trip together.

&#8220It was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Kraus said. &#8220I was very close with my grandpa.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@

frontiersman.com.