Michigan Tech hockey products Joel L’Esperance and Mitch Reinke found themselves sharing a venue in Traverse City, Michigan, for a week to start the 2018-19 season, yet they never stepped on the ice together. As players, they are polar opposites, but they will be forever connected by history.

Reinke, a 5-foot-11 defenseman, played for the St. Louis Blues prospects in the Gordie Howe Division, while 6-foot-2 winger Joel L’Esperance played for the Dallas Stars in the Ted Lindsay bracket during the compressed five-day tournament in Traverse City. Reinke was psyched to see his former captain up north. 

“I saw Joel right away,” said Reinke with a grin. “I’m really happy he’s here; it’s always fun connecting with old teammates.”

“Fun” is the operative word when it comes to the hockey highlights they shared in the WCHA playoffs the last two seasons. The two men led the Huskies to consecutive league championships in dramatic fashion, hoisting hardware and earning a spot in the NCAAs. 

“Everybody was one big group, cohesive, no cliques,” said L’Esperance of those Husky title squads. “We just had a team that knew how to win, find a way to win championships.” 

Reinke momentarily slid out of the precious present to reminisce. 

“Our first one [2017] was a thriller at home,” said Reinke, recalling Tech’s epic battle with Bowling Green. “I’ll never forget that one, in double overtime.” 

But six months after winning the 2018 Jeff Sauer Championship Trophy, these two men are on distinctly different journeys. They were proverbial ships in the night in Traverse City, both departing for their respective NHL training camps when the 170 NHL prospects evacuated the urban jewel of the Great Lakes. While Reinke has been on a well-supervised express train to the NHL, L’Esperance has been on the local tracks, with several stops along the way. 

Unlike Reinke, who signed a pro deal with the Blues following his sophomore year, L’Esperance was a four-year college man, courted but not signed by Anaheim before finally latching on with the Stars organization. He signed a minor league deal immediately after Tech’s NCAA heartbreak this past March, and then he had a 31-game season with the AHL Iowa Stars, reaching the Calder Cup championship round. A lengthy professional postseason, in addition to four years in the WCHA, has given L’Esperance newfound stature.

“I played almost a full college season,” said L’Esperance of his 2018 endless winter. “You’re playing every night in a Calder Cup playoff; your confidence goes up playing all those games.” 

The former Husky even made strides throughout the Traverse City tournament, going from utility forward to an indispensable attacker over the four games. As one of the old guard in a tournament filled with 19-year old junior players, he once again had an “A” for leadership stitched onto his shoulder. 

“I feel like the guys on the team are looking up to me,” L’Esperance said after his third game. “I have experience playing all those games last year; I’m trying to grow every time I’m on the ice. I think the coaches are seeing that, and that’s why I’m starting to get more ice time.”

Reinke's defensive consistency will earn him a shot at the NHL

Defenseman Mitch Reinke was under the Blues’ microscope his entire sophomore year in Houghton. Both his play and his connections to Blues Hall-of-Fame executive Al MacInnis prompted St. Louis to send college scout Keith Tkachuk off to the WCHA rinks. 

“I started following him, and we kept on watching him, and we liked what we saw,” said Tkachuk, a former all-star with the Blues. 

Tkachuk was in Duluth for the Ice-Breaker tournament last October, where Reinke played an immaculate series as Tech upset the future national champs. But it was in the WCHA playoffs where Tkachuk was wowed by the Huskies. 

“I went and saw him against Minnesota State, and we didn’t think they were going to beat them. They [Tech] miraculously came back and beat them, at Minnesota State, so we kept on watching, put a lot of time in.”

As a free agent with two years of college eligibility remaining, Reinke had leverage over St. Louis. The Blues wooed the supremely steady defenseman, who parlayed his superior hand into signing and dressing for an NHL game last spring. Despite it being his first professional contest of any sort, he did not embarrass himself or the organization. 

“He did excellent,” Tkachuk said. “We had a tough game, in Arizona against the Coyotes, we didn’t play well, but he settled in really nicely. The coaches did a good job putting him in situations to succeed, and he held his own. He was one of the better players that game, did what Mitch always does, just efficient with the puck.”

And that’s exactly what he did in Traverse City: defend well, make the right pass every time, and get the Blues’ offense percolating from his own end. 

“He’s done real well up here, transporting the puck, making us look fast in transition,” Tkachuk said. “He’s not the flashiest guy — he just makes plays.” 

Reinke is clearly a useful pawn in the Blues organizational depth chart, maybe even a knight based on his ability to see the icy battlefield. That translates to a top-four defenseman in the AHL and a potential five or six in The Show. His former Tech teammate L’Esperance will be a “top-nine” forward in the AHL, and a potential checking forward in the NHL due to his size and strength. He has neither the high-end skill nor hands to steal a multi-million dollar job from one of the Stars’ top-six forwards, but his stature and attitude may earn him a shot in the NHL if and when the opportunity arises. Both players credit playing in the weekly WCHA wars with steeling them for the next step.

“It’s one of the harder leagues in terms of physicality,” L’Esperance said. “Everybody’s working their butts off every game.” 

“You’ve got to be on every night,” said Reinke. “You’ve got to win battles and be ready to go, because any team can beat you.”

Tim Rappleye is the author of "Jack Parker's Wiseguys" and the forthcoming book: "Hobey Baker, Upon Further Review," set for release in November. He can be reached @TeeRaps.