Senior forward Bennett Schimek and Junior forward Kyle Smolen were named co-captains of the ASU hockey team this past summer after both were the top returning scorers in the 2024-25 season.
Smolen has played with ASU since the beginning. He came on as a Sun Devil in 2023 and led all rookies in points with seven goals and 16 points in his freshman year.
Before coming to ASU, Smolen played four seasons in the United States Hockey League — the only Tier 1 junior hockey league in the U.S. — with the Fargo Force. He was named captain in his final season with the team, finishing as the runner-up to the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL Clark Cup.
As a co-captain for ASU hockey, his commitment to leadership in the locker room was seen after a 6-3 loss to Penn State on opening night. An aggravated Smolen said that leadership had underprepared the team.
READ MORE: ASU hockey starts season 0-2 after back-to-back third period Penn State surges
"They wanted it more, and we clearly didn't," Smolen said. "I didn't do a good enough job of getting the guys ready, apparently, and I've got to be better, and the rest of the leadership group as well."
Neither Smolen nor Schimek recorded a point in the home opener.
Unlike Smolen, Schimek joined ASU as a transfer from Providence College before the 2024-25 season. Before starting his NCAA career, Schimek also played in the USHL, but with the Sioux City Musketeers for only two seasons.
Although coming in as a transfer, Schimek made an immediate impact as a Sun Devil. He was one of four skaters to register at least a point per game last season, among whom he was the youngest.
37 games
In the second game of the opening weekend series, Schimek scored a goal and an assist to give the Sun Devils an early lead, but ASU would fall apart in the third period and allow the Nittany Lions to score four unanswered goals.
Although Schimek had a good game on the stat sheet, he recognized that the Sun Devils did not compete in the third.
"Going into the third, the guys need to know that it's going to be harder," Schimek said. "We've just got to bear down."
Both athletes can be impact players in the locker room and on the ice — it's just a matter of getting the team to close out games. Head coach Greg Powers implied players like Schimek and Smolen need to step up in the third-period slump.
"We were in a position to win both games," Powers said regarding both Penn State losses. "We have veteran guys who have done it before. We have veteran guys (who) know how to close out games and know what to do. They didn't do it this weekend."
Schimek and Smolen's motivation to push themselves and their team made an impact on the Sun Devils when they won the Icebreaker Tournament at Mullett Arena the following weekend.
READ MORE: Cruz Lucius hat trick secures Ice Breaker Tournament win
Smolen scored a goal and had three assists over the two games, while Schimek had two assists in the final match of the weekend.
The tournament win demonstrates that ASU can win hockey games and that its leadership, particularly Smolen and Schimek, can motivate the team to finish games strong.
"It's only going to go as far as the older guys take us. You need your veterans to lead, and you need them to do the right things," Powers said. "I think they'll build off it and not look back."
Edited by Jack McCarthy, George Headley and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at Gbarberi@asu.edu and follow @Giobarberio1 on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Giovanni Barberio is a sports reporter for The State Press. He is studying history and in his 4th semester with The State Press.
