Freshman Demetrios Koumontzis came into last weekend’s series against Alaska Fairbanks as one of the highest rated recruits in Arizona State men’s hockey history. The pressure was on him to get off to an electric start, and he could feel it.
“I was definitely nervous,” he said that night. “All of the guys said that they noticed it too.”
The butterflies didn’t last long and in his debut, Koumontzis did not disappoint.
Just 10:42 into the start of the 2018-19 season, Koumontzis netted his first ever collegiate goal in front of a jam-packed Oceanside Ice Arena, the beginning of a strong debut weekend from the crafty top-line winger.
“It was awesome [scoring],” Koumontzis said. “Right when it happened I was really excited, but then, there was another 48 minutes to go in the game. I kind of just had to calm down and get ready to play those other minutes.”
The Scottsdale native also picked up an assist the following night in a 5-0 win against UFA.
Opening night has been a long time coming for the 5-foot-10 freshman. Koumontzis had committed to the Sun Devils four years ago at just the age of 15, the same year ASU made their Division I debut.
“I grew up here…and then I moved up to Minnesota, which is like the state of hockey,” Koumontzis said. “Hearing that [ASU] got a DI program I was like ‘Wow, that’d be awesome to be home and be a part of that and build it.’ And once they started talking, I was like ‘Yeah, I want to be there.’”
Since making his pledge to ASU, Koumontzis had built himself quite the resume. The Scottsdale native spent time with the Phoenix Junior Coyotes where he tallied 38 points in 43 combined games. He also spent the 2017-18 high school season with Edina High School (Minnesota), and with Team Northeast in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League, where he led the league — considered the best high school league in the country — in scoring with 49 points in 21 games.
Biggest of all, Koumontzis became the 108th overall draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, being selected by the Calgary Flames.
Despite all the accomplishments he had accumulated before his 19th birthday though, Koumontzis wasn’t exempt from pre-game jitters before his first college game Saturday.
“Probably the biggest feeling in my head was just ‘don’t fail, don’t do something stupid,’” Koumontzis said. “I knew I had a lot of expectations coming in, so I wanted to fill those.”
Even still, he played a pivotal part in ASU’s weekend sweep. Coach Greg Powers praised the new players’ performances throughout the series, calling their first two games a “great start.”
Although Koumantzis has gotten himself off to an ideal start, the pressure to continue to perform at a high level remains.
“I’m an NHL draft pick, but I’m here now at Arizona State and we’re all even,” Koumontzis said. “I guess there’s a little more expectations from fans and scouts, but as I said before, I just go into it like another hockey game.”
Koumontzis and the rest of the Sun Devils face arguably their hardest challenge ever as a Division I school as they face No. 1 Ohio State University.
“It’s just another hockey game,” Koumontzis said. “I think that’s the best way to look into it… there’s less room for error.”
