National champion Sean Behrens returns to DU for another year to chase No. 10

We caught up with Colorado Avalanche prospect Sean Behrens at the beginning of the season. He was an incoming freshman at the University of Denver with only 10 regular-season games under his belt, and the Pioneers had just swept Western Michigan at home.

We learned about the program, his role on the top powerplay unit (at which 7 of his 10 points had been earned), his identity as a player, and his own ambitions for the year ahead.

A lot has changed since then.

Denver finished the year 31-9-1 overall. Early on, DU proved to be a strong team at home going 7-0-0 through November – the program’s best start at home since 1977. In spite of this, they didn’t really climb in the national power rankings until March, having hovered in the 11th through 5th place spots before then.

Behrens had a crack at the World Juniors roster in December, but COVID-19 interrupted the opportunity and ultimately postponed the tournament for this August.

“What happened in December wasn’t the best situation for me, but [it] was something that pushed me throughout the year to play as hard as I could to be ready for every game and make an impact on the Denver team going into the playoffs and [more],” he explained.

“I thought that was something that really drove me as a player,” he added. “Hopefully that opportunity comes but at the end of the day, it’s just doing what you can do, doing what you can control.”

The tournament is rescheduled for Aug. 9-20 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, and it will be worth it to keep an eye on Team USA’s roster when it is released.

In January, the Pioneers swept Colorado College in the battle for the Gold Pan and kept the trophy for a third-straight season. The game that secured the win was a 4-0 shutout with the final goal scored by Behrens who fired it in from the right circle on the powerplay.

This year was a master course in the art of releasing what is outside of your control and focusing on what is for Behrens.

In March just before the NHL trade deadline, scouts were posted at Magness Arena and his name was among speculations of possible moves. It surprised some to see two defensive prospects, Drew Helleson and Justin Barron, moved at the deadline and attention turned to the lone, top defensive prospect in Behrens.

He wasn’t too phased by the deadline; in fact, he was focused on the upcoming playoff run with the Pioneers. The conference tournament was the weekend just ahead of the deadline, so he was concentrated on that. According to him, the path to the NHL can exist within.

“It’s exciting still being with the Avs [and] still being here in Colorado,” he said following the deadline. “It’s really special, [and] I think that it’s still something that I can control. It’s all about the work I put in that’s going to help me get there. No matter where it is. I’m really excited to still be in Colorado and still a part of the Avs organization.”

The Pioneers embarked on an exciting post-season run with the NCHC quarterfinals beginning on March 11th. The Pioneers swept the University of Miami-Ohio and continued on to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minnesota.

There, Denver fell to Minnesota-Duluth 0-2. This could have changed the team’s mindset ahead of the NCAA tournament, but they were locked on to something better; plus, they’d have another chance at them soon.

“After the Duluth game [when] we lost, it was something that everyone stepped up and said, ‘It’s not gonna happen again.’ It was something that we didn’t want to set us back. We had bigger goals,” Behrens said of the Frozen Faceoff exit.

“But at the end of the day, it was something that kicked us off on the right foot. [We knew] that we had to play our best game, and we had to be ready to go from the start to the start.”

The home ice advantage was useful to Denver throughout the regular season, so it was a welcome atmosphere for the Pioneers when the NCAA tournament began in Loveland, Colorado at the Budweiser Events Center.

And ready to go they were, Denver would defeat UMass-Lowell in the first game 3-2. Just days before his birthday, Behrens and the Pioneers would have a vindicating rematch against UMD. He earned a primary assist on the game-winning goal from Carter Savoie, and DU advanced to the Frozen Four.

He didn’t really get to celebrate his 19th birthday on March 31st, but he did go out to dinner with some of the other freshmen. There was still work left to do in the coming weeks.

The stage was set for the Frozen Four tournament at TD Garden in Boston. Denver faced Michigan and won an extremely tight game against a team stacked with NHL prospects, going 3-2 in overtime. The final boss would be 1st place ranked, Minnesota State. They would play two days later on April 9th.

Things looked bleak. Denver was scoreless and trailed by 1 goal through 2 periods, but they were never worried.

“Everyone was hopeful. We knew we could score a lot of goals. Going into that period, we knew we were gonna be able to crack the goalie and open the game up. And once we did that, we just kept rolling from there,” Behrens said.

Denver scored 5 unanswered goals and won their 9th national title in a 5-1 win. In just his first year, Behrens was a national champion. He was fortunate to have a lot of family in attendance – cousins, grandparents, and more – and admitted the moments after the final buzzer were a bit of a blur.

“I don’t really remember after we won. It was really cool celebrating on the ice, being able to do that in front of your family, friends, and then all of the fans there too. It was a really special moment.”

It was a hard-fought season, but the team knew it was their year from the beginning.

“Right when I got here, everyone [knew] this was a really special group. This group could do something that not many teams have been able to do at this program. From the start, we knew that we had something special and we could make it our own,” Behrens revealed.

The Avalanche organization took notice of the big accomplishment too.

“A lot of people [from the front office] reached out to congratulate me, but throughout the season a lot of the development guys were texting me [too],” he said. “I talked to them a lot, kind of working on my game, knowing what I have to improve. I think their input really helped me throughout the season to sharpen some areas of my game.”

As for the specific areas of his game to focus on, “walking the blueline was a big one,” he said. “[Getting] my shots through, being a little more deceptive on the blueline, and then defensively just being a step quicker to close on people, and in the d-zone, being in the right position. [That] was [all] stuff that helped my game going into the end of the year.”

Behrens proved to be very effective on Denver’s top powerplay unit and it’s not without note that two teammates who played on the flanks have already made the leap to launch their professional careers. Their powerplay finished 12th in the league and 16 assists of Behrens’ 29 points came on the PP.

His production outside of the powerplay was something that improved throughout the season even earning assists on 2 shorthanded goals. He chalked it up to being a natural piece of his game that he didn’t focus too heavily on. His areas of focus revolved around the feedback from development staff and bolstering his defense overall.

Bobby Brink, who led the NCAA with 57 points, signed his 3-year ELC in April and Carter Savoie, who led the team in goals, signed his ELC in May. Despite this, Behrens revealed his intention to remain at DU – at least for one more season.

“I know that next year, I’ll be back for sure and then we’re gonna have to make a decision. I’ll talk to the Avs, talk to my family, and the people around me, but I haven’t really thought about it yet. Right now my focus is here at DU – try to win number 10,” he admitted.

With Ball Arena just a quick trip up I-25, he isn’t anxious to imagine what the future holds. He can just go to a game and get an idea that way.

“They’re a fun team to watch, a fun team to go to games, and the crowd is awesome. It’s been really fun to be here in Colorado and be able to go to a couple games and watch them,” he said of the Avalanche. “Their style of play is really fun to watch, and I think my game will fit in well there, but I think right now [I’m mostly just] watching them.”

As it stands, he is set on earning one more national title at Denver. He even aims to come back for part of the offseason. “Hopefully I’ll be able to stay in Colorado for a bit and try to get with Matt Shaw and skate with some of the pros that come back, but I haven’t really thought about doing anything else.”

The annual Hockey Alumni Pro Camp typically happens in late-August and has hosted former players and pros including the likes of Paul Stastny, Tyler Bozak, Troy Terry, Will Butcher, and Logan O’Connor. It was in September last summer, so if there isn’t a conflict with the World Junior tournament, he may be able to do it all if he does get the call to Edmonton.

It was a record year for Behrens. From the interview at the start of the season through now, he has gained tremendous confidence and it shows in his play and in the way that he speaks about himself and his team. Though he accomplished a lot, he was quick to say his favorite thing about the season outside of the championship was the group of men surrounding him.

“[It was] how close our team was off the ice. Everyone was always hanging out, no matter who it was, everyone was always tight. Whether it was older guys, younger guys – everyone gelled. We were always together doing stuff away from the rink and that really helped our team throughout the end of the year,” he said.

It’s understandable that he wants to stay at DU for one more season from a development standpoint, but it is also easy to reconcile his excitement to pursue a 10th national title when looking back at his first year – especially since his d-partner, Kyle Mayhew, confirmed he will be back for a fifth season. Mayhew gained an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19, and Behrens said he enjoyed playing alongside Mayhew because they had good chemistry from the start and played similarly, moving pucks well and moving their feet.

It isn’t even close to the last we’ve heard of Sean Behrens and there will be plenty more to come as he continues to develop.