Kyle Rau
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Birthday:
1992-10-24 |
Position:
C |
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Eligible for draft:
2011 |
Shoots:
Left |
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Drafted:
2011 |
Height:
5-8 |
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Acquired:
3rd round (91st overall), 2011 |
Weight:
163 lbs. |
Prospect Talent Score
Probability of Success
- C
History
2008-09: Kyle Rau led Eden Prairie HS in scoring as a sophomore with 27 goals and 27 assists in 30 games. Eden Prairie finished 27-3 and defeated Moorhead, 3-0, in the Minnesota AA high school state championship game. NHL defenseman Nick Leddy was a senior on that team. Rau was selected for the USA U-18 team that participated in the Ivan Hlinka tournament and had one assist in three games.
2009-10: Rau scored 42 goals with 43 assists in 28 games (including sectional playoffs) as Eden Prairie won the Lake Conference title. Eden Prairie fell to Minnetonka in the Section 6AA finals to finish with a record of 22-5-1. Rau committed to playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota in 2011-12.
2010-11: Rau ended his high school career in dream fashion, diving to knock a loose puck towards the net for what became the game-winning goal in a triple-overtime, 3-2 Eden Prairie win in the longest state championships game in Minnesota history. Rau’s twin brother Curt, a defenseman, assisted on the goal. For the season, Kyle Rau scored 41 goals with 40 assists in 31 games and was named Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey. Prior to the high school season, Rau competed in the Upper Midwest Elite League and scored 16 goals with 7 assists in 22 games for Team Southwest. Rau also played for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede; scoring 4 goals with 6 assists and was +4 with 15 PMs in 11 games. In the Stampede's playoff run to the USHL's semifinals, he scored 7 goals with 5 assists and was +5 in ten games. Two of his goals and five points came on the Sioux Falls power play. Rau was ranked 177th among North American skaters by Central Scouting and was selected in the 3rd round (91st overall) by the Florida Panthers in the 2011 NHL Draft.
2011-12: Rau was the second-leading scorer for the University of Minnesota as a freshman. He scored 18 goals with 25 assists and was plus-23 with 29 penalty minutes. He scored 9 goals on the Gophers power play as Minnesota finished first in the WCHA during the regular season and reached the NCAA's Frozen Four. The Gophers lost to North Dakota in the WCHA tournament semifinals but returned the favor a week later, defeating the Fighting Sioux in the NCAA West Regional final.
Talent Analysis
Rau is a smallish forward who uses his speed and an ability to put himself in the right spot to create scoring opportunities. He is willing to go into tight areas and has good stick-handling skills. Rau proved last season that even as an undersized forward, he can perform against the bigger and faster opponents at the college level. Rau is the younger brother of Minnesota Wild prospect and former Colorado College forward Chad Rau.
Future
Rau returns to Minnesota for his sophomore year looking to build off of his successful rookie season and make another run at a national title. Rau needs to continue adding strength and bulk if he is to withstand the more competitive play at the pro level. While it will take quite a bit of work for Rau to reach the NHL level, the potential is there in his mix of top-notch hockey sense, quickness and puck skills.
