Steelheads – Forward Kael Mouillierat

BOISE, Idaho – Late last season, the Idaho Steelheads signed a free agent rookie out of Minnesota State University Mankato, Kael Mouillierat ( pronounced kale MALLER-wrat) , that has made a quick start out of the gate this season.
 
Mouillierat is a soft-spoken guy, that doesn’t seem to get too excited about any particular topic.   He just likes to be playing hockey for a living.
 
Mouillierat was glad to have the chance to return to Idaho, when offered by Coach Marty Sauter.
 
“Kael is the quietest person you’ll ever meet; in the rink and around the dressing room at least. He’s a smart player, who’s skilled and quietly competitive,” said Sauter.
 
Mouillierat has been skating since he was two years old, and playing in leagues, since he was about five. He’s always known he wanted to make it big as a hockey player and spent most of his time working on his skills.
 
As a youngster he was active all the time, playing baseball and soccer, in addition to hockey.   He said his parents were very supportive of his sports activities and he is exceptionally grateful for the time and sacrifices they made for him to play hockey.
 
As a child in Edmonton, Alberta, he was a fan of the local NHL teams; Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadians, but figured he’d only been to about 10-15 games in his life, to watch.
 
“I was always out of town.   I went away from home when I was about sixteen, to play hockey.”
 
When asked if it was difficult being away from home or if he was ever homesick, he said, “I lived with host families, and had good coaches, so I didn’t really miss anything,”
 
In College, Mouillierat was second on his team in points with 25 in his final season and was the alternate captain for the Mavericks. He was always among the point leaders all four years, and was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week two-times in his junior year.
 
One could say that hockey is in his blood, his uncle Ralph Klassen, played professional hockey in the NHL from 1975 – 1984, with stops for the California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Blues.
 
“I just want to work my way up to the NHL,” he said, as he talked about his experiences as a rookie and learning the ropes.   “I want to get to the next level.”
 
“He has a good nose for the net,” said Sauter, as he talked about Mouillierat coming off a recent shoot-out win against the Stockton Thunder.   “He had about three-inches to put the puck in, and he banged it in the net, [even] with a guy draped over him.”
 
Mouillierat believes his speed to be his best asset, since at 5’10”, 185-pounds, he’s not a big guy.
 
“I try to play well in my own end, and chip in on the offensive side as much as I can,” he added.
 
While Idaho’s season is still young, Mouillierat has played in 12 games, netting seven goals, and three assists (10 points), with 13 penalty minutes.   He earned his first professional natural hat trick on November 6, against the Victoria Salmon Kings, netting all three goals, in the second period, in just less than 13 minutes.   Two of the goals were within 30 seconds of each other.
 
The 23-year old forward wears the number nine, the same number he wore in college.   As a rookie, choices are usually slim, but he was glad it was available when he arrived in Idaho.
 
When asked what he thought about playing for Coach Sauter, he said, “He’s a good coach. He’s pretty intense, and expects a lot out of us.   I respect the way he coaches.”
 
The conversation drifted to his present team, how they’ve been playing to date this season.
 
“We’ve been getting off to slow starts.   We need to come ready to play, right off the hop in the future.” He added, “We are not a complicated team.   We keep it simple; get the pucks deep and on the net.”
 
He hasn’t been in Idaho very long, but likes the town and the people.   He said it’s a good city, as there’s always something to do, especially at night. Lately, in his spare time, he and his roommates play a lot of video games. Right now they are into NHL ’11 and the newest one, Call of Duty.
 
It’s well known that the Western Conference has some great cities to visit, but Mouillierat has only had a chance to visit a few of them, such as Victoria, British Columbia, Alaska and Bakersfield, California, so far. He’s looking forward to the others.
 
Based on his game and style, fans can expect to see much more of Mouillierat this season.
 
“I think there’s a lot there,” Sauter said talking about his expectations for the young rookie, “as the season goes on, I think someone in the [American Hockey League] will see him and give him a shot.”
 
As for the future, Mouillierat said he hopes to finish his last three classes to complete his degree in Business Management next summer, during the off season, but for now, he’s contented to play his best hockey and learn as much as possible, hopefully to make it to next level.
 
Contact the writer at Shellie.Lima@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com