As a goalie, Kaidan Mbereko never expected to lose parts of his teeth.

CC’S freshman netminder wears a bulky mask, like all goalies, protecting him from taking slapshots directly to the face. But in the Tigers’ road series against St. Cloud State in mid-january, a puck came racing toward him and clonked him right in the grill.

Though it hit his mask and not his face, Mbereko still felt the impact. The slapshot knocked out fractions of his two front teeth, forcing him to get a root canal.

“I never, in my life, thought this would happen,” Mbereko said. “I was just so shocked.”

He missed the remainder of the game but was back in goal the next day for Game 2 of the series.

Evidently, Mbereko’s toughness in goal is inherited. His father, Isaac, played 20 years of professional rugby in Zimbabwe.

“I got a lot of my athletics from my dad,” Mbereko said. “I’m thankful for everything he’s done for me.”

Between being the son of someone who played a different sport at a professional level and simply being a Black college hockey player — placing him in a minority that occupies up less than 1% of college rosters — Mbereko’s path to CC was unconventional.

Different path

As a former rugby player raising his family in Aspen, Isaac Mbereko introduced his sons to the sport at young ages.

But neither Kaidan nor his brother, Zak, loved it like their father. Kaidan played a season when he was 6, but that was his only one. Zak played a little bit longer than Kaidan, but he didn’t stay with it either.

Mbereko then tried hockey, which he didn’t like at first. He first suited up as a skater but didn’t enjoy the nature of taking and delivering hits.

As a 6-year-old, Mbereko gave up the sport, but it wasn’t long before he got back into it. One of his friends at school played goalie, so Mbereko saw that as a possibility. He tried it, loved it and never looked back, though he did try basketball and football.

It’s evident that Mbereko made the right decision.

He won back-to-back NCHC Goaltender of the Month honors for November and December and recently competed for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championships.

Seeing his son’s hockey success, Isaac said he’s glad Kaidan ditched rugby at an early age.

“The guys did different things, and Kaidan gravitated toward hockey,” Isaac said. “I didn’t try to push him into rugby too much.”

Kaidan joked, “(Isaac) wasn’t too mad.”

Breaking barriers

Mbereko’s background is unique in another way. He’s a Black man playing a sport that features predominantly white men.

Per the NCAA’S 2021-22 Demographic Survey, only seven of 1,125 Division I hockey players said they were Black. In the National Hockey League, only 3.74% of players identified as Black in the league’s latest diversity and inclusion report.

Like in other sports, racism has been an issue in college hockey. This year, Ohio State’s Kamil Sadlocha was assessed a 10-minute game misconduct penalty after directing a racial slur toward Michigan State’s Jagger Joshua, a Black forward for the Spartans. OSU suspended Sadlocha for a handful of games before he made his return in January.

Mbereko said he hasn’t experienced racism in the states at any level. But he did admit he has experienced it in overseas tournaments, citing a “difference in cultures.”

In a sport where people of color are the vast minority, Mbereko hopes to be an example and show that everyone belongs.

“Being different and being myself is superimportant, and hopefully I can inspire others — everybody and anybody who wants to play the game,” Mbereko said. “It’s supercool to be a part of that conversation.”

Continuing to inspire

Obviously, many of Mbereko’s goals revolve around simply being a good hockey player — and it hasn’t taken him long to become that at the college level.

Mbereko is 12th in the nation with a .922 save percentage and recently recorded 39 saves in a standout-performance against Denver, which the Tigers will face again at 6 p.m. Saturday at Robson Arena.

But more than just excelling at his favorite sport, Mbereko hopes to be an ambassador for what he believes — that everyone belongs in hockey.

Of anyone in history, Mbereko said the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is who he looks up to the most. King is Mbereko’s inspiration as he tries to break barriers.

“He was always himself and

“Being different and being myself is superimportant, and hopefully I can inspire others — everybody and anybody who wants to play the game.” Kaidan Mbereko

wanted to inspire people to stand up for what is right,” Mbereko said. “It’s what I want to do: Be true to myself like he was.”

As for the program, Mbereko’s ambassadorship is just what coach Kristofer Mayotte and the Tigers are seeking. One of the Tigers’ commitments in the 2023-24 class, Zaccharya Wisdom from Toronto, also is Black.

While Mayotte said he doesn’t actively “pick out” certain people, he stressed the importance of diversity at CC.

“For us, we want to build a program and a culture that feels like anyone is welcome that wants to be a part of it,” Mayotte said.

“That’s what this is about: Having a program that people can look up to. Having players that anyone in the game can look up to and feel like there’s a connection there.”

Mbereko’s background is different from any other hockey player’s — from being the son of a professional rugby player and now being a Black college hockey star.

But he wouldn’t have drawn it up differently. His unique journey is one others can look up to.

“I’m supergrateful for everything that’s happened,” Mbereko said.

“It’s a huge credit to everyone here. I just want to be myself, and they allow me to do so.”