WARNER – Devon Fischbach can have a bit of tunnel vision at times.
That’s not a bad thing, mind you. It just means the three-sport standout is generally hyper-focused on one thing at a time.
And so far, it’s worked. Fischbach, fresh off a playoff run with the Warner football squad, is off to a blazing start to the hockey season for the Aberdeen Cougars. Come summer, it’ll be all about baseball for the Warner-Ipswich-Northwestern program.
“You just focus on what you’re doing, what sport you’re in, and then you worry about what the next one when it comes,” Fischbach said.
That focus and determination has led to a hot start on the ice for Fischbach, who scored five goals in the Cougars’ first two games of the season, and added another goal this past weekend.
After falling in the quarterfinals of last year’s state tournament, Fischbach said the team’s quick start to this year’s season didn’t happen by accident.
“You want to go out there and lay it on the line every game,” he said. “That’s the mindset with anything. Just play your best and let everything else play out, and that’s what happened. Great teammates, too. That’s how that happened. Being around a great group of guys, them helping you out and you helping them out.”
Fischbach, who naturally gravitated to football and baseball from a young age, fell into the hockey world in a mildly unconventional fashion, being hooked into the scene by a buddy.
“It’s not your typical way of getting into a sport,” he admitted. “There was this family that moved from Minnesota and we just kind of clicked with them. Their little boy my age, he played hockey, so we got into hockey together and ever since, I think we’ve been playing for 11 years. Just kind of clicked.”
In the meantime, Fischbach has been able to be a part of the resurgence of Cougar hockey. And while last year ended with a stinging loss in the state tournament, absorbing the atmosphere of the tournament provided the team with plenty of motivation for this season.
“I know what it’s like playing (at the DakotaDome) in the championship and that’s got to be similar to what a hockey championship is like,” Fischbach said. “The atmosphere there last year was absolutely insane. It might have been even better than the Dome. That’s just something every kid dreams of is playing for the championship, whether it’s varsity level, JV level, the bantam level, the college level. It’s just something every kid wants to be a part of.”
Fischbach knows a thing or two about winning, playing a key role on football teams that lost just one game the past two seasons, and helping lead Warner to the Class 9A state championship a year ago.
“That was just a great year and a fun time playing and being around my teammates,” he said. “We have such a great community here at Warner, and they do support us. It’s something that every kid should want to be a part of. It’s truly amazing.”
Part of Fischbach’s success on the field or on the ice stems from the trust he’s developed with his coaches in all three sports.
“Parents play a big role in that, but a lot of it comes from coaching. Having that trust and them trusting you and putting you in spots where you can improve and be the best that you can,” he said.
As an example, he pointed to his role on Warner’s football team.
“I’m not a great offensive player, but I found my spot on the defense, and my defensive coordinator, he put me in spots where I was there to succeed and be better,” Fischbach said.
He’ll use that same mindset on the ice this season – he and Cougars coach Jeremey Backous go all the way back to termites and bantam levels – and continue it on the baseball field this summer.
“Just go at it hard,” he said. “That’s the only way to do it. Just go at it hard and good things will happen.”
Fischbach plans to attend Lake Area Technical College next fall before returning to the family farm.
