Eau Claire's LaPoint named to U.S. Olympic men's hockey team staff

Jan. 6—Nate LaPoint has already represented the United States on the international hockey scene. Now the Eau Claire native will do so on the biggest stage of them all.

LaPoint was named an equipment manager for the United States Olympic men's hockey team on Thursday. LaPoint, who serves as the equipment manager for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team, will head to Beijing with the Americans for the 2022 Games next month.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," LaPoint said. "You can't say no, it's the Olympics, it's the world's stage for hockey and sports. It's something that was really gratifying to be asked."

LaPoint was also the equipment manager for the United States at the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships. The Americans won a gold medal at that tournament. LaPoint also worked with the U.S. staff at the 2018 and 2019 Gretzky Cups.

"He is so professional in what he does," Wisconsin men's hockey coach Tony Granato told the Leader-Telegram in 2020. "I've been lucky cause I've been around a lot of great trainers, staff members that are involved in the equipment side of things, and Nate is as detailed and thorough and professional as any of them."

LaPoint was one of two equipment managers named for the U.S. Olympic team. In the role, he's typically responsible for jobs such as sharpening stakes, tracking inventory and fixing equipment.

The Eau Claire North graduate began working for the Badgers in 2009 and has been there since. He played collegiately at the Division III level before transferring to North Dakota, where he started working as an equipment manager.

"It's a learning curve," LaPoint said in 2020. "I knew the basics of hockey obviously, growing up playing it, but the knowledge involved in sharpening skates, preparing equipment and skates, the ordering and budgeting and servicing guys, that stuff you really can't learn unless you spend a lot of time in it."

Team USA begins play on Feb. 10 in Beijing against the host nation. Play concludes 10 days later. The Olympic tournament will not feature NHL players after the league announced in December that it would not participate.

LaPoint joins fellow Eau Claire native Sis Paulsen on Team USA's hockey staff. Paulsen, who works with the Badgers women's team, will be an equipment manager for the United States women in Beijing.

"It's an absolute honor to be able to share that with her," LaPoint said. "Obviously the pride of being from Eau Claire and growing up there with youth hockey and spending time down at Hobbs and Rolbiecki's and things like that, it's a cool thing to be able to share with the city of Eau Claire as well."