Billy Exell took short drive, long route to Duluth

Billy Exell was one of the last recruits in college hockey’s 2015 recruiting class to commit to a school, but eventually found himself on Minnesota-Duluth’s roster on June 24 of that year.

The circuitousness is arguably strange given that Exell has had ties to the UMD program from birth. His uncle, Tom Milani, enjoyed four 20-goal seasons with the Bulldogs, and led them with 57 points as a junior in 1974-75 and 63 points as a senior.

Selected by the OHL’s Sarnia Sting in the 2011 Priority Selection Draft, Exell spurned the major junior ranks to preserve his NCAA eligibility. He would stay in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., for two more Midget AAA seasons, then move south of the border to Minnesota for Junior A en route to his eventual Duluth commitment.

“I’m not sure why it took so long,” Exell told Pucks and Recreation. “I originally was going to wait another year before joining the team, but it was their choice to bring me on.”

Exell spent his two years of junior hockey with the Minnesota Wilderness of the North American Hockey League. The Wilderness play in Cloquet, which is only a 30-minute drive from Duluth, making the visits very easy.

“When I was on the Wilderness, Duluth wasn’t far,” Exell remarked. “Kas (former UMD goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo) and I drove around the campus a couple of times.”

Moving to the NAHL from Canada is not always easy, but Exell flourished with the Wilderness. In his two years there, he scored 63 points and accumulated 152 penalty minutes. He capped his Cloquet career with eight points in 12 playoff games, helping Minnesota to the Robertson Cup championship.

“Even though I was the youngest guy on my team, the league really helped my development,” he stated. “I had a great billet, which helped too.”

Although Thunder Bay has now sent 19 players to the Bulldogs, including Milani, Exell was originally unaware of the pipeline’s density between his hometown and his school.

“I knew a player there when I was younger,” Exell said. “I didn’t know there were that many. Our captain mentioned it about a month ago.”

Exell was, however, very particular about what he was looking for in a college. Duluth, a traditional power located roughly a three-hour drive from Thunder Bay, happened to fit that bill and provide more perks.

“It had to be a good hockey school,” he said. “And I wanted it to be close enough to home where my family and friends could see me play.

“The coaches are excellent, the facility was brand new and it wasn’t too big of a school.” Exell remarked.

Exell broke into a regular role lineup this year after playing only six games as a freshman. He believes that sitting out most of last year helped his development as a player.

“Last year I learned lots from the older guys,” he said. “I also worked on getting stronger.”

A fourth-line right wing with five points through the first 29 games of the 2016-17 season, Exell is not quite lighting up AMSOIL Arena the way Milani used to at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. But Exell does not believe there is too much added pressure stemming from his bloodline.

“Maybe from him, but I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s cool to see his name with all of the history here. I knew about the school when I was younger, always seeing and hearing about what he did.”

Nonetheless, Milani did not give Exell too much hockey advice before the latter arrived in Duluth.

“He said, ‘Just play your game,’” Exell remarked. “He talked about the school and told some stories about it, but that was it.”

Playing his game has gotten Exell a spot in the lineup, and he does not intend to give it up in the near future.