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Jul.
20BEMIDJI The Galen Nagle Memorial Golf Tournament welcomes Bemidji State men's hockey alumni from several generations to the Bemidji Town and Country Club every year.
Traditionally, a handful of current players return to Bemidji to volunteer at the event.
Whether it's running a sponsored booth parked next to one of the tee boxes or greeting the different generations of former Beavers, they're in for a busy day at the BTCC.
Jackson Jutting remembers being in those shoes two years ago, ahead of the 2024-25 season for which he was named BSU's captain.
"I remember how cool it was to see the people that were here before me," Jutting recalled.
"It's a little surreal to be one of the people playing in it now." Jutting made his first trip to the Nagle as a Bemidji State alumnus on Friday, taking part in the Beavers' fundraiser golf tournament.
It's named after former Bemidji State goalie Galen Nagle, who died in 1996 after a battle with cancer.
Nagle was a member of the 1983-84 BSU team that won the national title and finished 31-0-0.
Jutting brought his dad, Tyson, and father-in-law, Brad Soderberg, with him.
"We didn't sign up until about two weeks ago," Jutting said.
"When I found out that I could finally work it into the schedule to come last year, it didn't work out I asked my dad and father-in-law to play.
They were like, 'Hands down, yes.
Let's do it.'" While his Beavers playing days are behind them, Jutting was still a popular chat around the clubhouse.
The Savage, Minn., native and 2025 BSU graduate went to the ECHL this past season.
To say the least, his rookie season was impressive.
Jutting led all first-year ECHL players with 30 goals and 11 game-winning goals for Kansas City.
He totaled 59 points in the regular season in 66 games, placing him on the All-Rookie Team.
Jutting and the Mavericks made it all the way to the 2026 Kelly Cup Finals, but fell to Florida 4-2 in the best-of-seven series.
He had eight goals and 16 points in 17 playoff games as a rookie.
"I didn't have expectations for that at all," Jutting said.
"I went into last season with the same mentality I brought into my three years in Bemidji.
I wanted to be a 200-foot centerman and do my job on the penalty kill, maybe see if I can get time on the power play.
As the year went on, I started having success and just rode that throughout the year.
The style of play here in Bemidji set me up for the pro game and made the transition easy." Jutting played four games in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
His debut, though, was nearly put on hold.
"I found out on a Thursday night (on Feb.
19) at 9 p.m., and we had a game at home the next day," Jutting said.
"I got the call saying I'd be playing for Grand Rapids the next day, so I hopped on a flight at 7 a.m." Jutting had several flight delays in trying to get to Grand Rapids to make his debut.
He arrived within an hour of puck drop.
"I didn't get there until about 40 minutes before the game started," Jutting continued.
"But I got my first couple of games (in the AHL), and it was a really good experience learning from the guys in that room that have played hundreds of AHL and NHL games.
Getting that opportunity meant a lot to me.
"Every time you go up a level, plays are made just a little bit faster.
Guys are a little bit quicker with their decision-making.
It's not that the speed of the players is a ton different, but everything happens at a faster level.
It's what happens when you go from bantams to high school, high school to juniors, juniors to college." Now, Jutting is taking his career out of the U.S.
and heading to Sweden.
He signed a HockeyAllsvenskan contract to play for MoDo, based in Ornskoldsvik.
"I always kind of expected to go to Europe and play at some point," Jutting said.
"It was something my wife and I were interested in doing early on.
I didn't realize it was going to be next year, but when the opportunity came and after talking to some people, it was a no-brainer.
We're excited to start our journey over there." Luckily for Jutting, the Nagle was a good place to get the lay of the land for what's next in his career.
"I spent about an hour here talking to guys who play or played in Europe," Jutting said.
"I talked to Gerry Fitzgerald.
He actually played for MoDo for about half the year last year and had unreal things to say about it.
He gave me his number and said if I ever needed anything I should reach out to him.
It's that kind of stuff that makes you really grateful for Beaver hockey and the alumni that come out of it.".