_{Credit UW Madison Athletics}

Madison Wisconsin, a beautiful up and coming city stuck between the lakes of Monona and Mendota. It is known for its many bars and small stores. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their men’s Hockey team. That is not what brought Ben Dexheimer to Madison, but it is what made him stay.

Ben is a 19-year-old hockey player from Edina, MN. I was able to sit down and talk with him about how he became part of the Badgers 2022 recruiting class. He was born into a hockey family; his dad was a St. Louis Blues fan and would take Ben and his brother to the Blues home openers. It wasn’t long till he was playing himself. When talking about his dad, Ben said, “He also took me to skate for the first time around the age of 2, and I loved it from the start.” Ben worked his way up with stops at the Blake School in Minnesota and the Austin Bruins, a NAHL team based in Austin, MN. Then he found his way to Madison, playing for the Madison Capitols.

The Madison Capitols are a USHL team in Madison, most known for their dollar beer nights.  Most college kids in the area have probably heard of it and some might have been lucky enough to attend. These occur on a select number of Fridays and as the name suggests offers a deal hard to turn down, beers for a dollar. When talking about the environment these nights created, Ben had this to say, “They were some of the most exciting hockey games I’ve played in. The place is sold out and its an atmosphere unlike any other place in the league.” The invested audience is a large boost to the players and creates that big game feel in a league full of players trying to make it to that next stage. 

Ben was originally planned to attend the University of Miami (OH) next season a part of their hockey team. This is a commitment he made when he was only 15. The Capitols fans and the city of Madison influenced Ben’s decision to stay in Madison and play for the Wisconsin Badgers next season. “When I got to Madison I instantly fell in love with the city and it made me realize I needed to take a step in a new direction,” Ben said. When talking about his decision to switch schools, he said, “At the time it seemed like the smart thing to do, as I got older, I realized how rushed that process was.” The Badgers have a great history of developing defensemen for the NHL and Ben hopes to join that elite group.

The evolution of the Madison Capitols has become a nice recruiting pool for the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers have gotten 7 recruits from the Capitols within the last 7 years, 2 of those from the 2022 recruiting class. Ben is joined by his Capitols teammate Jack Horbach as members of this class. The influx of young talented players as even lead to some team success for the Capitols. They are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals of the USHL’s playoffs.  They are going into Game 4 of this best of 5 series down 2-1 against the Muskegon Lumberjacks. This success will only increase the amount of talent coming to town.

It’s safe to say that there is something about Madison that is keeping these players around.  Whether that is the city, the Badgers program, or the dollar beer nights. I look forward to seeing Ben switch up the blue and white Capitols jersey for some Cardinal Red.