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16 // AUGUST 2020 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM B r a n d o n B o c h e n s k i st e p p e d o u t o f t h e hockey arena and into the political arena when he tossed his hat into the ring to become the mayor of Grand Forks, N.D. And when the final votes were tallied after the June 9 election, the former University of North Dakota hockey player who went on to a 14-year professional career had unseated incumbent mayor Mike Brown. It was an unexpected career change for the Blaine, Minn., native who hung up his skates in 2019 after playing eight seasons w i t h B a r y s A st a n a o f t h e Ko n t i n e n t a l Hockey League. " Pa r t o f b e i n g a n a t h l et e a n d b e i n g a l e a d e r i s you've got to face the problems and you've got to work on them," Bochenski said several days after being sworn into a four-year term. "I kept complaining about things in town and my wife finally said, 'If you're gonna keep complaining, you better go and do something about it.' And I never thought of myself g etting involved in politics or [ being] in the political world, but I felt it was a great opportunity to make a difference. You just don't get that many chances in life, so I jumped at it." B o c h e n s k i c a pt u r e d 4 9. 6 1 p e r c e n t o f t h e v ot e (5,684 votes) to oust Brown, who had been Grand Forks' mayor for 20 years, in a three-way race that also included Robin David. During his campaign, Bochenski promised to focus on pocketbook issues in this blue-collar community such as slashing taxes, growing the workforce and the local economy. To get it done he plans on drawing on the experiences he learned through a lifetime in hockey, which included 156 games with six different NHL teams. He also represented both the U.S. and Kazakhstan at the World Championships. "Hockey is such a team-oriented sport that you've got everybody 's back. We have a city that has about 550 employees now and they need to know that I've X X GRAND PLAN By Harry Thompson PHOTOS BY Getty Images; City Of Grand Forks North Dakota Star Returns To Help Move Grand Forks Forward