ROSEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) – Roseville’s Katie Flug is thriving in her senior season.

And the Ms. Hockey finalist has a future that includes the best college team in the country.

Sit with her with a sheet of ice in the background, and you realize that’s where it started for her … outdoors … on ice.

“My little brother played hockey, and so we always had that competitiveness between each other,” she said.

But the original goal was to end up on skates as a figure skater.

“I definitely think it helped me with my skating, being a fast skater,” she said. “I really think the technique helped me.”

And she has blossomed playing hockey for Roseville High School, moving from Wisconsin and making the team as eighth grader. Her upside was realized.

“She’s grown up quite a bit. It’s fun to see a kid change not just with their, personality but hockey ability,” coach Vic Brodt said.

She is a goal scorer, a person who needs to be in the point column — thriving on opportunities to light a lamp.

“There’s a mindset you need to have,” she said. “When I was younger, I don’t think I had it. But when I got older, it’s just a confidence thing. When you have the confidence with the puck, you’re thinking ‘I will create an opportunity.’”

That’s who she is, leading by providing offense.

And her future is with the No. 1-ranked University of Minnesota, playing for the Golden Gophers next season.

“I’m so excited, I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else,” she said. “The team is so unbelievable this year.”