Mark DeCenzo grew up in west Eveleth, where he learned the two most important parts of being a Minnesotan: hockey and humility.

“I started skating later than most because my dad was a basketball player and my mom didn’t really want me to be a hockey player,” he said. “But there was quite a few rinks in Eveleth, and that’s what a lot of guys did in the winter. You played on your local rink and then challenged the guys from other rinks.”

In 1972 the DeCenzo family moved to Grand Rapids, and Mark joined the Indians as a sophomore. The team made the state tournament during his first season, but was knocked out early. After missing a berth in 1973, Grand Rapids returned in 1974 and placed third.

After high school, DeCenzo went to Michigan State University on scholarship and scored 41 points (14 goals and 27 assists) in 120 games. Under Coach Amo Bessone, the Spartans went 23-15-2 in the 1975-76 season, ranking first in the WCHA and second in NCAA.

“I played four years, was captain senior year, but wasn’t really an elite player by any stretch,” said DeCenzo, a two-time John Mariucci Coach of the Year award winner who on Friday will inducted into the Minnesota Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

DeCenzo returned to Minnesota, where his first coaching job fell into his lap.

“I went to Apple Valley and was assistant coach to Larry Hendrickson for a couple years,” he said. “I had no desire to be head coach. When I got into coaching, I thought with my personality I could chip in a suggestion here and there. I never thought I would take the lead. It just fell in my lap, and I ran with it.”

Hendrickson, however, saw DeCenzo in a different light.

“He wasn’t married yet, so Mark was willing to put a lot of time in and he did a marvelous job,” Hendrickson said. “He had so much passion for hockey and the kids. He could be tough on them, don’t get me wrong, but that’s part of hockey. He was tough, but he was never ever mean to them. I never saw him not be great with kids. No question, I could just see he was going to be head coach.”

In his first year as head coach after taking over for Hendrickson, DeCenzo guided the Eagles to the section finals but narrowly missed a state tournament berth.

“I was really lucky my first year,” he said. “I was fortunate to have a really good group of kids. I never really had a moment of panic because the seniors on that team were very receptive and helpful. If they had been more challenging I might have lost my cool.”

Early in his 10-year tenure at Apple Valley, the Eagles transitioned into the Lake Conference and spent a few season adjusting to the higher level of competition.

“That was a real transition,” DeCenzo said. “It was a higher level of hockey, and we struggled for the first couple years in that conference. Those two years stood out as the biggest challenge for me, but after that it made the team better. Playing that schedule helped us perform at a higher level.”

Apple Valley made consecutive trips to the state tournament in DeCenzo’s final two season. Three years after his departure in 1993, the Eagles won the state championship.

“When I left, Mark did such a great job,” Hendrickson said. “He continued to build up the youth program, and when I came back we won the state championship and only lost two games in three years, but that’s because Mark built it up so much.”

“It was a tough decision to leave,” DeCenzo said. “But my wife is from Eveleth, and my parents were still up north. It was time to return home.”

DeCenzo took the reins of the Hibbing/Chisholm program in 1993 and led them to the state tournament berth in his debut season.

Steve Wasko began coaching at Two Harbors the same year and developed a relationship with DeCenzo through hockey. 

At the beginning of their friendship, Two Harbors upset Hibbing in the first meeting between Wasko’s and DeCenzo’s teams. As they shook hands at the end of the game, all Wasko could say was “I’m sorry.”

Years later, DeCenzo returned the kindness.

“Last year at Two Harbors, we had beat Eveleth as the tenth seed and DeCenzo was scouting because the winner played his team,” Wasko recalled. “After the game, he asked if he could come in the locker room and say a few words. He congratulated my team, told them how well they had played and how proud he was of them. He didn’t have to do that. It was just such a classy move in his part.”

DeCenzo led the Bluejackets to the state tournament four times over his 19-year tenure, including a run to the tournament finals in 1994. He earned John Mariucci awards in 1997 and in 2011 before retiring in 2013.

“He’s one of the most thoughtful people, a great friend of mine, but he doesn’t appear that way,” Wasko said. “If you don’t know him you don’t know how to take him. But once you get to know him, he’s a friend for life.

“He’s probably one of the humblest people I know and one of the greatest coaches too. Statistically, he did a great job. Probably around 10 straight section finals.”

DeCenzo led the Bluejackets to the state tournament four times over his 19-year tenure, including a run to the tournament finals in 1994. He earned John Mariucci awards in 1997 and in 2011 before retiring in 2013.

“We both stepped down the same year and we still talk hockey two or three times a day,” Wasko said.

The Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame Induction Banquet was first held in 1991.  The first inductions into the Hall of Fame were the Cliff Thompson Award winners from 1977 until 1991.

2015 INDUCTEES
Rick Alm - Minneapolis South
Carl Davis - Wayzata & Buffalo
Mark DeCenzo - Hibbing & Apple Valley
Bucky Freeburg - Minneapolis Roosevelt & Southwest