Carson Kuche locks in during warmups ahead of Arizona State’s Feb. 15 matchup against Colorado State — a moment of calm before the intensity he brings to the ice.
TEMPE – At first glance, it’s hard to imagine that Carson Kuche leads a life centered in peace and love. On the ice, with the puck flying and bodies crashing, Kuche is willing to do anything for his team, from blocking shots to having his teammates’ backs in a fight.
But hockey is just one part of who he is.
Kuche, a junior forward at Arizona State, has built a reputation as both an intense competitor on the ASU club hockey team and an easygoing friend. Off the ice, he is working toward a degree in construction management, fighting wildland fires with a hotshot crew and, most recently, training in bull riding.
For Kuche, life has never been about sticking to just one path, it’s about pushing himself to be the best version of himself.
“Love, care and learn,” Kuche said when asked about his approach to life. “It sounds cliché, but I actually practice it. I want to be someone who people can depend on and someone who’s easy to be around.”
That mindset has made him well-respected among teammates, co-workers and friends across all aspects of his life.
“He’s a great teammate and friend,” said ASU defenseman Ty Marchant. “He always helps people out. He’s good at bringing people up when they are down. He always brings the good energy and makes people laugh and lightens the mood.”
While working with a hotshot firefighting crew in McCall, Idaho, Carson Kuche poses by a lookout tower during the summer of 2024. (Photo courtesy of Carson Kuche)
Kuche, raised in Flagstaff, didn’t always have such a clear perspective on life. It changed in an instant when he was 16.
Kuche had just returned to Phoenix from Minnesota, and his sister, Grace, was flying in to surprise their mom after months away. What was supposed to be a joyful reunion quickly turned into a moment they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
On the freeway home, their mom suddenly started speaking nonsense. Then, she slowed down significantly and began swerving. She was having a seizure behind the wheel, causing her body to lock up, leaving her foot pressing both the gas and the brake at the same time.
With cars flying past and their vehicle swerving across lanes, Kuche and his sister had to take control.
“It felt like forever,” Grace recalled. “She was still seizing, and we were just lucky enough that some people saw we were struggling.”
They managed to steer the car to safety and get their mom’s feet off the pedals while waiting for help to arrive. For Kuche, the experience was life-changing.
“A couple weeks after that, I was like, ‘Damn, I did really well in that,’” Kuche said. “I didn’t freak out. I was calm, I was direct, I knew what needed to happen. That kind of sparked something in me.”
That moment of clarity under pressure shaped the way he views life. He realized he thrived in high-stress situations, which sparked him to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue firefighting.
“I never really expected him to get into firefighting,” Grace said. “But when he went in he loved every bit about it. I knew as a sister that he was right where he was supposed to be.”
His calm and collected mindset helps him face danger in the line of fires that are unpredictable and dangerous. This was evident during one of the most intense moments of his firefighting career, working on a helicopter crash during a fire near Payson.
As the crew was relocating their camp, a loud pop echoed before a puff of smoke appeared in the air. Unsure what happened at the extinguished fire site, Kuche and other crew members raced to the site to see a crashed helicopter on fire and the pilot nowhere to be found.
Jay Robertson, left, and Carson Kuche team up to fight and prevent wildfires in Idaho during the summer of 2024. (Photo courtesy of Carson Kuche)
Believing the pilot had jumped out of the crashing helicopter, they started to search in a grid to try and find their teammate, who did not survive the crash.
“It kind of hit me when I was doing that. I was like ‘Dude, you’re (expletive) 18 right now, looking for a human body,’” Kuche said. “Part of me was like I don’t want to find this guy, like what am I about to see? I just remember the smells. I remember the voices that day.”
Despite the experience, Kuche continued to get up each morning to fight the rest of the fire and fulfill each aspect of his high-stress job. Through these situations, Kuche also continued to be a leader and work with those around him to get better.
“When you are working those kind of hours and conditions, it’s a very stressful environment,” fellow firefighter Jay Robertson said. “He was the kind of person that you would go to and tell him how you’re feeling and he was there to support me and give me advice.”
Kuche makes sure to keep this mindset going in all of his relationships, emphasizing how important it is to meet people where they are at in their lives.
“He leads with love 100% of the time,” Kuche’s friend Sam Murphy said. “When he approaches interactions, he carries a lot of what he’s experienced fighting wildfires into the interactions and is able to meet people with a lot of empathy.”
Kuche never boasts about his interests or passions in life, he simply puts in the work.
“He really downplays everything he does. He’s not cocky. He doesn’t brag. He’s just a very down-to-earth, humble guy,” Robertson said.
Whether on the ice, battling flames or standing by his friends, Carson lives by the lessons his experiences have taught him. For him, it’s never just about the job, it’s about the people beside him, pushing through challenges together.