From beer league to big leagues: Colorado's Cam Piggott

Assistant captain Cam Piggott has made the most of his two years with the Colorado Buffaloes. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports)

It’s Saturday, Feb. 8, senior night for the Colorado men’s Division 1 hockey team, a night that generated excitement throughout the arena and the lineup. Starting center and senior Cam Piggott absorbed the atmosphere, ready to perform.

And perform he did.

Piggott scored three goals, including a game-winning short-handed breakaway, in a 7-6 barnburner to lift his team past the San Diego State Aztecs.

“I remember right before the game, I was talking to some of the guys, and I told Jake Rosolanko. I was like, ‘I think I'm scoring more than one tonight,’” Piggott said. “‘I think I might have three.’”

He plays a critical role on the Buffs now, but that was not always his plan.

Hockey has been in Piggott’s life since he was a kid, coming from a hockey family. Piggott, a Colorado native, grew up skating at the Sports Stable in Superior. Sports in general were prevalent in his childhood.

“I played soccer and baseball too, and so never made the jump to Triple-A. I just played Double-A my whole life and enjoyed other sports,” Piggott said. “Enjoyed being a kid, and I’m happy with that decision.”

His time in Double-A with the Boulder Hockey Club ended when he aged out of the 16U age group. Piggott faced a decision.

“A lot of guys either play Monarch (High School) or go somewhere else,” Piggott said. “And so me and all the buddies I grew up playing with, that was kind of what they wanted to do was grow up and go to high school and play (for) Monarch.”

At Monarch, Piggott shone on and off the ice. After a shortened junior season because of Covid, Piggott scored 15 points in 19 games as the Coyotes’ captain as a senior. He also graduated at the top of his class as valedictorian in 2022.

As valedictorian, the University of Colorado offered him a lucrative scholarship to attend as a mechanical engineering student. When he first arrived at CU, he had no intention of playing for the Buffs.

“And as the time went on, the summer passed, I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna go to school,’” Piggott said. “I had a fun time playing hockey, but I think I’m done.”

He never fully stopped playing hockey, however, playing in a men’s league on Thursday nights at the same rink he grew up playing in. As freshman and sophomore years went by, Piggott was content with playing non-competitive games in Superior. Beer league may have been his last stop, if not for a former Buff suggesting that he play for CU.

“One of the guys I played with used to play here. Tim Murphy is his name, and he played with Trace Jablin, our head coach from last year. (Tim's) like, ‘You're good enough. I'm gonna call Trace, just go skate with them, see how you like it,’” Piggott said. “That kind of instilled the confidence in me. I was like, ‘You know what? Might as well, I miss it so much. I love playing beer league, and I take it so seriously, I might as well give (CU) a shot.’”

Tryouts came and went, and Piggott made the D1 team in his junior year. In his first semester, he struggled to adjust to the speed of the ACHA, scoring just two points. When he returned from winter break, he knew he needed to change. 

In the final 14 games of the 2024-25 season, he had nine points as he began to ease in and tweak his style.

“I was just kind of playing a style of hockey where it's like, don't do anything risky, just play the right way,” Piggott said. “And while that's a good way to play hockey, I think sometimes you do have to take a risk and try something.”

His new style of play has followed him into the 2025-26 season, where he now leads CU in points (17) and goals (10). With the change to his game, he has also had to shift how he prepares.

“I'm big into looking into who we're playing, and where these guys might have played, or how certain guys have been performing,”  Piggott said. “I'll see guys that have played in (juniors or NCAA), and instead of being scared, I'm like, ‘All right, I'm gonna produce.’ I just try to think back and be like, alright, I've scored then. I can score tonight. So I just really try to pump my own tires.”

Even as a fairly new face in the Buffs locker room, Piggott’s presence as a leader is felt on and off the ice. 

“I think the fact he’s a captain in only his second year with us shows how much of a leader he is and how important he is for this group,” veteran goaltender Matthew Server said. “He has an infectious personality that makes everyone willing to follow his lead. He’s also been a great bridge between the new guys coming in and the established leadership in the locker room, which has helped the camaraderie in the room a lot.”

Piggott’s leadership will leave a lasting impact on a team he was almost never a part of. Joining the Buffs is a decision he does not regret.

“A big part of loving the game is all the people that come along with it, and I've made some of my best friends in these past two years, and it's just so much different,” Piggott said. “Like, my college experience, kind of flipped. I have two years without hockey, two years with hockey, and I am so grateful that I decided to play.”