St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko excelled on and off the ice for three years at the University of Alaska. Not much has changed in this, his first season of professional hockey.

Parayko made the Blues out of training camp and had an instant impact with the team thanks to his 6-foot-5 frame, impressive mobility and booming shot from the point. Meanwhile, he continued chipping away at the seven classes he needed to complete his undergraduate degree.

ESPN.com's Julie Robenhymer checked in with the St. Albert, Alberta, native and his head coach, Ken Hitchcock, as the Blues face the Dallas Stars in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs:

Near the end of a six-game road trip, after a team meeting and before an afternoon game against the Winnipeg Jets, Hitchcock casually asked his rookie defenseman what he was going to do that night.

"He told me he had two term papers to finish and was going to write one that night. All I could say was, 'Pardon?' " said Hitchcock, who is in his 20th season behind an NHL bench. "I was shocked. You hear about things like this in the offseason, but never during the season. At least I've never heard about anyone else doing it."

Parayko and the Blues lead the stars in the series, 2-1, with Games 4 and 5 set for Thursday and Saturday. The defenseman UAF coaches call "The Big Cat" has more motivation than most to close out the series quickly - he's got two final exams and a term paper due next week.

For Parayko, it's all part of finishing what he started.

"People think I'm crazy for doing this, but I'm not crazy," said Parayko, 22. "I've been going to school and playing hockey for the past three years. This is nothing new for me. The way I see it, it'd be crazy not to finish my degree.

"I didn't want to put in three years of work towards something and then let it go to waste. I thought back to all the times I was battling through exams or a tough assignment and all the work I put into this, and there was no way I wasn't going to finish it."

Always a straight-A student, Parayko is taking three classes during the spring semester -- sports marketing, business continuity management and international business -- and while he and his teammates are battling the Dallas Stars in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs Parayko will also be battling the books, with two finals and a term paper to finish next week.

"Hockey won't last forever," he said. "It could last one year or it could last 10 or even more, you never know, and I think it's always a good idea to have a college degree in your back pocket whenever you need it."

Be sure to read the full story at ESPN.com.