Godbout, a longtime member of the APX family, competed in his first full season of high school hockey for Hill-Murray back in 2019-20. The Pioneers had a talented roster that year and wound up making an appearance at the state tournament. In the Class AA state semifinal game against St. Thomas Academy, Godbout, who was just a sophomore at the time, scored two power-play goals in the first period, which wound up being just what the team needed to push the Cadets to overtime before eventually taking the win in the extra frame. Hill-Murray then proceeded to win the 2020 state title with a 4-1 victory over Eden Prairie the very next day. 

“When I get with buddies now today, we still talk about that run and everything that happened,” said Godbout about winning the state tournament. “That was a dream come true for sure.” 

After a promising sophomore season and scoring 21 points through 25 games, which included the third-highest amount of goals scored on the entire roster that year (10), Godbout returned to the Pioneers as a junior but things weren’t easy for any hockey player in the state of Minnesota in 2020-21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Schedules were limited and Hill-Murray only competed in 20 total games that season, but despite that, the squad was again very talented and was hoping to win back-to-back state titles. Tragedy eventually struck later that spring though as the Pioneers earned a berth back to the state tournament only to be forced to forfeit their quarterfinal match against Wayzata due to the team being previously exposed to an opponent with Covid-19 in their section final game against White Bear Lake - which thus ended their season. Godbout says having the season ended in such a way was ‘gut-wrenching’, but that it obviously fueled many of the players to come back even stronger for the year to follow. 

Competition resumed back to normal then for 2021-22, which just so happened to be Godbout’s senior season. The forward from Woodbury was named captain of the team and he proceeded to have a phenomenal year, leading the Pioneers in scoring with a whopping 30 goals and 25 assists through 31 contests. Those statistics led him to be named as one of 10 Mr. Hockey finalists in the spring of 2022. 

“I think it was the coaching staff believing in me and letting me do what I wanted to do and also just giving me the freedom to play my game [that helped take his game to the next level] but I think I knew from a leadership standpoint that I had to step it up with being a captain that year and that I needed to lead the team by example and vocally,” Godbout told APX reporter Sydney Wolf. “It was my senior year so I wanted to lay it all on the line and do the best I could.” 

Hill-Murray again qualified for the state tournament that season and had a very good run, ultimately taking home the third-place title in Class AA. 

At the time of his high school graduation, Godbout was originally committed to play college hockey at the University of Wisconsin. He had verbally committed to the Badgers back when he was around age 14 or 15 - which was right before the NCAA changed the rules surrounding athletes committing to programs that young (they now must wait until August 1 of the summer before their junior year of high school). What he didn’t know at the time of his graduation was that he would eventually go through plenty of highs and lows in junior hockey over the next few years and that when he would eventually step foot on the ice at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin, that it would actually be as an opponent of the Badgers and not as a member of the Wisconsin roster. 

Godbout’s first few official games of junior hockey in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers actually came in the spring after the conclusion of his senior year of high school. He was able to practice with the team and watch them win the 2022 Clark Cup. Being able to see how the squad practiced every day and to witness the level at which you need to play at in the USHL was helpful to Godbout. He trained hard that offseason to make sure that he was prepared to make an immediate impact on the ice for the Musketeers in his first full year of junior hockey in 2022-23. 

The 5-foot-11 forward was impressive as a rookie in the USHL, scoring 47 points in 62 games - which was third-most in overall scoring on the roster. Things were looking good for the skater from Woodbury, but that’s when plans started to change. 

In the spring of 2023, Don Granato was let go as Head Coach at Wisconsin. Mike Hastings of Minnesota State was eventually hired as his replacement. This created a domino effect and many athletes who originally committed to the Badgers under Granato then decommitted over the next year or so, including Godbout. This didn’t deter the Minnesotan skater from playing college hockey though as he soon announced his new commitment to play for Ohio State as he headed into his second year with the Musketeers. 

“They’re a big-time school that is very well-known and there were a lot of good guys there that I had played junior hockey with in Sioux City, so it felt like a comfortable decision for me, and obviously the Big 10 is a very good conference so I liked the opportunity to play in that,” Godbout said about why he chose the Buckeyes. 

Many were keeping an eye on the forward from Hill-Murray in 2023-24 after his successful rookie USHL season. He started off well in Year 2 by scoring 19 points through 23 games before tearing the labrum in his shoulder around the month of December which would then require surgery and a fairly long rehabilitation period. This sidelined him for a long portion of the season and he was out of commission from January until August of 2024. That definitely wasn’t the year that the skater was hoping to have and it made things a bit difficult to then make the jump up into the ranks of Division I hockey that fall in Columbus. 

Godbout wound up appearing in just 14 games for Ohio State as a freshman, tallying one assist. 

“The jump from juniors to college is definitely a different one than from high school to juniors, but I wouldn’t take back anything and I have no regrets about my decision [to go to Ohio State],” he said. “Obviously, I would’ve wanted to play a little bit more than I did in my first year, but I think it was a major learning year for me both on the ice, off the ice, and mentally and just with my whole game and everything.”

Following the conclusion of the season and after many discussions with friends, family, and those close to him, Godbout decided that it would be best to enter the transfer portal. He entered the portal without knowing who would contact him or where he would end up but he wanted to see what his options were. 

“Thankfully, St. Thomas reached out and I knew it was a no-brainer to come back home and play here at a school that is up-and-coming and with a brand new rink. I’m just super thankful to have this opportunity,” he said about his decision to commit to the Tommies. “I’m more than happy and excited to be at St. Thomas this upcoming year and to get a second opportunity at something special and to be playing Division I hockey.” 

He’ll be very close to home now over the next few seasons while playing at UST and he says that obviously his family is quite excited about that and that he’ll have fun being able to watch some of his younger brother’s hockey games in-person at Hill-Murray this winter as well. 

Since the Tommies typically have a high number of Minnesotans on the roster, Godbout is already plenty familiar with many of his teammates for this season, including Andover native Charlie Schoen, who is transferring in from Arizona State. Schoen and Godbout played in Sioux City together. 

For Tommies fans - Godbout says that he is generally a 200-foot player who can shoot the puck and that he wants to be someone who can be reliable out on the ice at the end of a game whether his team is up by a goal or down by a goal. 

“I want to contribute in any way possible, wherever they need me,” he said about his mentality of joining St. Thomas this fall. “We want to win the CCHA and it’s also the first year that we’re eligible for the NCAA tournament so I know that that’s a big goal for us this year and we’ve all been training together all summer and we’re ready to get this thing going.” 

Godbout is a longtime APX athlete and calls the APX program ‘one of the best spots to train in Minnesota’. 

“We first met Dylan when he was a PeeWee and he loved to compete, loved to be at the rink, and was always very interested in working on his game - he’s very coachable that way,” said Wes Jirovec, the APX Director of Player Development. “Those character traits have stayed with him over all these years and they’re still incredibly relevant in his presence at the rink now. He seems very hungry and motivated to make a big splash at his new home at UST.” 

Godbout recently joined the APX staff this summer as well, which includes a small, select group of athletes who are chosen to help coach, teach, train and mentor other skaters. His maturity, leadership and professionalism have instantly made an impact on those surrounding him at the rink.

“He’s gonna suck to play against,” joked Jirovec. “That’s a complement towards the versatility and the hard skill in his game. He’s always been a really savvy offensive threat. He will be producing scoring chances however he needs to do it, including if it’s getting W’s in the trenches and just being a really tenacious presence. That style of play will be very appealing for his new coaching staff and anyone who gets to play with him.” 

Be on the lookout for Godbout to join the Tommies roster this fall and be aware of his name as someone who could make an immediate splash in CCHA competition. The Woodbury native was studying general business at Ohio State and plans to continue that once he gets to campus in St. Paul.