Home Ice Advantage: Minnesota's Community Hockey Legacy (Part 1) 

100%. I got lucky enough to play my senior season on a Minnesota team, and it's unlike anything else I played throughout my career, juniors included. I played in New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota up through high school, and stayed in Minnesota for my two years of juniors. MN high school hockey was far and away the most incredible experience I could've had, and I can't imagine what it'd be like as one of the kids who grows up in these towns and gets to don their colors. What I experienced for that year was incredible, but to have an even deeper connection to the community would be so special. The prep hockey system that so many teams are turning to, like Mount Saint Charles this year is doing, is going to kill that community based vibe. I really hope most teams in Minnesota don't do that, and I wish that teams in Mass and California would adopt the more MN style of it. There's nothing like MN hockey, and in my opinion there never will be, but if other states adopt the style they have I think that'd do so much for the game nation-wide.

@@seaoc6578 Well said. The irony is Mass used to be much more like this. In fact, it still is in many ways. Most towns east of Worcester have local youth hockey programs that funnel up to the high school team. The high school tournament is still a really big deal. Most people outside the area would be shocked to learn that the Super 8 final used to pull 10k+ at the Garden (I say "used to" because the Super 8 no longer exists due to some ludicrous decision making by the MIAA). So the issue isn't that the state lacks community-based hockey infrastructure. It's that this way of doing things is increasingly under threat. The number of AAA programs and hockey academies has exploded. Prep schools continue to lure players out of public high schools. Junior leagues are popping up left and right. It's become exhausting. NHL scouts and D1 recruiters don't know where to look anymore, and kids are increasingly sold on the idea that high school hockey isn't a viable path to D1 and beyond.

Roseau Warroad not small enough for you

@@teaganlaplante1386 they are some of the biggest names in single A highschool hockey. Warroad may be a small town but it's very well known in the hockey world.

Roseau is AA. Even with a total population of 2700. Warroad has about 1800 for a population. Doesn’t get much “small town” than that.

@@thirtythirtytwo Right, there aren't very many communities with less that 2000-3000 people that even have HS hockey teams.

Lol you must be from Edina

And the politics are so bad.

It's affordable as hockey can be. 100% more than most places nationally both with time and money. I've played both Mn High School and travel in other places across the US (PA and NY), and the cost is outrageous compared to MN. Not only that, I'd have to commute 45+ minutes just to practice, not to mention 3+ hours to games, where in MN it's usually a max of 15 minutes to practice, and I don't think we had one game over an hour away.

well if you go up to the northern towns its way cheaper. Look up some of the associations like Hibbing Bantams is the most expensive and its $900 that is $1,000 cheaper than my association in Cottage Grove. I believe Grand Rapids can basically be free if you sell all your raffle tickets.

No

This is normal for most highschool sports

Cause girls would get broke in two playing with the boys you woke moron

I'm curious why there shouldn't be? Girls and boys hockey are two different games, all the way from mites to pro levels.

@@seaoc6578 I meant segregated by color. Segregating all the non white kids into their own team feels kinda sus. But Boys and girls definitely do not need to play hockey together past age 9 or 10 due to the obvious physical differences.