Growing up in Iowa I played in a club high school league that had 13 teams, 9 of which were from Iowa. On my team, only 3 other kids went to my high school and I was always so jealous that kids in Minnesota got to play hockey for their actual school and have the same environment that a football game in Iowa would
And even the likes of Sid Crosby, Nathan McKinnon, and Jonathan Toews spent part of their formative years playing in Minnesota (Shattuck St. Mary's) as well! 😁💪🏒
@@malawi2089 I hope the rebuild in Montreal would proceed well and smoothly cuz I would LOVE to see a Stanley Cup Final between the Wild and the Habs (hopefully before Gary Buttman retires as NHL Commish)! 😁💪🍻🏒
0:33 hell yeah Andover! Minnesota hockey is incredible, the fact that the high school state tournament draws the same attendance as an NHL game is insane, that is why we’re the State of Hockey!
One big happy riot! Minnesota will show the rest of America how to do a proper Stanley Cup Riot! The riot would prolly be even bigger if the Wild are the team to break the state's 30+ year old Major League title drought! 🤣🙈🔥🏒
@@zanepemberton3598 although oshie played his older youth in mn he started near the Seattle area for about 10 years, the rink he played at has a display with some signed jerseys and Stanley cup pics. Just learned this as I signed my son up for LTP there.
Ah yes, being from District 10 was fun. Always ended up playing for the "West" team when it came to Midwest Selects and the Elite hockey tournament. We're also lucky to have many different adult hockey leagues. Thank you WHAM for letting me continue to play for fun.
Me too; District 10 is tough (Anoka, Blaine, Centennial, White Bear, Mounds View and Forest Lake….it’s geographically the largest too; I’d never noticed.
@@chainsherlock6268 true, which is why in different sports conferences are so wack in district 10. My school Andover got moved down a few years before I graduated. We went from playing our rivals Anoka, Coon Rapids and Blaine to playing schools like Rogers, Elk River, St. Francis and Cambridge-Isanti. It was wack to get used to
As a hockey-obsessed Minnesotan I can confirm that this is spot on. What’s so odd to me is that other northern states are so far behind MN in regards to hockey participation. While our community based model is unique in U.S. hockey, it’s really not unique in general. We do the same thing with hockey that every other state does with baseball or basketball, in that you grow up playing in your local community association vs. other local community associations up through high school. My question is “why is a model that’s so common in other sports, so unique to hockey, and why is it that only MN that used this model?” People marvel at our community based hockey model, and rightly so given how unique it remains in youth hockey; but nobody ever asks the question of why that is? If you play basketball in MN, it uses the same model as hockey does, just like it does if you play basketball in Illinois, or Texas, or New York….but it’s hockey that operates differently in those states; why? As a kid growing up playing hockey in Minnesota, I assumed that youth hockey operated the same way every else that it did here, and why wouldn’t I? Baseball, Soccer, and Football were no different, so why would hockey be? I’ve never gotten a solid explanation on that. Some people will say “So many rinks were built there because of the climate, and the sport grew naturally because of that.” At first glance that appears to make sense…until you consider that it would make more sense for that to be the case in other, warmer states. Why? Because in Minnesota, as the video states; we have lots of natural outdoor ice already. Why spend money on something that nature has given you for free? The need for artificial indoor ice would be more likely be in places that didn’t have it naturally outdoors. Logic follows that indoor ice rinks would have proliferated more in a state like Ohio than in MN. That’s not what happened though, and I’m curious about that…
There's a lot of states that don't even have like 20 rinks in their entire state, so hockey isn't set up like other sports because there are many communities that simply don't have a rink or a team
@@johnnyslokes2712 for sure, but why is that? especially in the colder states? WI has community based hockey but I'm not sure about the other states like MI, IL, IN, OH, PA, NY, MA and the rest of the NE states? Just like these states/communities build/built ball fields and what not. That said, CA doesn't follow this model either. They follow the AAA model as well, which for better or worse is the much more expensive model from my experience.
@@cglasford1I can't speak for most states as I grew up in Detroit my whole life but i can imagine a state like some of the states you listed all have community leagues and AAA hockey. Youth hockey doesn't work without a strong house program or some way to learn the game. Correct me if im wrong but but at least when I was growing up most states would ban checking until youre a peewee but for Minnesota it was squirts. They just learn faster up there and put it into practice at a young age. Plus, most states just simply just prefer to focus on other sports.
I played Jr Gold too. That was our only choice back in the 90s because we didn't have high school hockey. We were a decent team, i believe we were ranked 6th in state my senior season in JRG A. We were also ranked my Jr season too. I remember playing Moorhead and Duluth East Jr Gold teams in the state tournament and they crushed us like 10-1, 8-2 just murdered us. Those Jr Gold teams out of Moorhead and Duluth East during that time could have easily played Class A high school hockey and would have made the state tourney. Those were the guys who didn't make the high school team with Matt Cullen, Dave Spehar, etc. We also played Shattuck St Mary's Jr Gold A team during those two seasons and they were good too. The Jr Gold team was all freshmen but you would have never known. Great memories from Jr Gold days.
@@bjbhehir With the exception of Jim Craig in goal, not so much. Top scorer was Mark Johnson from Wisconsin with 6 goals and 5 assists. Next three players tied with 8 points each were all from Minnesota Next player with 7 points was also from Minnesota Then three players were tied with 5 points each including one from Minnesota and Mike Eruzione and Dave Silk from Mass Jack O'Callahan played limited minutes only in the last two games and had one assist
ponds and lakes everywhere. Deep cold with not a lot of choices to play on your own. I used to walk over to the pond and just play. There were outdoor rinks in the school yard. Then leagues and such. There is just a lot of exposure to build your body and get in game shape and some of this is free. There are a few states that enjoy the same opportunity but Minnesota is special to me.
My grandpa grew up in Madison and still lives there and he told me a story of him playing hockey with 3 boys in his neighborhood. Bob, Gary, and Eric. He was always the worst out of all of them and they used to have races where my grandpa would always lose, Eric came in first and Gary and bob would come in 2nd and 3rd. Eric’s full name is Eric Heiden, and you might recognize his name because he is a 5 time gold medalist for speed skating. If that wasn’t enough, guess who bob and Gary were? They are the suter brothers who played in the nhl, and bob most notably played on the 1980 miracle team.
Is Minnesota part of Canada?!:) That's one intense Hockey loving community. Love the upload. I would love to see some interviews and commentary on local games. We don't get much ice hockey in Australia. Keep building the channel.
Just watching this now.. Great Vid & great knowledge on MN Hockey world.. I’m from WI & did a vet tourney in Blaine MN.. it was a blast! We have a lot of hockey going on ‘next door’ but maybe not to the same extreme 😂👍😎
Great video. Gentry is no longer private and no longer has a AAA team to my knowledge. It is now a charter school starting at 5th grade and is free to attend. There are sports fees related to what sports you want to learn during the school day but It isn't too expensive from my understanding. Gentry also doesn't roster any youth teams, the kids that go to school there play for their normal association until high school. Gentry does have a AA high school hockey team. Really cool concept honestly and I'm surprised there aren't more of these charter schools popping up around the metro.
This is just a very fast tour of the functional organizations for Hockey up to high school. D1 Collegiate as well as adult & pro hockey is a whole 'nother thing, especially the strange culture around why the Stars left & the Wild don't win. It would take multiple videos just to explain the pageantry around girls & boys State.
You can analyze brackets and organizations all you want. The real reason for Minnesotas hockey success is culture. Growing up you want to be a hockey player. It’s not about anything else but playing in the tournament. And when you grow up and move away, you still watch the tournament on the internet.
I am jealous, I grew up playing hockey in Utah and even though it’s a cold weather snowy state in the winter it doesn’t even come close to Minnesota hockey
There is a new AAA prep program in Minnesota for u18 that was established last year. There will be a u16 next year. Its called Northstar Christian Academy in Alexandria. Top 10 team in country.
I know everyone hates Edina... But we are the GOATS of High School Hockey in Minnesota. We have 13 State titles, and the school that comes right after us, Roseau, only has 7 titles.
S Jag I had one pic of it actually - but didn’t mention it specifically! But great cool spring/summer program for the community to watch nhl players play in the off season!
Man I don’t think this is being discussed enough but with the way Minnesota hockey is set up, it’s far better than how the rest of North America does things with hockey. In Minnesota, you can get high end coaching, facilities, training and ice time for a huge fraction of the cost you would anywhere else. Play anywhere else and you’re serious about hockey and want to play at a high level, you have to play AAA travel hockey or play at a prep school and that can run you $50K a year. Because Minnesota has such a high talent pool as is, they can keep everything in state. You don’t have to drop thousands in travel costs playing there. Now that’s not to say that Minnesota doesn’t have those programs. Because I know there are a couple of prep schools that are based there. But you can still garner looks from college and pro scouts playing in their high school league and the talent there is still top notch. Minnesota does it right. They have so many high level players from their state because they don’t price their talent out like a lot of other places do. I really wish I had grown up playing hockey there. My family would have had no problems putting me in hockey there. I remember wanting to try out for a AAA travel team where I live and my dad essentially told me it wasn’t possible because there was no way he could afford it.
I played youth hockey in Minnesota and back in 2014-15 you couldn’t actually check until bantams if you threw a actual hit you got a 5 min major but other than that great video
150 associations? Wow! Here in Washington I think we have 7. The new Seattle team might open that up a bit. But outside of the cities, incomes probably would make hockey prohibitive for most kids.
You guys are right next to British Columbia.👍. I have no doubt your hockey programs will grow over time.🤞 I grew up in Minneapolis, and sadly had to see friends drop out of hockey for financial reasons. It’s tough on everyone, because you start so young, and develop such close “hockey relationships”.😢 Programs are being developed to help with the financial burden though. (In Minnesota hockey is actually VERY strong in rural areas, but more financially difficult in the inner cities.😢). Hope you guys keep plugging away, and have good luck developing your programs.👍 The key is everyone having fun!👍😀
Should also note that checking was allowed in peewees up until the early 2010s. It was a weird decision at the time because my older brother was going into his second year of peewees but had already played a full year of checking. That second year he got a roughing penalty nearly ever game. Everyone did, they had already been taught how to check the year prior.
So awesome I wish I experienced all of that growing up as a kid… I remember like 10 years ago I was on a plane flying over Minnesota, I saw so many outdoor rinks!
So you guys have free outdoor ice rinks?? God Texas sucks when it comes to hockey we have to pay like $15 to play at a local ice rink for like an hour. The sport is growing a ton here but looking at this we suck lmao
@SethLowe There might be 10-15 free outdoor rinks per town in Minnesota, and that's not an exaggeration. Plus that doesn't include the indoor rinks either.
Population/player ratio Saskatchewan is pound for pound the best hockey area on the planet. Dunno why that is but there is a constant stream of NHL'ers that come through Sask it's insane!
Curious though. With the price difference in the summer hockey. Is it the difference between 700 and 3000 a district thing or coaches or facilities? :)
3:07 - When did that change? when I was a kid Pee Wee's was when we started checking. 4:09 - Not Familiar with KR hockey, also back in my day there was no Chanhassen hockey, I think the kids there either played for Minnetonka, Eden Prairie or Chaska depending on what part of Chan they lived in. Also it looks like there is No more BAA Bears (Bloomington Athletic Association). When I was a kid, depending on where you lived in Bloomington you either Played for the Jefferson Jaguars, Kennedy Eagles or the BAA Bears - Bloomington used to have 3rd Highschool Lincoln which had the bear as a mascot, but I think the school closed back in the 80's, I think they even used Lincolns colors too. Good Video - But would have been nice for you to include a bit about College hockey - Minnesota Has 6 D1 college hockey Programs and 9 D-3 programs, also there are also numerous Adult leagues for all level from beginners to Ex College and Pro players.
Hi! Great video, learned a lot, but the pace of the video (fast cuts between images, talking speed) had me struggling to keep up.Not sure if others agree, but just wanted to let you know how I felt.
Hockey is too expensive. Now I live in Minnesota so you know there's a lot of hockey players here pretty much everybody played hockey at one point or another but I think if communities could find some sort of way to make it cheaper or any ways to make it cheaper the game could grow exponentially. I think the biggest thing holding back the development of hockey is just a price that it's going to cost parents to keep their kids in it you're an you're out if you are struggling as a parent you can't afford this some communities are easier than others but it's just too difficult to too expensive. If the price could be cut in half the sport would grow twice fold I would assume but I'm also an idiot
Going off the prices he listed in this video, they are way cheaper than what they would be anywhere else to get the ice time, facilities and quality instruction that these kids are getting. He listed Bantams as being about 1.3 to 3K per season which sounds expensive until you realize that it’s a 45 game season and you are practicing 3-4 times per game. That’s a lot of ice time. To get that kind of ice time anywhere else, you’d have to play AAA travel and depending on the team, that can run you up to $50K. And that includes Canada too. I would killed to have grown up playing in Minnesota and I know my parents would have been able to afford it.
@@Jefff72 At the time I was playing, neither of my parents were bringing in the kind of money to afford those leagues so I played AA travel and stayed mostly regional. Even that was tough on my parents. Playing AAA you travel all over the country and to Canada. It’s insane and it’s the only way you can get recruited to play at an elite level. The CHL and USHL will not recruit anybody from leagues below AAA and the NHL does not recruit anything below major juniors. Minnesota players get recruited by NCAA division I programs and the players are talented enough to get looked at by the USNTDP which get majors looks from pro scouts themselves. And because it’s cost effective, way more kids end up playing this creating a larger talent pool. Minnesota sends more players to the NHL than any other US state and it isn’t even close.
Trent Henely and you know? Canada is ranked #1.... USA isn’t even 2nd or 3rd. Russia Sweden and even Finland is better than usa. My two canadian lova teams destroyed Michigan and Minnesota in tourneys it was too easy.
You should make a video on South Saint Paul's girls hockey team. They won 86 straight games including four state titles they have the record for most State appearances they also have the record for most shorthanded goals scored in a season which was more than most teams had scored in a season just a very impressive Bunch that should be brought to light
You missed one of the biggest up-and-coming prep schools, North Star Christian Academy. Only been around 2 years in their already nipping at the heels of Shattuck Saint Mary.
My understanding, we followed some study about concussions that took place in Canada and deemed it was more safe for the kids. 🙄 I wonder if the study followed up on Bantam level players and the concussion rates/separated shoulders or broken collarbones. To me, it’s goofy.
@@ethanlee7905 I understand the difference between the speed of the game at the peeweee level compared to bantam and the dangers of teaching checking at a later age as opposed to a younger age.
@@Xe12xEs101 the problem is you start putting the emphasis on the wrong part of the game. This doesn’t mean they just ignore the subject. They have checking camps all the time for kids squirts and up. And honestly it’s because they are mature or really good enough to add that element to the game yet. But I can promise you where I’m from they are teaching you.
@@ethanlee7905 contact has been part of the game for as long as I can remember. The new “icing” while on PK is a mind boggling move as well. There’s aspects of the game that are not taught at a younger level. I see it far too much at the level I coach. Very frustrating.
people are bigger high school and college fans. and I personally am still bitter about losing the Northstars to Dallas. but that's why they left. the audience in MN has 100 other options for puck.
Minnesota being the state of hockey is not judged by the professional team that plays in the state. It's judged by the youth players that come out of the state. Idiot. Hockey is not a cheap sport and it costs money no matter what state you're in. If you think playing hockey is overpriced, then go buy a soccer ball and have at it.
@@1sotheary canada, new england, slavic countries - these are 'hockey states', only thing good to come out of MN - a couple players from the 1980 US Olympic Team - if MN was truly the 'State..' players would remain loyal to it - not flock to higher paydays - MN 'Hockey Parents' - bunch of despicable, opportunistic, child-neglecting drunks - why travelers avoid hotels in MN between the months of Dec and Mar.
@@chubngrub What the fuck are you talking about? Players go to where they're drafted or traded. They just can't stay in Minnesota to play. So they just don't "flock" to higher paydays somewhere else for the fun of it. Oh, and Minnesota leads the NHL by birth state, as much as New York and Massachusetts combined, so that puts to rest that nothing good comes from Minnesota. Considering the low population of Minnesota, that's saying a lot. Your argument is dead and buried.
I watch the games, so I see the non white kids playing. You watch an internet video and declare yourself an expert. There are inter city programs that help poor kids of any color last I heard. The players are there, if you watch. There are several players in the NHL. Black folks play hockey too. And It's great. The more the merrier. Maybe you're the one with a problem for assuming you know anything about be. Good day.
Hockey lol. No one watches it. It's hard to get new people to like it it because no one can follow the Puck. So u like a game that no one watches... Give me American football, soccer, or basketball.
uncheckedagression bullshit why does no one watch it look at the ratings u fool . Sorry you should be able to pick up a sport as soon as usual watch ...not be trained to watch since u were born. And watching a puck has nothing to do with smarts ...it has to do with eyesight. Get your act together, u disgust me!
OD!N go back to school so I can correctly debate whether people can follow a hockey puck? I don't need to I can simply look at Russia once they opened up to the west they quickly went from hockey to watching soccer. Ha ha
