ALL Public AA State Hockey Tourney

[wormdunker]

After Hill Murray's shocking loss to Stillwater tonight in the last high school game ever played at the Coliseum we are assured an all public school state tournament. Given the state of hockey at this time, I am not sure anyone would have ever guessed this could ever happen again.

Congrats to Lakeville North, Edina, Eden Prairie, Eagan, Stillwater, Centennial, Duluth East and Roseau! Gonna be a great tourney.

[Bear55]

I like it.

[certified jumbo]

Me too

[pushbutton]

Is Edina a public school?

[Bear55]

Is Edina a public school?

I guess we need them there, without the privates there is no one else to cheer against.

[leechlake]

I'm from Edina, played hockey there and dislike them too? I now live in a different "cake eater" type town. I wonder what makes this happen; success, or that they rig the playoffs so they don't even play their regular season conference opponents pretty much giving them a huge leg up on playing in the tourney most years.

[TomWehler]

Love seeing the Whorenets get squished any time any place.

Good coach an huge amount of players to pick from to ice the best around area an of course they re~crut from all over from early age an have transfur players coming an going all the time under the cloak of darkness.

Money dose strange things to people. EDINA BLOWS!

GO TRAINERS!

[wormdunker]

First of all I am not from Edina and I am not a fan either. But to say they recruit is uninformed. Although they have an abundance of good hockey players you only have to look at what they offer at the youth level to know why they are so good.

They have built the best youth hockey organization in the state (world?). It is so good that former Elite hockey players/athletes move there to provide the best opportunity for their kids. They have NHLer's for HS coaches. Birds of a feather flock together. Is that recruiting or plain old, "if you build it they will come"? You not only then have a great program but genes to go with it.

They have privatized training opportunities and facilities that are second to none.

Sucks for the rest of us but to a degree you have to respect what they have built as a community.

Give you an example, our local association has 4 squirt teams, 13 players per team. We are considered mid sized. Edina has 12 Squirt teams with full rosters. They are simply a community where Hockey rules. All other sports are to keep the kids out of trouble drink the off season.

I for one am jealous and if my kids were not so established part of me would like to be a part of it. To be honest there is more recruiting done in the Northern towns than at Edina, the very towns I root for during the tourney (Warroad, Roseau, duluth, EGF). Although this year it will be hard to root against Eagan and Stillwater!! Thanks to both of you for taking out the biggest recruiters , Hill and STA.

[certified jumbo]

high school hockey will never be what it used to be. private schools, open enrollment, and player's leaving early for jrs has changed things drastically. On kfan this morning they said attendance was down for many section championship games. Things are just different, its this way in all sports as well, not just hockey. I personally don't like it, but it isn't going away!!

[wormdunker]

Attendance was not down at the Coliseum last night. I have been going to section games there since I was a kid. Yes there were a few years the place was more packed but last night was special. The place was SRO with a few open seats here and there. It emptied a bit after the first game then filled tight back up.

What has impacted attendance as much as a potentially declining product is Technology. The night before I streamed STA/Eagan and Warroad/EGf. It was warm and my snacks came a much reduced price. Have to take everything into account when calculating attendance. -10 degrees, warm couch and my own food kept me home even though I really wanted to go.

The declining product point in my opinion is ridiculous. The talent on the ice is greater, FAR greater and deeper than it was just a few years ago. You will see overall HS Teams will get deeper 1-4 lines. The 97-98 birth year kids were at the leading edge of the off season training boom. As you see these kids come in to HS you will see a different type of hockey. Less individual and old school hockey and more puck possession skill based games through 3 lines of players.

Losing the few TOP top end players does not take away the passion and intensity of section or state tourney games. In my mind it only allows more kids opportunities they may not have had previously.

To the DADS of the kids choosing to leave HS for greener pastures I say, "don't let the door hit you". Life is good at High School, could use 5-10 more games a year but otherwise it is a great product every other hockey state in the union dreams about.

[certified jumbo]

Wormdunker I'm truely happy you enjoy it. But I personally don't. You have your power house teams who have strong followings and in some intense matchups with other piwer house schools. Thats great!! But for most hockey communities this isn't the case. Good players leave for open enrollment or private schools. Leaving much of outer state hockey with with nothing. 45 of the best players left high school hockey this year. Next year will be more. Division 1 hockey teams don't take many kids straight from hs anymore. They want that jr experience. Again, I'm happy some still enjoy it. But for me its different and I don't enjoy it.

[wormdunker]

It could be argued that a good number of those 45 that left were not the best players on their teams. Do I enjoy it? That might be strong term but based on the level of ability of todays players through out the HS line ups the game is still a better team product than it was 20 years ago.

If the top players MAKE the game enjoyable for you, why didn't Slattery put his team on his back and get it done last night? Why didn't French, Why didn't the mythical "8th" grader and "9th" grader get it done? Why didn't the top players at STA and Breck? Answer is they couldn't because a Team beats a bunch of individuals. In my opinion the open enrolls and transfers will end up hurting the programs they go too not the sport in whole.

Last night Stillwater beat Hill Murray and previously Eagan beat STA but they also BEAT kids that left their program, that is a great story. One that proves the grass is not always greener and that MAYBE that High School hockey is alive and well. 3 programs that are the poster children for this epidemic you say is hurting HS hockey went down to community based teams that had 0 transfers.

The game last night Orono/Breck and Eagan/STA both prove that kids can gather as deeply as they like at a given school but those kids and their parents inflated attitudes and perceptions about their abilities and position in the hockey world has to remain grounded.

Truth is if a program is losing kids they better get on the ball and fix what ails them.

The HS league just needs to allow one or two more tourneys a year for HS hockey so the kids can get some more game experience. There are plenty of weekends to accomplish this.

[harvey lee]

I have never thought that private school's belonged in the state tourny, for that matter, any state public school tourny.

Maybe no private school's this year but typically they dominate with thier recruited players.

Give them thier own tourny in all sports.

[PierBridge]

Actually Eagans goalie is from Lakeville And the Lakeville North hockey program. He lives right across the street from Lakeville North....Ironically the Team he abanded ship to go play for Eagan has been top rated for a while. Recruiting is not limited to private schools and is alive well in the public school districts.

Hill Murray doesn't need to recruit their school and storied hockey program do that on there own, they sell there selves. Personally I think the animosity towards private schools is lot about jealousy.

Just a few years back 2011 or 12 there were no private schools in the AA tselves so its that unheard of.

I personally love the few small select private schools that do well in hockey and personally love it when take down the Edina's, wazatas, eden prairies. And lakevill north types with there deep pockets and insanely funded huge numbered youth programs.

[harvey lee]

Do, schools like Hill Murray, STA and on and on have grade schools that feed them or are all the students at thier high school from some where else?

I believe I know the answer but want to verify this.

[BartmanMN]

They all come from other schools. I grew up playing in Cottage Grove and each year we'd lose a couple kids to Hill Murray, Cretin, and STA. Mostly Hill Murray though.

[wormdunker]

I think it is important to realize that there is a very good sized feeder systemic place for Private schools. There are countless private elementary schools all over. Those schools are the feeder System for Private High schools. Too often we assume that the youth hockey organization is the only feeder system.

I never have a problem when a family chooses to enroll their Hockey playing child in a private high school after attending Private grade school. Nor do I think anyone has the right to fault those people.

The ones that can be questioned are those that eat breathe and sleep hockey. Their kid goes to public grade and middle school then jump to whatever program suits their hockey needs best. Recruiting? It think it is more like overzealous parents. These are the people that take advantage of the system. Typically they spend their entire youth hockey time doing everything they can to mold the team or program into something that benefits their desires and needs for their kid. They are extremely selfish. They will walk all over the kids experience just to make the situation right for them.

There are some doozies out there. I have seen some sacrifice the desires and High School experience for one child just to get a better situation for another more skilled sibling.

[CaptainMusky]

Warroad has been "recruiting" kids for decades though you never hear anyone complain about them.

Unemployed parents of an excellent Middle School/High School aged student? "We've got a job for you at Marvin Windows".

[PierBridge]

That's an interesting take.

If I'm following you here, your criteria is, if the parents are successful or rich depending on how you phrase it and can afford 6 to 24 thousand dollars per kid per year for the 6 or so years up leading up to high school you are ok with them continuing to play if they are good enough and have the neccasary funding.

But if your kid starts out in public school and the family due to whatever reason, money, athletics, academics decides to switch to private like a lot of kids for the various reasons listed above they shouldn't be allowed to compete.

To each is ownI guess.

[harvey lee]

I wish they would end all open enrollment in regards to sports. Play for the town and school you are going to.

No need for any school public or private to improve thier sports program off another towns players.

Might as well call it college or pro sports the way it is run now.

[CaptainMusky]

If the kids are getting a "scholarship" to play a sport in HS is pretty ridiculous personally. If the parent can afford it no big deal to me but it is a bit disheartening when these kids grow up playing together and then a few of them leave the others for "greener pastures".

[PierBridge]

I wish they would end all open enrollment in regards to sports. Play for the town and school you are going to.

No need for any school public or private to improve thier sports program off another towns players.

Might as well call it college or pro sports the way it is run now.

Back in the day that's how it pretty much was. You had to actually move in order to play elsewhere and the privates were all horrible other than Hill Murray.

Harvey I too miss those days where you played for the town or district you lived in.

[wormdunker]

That's an interesting take.

If I'm following you here, your criteria is, if the parents are successful or rich depending on how you phrase it and can afford 6 to 24 thousand dollars per kid per year for the 6 or so years up leading up to high school you are ok with them continuing to play if they are good enough and have the neccasary funding.

But if your kid starts out in public school and the family due to whatever reason, money, athletics, academics decides to switch to private like a lot of kids for the various reasons listed above they shouldn't be allowed to compete.

To each is ownI guess.

You are not following. Where did I reference wealth? A lot of assumptions.

I know a lot of people that attend private school for Academic and Faith based reasons. Believe it or not some of those people actually participate in sports too. Thus my comment about the feeder system. The private grade schools are not Athletic feeders but faith and education feeders to Faith based high schools first and foremost. Thus it seems natural for a kid that attended Private grade school to attend a private High school.

I know many parents of private school students that are NOT wealthy. They stretch themselves VERY thin to provide, what they think to be, the best solution for their kid and good for them. I commend them.

I did not say they should not be allowed to compete? I do not have any animosity toward private schools at all. My kids are public all the way however. I do have some animosity reserved against parents that leave a path of destruction in their youth programs and every other program they participate just to get their kid to the next level.

Just so you don't misinterpret me again I meant I question their intentions. When I say THEIR, I don't mean the kid rather the parent. The parents are the ones chasing rainbows most of the time.

[PierBridge]

As usual I didn't really convey my message very well. At work I have to read fast and respond even faster, on my cell phone........Sorry for misinterpreting your post a little bit mine rant was more of a generalization about the hatred towards private schools which I dont necessarily agree with the stereotypes and gripes.

Your last post was very understandable to me.lol

Thanks for taking your time to post and your thoughts on the subject.

Well done.

[PierBridge]

For the life of me I have no idea who I want to win this....

[CaptainMusky]

On the class A side I am going to pull for Hermantown after coming so close for several years but losing to one of the private schools.

[certified jumbo]

It would be nice to see hermantown win it. I'd love to see Bruce Plant introduce his players from area code.55811 again during post game interview.

He really said it best......it just doesn't seem fair that we have to play a team of all stars from all over the place. (Refrencing there ot loss to sta last year). Makes sense to me.

[BartmanMN]

I just pulled up the site that will Stream the games and they have a fee this year. Is that something new? I guess $5 for the day is cheap. I usually work from home and watch, but came to the office today.

Just read that this years broadcast on 45 will be in HD. Finally! That will be awesome.

[Hester]

Well, the first day of A hockey has not been very competitive. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better.

[Hester]

Looks like I spoke to soon, this last game has been very good.