Thanksgiving in the United States dates back nearly 400 years to early English settlers. In the late fall, they hosted a celebration feast that was prompted by a rich harvest.
It is this time of year that YHH would like to say thank you to all of the great people in Minnesota who made this past year a great one. There are so many people that put in countless hours of unnoticed work to help preserve the community based model in Minnesota. For that, we want to say thank you.
First and foremost, without dedicated hockey parents, our sport would never be where it is today. Over the course of a year, we run into several great hockey parents. The best parents are the proud parents. Parents of players who just committed to a Division 1 Scholarship, winners of a Wiz Wyatt Award, or even better their son's team winning a tournament. Parents sacrifice a lot for their hockey players including their own careers, personal hobbies and interests all to get little Johnny/Jenny to the rink 30 minutes prior.
Leaving the office early 50 plus times to get your kid to the rink isn't exactly scoring points with the boss. The only way you see your non-hockey friends or your parents is if they can make it to a game or after a game. Holidays get twisted around, as do most lives of hockey parents.
Regardless, all hockey parents seem to make it work. For this...thank you.
There are so many volunteers in Minnesota, it is almost impossible to count or remember them all.
Thank you to long time District Directors like Dennis Bushy in Moorhead (District 15) and Rich Rakness in District 8 (Southern TC Suburbs). These men have seen the fruits of their labor 100 times over, whether it is a State Tourney appearance by a team in their district, a national camp roster spot earned, or probably the best is the former player now grown who is ushering their kid into the game.
Special thanks also to passionate scorekeepers at the district level like Rob Shuman in District 6, long time district tournament directors like Jeff Zwerdling at District 10, and finally unsung heroes like Bob Halverson who manage the Rules and By-Laws for Minnesota Hockey.
The board members at Minnesota Hockey and each of its associations put in countless and thankless hours in planning and board meetings. And then there are people in each association and district that are reaching out to people to try the game or make the game more affordable.
To all of these people....thank you.
After being a non-parent and parent volunteer coach, I know personally how rewarding it can be to coach a group of boys or girls. The players and parents are usually very thankful for the time and hard work spent during the season. The shelf life of a volunteer coach usually isn't very long. Family and work commitments are usually the biggest reason people stop coaching.
Matt Fore (pronounced For-Ay) in East Grand Forks has coached the Green Wave PeeWees for over 20 years, having taught and mentored some great players. Jeff Johnson has logged 19 years (16 in Edina and 3 in Eden Prairie) as a youth coach and several more at the high school level. You would need more than a slide rule to count how many great players he's seen in his day.
To all of the head coaches, assistant coaches and yes, even the car coaches. We thank you for your time and passion you put into the game.
Minnesota has over 200 ice rink facilities. Some big (Super Rink), some small (Lily Lake), some old (Hippodrome), and some new (Coon Rapids). Each of these rinks has a Rink Manager that has to sell ice, make ice, keep the place looking and smelling clean, make sure it is the right temperature, and worst of all keep those darn kids from shooting pucks in the hallway.
On top of all this, the ice needs to 100 perfect and the schedule must 99% on time. A standard most could not reach in their own employment that is likely much more highly paid and far more appreciated.
People like Nancy Kaufman at Bloomington Ice Garden, Pete Carlson at the Super Rink in Blaine, Todd Bissett in St. Cloud...they log crazy hours and put up with a lot of situations most would find unsuitable. To all of the managers and staff at every rink in Minnesota...thank you.
Whether it be Lake of the Isles, Lake Phalen or Lake Pokegema or run by a city, association or a group of neighbors...the amount of outdoor hockey played in Minnesota is incredible. The amount of people who make it happen is almost as amazing.
The parents in Hermantown who manage their four outdoor rinks is a great story every year. Neighborhoods in Duluth like Glen Avon, Congdon, and Portman lining up on ice manicured by volunteers every day. And then great backyard rinks all over the state. My great neighbor Jamie Lindman, Craig Norby in Minnetonka, and Tim Slukynsky in Warroad...all passionate about the game and welcoming to their friends and neighbors looking for some outdoor ice.
To the thousands of others who get up early and freeze their fannies off to scrape and flood ice across Minnesota....thank you.
Who can forget the players. Each year, we are lucky to see a lot of great kids and exciting games across Minnesota.
Last year I saw a former player, Megan Cornell, win a state championship for Benilde St. Margarets and earn a berth to US National Camp as a 15 year old.
The most exciting game I saw was not the Bantam AA final between Grand Rapids and Stillwater. Yes, that was a thriller. It was not the Wayzata/Edina Bantam A final in Eden Prairie, a game that saw six lead changes in one game. No, that was a good one, but not the most exciting. It wasn't the Chaska Chan PeeWee AA overtime thriller over Edina when Bobby Brink tipped in a bouncing puck at the Eden Prairie Tourney last November. Those were all doozies.
The game that stands out to me was the Squirt C Championship Game of the YHH Squirtacular between Park Cottage Grove and Minnetonka. Two teams that battled harder in front of not only their fans, but the Squirt B Championship fans and the Squirt A Championship Game fans. Bloomington Ice Garden was packed and those boys put on a show in both regulation, overtime and the shootout before the Skippers finally won it.
We see great games, but more important we meet great kids along the way. One player told me six months in advance that his team was going to "put all the pieces together and win Fargo." Another said to us that his dad was his favorite coach ever, even though he didn't want me to tell him (his secret is still safe with me).
It is these great kids that keep us coming back every night to the rink hoping to find the next Casey Mittelstadt who scores 11 Game Winning Overtime Goals. Or a gangly eighth grader like Zach Stejskal, who as a first year Bantam with only two years experience in the net, lead his team to a state Bantam AA title.
To all of the players that are heroes or who will someday soon be a hero for their team....thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.
