There is no I in Team
Chaska's Jimmy Snuggerud looks on Friday night in their 3-2 win over Alberta
When the concept of The Show was hatched last Summer, YHH wanted to be involved as much as it could. We wanted to get an up close view of the team that would represent our coverage area and get an up close look of what an elite 11 year old player looks like when he trains, how he thinks and how he improves of the course of eight months.
In October, we selected Dave Snuggerud to coach the team. Easily the best decision we made. Dave is smart, competitive and most of all a great teacher to children. He has nearly 20 years teaching experience at the sixth grade level. Dave was not a win at all cost coach. His intent was to help kids improve, less so with their skill, but more so with their understanding of the game and their confidence.
After a weekend in St. Cloud we chose our team and began planning for June. Crystal Howard, the mother of Isaac Howard, stepped up immediately and began to manage the team. Her tireless work did not go unnoticed, she arranged ice, managed the schedule of all players for the Spring and made the experience very enjoyable for the coaches, parents and kids from the beginning.
In February the Great Plains boys finally met one another for the first time, got their team jackets and had a light skate in Chaska. Between February and May, the boys (and parents) waited. In May, after extensive planning and organization, the boys hit the ice for two weekends. They also made a road trip to Madison, WI in May where they took on Team Midwest for a pair of pre-tournament exhibition games where they won both games (5-4 in OT and 5-1). Practice players for our team Jimmy Clark (Edina) and Ethan Sillerud (Maple Grove) provided a huge spark for Great Plains...Clark added 2 Goals and a pretty assist.
During the week of The Show, Great Plains had a practice and exhibition game with Team Southeast, the eventual USA champion at Breck Arena. Great Plains won that game 7-4. Heading into The Show, the team was optimistic it had what it took to play for the title.
The format was simple, they would play seven games in four days against the seven Canadien teams. They won four and lost three...highlighted by two big wins over undefeated Ontario Red and Alberta. Southeast was able to get one more Pool Play point to earn the USA gold medal and play in the Championship Sunday.
Woodbury's Dylan Godbout fires a shot during The Show
The week was jammed with amazing highs and a few lows. The players learned a lot last week about the game and they made new friends in the process. The coaches learned that players from Canada have a lot of passion and skill. Every game we played was tightly contested that could have gone either way in the Win/Lose column.
I have coached many successful teams over the last 25 years, players I've coached have gone onto play at the professional level in all three major sports (NFL, MLB, and NHL). In all my years, I have never coached a team that had so much talent in one collective group. The formula for any success I've experienced is simple. Find good players, keep the system simple, and make sure the players are engaged and having fun. When you have all three, winning takes care of itself. The moment the engagement/fun is taken out of the equation, is the moment teams at the youth level start to lose. No matter how talented or how well coached, players can't win if they aren't excited to be at the rink/field and to play for each other.
On Saturday, during our game against undefeated Ontario Red, we lead 3-1 going into the third period. Assistant Coach Andy Brink gave a speech I will never forget. He told the players that winning teams have to do more than just score more goals than the other team. His list of things they needed to do to win was amazing and well thought out. In the third period, Woodbury's Dylan Godbout took a shot off the chest to stop a shot. Gavin Lindberg from Moorhead dove to knock the puck off an opponent's stick. Landen Gunderson, a Maple Grove kid, made a goal saving back check play. The kids patted each other on the back, hooted and hollered when goalie Christian Manz made big saves. It was truly a magical win for the TEAM.
Great Plains went on to take the Silver medal as the second best team in the USA pool. They lost on Sunday in a mini game to Alberta 3-1, despite outplaying the western Canadien boys the first half. JJ Wiebusch scored the lone goal on a pretty slap shot off of a nice feed from playmaker Isaac Howard.
Isaac Howard from Hudson, WI was named to the All Tournament Team
This team had its stars. Isaac Howard was named to the All Tournament Team, the two Goalies Christian Manz and Ben Dardis were amazing at times. The team's best offensive line - Howard, Nick Mikan, and JJ Wiebusch were a constant threat. A trio that Coach Snuggerud relied on to generate offense.
The Defensive corps was lead by Mahtomedi's Ryan Chesley. Ryan is a great skater that made plays on both sides of the ice. Jackson Anderson and Austin Williams were also threats from the point for Great Plains, they moved the puck very well.
At the end of the event, so many players had improved their game by leaps and bounds. Easily our most improved player was Nick Mikan. Nick is a very smart young man who quickly took his given assignment and more than made the most of it. Mikan had 7 points in 7 games and was a terror of a forechecker and a great finisher around the net. Not bad for a player who was chosen to the Great Plains team as a defenseman!
Memories
Maple Grove's Landen Gunderson streaks up the ice
We had so many positive memories during the seven month process.
The Tryout: we met so many great people from all over Minnesota who were interested in playing for this team. We had girls show up who really got after it. We had boys from Warroad, Moorhead, Thief River Falls, Hermantown, Rochester and Grand Rapids who were up for the task. There were 62 kids for the 17 spots. When the tryout was over, we achieved our goal of finding the most talent in the area. We found goal scorers, defensemen and two great goalies.
Winning: We had big wins, but none bigger than a 3-1 win over Team Alberta, arguably the second best team in the field. Ben Dardis played the game of his life stopping 52 of 53 shots and the forward lines strung together three goals in three minutes to start the third period. One of the referees said to me the next day, "that is one of the best games I've ever reffed."
Losing: it is impossible to teach when you win every game. Our team learned that selfish play and selfishness are not part of winning hockey when you are playing against equal and sometimes superior competition.
Smiles: We had a lot of smiles all week. One of our players, Maddox Fleming from Rochester could not wipe a smile off of his face all week. He was a great listener and a great teammate. Maddox was a great kid to coach and teach the game. This was a tremendous group of kids who played hard and learned to play together as the week wore on.
Landen and Anthony: Landen Gunderson and Anthony Madigan were the epitome of our team. They worked hard, never complained and played better every game. They did their job in 40 seconds and got off the ice.
Former Olympian Dave Christian and his Gold Medal pose with Jackson Anderson on Saturday
That Old Guy: On Saturday, Former Olympian Dave Christian showed up to help the good guys out on the bench. As a bonus, Dave brought his gold medal with him and allowed each boy (and man) try it on. Christian got a chance to meet Warroad skater Daimon Gardner Saturday which was fun to witness two hockey players with a connection to one of Minnesota's great hockey communities.
The Shot: Daimon Gardner's slap shot to ice the win over Ontario Red Saturday - the shot was from 10 feet outside the blue and the Red goalie never saw it.
The Kids are Alright: Great Plains trotted out three players that will play Squirt Hockey next season. Jack Sweeney, Andrew Cumming and Landen Gunderson. Each of those three players have fantastic hockey ability and should be fun to watch this Winter on the rinks of Minnesota.
The Back Stops: Christian Manz and Ben Dardis were outstanding during The Show. Together, they allowed 18 Goals in 7 games. Only one I remember thinking should have been saved of the 18, but my memory can think of 15 or 20 that I still can't believed they stopped. They were an integral part of our success and were both quiet leaders on the locker room.
The Difference Maker: Coach Dave Snuggerud was a great hockey player in his day. He played in the USHL, Division I, the '88 Olympics and the NHL. After watching Dave work with kids (and adults), he should be better remembered for being an even better teacher and mentor to kids. The Great Plains team was very lucky to have a guy who truly cared for the kids and taught them that making plays is what will make them a better player in the future.
Coach Snuggerud looks on during The Show