Relocating to Minneapolis Area

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Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)

hadenuf
Posts: 205
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:58 am

Post by hadenuf » Fri Oct 02, 2015 6:32 pm

Or move to Warroad!

old goalie85
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:37 pm

Post by old goalie85 » Fri Oct 02, 2015 7:22 pm

Don't have to be in the West metro,. That's BS. Just as much talent?money?quality education in. Woodbury/North Oaks/Sunfish Lake/ Maht/Stillwater/WBL and the gem of the east metro Forest Lake. =D> =D> =D>

Sparlimb
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2002 7:11 am

Post by Sparlimb » Fri Oct 02, 2015 8:24 pm

Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:Your son should enroll directly at Hill. I'm sure everyone here will agree with that?
Purchase a home in beautiful Blaine, MN. A decent commute and your younger children can play with a great association, 8 sheets of ice in your backyard, and great people!
Do you play golf by any chance??

Seriously, MN high school hockey is just about the best you can get in the Midwest. There are a few elite Tier 1 or AAA that could match up well with our top high schools teams, but not many. Good luck!
Truer words have never been spoken. It's almost as if I said it and Never wrote it down...

northwoods oldtimer
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Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:01 pm

Post by northwoods oldtimer » Fri Oct 02, 2015 9:50 pm

HockeyDad,
Don't take any hockey advice from almosthappy in eagan or the hockeyDJ from grand rapids and you and your kid will do just fine in Minny no matter where you land.

gitter
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:21 pm

Post by gitter » Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:11 pm

xHockeyDadx wrote:
karl(east) wrote:Some broader context:

Most high school freshmen, unless very talented or in a thin program, play bantam hockey. Each community (with some weird exceptions) has a youth program that lines up with the local public high school's boundaries, and bantam teams sorted by talent level (AA, A, B1, B2, C). Bigger programs have more teams, which usually means their upper-level teams are better, but that increases competition for roster spots. There's also some risk of politics, not pure talent, deciding who makes what team in the competitive programs. Jumping straight into a state where everyone seems to know each other and threatening to "steal" someone's roster spot can, sadly, be an issue.

While the community youth program/high schools are the focal point of the MN system, most if not all of the better players now play "AAA" in the offseason. There's a wide range of programs that claim the AAA label, though there's a definite hierarchy to them. There are a few options for AAA year-round, but they are still fairly rare and directed mostly at people who want to do hockey 24/7. Most players still go through the normal bantams/HS system, with the very best often leaving for junior hockey in the USHL a year or two before graduation.

The southwestern suburbs tend to be the wealthiest and, therefore, the best at hockey. (The two often go hand in hand.) Still, you can find a good program in just about any part of the metro area.

Here is more history about high school hockey in the Twin Cities metro area than you ever probably wanted to know: http://apatientcycle.com/2015/03/18/a-h ... ol-hockey/
Yes, I was wondering about the politics side of things too. We experienced some of this here just this year. A coach was trying to secure my sons place on his team (lower level) weeks before tryouts for AAA, AA and A had even happened. It became clear for the first time, tryouts were just a formality. I can say however, that we also learned that usually coaches would also leave some spots open all summer, and fill them just before the season in case someone new came to the area.
I can say, as an independent evaluator for a south metro association, we are trying our best to take politics out of it. We have closed tryouts - meaning no parents are allowed to watch the tryout process. Also, if for example, the Peewee director has a child trying out for peewees, he cannot be in the building during the peewees tryout/evaluations, even though he is technically running that group. We bring in evaluators (such as myself) from outside of the district - meaning these are hockey people that have no real bias towards players. The kids literally tryout with a number assigned to them and the evaluators only have the numbers of the players as well...meaning we don't know any names as we evaluate. The top 10 based on weighted average scores from 5 evaluators are automatically on the highest team (AA in this program...which don't be confused by the terminology...as these kids all play AAA hockey in the summer) , the coach then has his input from the next 10 best ranked to select his 5 'bubble kids'. The coaches on the lower teams have zero input on their bubble kids, it is simply filled in as the kids are graded in order..meaning the 5 that didn't get selected to AA, Will be on the A team, along with the next 10 best graded, the next 15 best graded go to B1, B2 and so on until all teams are filled. Is it perfect? No. Can politics still play a factor? Of course. But most associations are trying to keep politics to a minimum.

The Exiled One
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Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:34 am

Post by The Exiled One » Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:14 pm

xHockeyDadx, please note that the post above is referring to youth hockey, not HS hockey. Depending on the age/skill/hs you end up moving in to, NONE OF THIS MAY APPLY. Assuming your kid will be a HS freshman, he may get a chance to play for the HS team if he is uniquely skilled and is playing for a school that rosters freshmen at all.

Otherwise, if he'll be an 8th grader or a 9th grader playing bantams, gitter's description is how most reputable associations run tryouts. We just finished up tryouts at our association and nearly zero of the board members' kids made the top team for their age level. Not much more is needed than that to prove we run an objective tryout process.

HOCKEYDRIVER
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Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:28 am

Post by HOCKEYDRIVER » Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:46 am

Take this for what it is worth. If you want a state champ, just look at the rankings and open your wallet, or get the carmax out. And hope for the best. Don't think that all these power house schools don't have a pecking order all planed out by the time they hit 9th grade.(Or the parents do).If he can play HS hockey and have some great memories and make some life long friends. what else could you ask for. If he is good enough someone will find him. Wherever he plays. My son played for a St.Paul public school. Had to work his tail off. But had a USHL team. My advice for you is find a home that you and your family will enjoy living in. Near your work and go from that point. Remember it's a kids game. For the kids.

yesiplayedhockey
Posts: 312
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Post by yesiplayedhockey » Tue Oct 13, 2015 10:05 am

I may have missed something along the way but where will you work? Do you have other kids and what are their interests. If he's your only kid what is the plan 3 - 4 years from now when all of this comes to an end?

Hockey should be 3rd, 4th and 5th on your list. Happy wife = happy life. What are you both interested in? Do you have money to live on a lake? What is your house budget? $300K $600K? $1 million? Keep in mind that $300K gets you 1,400 square feet of house in Edina but a mansion in Elk River (Okay I'm stretching the truth a bit there but you get the point)

Aside from logical questions, if this is truly a hockey play then I would lean hard for the top schools that have Bantam AA programs. Your kid will play 70, 80 or more games. He will meet lots of new friends. You will meet lots of new people. You can't simply pick the high school just to go to state. If that was the case then pick Breck. Being a powerhouse class A school, they almost go every year.

Also, there is a chance a "move in" may not get a Bantam AA jersey their first year. Politics are everywhere trust me on that.. The earlier you get your roots established the better. If I had a crystal ball and wanted to rank the top 5 metro schools that will have great high school programs in 3-5 years I say in order

1. Edina
2. Maple Grove
3. Minnetonka
4. White Bear Lake
5. Eden Prairie
(Prior lake, Blaine, Stillwater, Wayzata and Bloomington all right there as well)

(Sorry I didn't rank the private schools)

Hope that helps a little..

blueblood
Posts: 2620
Joined: Fri May 26, 2006 8:36 am

Relocating

Post by blueblood » Tue Oct 13, 2015 10:57 am

Can't wait for Sats81 reply to this one....3,2,1

Maple Grove at #2? Really?
WBL at #4? WOW.

yesiplayedhockey
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:33 am

Post by yesiplayedhockey » Tue Oct 13, 2015 11:15 am

I did say 3-5 years from now? if you're thinking in the 1-3 years then yes maybe take Maple Grove off that list.

But Maple Grove is a program to keep an eye on. They have the numbers coming up through the ranks. If the dads don't get to crazy and start shopping their kids, they should be a great high school program in a few years

Doc Holliday
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Location: SW Suburbs

Post by Doc Holliday » Tue Oct 13, 2015 12:52 pm

hadenuf wrote:Or move to Warroad!
I'm surprised someone from HR at Marvin hasn't tried to contact xHockeyDadx yet about a recently opened management position... :lol:

elliott70
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Location: Bemidji

Post by elliott70 » Tue Oct 13, 2015 1:09 pm

Doc Holliday wrote:
hadenuf wrote:Or move to Warroad!
I'm surprised someone from HR at Marvin hasn't tried to contact xHockeyDadx yet about a recently opened management position... :lol:
He starts next Monday.

warriors41
Posts: 666
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:40 pm

Post by warriors41 » Tue Oct 13, 2015 2:34 pm

elliott70 wrote:
Doc Holliday wrote:
hadenuf wrote:Or move to Warroad!
I'm surprised someone from HR at Marvin hasn't tried to contact xHockeyDadx yet about a recently opened management position... :lol:
He starts next Monday.
Marvin.com/careers

O-townClown
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Location: Typical homeboy from the O-Town

Re: Relocating to Minneapolis Area

Post by O-townClown » Thu Oct 15, 2015 4:44 pm

xHockeyDadx wrote:
1. Is the level of playing in High School considered about the same as AAA?

THE TOP 15 HS TEAMS COMPARE VERY FAVORABLY WITH 18U AAA.

2. Is the coaching in MN AAA any different than that of High School?

MINNESOTA "AAA" IS A DIFFERENT ANIMAL BECAUSE THEY USE THAT NAME FOR OUT-OF-SEASON CLUB BASED HOCKEY. YOUTH HOCKEY RUNS THROUGH BANTAMS AND THEN HS KICKS IN FOR THE BETTER PLAYERS. THE TOP HS PROGRAMS HAVE EXCELLENT COACHING. FOR YOUR MOVE, DON'T WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT CLUB OR WHAT THEY CALL "AAA" IN MINNESOTA. THAT WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF ONCE YOU FIND THE IMPORTANT PART: THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOUR SON FOR IN-SEASON AND SCHOOL HOCKEY.

3. Is it true that fewer players play Travel Hockey in MN. (Had heard only 20% vs 80% in our area).

YOUTH HOCKEY IS LAID OUT A (A & AA), B (B1 & B2), AND C. COMPARED TO NORTH CAROLINA, B1 PROBABLY EQUALS AA WHERE YOU LIVE. C IS A LEVEL TRAVEL EQUIVALENT OR IN-HOUSE. ALL KIDS IN MINNESOTA PLAY "TRAVEL" HOCKEY IN THAT THEY PLAY TEAMS FROM THE NEIGHBORING TOWNS.

4. What areas are considered good for school hockey?

THE BIGGEST PROGRAMS FOR THE TWIN CITIES YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT ARE PROBABLY EDINA, EDEN PRAIRIE, WAYZATA, MINNETONKA, AND WHITE BEAR LAKE. OTHERS THAT ARE USUALLY IN THE TOP 15 INCLUDE LAKEVILLE, BLAINE, CENTENNIAL, BURNSVILLE. ADD IN TOP PRIVATE SCHOOLS LIKE ST. THOMAS, HILL-MURRAY, BENILDE AND YOU GET THE PICTURE. MOST KIDS CANNOT MAKE VARSITY AT THESE SCHOOLS AS THE LEVEL IS VERY VERY HIGH.

5. Are there other things to consider in regards to youth hockey in MN?

LOTS. MAINLY THE COMMUNITY-BASED NATURE OF IT. SO MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.
Be kind. Rewind.

DrGaf
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Post by DrGaf » Fri Oct 16, 2015 12:21 am

warriors41 wrote:
elliott70 wrote:
Doc Holliday wrote:
hadenuf wrote:Or move to Warroad!
I'm surprised someone from HR at Marvin hasn't tried to contact xHockeyDadx yet about a recently opened management position... :lol:
He starts next Monday.
Marvin.com/careers
Be sure to send highlights with references.
Sorry, fresh out, Don't Really Give Any.

zooomx
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:34 pm

Go north

Post by zooomx » Sun Oct 18, 2015 12:19 am

Forget Metro. Go North and experience true Minnesota Hockey, where you play association hockey with your classmates, without nearly as much political bs. Moorhead, Roseau, Warroad, Grand Forks, Alexandria... pick one. None of these towns will target your family like you would experience in the Metro areas. BTW... Alex has beautiful lakes and is the shortest trip to the Metro area. :D

All kidding aside, there was a time when we Minnesotans just loved hockey. The Minnesota kids who made it big time, made it because they were rink rats who loved the game and had a certain genetic disposition to succeed. Somewhere along the way, things have changed, and most associations are more like East Coast hockey than we all care to admit. Pay to play has infected our culture and we are no better than the other states we used to scoff at. We have become year round, chase the D1 scholarship, schmucks like the out of state programs. We used to embrace local hockey, with a fanatical dedication to the local team. That notion has been severely diminished by crazy parents, coaches and corporate entities that prey upon our insecurities and unrealistic expectations for our kids.

My opinion is this: If you and your son just love hockey, stay where you are and your odds of a D1 scholarship wont change much. If you just love Minnesota and want to move here, just take at trip out and visit some rinks. You can probably get a pretty good feel on a program by showing up at a rink and getting to know the locals. If you are a nice guy, you will fit in with someone and possibly find a great home for your family. There are still a fair amount of Minnesota hockey fans that still get it. You just have to look for them. Good luck with your son, your family and your decision.

northwoods oldtimer
Posts: 2679
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:01 pm

Re: Go north

Post by northwoods oldtimer » Sun Oct 18, 2015 8:26 am

zooomx wrote:Forget Metro. Go North and experience true Minnesota Hockey, where you play association hockey with your classmates, without nearly as much political bs. Moorhead, Roseau, Warroad, Grand Forks, Alexandria... pick one. None of these towns will target your family like you would experience in the Metro areas. BTW... Alex has beautiful lakes and is the shortest trip to the Metro area. :D

All kidding aside, there was a time when we Minnesotans just loved hockey. The Minnesota kids who made it big time, made it because they were rink rats who loved the game and had a certain genetic disposition to succeed. Somewhere along the way, things have changed, and most associations are more like East Coast hockey than we all care to admit. Pay to play has infected our culture and we are no better than the other states we used to scoff at. We have become year round, chase the D1 scholarship, schmucks like the out of state programs. We used to embrace local hockey, with a fanatical dedication to the local team. That notion has been severely diminished by crazy parents, coaches and corporate entities that prey upon our insecurities and unrealistic expectations for our kids.

My opinion is this: If you and your son just love hockey, stay where you are and your odds of a D1 scholarship wont change much. If you just love Minnesota and want to move here, just take at trip out and visit some rinks. You can probably get a pretty good feel on a program by showing up at a rink and getting to know the locals. If you are a nice guy, you will fit in with someone and possibly find a great home for your family. There are still a fair amount of Minnesota hockey fans that still get it. You just have to look for them. Good luck with your son, your family and your decision.
Great post but you forgot to mention Duluth East, Hermantown, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Bemidji :wink:

Where is F3?
Posts: 62
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Re: Go north

Post by Where is F3? » Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:55 pm

zooomx wrote:Forget Metro. Go North and experience true Minnesota Hockey, where you play association hockey with your classmates, without nearly as much political bs. Moorhead, Roseau, Warroad, Grand Forks, Alexandria... pick one. None of these towns will target your family like you would experience in the Metro areas. BTW... Alex has beautiful lakes and is the shortest trip to the Metro area. :D

All kidding aside, there was a time when we Minnesotans just loved hockey. The Minnesota kids who made it big time, made it because they were rink rats who loved the game and had a certain genetic disposition to succeed. Somewhere along the way, things have changed, and most associations are more like East Coast hockey than we all care to admit. Pay to play has infected our culture and we are no better than the other states we used to scoff at. We have become year round, chase the D1 scholarship, schmucks like the out of state programs. We used to embrace local hockey, with a fanatical dedication to the local team. That notion has been severely diminished by crazy parents, coaches and corporate entities that prey upon our insecurities and unrealistic expectations for our kids.

My opinion is this: If you and your son just love hockey, stay where you are and your odds of a D1 scholarship wont change much. If you just love Minnesota and want to move here, just take at trip out and visit some rinks. You can probably get a pretty good feel on a program by showing up at a rink and getting to know the locals. If you are a nice guy, you will fit in with someone and possibly find a great home for your family. There are still a fair amount of Minnesota hockey fans that still get it. You just have to look for them. Good luck with your son, your family and your decision.
=D> Great post

Teak
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Post by Teak » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:37 am

This was a very interesting topic (and thread). I am surprised that no one mentioned some non-Metro schools just south of the Twin Cities that have up-and-coming programs, play Metro schools, and may be easier to make varsity than in the big AA schools. New Prague and Farmington come to mind.

Nevertoomuchhockey
Posts: 1138
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:59 pm

Re: Go north

Post by Nevertoomuchhockey » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:22 pm

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
zooomx wrote:Forget Metro. Go North and experience true Minnesota Hockey, where you play association hockey with your classmates, without nearly as much political bs. Moorhead, Roseau, Warroad, Grand Forks, Alexandria... pick one. None of these towns will target your family like you would experience in the Metro areas. BTW... Alex has beautiful lakes and is the shortest trip to the Metro area. :D

All kidding aside, there was a time when we Minnesotans just loved hockey. The Minnesota kids who made it big time, made it because they were rink rats who loved the game and had a certain genetic disposition to succeed. Somewhere along the way, things have changed, and most associations are more like East Coast hockey than we all care to admit. Pay to play has infected our culture and we are no better than the other states we used to scoff at. We have become year round, chase the D1 scholarship, schmucks like the out of state programs. We used to embrace local hockey, with a fanatical dedication to the local team. That notion has been severely diminished by crazy parents, coaches and corporate entities that prey upon our insecurities and unrealistic expectations for our kids.

My opinion is this: If you and your son just love hockey, stay where you are and your odds of a D1 scholarship wont change much. If you just love Minnesota and want to move here, just take at trip out and visit some rinks. You can probably get a pretty good feel on a program by showing up at a rink and getting to know the locals. If you are a nice guy, you will fit in with someone and possibly find a great home for your family. There are still a fair amount of Minnesota hockey fans that still get it. You just have to look for them. Good luck with your son, your family and your decision.
Great post but you forgot to mention Duluth East, Hermantown, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Bemidji :wink:
The hockey teams may be hit or miss, but can you honestly with good conscience recommend anyone move to Cloquet? 8)

O-townClown
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Location: Typical homeboy from the O-Town

Post by O-townClown » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:20 pm

Teak wrote:This was a very interesting topic (and thread). I am surprised that no one mentioned some non-Metro schools just south of the Twin Cities that have up-and-coming programs, play Metro schools, and may be easier to make varsity than in the big AA schools. New Prague and Farmington come to mind.
Teak, good suggestions. It's generally pretty hard to tell how a move-in fits in and whether they could play Varsity at certain schools.

Like many considering Minnesota, he looked at a list of the Top 5 HS programs from last year. I had a friend do the same thing. He kept asking me about Edina and Lakeville.
Be kind. Rewind.

almostashappy
Posts: 930
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:07 pm

Post by almostashappy » Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:01 pm

Teak wrote:This was a very interesting topic (and thread). I am surprised that no one mentioned some non-Metro schools just south of the Twin Cities that have up-and-coming programs, play Metro schools, and may be easier to make varsity than in the big AA schools. New Prague and Farmington come to mind.
Farmington is considered by most to be a Metro-area community, and close enough for Metro-based scouts not to think twice about the drive. They are also in the SSC, so (as you note) they get plenty of exposure playing home-and-homes with high profile programs like LN and Burnsville. SSC teams also play a Lake Conference team each year.

Shakopee also fits this profile, although they're not as up-and-coming as the Tigers.
Two minutes for...embellishment (ding!)

Mavs
Posts: 448
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 10:35 am

Post by Mavs » Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:27 am

What kind of community are you looking for? Start there and then explore hockey based on areas that meet your needs.

Where are you working? East, west, etc?

Looking for suburbia?
Upper bracket?
Diversity?
Land?
City living?

Narrow that down and then find a hockey situation that meets your needs.

Froggy Richards
Posts: 623
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 11:15 am

Re: Go north

Post by Froggy Richards » Tue Oct 27, 2015 1:40 pm

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
zooomx wrote:Forget Metro. Go North and experience true Minnesota Hockey, where you play association hockey with your classmates, without nearly as much political bs. Moorhead, Roseau, Warroad, Grand Forks, Alexandria... pick one. None of these towns will target your family like you would experience in the Metro areas. BTW... Alex has beautiful lakes and is the shortest trip to the Metro area. :D

All kidding aside, there was a time when we Minnesotans just loved hockey. The Minnesota kids who made it big time, made it because they were rink rats who loved the game and had a certain genetic disposition to succeed. Somewhere along the way, things have changed, and most associations are more like East Coast hockey than we all care to admit. Pay to play has infected our culture and we are no better than the other states we used to scoff at. We have become year round, chase the D1 scholarship, schmucks like the out of state programs. We used to embrace local hockey, with a fanatical dedication to the local team. That notion has been severely diminished by crazy parents, coaches and corporate entities that prey upon our insecurities and unrealistic expectations for our kids.

My opinion is this: If you and your son just love hockey, stay where you are and your odds of a D1 scholarship wont change much. If you just love Minnesota and want to move here, just take at trip out and visit some rinks. You can probably get a pretty good feel on a program by showing up at a rink and getting to know the locals. If you are a nice guy, you will fit in with someone and possibly find a great home for your family. There are still a fair amount of Minnesota hockey fans that still get it. You just have to look for them. Good luck with your son, your family and your decision.
Great post but you forgot to mention Duluth East, Hermantown, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Bemidji :wink:
Hermantown would be the best environment for a transfer without question. They have more transfers there than any program in the State. So you already have a support group and community within a community. You don't have to worry about the coaches either because a lot of them don't live there either. Some of the locals will resent you, but most of them are down on the B teams.

Nevertoomuchhockey
Posts: 1138
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:59 pm

Re: Go north

Post by Nevertoomuchhockey » Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:48 pm

Froggy Richards wrote:
northwoods oldtimer wrote:
zooomx wrote:Forget Metro. Go North and experience true Minnesota Hockey, where you play association hockey with your classmates, without nearly as much political bs. Moorhead, Roseau, Warroad, Grand Forks, Alexandria... pick one. None of these towns will target your family like you would experience in the Metro areas. BTW... Alex has beautiful lakes and is the shortest trip to the Metro area. :D

All kidding aside, there was a time when we Minnesotans just loved hockey. The Minnesota kids who made it big time, made it because they were rink rats who loved the game and had a certain genetic disposition to succeed. Somewhere along the way, things have changed, and most associations are more like East Coast hockey than we all care to admit. Pay to play has infected our culture and we are no better than the other states we used to scoff at. We have become year round, chase the D1 scholarship, schmucks like the out of state programs. We used to embrace local hockey, with a fanatical dedication to the local team. That notion has been severely diminished by crazy parents, coaches and corporate entities that prey upon our insecurities and unrealistic expectations for our kids.

My opinion is this: If you and your son just love hockey, stay where you are and your odds of a D1 scholarship wont change much. If you just love Minnesota and want to move here, just take at trip out and visit some rinks. You can probably get a pretty good feel on a program by showing up at a rink and getting to know the locals. If you are a nice guy, you will fit in with someone and possibly find a great home for your family. There are still a fair amount of Minnesota hockey fans that still get it. You just have to look for them. Good luck with your son, your family and your decision.
Great post but you forgot to mention Duluth East, Hermantown, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Bemidji :wink:
Hermantown would be the best environment for a transfer without question. They have more transfers there than any program in the State. So you already have a support group and community within a community. You don't have to worry about the coaches either because a lot of them don't live there either. Some of the locals will resent you, but most of them are down on the B teams.
Well said. It would be hard to find a similar situation where a programs' biggest detractors/critics/haters are almost entirely composed of their own local kids and families whose kids (who have come up with program from mites) have lost their spots to "transfers" and "move-ins"

I have mixed feelings about this. Privates (every year) and most top metro programs (especially in 9th grade) get an influx of players entering in search of the greener grass and every kid has to fight for his or her spot every season. Every game, really. If I'm the coach and the best players from my rival want to play for me instead, what do I do? Whatever it takes to win, that's what. Right? (Billet and apartment renting aside lol)

So.... Hill. Your minutes are determined by what you do the minute you step on the ice THIS SEASON. Earn it every practice, every game. We don't care about yesterday (unless you would like to discuss our w/l records and other impressive stats.) Welcome :)

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