Schwans Cup

[inthetwine]

This tourney at least in the Gold Division has really lost its luster. Only 4 teams, very small and quite crowds, and average hockey. After attending this event for years, this may be the last year for me.

[inthetwine]

An average Cretin team wins The cup by tying Hill and beating 2 below average teams, like I said, this tourney has gone way downhill.

[between_the_pipes]

Agree. Curious as to why so many top teams didn't partake in Gold Division. Last year's games and crowds for the Gold Division were pretty solid and similar to past years. Anyone know the reasoning for only 4 teams?

[ThatMNHockeyGuy62]

It was discussed in a thread over the summer but it’s way down there now.

I think the breaking point was the strange dates initially for this year’s tournament (they did move gold back to before New Years)

The main reasons for wanting a change and for most top south and west suburb teams likely staying out is the proximity and desire for a round robin format. Allows Lake teams to play somebody new (sometimes even a section opponent) instead of Edina playing Minnetonka or EP for a third or fourth time. Also allows predictable bussing and keeps JV and Varsity in one building, back to back, so swing line players can still play both games. The bracket format is more fun for fans, but not necessarily better for the teams.

[Bayside Tigers]

You guys remember when this tournament was at the Xcel Energy Center? Probably 2002...? For a few years at least. I forget when that ended. If I remember correctly, and attendance was more than respectable, too. Maybe because Xcel was a fairly new arena at that point, maybe people were just checking out the new building. Though a lot has changed since then, and it's safe to say attendance is down not just in this tournament, but everywhere, minus the State Tournament, no?

[pioneers]

Schwan cup is changing names next year. Saw signs that it will be called something with Herb Brooks in the name. Heard that Schwan's got bought up by some Chinese company. Perhaps Schwan's will no longer be affiliated with the tournament.

[MNHockeyFan]

Schwan cup is changing names next year. Saw signs that it will be called something with Herb Brooks in the name. Heard that Schwan's got bought up by some Chinese company. Perhaps Schwan's will no longer be affiliated with the tournament.

If true at least the change didn't happen in the tournament's heyday. The Gold Division has been sliding downhill for years now, and it appears they will need a new sponsor to keep it going.

[karl(east)]

I had a mini Twitter discourse about the fate of the Schwan Cup, and bracket-based tournaments in general, last week. No doubt the coaches' ability to control schedules through three set games has won out over the fun of a playoff for a midseason trophy. The Schwan Cup was at the X at least into the start of this decade; I remember East-Minnetonka being there in front of a good crowd in the 2011-2012 season. But it really lost some luster for me when it turned into a Lake Conference jamboree. Also, it used to be a somewhat novel thing to get eight high-end teams together for a tournament in late December. Now, many of those schools play each other anyway, so the match-ups that already take place just aren't as interesting.

If the Schwan Cup is on its way out, I won't mourn its loss. It was entertaining for a while as a midseason test of the best, but the need for that sort of thing has faded, and I think there's room for a few more creative weekend events like the Turkey Trot of the Edina Holiday Classic that move some big games to interesting venues and drum up a little more interest. Excepting the occasional top-end match-up like Tonka-MG this season, I've generally found holiday tournaments a bit stale, with little atmosphere due to holiday break and some of the same old teams over and over again. There's no shame in starting anew.

[Gov78]

When my daughter played in HS 2009-2011 I asked the head coach why they chose to drop out of Schwan's Cup and at that time he mentioned the fee that each team had to pay to participate was part of the decision.

[Teak]

Schwan cup is changing names next year. Saw signs that it will be called something with Herb Brooks in the name. Heard that Schwan's got bought up by some Chinese company. Perhaps Schwan's will no longer be affiliated with the tournament.

South Korean company CJ CheilJedang bought 80% of the Schwan's company. It was announced back in November: https://www.apnews.com/630bde2c1bfc4e24beec93d8c83531a2

I would be surprised if Schwan's sponsors this tournament in the future to the extent they have before. With another sponsor, or new sponsor, a name change is highly likely.

[observations]

a name change is highly likely.

Its not highly likely, it is the case, it is the Herb Brooks Holiday Classic moving forward. There was murmurs of the whole building, or naming rights, I'm not sure what interests who has entirely, being sold to new ownership, likely Schwans divesting of the entire enterprise as far as I can tell, but I can't speak with any real knowledge or conviction, just mumbles similar to on this thread.

As far as I can tell the Schwans thing is all but over regarding holiday tournaments at the Blaine Super Rink, but from what I've gathered the venue such as it is will host holiday tournament(s) w/ the same or similar format.

Its lost its luster from top tier perspective, likely for the reasons listed above, most of which seem pretty logical and pragmatic.

The tournament still offers a great opportunity for a lot of schools outside of those top tiers to get 3 games that otherwise would not be on their schedule against teams that offer competitive games w/ relative parity for the most part.

[WarmUpTheBus]

In the early days of this tournament the organizer invited the perceived top 8 teams in the state. The tournament was being seen as more competitive than the state tournament and drew decent crowds to the Xcel Center even though the price of tickets, concessions and parking were much higher than your average high school hockey game. At some point, maybe from the beginning, the Schwan's Gold decided to put in a promotion/relegation system where any team that lost their first 2 games was not invited back the following year and the other six were invited back regardless of the outlook for the team's future strength. I can think of one team in particular that was a good young team with key injuries that lost it's first 2 games and wasn't invited back the following year even though they were a top 3 team in the state. Teams treated this way decided to go elsewhere and not come back and this watered down the tournament to the point that the ticket, concession and parking expense weren't worth it anymore.

[pioneers]

Here is a link to a letter thanking Schan's for there support.

https://www.nscsports.org/news_article/show/981474