Correct O-town one of the finest tradition rich venues in Minny. Each time I watch a game it takes me back to 1970 era hockey. Hope that venue is around for another 100 years!O-townClown wrote:Braemar is one of the world’s great venues. It is amazing how well it has aged. Virtually unchanged and tradition-rich as a result.
Anyone that doesn’t recognize Braemar’s greatness is kidding themselves.
Some of the comments here are laughable.
Headed there now.
Braemar Summer Hockey Festival
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
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Did anyone here really knock it?O-townClown wrote:Braemar is one of the world’s great venues. It is amazing how well it has aged. Virtually unchanged and tradition-rich as a result.
Anyone that doesn’t recognize Braemar’s greatness is kidding themselves.
Some of the comments here are laughable.
Headed there now.
Great, tradition rich arena. The atmosphere varies depending on who is on the ice and who's parents are in the stands.northwoods oldtimer wrote:Correct O-town one of the finest tradition rich venues in Minny. Each time I watch a game it takes me back to 1970 era hockey. Hope that venue is around for another 100 years!O-townClown wrote:Braemar is one of the world’s great venues. It is amazing how well it has aged. Virtually unchanged and tradition-rich as a result.
Anyone that doesn’t recognize Braemar’s greatness is kidding themselves.
Some of the comments here are laughable.
Headed there now.
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Thoughts on teams after spending the better part of a day at Braemar:
Lakeville South: Was playing with a split squad, so it's hard to judge too much, but it was pretty rough against East in the early morning session.
Grand Rapids: They'll be better this season. I like Peart and they have some respectable depth up front. Walked out when they had a 3-0 lead over Cathedral, but it came apart pretty quickly after that and ended up in a tie, so I'd expect some growing pains. Probably a mid-tier seed in 7AA this season.
Cathedral: Underwhelmed, but obviously they put things together when I wasn't watching. They've stockpiled some talent but they're also still somewhat young and recovering from some defections, so it makes sense that they aren't the most settled unit on earth.
Holy Family: A lot of Pinoniemi, but otherwise hit-or-miss offensively. Huber is a nice get in net, but the D in front of him needs to be better. Choked away a lead against a Wayzata team they probably should have beaten. We'll see if they find anything else on their annual offseason shopping spree.
Wayzata: Is Wayzata, doing usual Wayzata things. They miss the likes of Ness and Schmidt up front, but they still found ways to score against Holy Family.
Lakeville North: Somewhat better than their 5-1 scoreline against Cloquet showed, and probably better than South, but also probably not a more serious factor.
Cloquet: A lot to like, and they seemed to pull things together as the game went along. Maybe a slight step behind Andover and East in both the depth and front-end talent departments, but will certainly be a factor.
Eden Prairie: somewhat better than I would have thought. Jensen was playing, and of course his presence could make or break their odds of contending in 2AA.
Andover: Very smooth and fluid, and fun to watch. The second line featuring Zinda, Kron, and VanderMay (all juniors this coming year) outplayed the more hyped top Schoen and (not that they were bad in any way...point is, they're deep). Wyatt Kaiser on D was very noticeable as well. Definitely deserving of some hype this season.
Prior Lake: No Jackson Jutting today, and after a few minutes of skating with Andover pretty well, they got taken apart.
Benilde: Better than last season, probably somewhere back into the top 25, and was opportunistic when the chances arose.
Duluth East: The drop-off, if there is any, will not be large. The top line of Baker-Donovan-Lyle was probably the best one I saw all day, and I liked what I saw out of the couple of rising bantams who cracked the lineup. Lines 2-4 all looked solid, and I kinda liked their power play look with Donovan on the point. Bled a few goals against Benilde in a 6-3 win, but otherwise they're a force. 7AA could be an interesting battle between East's power and Andover's finesse, though Cloquet will have something to say about all of that too, and we'll see if anyone in the next tier can climb toward relevance.
A nice taste of hockey today, but we've still got four months between us and any games. A lot can change between now and then.
Lakeville South: Was playing with a split squad, so it's hard to judge too much, but it was pretty rough against East in the early morning session.
Grand Rapids: They'll be better this season. I like Peart and they have some respectable depth up front. Walked out when they had a 3-0 lead over Cathedral, but it came apart pretty quickly after that and ended up in a tie, so I'd expect some growing pains. Probably a mid-tier seed in 7AA this season.
Cathedral: Underwhelmed, but obviously they put things together when I wasn't watching. They've stockpiled some talent but they're also still somewhat young and recovering from some defections, so it makes sense that they aren't the most settled unit on earth.
Holy Family: A lot of Pinoniemi, but otherwise hit-or-miss offensively. Huber is a nice get in net, but the D in front of him needs to be better. Choked away a lead against a Wayzata team they probably should have beaten. We'll see if they find anything else on their annual offseason shopping spree.
Wayzata: Is Wayzata, doing usual Wayzata things. They miss the likes of Ness and Schmidt up front, but they still found ways to score against Holy Family.
Lakeville North: Somewhat better than their 5-1 scoreline against Cloquet showed, and probably better than South, but also probably not a more serious factor.
Cloquet: A lot to like, and they seemed to pull things together as the game went along. Maybe a slight step behind Andover and East in both the depth and front-end talent departments, but will certainly be a factor.
Eden Prairie: somewhat better than I would have thought. Jensen was playing, and of course his presence could make or break their odds of contending in 2AA.
Andover: Very smooth and fluid, and fun to watch. The second line featuring Zinda, Kron, and VanderMay (all juniors this coming year) outplayed the more hyped top Schoen and (not that they were bad in any way...point is, they're deep). Wyatt Kaiser on D was very noticeable as well. Definitely deserving of some hype this season.
Prior Lake: No Jackson Jutting today, and after a few minutes of skating with Andover pretty well, they got taken apart.
Benilde: Better than last season, probably somewhere back into the top 25, and was opportunistic when the chances arose.
Duluth East: The drop-off, if there is any, will not be large. The top line of Baker-Donovan-Lyle was probably the best one I saw all day, and I liked what I saw out of the couple of rising bantams who cracked the lineup. Lines 2-4 all looked solid, and I kinda liked their power play look with Donovan on the point. Bled a few goals against Benilde in a 6-3 win, but otherwise they're a force. 7AA could be an interesting battle between East's power and Andover's finesse, though Cloquet will have something to say about all of that too, and we'll see if anyone in the next tier can climb toward relevance.
A nice taste of hockey today, but we've still got four months between us and any games. A lot can change between now and then.
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alcloseshaver wrote:Take note of this dedication fellas by the one and only.
CEC once again an underdog . We need to upset the pre-season favorite Andover and Duluth East 7AA final. Today was a good day. I even met Metro and another forum member. Ricky Lyle and family walked up to me and introduced themselves as well. And of course, a short visit with KarlEast during the East/BSM tilt. Oh. Good things for Duluth East tomorrow trying to win the ship!
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Benilde played without 6 of their top players this weekend.karl(east) wrote:Thoughts on teams after spending the better part of a day at Braemar:
Lakeville South: Was playing with a split squad, so it's hard to judge too much, but it was pretty rough against East in the early morning session.
Grand Rapids: They'll be better this season. I like Peart and they have some respectable depth up front. Walked out when they had a 3-0 lead over Cathedral, but it came apart pretty quickly after that and ended up in a tie, so I'd expect some growing pains. Probably a mid-tier seed in 7AA this season.
Cathedral: Underwhelmed, but obviously they put things together when I wasn't watching. They've stockpiled some talent but they're also still somewhat young and recovering from some defections, so it makes sense that they aren't the most settled unit on earth.
Holy Family: A lot of Pinoniemi, but otherwise hit-or-miss offensively. Huber is a nice get in net, but the D in front of him needs to be better. Choked away a lead against a Wayzata team they probably should have beaten. We'll see if they find anything else on their annual offseason shopping spree.
Wayzata: Is Wayzata, doing usual Wayzata things. They miss the likes of Ness and Schmidt up front, but they still found ways to score against Holy Family.
Lakeville North: Somewhat better than their 5-1 scoreline against Cloquet showed, and probably better than South, but also probably not a more serious factor.
Cloquet: A lot to like, and they seemed to pull things together as the game went along. Maybe a slight step behind Andover and East in both the depth and front-end talent departments, but will certainly be a factor.
Eden Prairie: somewhat better than I would have thought. Jensen was playing, and of course his presence could make or break their odds of contending in 2AA.
Andover: Very smooth and fluid, and fun to watch. The second line featuring Zinda, Kron, and VanderMay (all juniors this coming year) outplayed the more hyped top Schoen and (not that they were bad in any way...point is, they're deep). Wyatt Kaiser on D was very noticeable as well. Definitely deserving of some hype this season.
Prior Lake: No Jackson Jutting today, and after a few minutes of skating with Andover pretty well, they got taken apart.
Benilde: Better than last season, probably somewhere back into the top 25, and was opportunistic when the chances arose.
Duluth East: The drop-off, if there is any, will not be large. The top line of Baker-Donovan-Lyle was probably the best one I saw all day, and I liked what I saw out of the couple of rising bantams who cracked the lineup. Lines 2-4 all looked solid, and I kinda liked their power play look with Donovan on the point. Bled a few goals against Benilde in a 6-3 win, but otherwise they're a force. 7AA could be an interesting battle between East's power and Andover's finesse, though Cloquet will have something to say about all of that too, and we'll see if anyone in the next tier can climb toward relevance.
A nice taste of hockey today, but we've still got four months between us and any games. A lot can change between now and then.
Benilde played without 6 of their top players this weekend.karl(east) wrote:Thoughts on teams after spending the better part of a day at Braemar:
Lakeville South: Was playing with a split squad, so it's hard to judge too much, but it was pretty rough against East in the early morning session.
Grand Rapids: They'll be better this season. I like Peart and they have some respectable depth up front. Walked out when they had a 3-0 lead over Cathedral, but it came apart pretty quickly after that and ended up in a tie, so I'd expect some growing pains. Probably a mid-tier seed in 7AA this season.
Cathedral: Underwhelmed, but obviously they put things together when I wasn't watching. They've stockpiled some talent but they're also still somewhat young and recovering from some defections, so it makes sense that they aren't the most settled unit on earth.
Holy Family: A lot of Pinoniemi, but otherwise hit-or-miss offensively. Huber is a nice get in net, but the D in front of him needs to be better. Choked away a lead against a Wayzata team they probably should have beaten. We'll see if they find anything else on their annual offseason shopping spree.
Wayzata: Is Wayzata, doing usual Wayzata things. They miss the likes of Ness and Schmidt up front, but they still found ways to score against Holy Family.
Lakeville North: Somewhat better than their 5-1 scoreline against Cloquet showed, and probably better than South, but also probably not a more serious factor.
Cloquet: A lot to like, and they seemed to pull things together as the game went along. Maybe a slight step behind Andover and East in both the depth and front-end talent departments, but will certainly be a factor.
Eden Prairie: somewhat better than I would have thought. Jensen was playing, and of course his presence could make or break their odds of contending in 2AA.
Andover: Very smooth and fluid, and fun to watch. The second line featuring Zinda, Kron, and VanderMay (all juniors this coming year) outplayed the more hyped top Schoen and (not that they were bad in any way...point is, they're deep). Wyatt Kaiser on D was very noticeable as well. Definitely deserving of some hype this season.
Prior Lake: No Jackson Jutting today, and after a few minutes of skating with Andover pretty well, they got taken apart.
Benilde: Better than last season, probably somewhere back into the top 25, and was opportunistic when the chances arose.
Duluth East: The drop-off, if there is any, will not be large. The top line of Baker-Donovan-Lyle was probably the best one I saw all day, and I liked what I saw out of the couple of rising bantams who cracked the lineup. Lines 2-4 all looked solid, and I kinda liked their power play look with Donovan on the point. Bled a few goals against Benilde in a 6-3 win, but otherwise they're a force. 7AA could be an interesting battle between East's power and Andover's finesse, though Cloquet will have something to say about all of that too, and we'll see if anyone in the next tier can climb toward relevance.
A nice taste of hockey today, but we've still got four months between us and any games. A lot can change between now and then.
This is what I saw this weekend.
Duluth East- big physical team, played to win this weekend including playing all their players and played top line a lot oncluding running pp unit. Will have a nice team this season.
Prior Lake- Jutting didn't play all the games but they lack goal scoring. Should be somewhat competitive this season.
Holy Family- Didnt have Fechko but had everyone else playing. Huber will be busy this year when they play good teams. Should have decent season.
Lakeville South- Split squad, could be tough season.
Lakeville North- They looked ok at times but overall team looks down.
Benilde- Beat Blake and Lakeville S and lost to East 6-3. Didnt play 6 of their top players and still looked pretty good.
Blakr- Lack depth, have a couple nice players. Should have solid year.
Duluth East- big physical team, played to win this weekend including playing all their players and played top line a lot oncluding running pp unit. Will have a nice team this season.
Prior Lake- Jutting didn't play all the games but they lack goal scoring. Should be somewhat competitive this season.
Holy Family- Didnt have Fechko but had everyone else playing. Huber will be busy this year when they play good teams. Should have decent season.
Lakeville South- Split squad, could be tough season.
Lakeville North- They looked ok at times but overall team looks down.
Benilde- Beat Blake and Lakeville S and lost to East 6-3. Didnt play 6 of their top players and still looked pretty good.
Blakr- Lack depth, have a couple nice players. Should have solid year.
Cont..
Eden Prairie- top line looked good with Jensen, didnt have couple 10th graders that will make make a difference (Batcheldor, L Mittlestadt). Should be competitive this year.
Cathedral- Lack depth, will be good A team but struggle and against top AA schools. Were missing 2 top D
Cloquet- Looked good at times, should get better as season goes a long. Will be dangerous come sections.
Grand Rapids- Will be better then last season but have ways to go. Still rebuilding with some nice young talent
Wayzata- Typical Wayzata team, big and physical without high end scoring. Will need great goaltending to play with top teams.
Eden Prairie- top line looked good with Jensen, didnt have couple 10th graders that will make make a difference (Batcheldor, L Mittlestadt). Should be competitive this year.
Cathedral- Lack depth, will be good A team but struggle and against top AA schools. Were missing 2 top D
Cloquet- Looked good at times, should get better as season goes a long. Will be dangerous come sections.
Grand Rapids- Will be better then last season but have ways to go. Still rebuilding with some nice young talent
Wayzata- Typical Wayzata team, big and physical without high end scoring. Will need great goaltending to play with top teams.
Cont..
Eden Prairie- top line looked good with Jensen, didnt have couple 10th graders that will make make a difference (Batcheldor, L Mittlestadt). Should be competitive this year.
Cathedral- Lack depth, will be good A team but struggle and against top AA schools. Were missing 2 top D
Cloquet- Looked good at times, should get better as season goes a long. Will be dangerous come sections.
Grand Rapids- Will be better then last season but have ways to go. Still rebuilding with some nice young talent
Wayzata- Typical Wayzata team, big and physical without high end scoring. Will need great goaltending to play with top teams.
Eden Prairie- top line looked good with Jensen, didnt have couple 10th graders that will make make a difference (Batcheldor, L Mittlestadt). Should be competitive this year.
Cathedral- Lack depth, will be good A team but struggle and against top AA schools. Were missing 2 top D
Cloquet- Looked good at times, should get better as season goes a long. Will be dangerous come sections.
Grand Rapids- Will be better then last season but have ways to go. Still rebuilding with some nice young talent
Wayzata- Typical Wayzata team, big and physical without high end scoring. Will need great goaltending to play with top teams.
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I don't have a final score, but Andover beat Duluth East to win the final game today--sounded like East got into penalty trouble and the wheels fell off some. Those two meeting in the final certainly bodes well for 7AA this season, though it helped that both were playing nearly (though not completely) full lineups coming in.
So after East and Andover in 7AA I think it’s going to be a free for all. East and Andover or Andover and Duluth East are clearly a 1 and 2 seed. And with QRF dictating seeding, this is an obvious result. I’ve never seen CEC in a section final in my lifetime - only been a diehard since the 10-11 season.karl(east) wrote:I don't have a final score, but Andover beat Duluth East to win the final game today--sounded like East got into penalty trouble and the wheels fell off some. Those two meeting in the final certainly bodes well for 7AA this season, though it helped that both were playing nearly (though not completely) full lineups coming in.
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I’ll probably need to carry a “throw up” bag around with meSlap Shot wrote:Did anyone here really knock it?O-townClown wrote:Braemar is one of the world’s great venues. It is amazing how well it has aged. Virtually unchanged and tradition-rich as a result.
Anyone that doesn’t recognize Braemar’s greatness is kidding themselves.
Some of the comments here are laughable.
Headed there now.
+++
An odd comment considering how clean the place is. It's a reach, but a hand blower was out in one of the many bathrooms.
Be kind. Rewind.
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Perhaps, but I do stand by my belief that it is a world-class venue.kniven wrote:“A world great venue”. You need to get out more O-townO-townClown wrote:Braemar is one of the world’s great venues. It is amazing how well it has aged. Virtually unchanged and tradition-rich as a result.
Anyone that doesn’t recognize Braemar’s greatness is kidding themselves.
Some of the comments here are laughable.
Headed there now.
What are the best facilities? I'm trying to think of the ones that get mentioned and I've seen almost all of them.
- NES in Marlborough - I think it is very overrated. Common observatory for the first 4 sheets but it seems run down in places and is mainly notable because it is so big.
Schwan Super Rink - a nicer version of NES. Sterile environment that lacks any real charm, but is without equal when it comes to hosting a massive event. Is a great home to the NAHL events.
Florida Hospital Center Ice - Impressive. Seating not ample if there is a crowd over 150 people.
Dr. Pepper Star Centers - Weird seating sizes. Most can't handle a decent crowd and if you get to Frisco it seems empty if you have less than 500 people. Also, I don't think any have more than two sheets which is an extremely limiting factor when it comes to holding a large event.
UPMC - this one I haven't seen, so yes...I do need to get out more.
Ice Cube in Ann Arbor - it's nice, but falls short of world-class?
Even if you are just looking for one sheet Braemar holds up well. It's very little changed since it opened and is a nice size. Some bigger barns seem hollow when you have a small crowd.
I think the St. Thomas vs. Eastview section final is a good indication of how the 'mar isn't just a great venue for Hornet hockey.
Very curious as to why you think Braemar isn't a world-class venue and which facilities are across the U.S.
Be kind. Rewind.
My co-worker gave me a tour of the new Arena in Proctor on Thursday night. If you're anywhere in the area, you are going to want to see a game in there this year. They really outdid themselves, that place is an absolute gem!O-townClown wrote:Perhaps, but I do stand by my belief that it is a world-class venue.kniven wrote:“A world great venue”. You need to get out more O-townO-townClown wrote:Braemar is one of the world’s great venues. It is amazing how well it has aged. Virtually unchanged and tradition-rich as a result.
Anyone that doesn’t recognize Braemar’s greatness is kidding themselves.
Some of the comments here are laughable.
Headed there now.
What are the best facilities? I'm trying to think of the ones that get mentioned and I've seen almost all of them.
Minnesota has a ton of very nice municipal rinks with one or two sheets, which is why Braemar stands at the upper end. To have 3 sheets year round with great seating and a 4th in the winter gives it the ability to hold much larger events than what you might see at Dakotah! or Ralph Engelstad/Huck Olson.
- NES in Marlborough - I think it is very overrated. Common observatory for the first 4 sheets but it seems run down in places and is mainly notable because it is so big.
Schwan Super Rink - a nicer version of NES. Sterile environment that lacks any real charm, but is without equal when it comes to hosting a massive event. Is a great home to the NAHL events.
Florida Hospital Center Ice - Impressive. Seating not ample if there is a crowd over 150 people.
Dr. Pepper Star Centers - Weird seating sizes. Most can't handle a decent crowd and if you get to Frisco it seems empty if you have less than 500 people. Also, I don't think any have more than two sheets which is an extremely limiting factor when it comes to holding a large event.
UPMC - this one I haven't seen, so yes...I do need to get out more.
Ice Cube in Ann Arbor - it's nice, but falls short of world-class?
Even if you are just looking for one sheet Braemar holds up well. It's very little changed since it opened and is a nice size. Some bigger barns seem hollow when you have a small crowd.
I think the St. Thomas vs. Eastview section final is a good indication of how the 'mar isn't just a great venue for Hornet hockey.
Very curious as to why you think Braemar isn't a world-class venue and which facilities are across the U.S.
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My kid has a game there in early November. I can't wait to see it. Proctor really needed this!Jeffy95 wrote: My co-worker gave me a tour of the new Arena in Proctor on Thursday night. If you're anywhere in the area, you are going to want to see a game in there this year. They really outdid themselves, that place is an absolute gem!