The Hermantown Thread

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karl(east)
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by karl(east) » Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:13 pm

Goose21 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:13 pm
Jeffy95 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:29 pm
elliott70 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:03 pm
The problem with hockey is that school enrollment does not mean much.
The quality of the youth program is the most determining factor (and ability to keep kids in your program/high school) that really matters.
Absolutely. Enrollment only matters to those very few that are trying to hide behind it. If enrollment was that important, none of us in the Hockey world would have ever heard of Eveleth, I-Falls, Roseau, Rapids, Bemidji, Warroad, Cloquet, Hermantown, EGF, TRF, list goes on an on. And Minneapolis would have won the last 5 AA Championships!
I would add that Hermantown has one of the largest, if not the largest Youth Program in Northern Minnesota. I'm not sure if it is larger than Moorhead, but heard its numbers surpassed East and is ahead of CEC, GR, Brainerd, Bemidji, and Roseau.
As far as East, that's only true at the Bantam level, where Hermantown has 3 teams and East has 2.5 (there's one shared Duluth Lakers team between East and Denfeld). At PeeWees, East has 5 and Hermantown has 4; at squirts, the East rinks within DAHA have 8 teams to Hermantown's 4, and it's 8-6 and 9-7 East at Mite 2 and Mite 1, respectively.

StanleyCup55
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by StanleyCup55 » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:58 pm

I don’t think you have to get rid of A or AA to fix it. I did like the tier 1 tier 2 system since it truly gives all teams a realistic shot to make the state tournament on any given year. In my mind that is the most fair system for all but I don’t think MSHSL will get rid of the two class system. Not sure why but just seems that way. That being said, they just need to tweak a few sections and move up a few teams from A to AA to balance it all out.

blueline_6
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by blueline_6 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 6:29 am

Goose21 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:13 pm
Jeffy95 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:29 pm
elliott70 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:03 pm
The problem with hockey is that school enrollment does not mean much.
The quality of the youth program is the most determining factor (and ability to keep kids in your program/high school) that really matters.
Absolutely. Enrollment only matters to those very few that are trying to hide behind it. If enrollment was that important, none of us in the Hockey world would have ever heard of Eveleth, I-Falls, Roseau, Rapids, Bemidji, Warroad, Cloquet, Hermantown, EGF, TRF, list goes on an on. And Minneapolis would have won the last 5 AA Championships!
I would add that Hermantown has one of the largest, if not the largest Youth Program in Northern Minnesota. I'm not sure if it is larger than Moorhead, but heard its numbers surpassed East and is ahead of CEC, GR, Brainerd, Bemidji, and Roseau.
Hermantown has the same number of Bantam teams as Elk River. Hermantown's Bantam B team is ranked in LPH as the #18 Bantam B1 team in the state, yet they host a Bantam B2 tournament. Apparently they don't just sandbag at the high school level.

Goose21
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Goose21 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:05 am

karl(east) wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:13 pm
Goose21 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:13 pm
Jeffy95 wrote:
Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:29 pm


Absolutely. Enrollment only matters to those very few that are trying to hide behind it. If enrollment was that important, none of us in the Hockey world would have ever heard of Eveleth, I-Falls, Roseau, Rapids, Bemidji, Warroad, Cloquet, Hermantown, EGF, TRF, list goes on an on. And Minneapolis would have won the last 5 AA Championships!
I would add that Hermantown has one of the largest, if not the largest Youth Program in Northern Minnesota. I'm not sure if it is larger than Moorhead, but heard its numbers surpassed East and is ahead of CEC, GR, Brainerd, Bemidji, and Roseau.
As far as East, that's only true at the Bantam level, where Hermantown has 3 teams and East has 2.5 (there's one shared Duluth Lakers team between East and Denfeld). At PeeWees, East has 5 and Hermantown has 4; at squirts, the East rinks within DAHA have 8 teams to Hermantown's 4, and it's 8-6 and 9-7 East at Mite 2 and Mite 1, respectively.
Thanks for the info. The topic of conversation with my friend with the East Youth Program was more about Peewees and Bantams, so he was probably referring to the higher levels.
Forecheck, Backcheck, Paycheck

Slap Shot
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Slap Shot » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:08 am

Force all non-privates into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for non-privates. Done.

7TIMECHAMPS
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by 7TIMECHAMPS » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:32 am

Slap Shot wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:08 am
Force all non-privates into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for non-privates. Done.
So punish the communities that want to play in the real tournament? Isn't that a little counter intuitive to what people are wanting here? Jeffy and Rainer's teams will still never go to state.

Not to mention DE, Moorhead, and Brainerd will be about the only "Northern" teams left.

Mite-dad
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Mite-dad » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:45 am

Enrollment has nothing to do with it and everything to do with how good your hockey program is. To say enrollment isn't a huge factor in the quality of your hockey team is ludicrous. And it is even more important today than ever.

rainier2
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by rainier2 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:49 am

Slap Shot wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:08 am
Force all non-privates into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for non-privates. Done.
I don't get what you're proposing. Non-private just means public, so to me it reads "Force all public schools into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for public schools."

So GR would be forced into Class A, but they could opt up if they wanted to? Isn't that what we have now?

rainier2
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by rainier2 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:51 am

Mite-dad wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:45 am
Enrollment has nothing to do with it and everything to do with how good your hockey program is. To say enrollment isn't a huge factor in the quality of your hockey team is ludicrous. And it is even more important today than ever.
Depends on where you are. In Little Falls, yes, enrollment is going to be a huge factor, but in a metro suburb such as Hermantown, it means very little.

elliott70
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by elliott70 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:43 am

rainier2 wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:51 am
Mite-dad wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:45 am
Enrollment has nothing to do with it and everything to do with how good your hockey program is. To say enrollment isn't a huge factor in the quality of your hockey team is ludicrous. And it is even more important today than ever.
Depends on where you are. In Little Falls, yes, enrollment is going to be a huge factor, but in a metro suburb such as Hermantown, it means very little.
Bemidji is 5 times larger thatn Roseau yet the programs are what makes the difference.

Where is F3?
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Where is F3? » Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:46 am

IMO, 2 things should be considered when determining if a school is A or AA.

1. Youth Numbers (specifically in Peewee and Bantam)
2. Youth Level

Hermantown has great numbers in Peewee and Bantam and compete at the AA level. It is a no brainer that they should compete in AA for High School.

On the flip side, take a co-op program who competes at AA because of enrollment, but they only have 1 Bantam B team. We expect that program to compete at the AA level for High school?

Jeffy95
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Jeffy95 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:16 am

7TIMECHAMPS wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:32 am
Slap Shot wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:08 am
Force all non-privates into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for non-privates. Done.
So punish the communities that want to play in the real tournament? Isn't that a little counter intuitive to what people are wanting here? Jeffy and Rainer's teams will still never go to state.

Not to mention DE, Moorhead, and Brainerd will be about the only "Northern" teams left.
Last edited by Jeffy95 on Mon Jan 21, 2019 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

rainier2
Posts: 720
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:24 pm

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by rainier2 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:28 am

elliott70 wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:43 am
rainier2 wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:51 am
Mite-dad wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:45 am
Enrollment has nothing to do with it and everything to do with how good your hockey program is. To say enrollment isn't a huge factor in the quality of your hockey team is ludicrous. And it is even more important today than ever.
Depends on where you are. In Little Falls, yes, enrollment is going to be a huge factor, but in a metro suburb such as Hermantown, it means very little.
Bemidji is 5 times larger thatn Roseau yet the programs are what makes the difference.
Success is a combination of program quality and enrollment. If you doubled Roseau's enrollment, they would be a top 5 team every year with multiple more titles. If you cut their enrollment in half, they'd never even be a top 4 seed in 8A.

With Hermantown, they have an excellent program, but if you took the city of Hermantown and plopped it down in rural MN with no other significant population centers within 30 miles, they become a very solid A team, probably much like TRF. But, they would not be dominating A and beating AA champs with regularity. They have a strong program, but it is the huge pool of available players immediately surrounding them that makes the difference.

pekyman
Posts: 555
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by pekyman » Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:32 pm

Jeffy95 wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:16 am
7TIMECHAMPS wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:32 am
Slap Shot wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:08 am
Force all non-privates into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for non-privates. Done.
So punish the communities that want to play in the real tournament? Isn't that a little counter intuitive to what people are wanting here? Jeffy and Rainer's teams will still never go to state.

Not to mention DE, Moorhead, and Brainerd will be about the only "Northern" teams left.
I guess you could say I'm old school and care about the Tradition and Nostalgia of the game. I grew up taking trips for tournaments to Hibbing, Virginia, Eveleth, I-Falls, TRF, Crookston, Bemidji, Roseau and Warroad. A few of my teammate's Dads played in those towns and several other Dads in our program. So I got to hear all of the stories and then live them at those rinks while looking at all of the pictures and trophies on the wall. Then when my kid played I was lucky enough to do it all over again. So yeah, I guess you could say those are "my" teams. Roseau in particular was always my favorite place to visit and team to cheer for. But every time I read one of your smug and condescending posts that takes a small hit for me. I have to go read a few from Green and White fan and the other Rams on here, close my eyes and reminisce about getting dressed in the same locker room as Neal Broten and Butsy Erickson did, and that brings me back to the baseline.

I don't want to see the Range teams die off and if nothing is done that could definitely happen. Hermantown's system is set up to grab every player they can and kill off all of the other 7A teams. And don't give me your crap talking point of, "Well, you get rid of them and then everyone will be whining about someone else." Not true. EGF is the evidence. They won two straight titles with their own kids and nobody on here or anywhere else said boo. Then they went through the natural cycle of every other Class A team in the State, minus Hermantown of course, and TRF had a chance to give their program a boost. Hermantown has outscored their section playoff opponents 196-21 since 2010. That's an average game of 7.26-.78. Does anyone on here really think that will ever be repeated by anyone else? Nobody else is set up Geographically to pull of what Hermantown has. They send buses to pick up kids in Duluth and Proctor every day. They're even pulling in kids from the Range now in the last five years. It used to be unheard of for kids to go that far. But when you have no hope because you have to get through a Metro AA program that can take kids from anywhere, well, "If you can't beat em, join em." The middle class is shrinking in this country. We're pretty close to the point where this could be a game for just wealthy families. People on the range and outstate have always made the sacrifice and found a way to make it work. But when you get to the point where you have no sliver of hope for success, it becomes a lot easier for those parents on the range to say, "What the hell, it's not worth it anymore. Let's grab a jug of Windsor and go ice fishing."

I've fought the good fight and the awareness is now there. That was always my goal. Five years ago most in the State thought Hermantown was this tiny little community with magic water. The rest of the State is now full aware of what they're doing. I know there are people on here that are sick of hearing me talk about it and quite frankly, so am I. (Believe it or not) My work on this is done. Godspeed and let's pray that they can play those games outside tomorrow. Great job Bemidji, you've made us old school guys proud!
Hermantown’s evil system has been set up to destroy 218 hockey and Joffrey is the savior. What a bunch of exaggerated crap. :roll:

Slap Shot
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Slap Shot » Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:34 pm

rainier2 wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:49 am
Slap Shot wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:08 am
Force all non-privates into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for non-privates. Done.
I don't get what you're proposing. Non-private just means public, so to me it reads "Force all public schools into A or AA based upon enrollment. No opting up except for public schools."

So GR would be forced into Class A, but they could opt up if they wanted to? Isn't that what we have now?
Sorry that was a mental fart. Force all public schools into the correct class by enrollment cutoffs - privates can opt up.

pekyman
Posts: 555
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Location: Back 40

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by pekyman » Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:44 pm

pekyman wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:32 pm
Jeffy95 wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:16 am
7TIMECHAMPS wrote:
Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:32 am


So punish the communities that want to play in the real tournament? Isn't that a little counter intuitive to what people are wanting here? Jeffy and Rainer's teams will still never go to state.

Not to mention DE, Moorhead, and Brainerd will be about the only "Northern" teams left.
I guess you could say I'm old school and care about the Tradition and Nostalgia of the game. I grew up taking trips for tournaments to Hibbing, Virginia, Eveleth, I-Falls, TRF, Crookston, Bemidji, Roseau and Warroad. A few of my teammate's Dads played in those towns and several other Dads in our program. So I got to hear all of the stories and then live them at those rinks while looking at all of the pictures and trophies on the wall. Then when my kid played I was lucky enough to do it all over again. So yeah, I guess you could say those are "my" teams. Roseau in particular was always my favorite place to visit and team to cheer for. But every time I read one of your smug and condescending posts that takes a small hit for me. I have to go read a few from Green and White fan and the other Rams on here, close my eyes and reminisce about getting dressed in the same locker room as Neal Broten and Butsy Erickson did, and that brings me back to the baseline.

I don't want to see the Range teams die off and if nothing is done that could definitely happen. Hermantown's system is set up to grab every player they can and kill off all of the other 7A teams. And don't give me your crap talking point of, "Well, you get rid of them and then everyone will be whining about someone else." Not true. EGF is the evidence. They won two straight titles with their own kids and nobody on here or anywhere else said boo. Then they went through the natural cycle of every other Class A team in the State, minus Hermantown of course, and TRF had a chance to give their program a boost. Hermantown has outscored their section playoff opponents 196-21 since 2010. That's an average game of 7.26-.78. Does anyone on here really think that will ever be repeated by anyone else? Nobody else is set up Geographically to pull of what Hermantown has. They send buses to pick up kids in Duluth and Proctor every day. They're even pulling in kids from the Range now in the last five years. It used to be unheard of for kids to go that far. But when you have no hope because you have to get through a Metro AA program that can take kids from anywhere, well, "If you can't beat em, join em." The middle class is shrinking in this country. We're pretty close to the point where this could be a game for just wealthy families. People on the range and outstate have always made the sacrifice and found a way to make it work. But when you get to the point where you have no sliver of hope for success, it becomes a lot easier for those parents on the range to say, "What the hell, it's not worth it anymore. Let's grab a jug of Windsor and go ice fishing."

I've fought the good fight and the awareness is now there. That was always my goal. Five years ago most in the State thought Hermantown was this tiny little community with magic water. The rest of the State is now full aware of what they're doing. I know there are people on here that are sick of hearing me talk about it and quite frankly, so am I. (Believe it or not) My work on this is done. Godspeed and let's pray that they can play those games outside tomorrow. Great job Bemidji, you've made us old school guys proud!
Hermantown’s evil system has been set up to destroy 218 hockey and Joffrey is the savior. What a bunch of exaggerated crap. :roll:
I'd say SCC and Mahtomedi have a good chance but they are not in 7A so you would not care anyway.

kniven
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by kniven » Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:35 pm

I think the next 10 years for the Hawks are going to be better as far as talent then the previous 10 years. They are stacked from squirts to high school. It’s pretty impressive.
“218 hockey” Boys of the NOrth ❤️

Jeffy95
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Jeffy95 » Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:48 pm

Duluth News Tribune article about Hermantown ruining Northern Class A Hockey:

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sport ... tus-debate

hockey59
Posts: 1704
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Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by hockey59 » Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:06 am

Jeffy95 wrote:
Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:48 pm
Duluth News Tribune article about Hermantown ruining Northern Class A Hockey:

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sport ... tus-debate
It's nice to see (at least one) Hermantown parent has integrity when it comes to this single a BS...and by no coincidence... his son currently plays in the NHL...his name is...Scott Pionk =D>

rainier2
Posts: 720
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:24 pm

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by rainier2 » Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:14 am

hockey59 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:06 am
Jeffy95 wrote:
Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:48 pm
Duluth News Tribune article about Hermantown ruining Northern Class A Hockey:

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sport ... tus-debate
It's nice to see (at least one) Hermantown parent has integrity when it comes to this single a BS...and by no coincidence... his son currently plays in the NHL...his name is...Scott Pionk =D>
Scott Pionk is my hero!

I was particularly impressed how much emphasis he puts on the Hawks' dominance hurting small Northland programs, as opposed to just focusing on them being good enough for AA. It's great that he sees the bigger picture.

I hope every Hermantown decision maker and parent reads this article, so they realize just how strong their program is now. They are as good as any AA program at this point, and the kids should be given the chance to prove it.

AD Clark only says a few words, but they encapsulate perfectly the problem with Hermantown in Class A: "RIght now, were not going to move up. We're comfortable where we're at." Being comfortable is not a good place to be in life, AD Clark. Successful people (and hockey programs) push themselves to do better, always taking on the next challenge once the last one has been mastered.

My only issue with the article is how Mr. St. George characterized Hermantown's enrollment as being on par with TRF. While numerically true, functionally the enrollments of the schools couldn't be more different. 150,000 people live within a 15 minute drive of open-enrollment-happy Hermantown, while TRF program has only the 8,800 people that live in the isolated town. Hermantown defenders, either willingly or ignorantly, do not grasp the incredible advantage this gives them.

But, I love the hard numbers St. George gave about Hermantown's 7A dominance. They are eye-popping.

It appears Hermantown will be in A for the next two years. Sadly, this means Greenway will not be going to state at all with their excellent group, and the great bantam crop from Denfeld will have to wait until their senior year for a legitimate shot, assuming Hermantown finally does move in two years.

What I'd really like to see is the Hermantown players post an open letter stating their position.

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

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by northwoods oldtimer » Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:32 am

rainier2 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:14 am
hockey59 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:06 am
Jeffy95 wrote:
Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:48 pm
Duluth News Tribune article about Hermantown ruining Northern Class A Hockey:

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sport ... tus-debate
It's nice to see (at least one) Hermantown parent has integrity when it comes to this single a BS...and by no coincidence... his son currently plays in the NHL...his name is...Scott Pionk =D>
Scott Pionk is my hero!

I was particularly impressed how much emphasis he puts on the Hawks' dominance hurting small Northland programs, as opposed to just focusing on them being good enough for AA. It's great that he sees the bigger picture.

I hope every Hermantown decision maker and parent reads this article, so they realize just how strong their program is now. They are as good as any AA program at this point, and the kids should be given the chance to prove it.

AD Clark only says a few words, but they encapsulate perfectly the problem with Hermantown in Class A: "RIght now, were not going to move up. We're comfortable where we're at." Being comfortable is not a good place to be in life, AD Clark. Successful people (and hockey programs) push themselves to do better, always taking on the next challenge once the last one has been mastered.

My only issue with the article is how Mr. St. George characterized Hermantown's enrollment as being on par with TRF. While numerically true, functionally the enrollments of the schools couldn't be more different. 150,000 people live within a 15 minute drive of open-enrollment-happy Hermantown, while TRF program has only the 8,800 people that live in the isolated town. Hermantown defenders, either willingly or ignorantly, do not grasp the incredible advantage this gives them.

But, I love the hard numbers St. George gave about Hermantown's 7A dominance. They are eye-popping.

It appears Hermantown will be in A for the next two years. Sadly, this means Greenway will not be going to state at all with their excellent group, and the great bantam crop from Denfeld will have to wait until their senior year for a legitimate shot, assuming Hermantown finally does move in two years.

What I'd really like to see is the Hermantown players post an open letter stating their position.
"Pionk admits his views almost certainly reside in the minority among the Hermantown community." If you are a Minnesota AA team quit scheduling the sandbaggers!!!
Scotty Pionk is a man's man. Telling it like it is.

Goose21
Posts: 242
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:31 am

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Goose21 » Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:54 am

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:32 am
rainier2 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:14 am
hockey59 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:06 am


It's nice to see (at least one) Hermantown parent has integrity when it comes to this single a BS...and by no coincidence... his son currently plays in the NHL...his name is...Scott Pionk =D>
Scott Pionk is my hero!

I was particularly impressed how much emphasis he puts on the Hawks' dominance hurting small Northland programs, as opposed to just focusing on them being good enough for AA. It's great that he sees the bigger picture.

I hope every Hermantown decision maker and parent reads this article, so they realize just how strong their program is now. They are as good as any AA program at this point, and the kids should be given the chance to prove it.

AD Clark only says a few words, but they encapsulate perfectly the problem with Hermantown in Class A: "RIght now, were not going to move up. We're comfortable where we're at." Being comfortable is not a good place to be in life, AD Clark. Successful people (and hockey programs) push themselves to do better, always taking on the next challenge once the last one has been mastered.

My only issue with the article is how Mr. St. George characterized Hermantown's enrollment as being on par with TRF. While numerically true, functionally the enrollments of the schools couldn't be more different. 150,000 people live within a 15 minute drive of open-enrollment-happy Hermantown, while TRF program has only the 8,800 people that live in the isolated town. Hermantown defenders, either willingly or ignorantly, do not grasp the incredible advantage this gives them.

But, I love the hard numbers St. George gave about Hermantown's 7A dominance. They are eye-popping.

It appears Hermantown will be in A for the next two years. Sadly, this means Greenway will not be going to state at all with their excellent group, and the great bantam crop from Denfeld will have to wait until their senior year for a legitimate shot, assuming Hermantown finally does move in two years.

What I'd really like to see is the Hermantown players post an open letter stating their position.
"Pionk admits his views almost certainly reside in the minority among the Hermantown community." If you are a Minnesota AA team quit scheduling the sandbaggers!!!
Scotty Pionk is a man's man. Telling it like it is.
The issue with this is there really isn't motivation for AA teams to not schedule Hermantown. Cities programs likely care little about what is happening in 7A and why pass on the opportunity to get a good team on the schedule. For other AA programs Hermantown is a geographical opponent.
Forecheck, Backcheck, Paycheck

Jeffy95
Posts: 891
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:45 am

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by Jeffy95 » Mon Jan 28, 2019 8:51 am

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:32 am
rainier2 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:14 am
hockey59 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:06 am


It's nice to see (at least one) Hermantown parent has integrity when it comes to this single a BS...and by no coincidence... his son currently plays in the NHL...his name is...Scott Pionk =D>
Scott Pionk is my hero!

I was particularly impressed how much emphasis he puts on the Hawks' dominance hurting small Northland programs, as opposed to just focusing on them being good enough for AA. It's great that he sees the bigger picture.

I hope every Hermantown decision maker and parent reads this article, so they realize just how strong their program is now. They are as good as any AA program at this point, and the kids should be given the chance to prove it.

AD Clark only says a few words, but they encapsulate perfectly the problem with Hermantown in Class A: "RIght now, were not going to move up. We're comfortable where we're at." Being comfortable is not a good place to be in life, AD Clark. Successful people (and hockey programs) push themselves to do better, always taking on the next challenge once the last one has been mastered.

My only issue with the article is how Mr. St. George characterized Hermantown's enrollment as being on par with TRF. While numerically true, functionally the enrollments of the schools couldn't be more different. 150,000 people live within a 15 minute drive of open-enrollment-happy Hermantown, while TRF program has only the 8,800 people that live in the isolated town. Hermantown defenders, either willingly or ignorantly, do not grasp the incredible advantage this gives them.

But, I love the hard numbers St. George gave about Hermantown's 7A dominance. They are eye-popping.

It appears Hermantown will be in A for the next two years. Sadly, this means Greenway will not be going to state at all with their excellent group, and the great bantam crop from Denfeld will have to wait until their senior year for a legitimate shot, assuming Hermantown finally does move in two years.

What I'd really like to see is the Hermantown players post an open letter stating their position.
"Pionk admits his views almost certainly reside in the minority among the Hermantown community." If you are a Minnesota AA team quit scheduling the sandbaggers!!!
Scotty Pionk is a man's man. Telling it like it is.
Scott is a great Hockey mind and very in touch with the Northern Hockey Scene. He's been saying this for quite awhile. He cares about the overall health of the game more than anything else.

MNGuide
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:50 pm

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by MNGuide » Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:32 am

Hermantown is hillarious. Part of me hopes they never move up so they continue to look so foolish

kniven
Posts: 2978
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:40 pm
Location: Duluth area

Re: The Hermantown Thread

Post by kniven » Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:35 pm

MNGuide wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:32 am
Hermantown is hillarious. Part of me hopes they never move up so they continue to look so foolish
Agreed. I feel so bad for them.
“218 hockey” Boys of the NOrth ❤️

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