23 state tournament winners

[Smooth]

West metro Allstars win state!
East metro Allstars win consolation!

What a great weekend of hockey

[yesiplayedhockey]

Did anyone ever come up with a number of how many tonka kids weren't in their program 1, 2 and 3 years ago

It would be neat to show the breakdown....It would also help other coaches form a playbook moving forward

[StanleyCup55]

Hagen Burrows is from Orono
Ashton Schultz and Jacob Moore played bantam at Chaska/Chanhassen
Alex Lunski played sophomore year with Chanhassen HS then transferred to Tonka last year.
Sam Sheetz played at Chaska HS last year.
Max Krebsbach played at Mound HS last year
There are more I’m sure

Other teams like the Andover goalie played at Buffalo HS last year, Cayden Casey played his sophomore year at Elk River HS. Macklin Yelle is from Chicago. Crosby Perry is from Anoka

Lakeville south had a few Farmington kids.

I’m sure there are a ton more teams with transfers. Tonka isn’t the only one but they sure did a good job with free agents this year.

[Smooth]

Thanks for the input SC55

[Slap Shot]

I hate seeing the transfers in or out. I believe all of the following played at least 1 year as youths for Tonka. Not all homegrown but still:

Beckett Hendrickson (F, NTDP)
John Whipple (D, NTDP)
Drew Stewart (F, BSM)
Kam Hendrickson (G, Chan)
Mikey Berchild (F, SSM)
Holden Pajor (F, HF)
Bryce Wiitala (F, HF)

I'd like to see the MSHSL implement a rule that if a player has played one year of Varsity for a school if they transfer they have to sit one year. Would probably get challenged in court, but you'd think something could be done to combat what now seems to have become a free-for-all.

[rainier2]

I love that Class A was won, yet again, by a team that plays AA all through youth.

And the third place game was between two groups of players that all played AA at youth.

And the consolation final was between two teams whose players play AA at youth.

And with EGF now AA at youth, this trend is sure to continue.

Yay!!!

[StanleyCup55]

Seems as though some certain teams have found a loophole to ensure a state trip. Also seems the Tier 1 and Tier 2 system is the best possible system to use to ensure opportunities for other, not as fortunate schools to compete at state. They said tier 2 is a consolation tournament so they scrapped it and went with Class A/AA. Now we have what we have today, a total sh!tshow.

Just go back to tier 1 and tier 2. Call it class A and AA. Football does it why can’t hockey?

[bardown27]

Seems as though some certain teams have found a loophole to ensure a state trip. Also seems the Tier 1 and Tier 2 system is the best possible system to use to ensure opportunities for other, not as fortunate schools to compete at state. They said tier 2 is a consolation tournament so they scrapped it and went with Class A/AA. Now we have what we have today, a total sh!tshow.

Just go back to tier 1 and tier 2. Call it class A and AA. Football does it why can’t hockey?

Football doesn't do it. They are separated into classes based on enrollment, just like hockey is. They just have way more classes with more schools having football programs. 6A is the biggest 32 schools

[StanleyCup55]

Seems as though some certain teams have found a loophole to ensure a state trip. Also seems the Tier 1 and Tier 2 system is the best possible system to use to ensure opportunities for other, not as fortunate schools to compete at state. They said tier 2 is a consolation tournament so they scrapped it and went with Class A/AA. Now we have what we have today, a total sh!tshow.

Just go back to tier 1 and tier 2. Call it class A and AA. Football does it why can’t hockey?

Football doesn't do it. They are separated into classes based on enrollment, just like hockey is. They just have way more classes with more schools having football programs. 6A is the biggest 32 schools

Football ranks the top 32 and that’s the top class, every year

[bardown27]

Seems as though some certain teams have found a loophole to ensure a state trip. Also seems the Tier 1 and Tier 2 system is the best possible system to use to ensure opportunities for other, not as fortunate schools to compete at state. They said tier 2 is a consolation tournament so they scrapped it and went with Class A/AA. Now we have what we have today, a total sh!tshow.

Just go back to tier 1 and tier 2. Call it class A and AA. Football does it why can’t hockey?

Football doesn't do it. They are separated into classes based on enrollment, just like hockey is. They just have way more classes with more schools having football programs. 6A is the biggest 32 schools

Football ranks the top 32 and that’s the top class, every year

no, they don't.

https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/fil ... 4-2025.pdf

[bardown27]

Football doesn't do it. They are separated into classes based on enrollment, just like hockey is. They just have way more classes with more schools having football programs. 6A is the biggest 32 schools

Football ranks the top 32 and that’s the top class, every year

no, they don't.

https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/fil ... 4-2025.pdf

of the 32 top enrollment schools for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 classification, only ONE in the top 32 didn't play 6A football. That was Mayo. Totino took their spot by opting up.

[StanleyCup55]

Stand corrected then, thanks

[Eagles93]

I don't pay real close attention to high school football, but I believe they rank (by competitive level) the top 32 into two divisions. Gold and maroon I think? So they sort of have two classes within 6A for the regular season, but they all still play for one 6A champion.

[bardown27]

I don't pay real close attention to high school football, but I believe they rank (by competitive level) the top 32 into two divisions. Gold and maroon I think? So they sort of have two classes within 6A for the regular season, but they all still play for one 6A champion.

they are split into 4 sections based on geography

[Eagles93]

they are split into 4 sections based on geography

If true (not saying you're wrong but I know I heard about the "upper" and "lower" divisions somewhere) the geography doesn't make a lot of sense. And the naming scheme (Gold North, Gold South, Maroon North, Maroon South) makes zero sense unless Gold has the "upper" schools. Traditional powers EP, Lakeville North and South, Rosemount, Wayzata, Tonka, Maple Grove, Champlin Park, TG, Blaine are all in Gold. 16 of the 18 teams to make the state championship since 6A was created are in one of the current Gold divisions. That's more than a coincidence.

[bardown27]

they are split into 4 sections based on geography

If true (not saying you're wrong but I know I heard about the "upper" and "lower" divisions somewhere) the geography doesn't make a lot of sense. And the naming scheme (Gold North, Gold South, Maroon North, Maroon South) makes zero sense unless Gold has the "upper" schools. Traditional powers EP, Lakeville North and South, Rosemount, Wayzata, Tonka, Maple Grove, Champlin Park, TG, Blaine are all in Gold. 16 of the 18 teams to make the state championship since 6A was created are in one of the current Gold divisions. That's more than a coincidence.

Go to the state HS league website and go look at the section assignment for 6A football. It is clearly geographical.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Sometimes I wonder if the whole high school hockey thing may just implode someday. Being the dumbest guy I know, I'm not smart enough to lay out any particular scenario. Maybe some other youth hockey system/league will attract most of the better players. Then it may lead to a downward spiral, with declining talent levels and participation leading to declining fan interest. The same could happen with other sports, I suppose, possibly basketball. Of course, it's not just about state tournaments, interest in regular season games could also be affected.

At that point, high school teams could be the B league, the team you play for if you don't make the elite league. With the advent of NIL, etc, it's not hard to imagine that high school hockey may look very different in 20 years.

[BSUBeaver]

they are split into 4 sections based on geography

If true (not saying you're wrong but I know I heard about the "upper" and "lower" divisions somewhere) the geography doesn't make a lot of sense. And the naming scheme (Gold North, Gold South, Maroon North, Maroon South) makes zero sense unless Gold has the "upper" schools. Traditional powers EP, Lakeville North and South, Rosemount, Wayzata, Tonka, Maple Grove, Champlin Park, TG, Blaine are all in Gold. 16 of the 18 teams to make the state championship since 6A was created are in one of the current Gold divisions. That's more than a coincidence.

I think you are getting districts and sections mixed up. Districts are set up by Class/Color for scheduling purposes since football has done away with conferences. Sections are set up for tournament advancement.

[Slap Shot]

Fans complained for years that players leaving early for juniors would be the demise of HS hockey in MN. Instead the number of kids leaving has remained mostly level and we continue to see compelling state tournaments year after year. I think the same over-reaction is happening with respect to transfers being the next killer and unless some really poor decision making happens that's also not going to happen. I still think stricter rules should be put into place, but the model isn't going in anywhere as a whole.

[Eagles93]

Go to the state HS league website and go look at the section assignment for 6A football. It is clearly geographical.

I think you are getting districts and sections mixed up. Districts are set up by Class/Color for scheduling purposes since football has done away with conferences. Sections are set up for tournament advancement.

Correct, the manipulated divisions are for regular season, presumably so that the better teams play the better teams in regular season. The map on the MSHSL website shows the section assignments. Section assignments in 6A football are fairly irrelevant as they are not like any other sport, they do it better. If hockey did sections like 6A football, theoretically we could have seen Tonka vs Chanhassen in the state championship even though they are in the same section. Of course I get that it's easier logistically in football since all but one team in 6A is in the metro area but it's a better way to get the best teams in the state tourney.

[goldy313]

As a point of clarification….

Football takes the top 32 schools by enrollment and makes them 6A. Any team that opts up makes the lowest enrollment school drop down so at the maximum there are 32 6A teams in football. So, since TG opted up Rochester Mayo was sent back down to 5A.

In hockey the top 64 schools, by enrollment, are AA. Any school that opts up to AA is the added to AA. So there are more than 64 AA schools. In hockey schools are allowed to petition to go down a class. Minneapolis is a prime example of this, Dodge County is another team that goes down. In football there is no such rule.

[goldy313]

Personally I think the hockey system is better. I understand the complexity of adding extra football games though.

[LASERBLUE135]

Here’s an option. Transfers are 100% welcome, with 1 huge holdback. No postseason play your first transfer year. That way you’re allowing a kid to practice and play a full season with limited penalty. They only miss a few games. Most important games, yes, but it’s a reasonable compromise.

[Joe2015]

they are split into 4 sections based on geography

If true (not saying you're wrong but I know I heard about the "upper" and "lower" divisions somewhere) the geography doesn't make a lot of sense. And the naming scheme (Gold North, Gold South, Maroon North, Maroon South) makes zero sense unless Gold has the "upper" schools. Traditional powers EP, Lakeville North and South, Rosemount, Wayzata, Tonka, Maple Grove, Champlin Park, TG, Blaine are all in Gold. 16 of the 18 teams to make the state championship since 6A was created are in one of the current Gold divisions. That's more than a coincidence.

I think you are getting districts and sections mixed up. Districts are set up by Class/Color for scheduling purposes since football has done away with conferences. Sections are set up for tournament advancement.

A few years ago in football, the MSHSL started assigning teams to "districts": they is for REGULAR SEASON only. I believe some teams were having trouble filling out their schedule. So under the district format, they have to get together and make sure everyone has a full schedule. Many are coded by a color: Northwest Red or whatever.

However, the playoffs mostly follow the format as every other sport with 8 sections per class. The only difference is 6A, which has 32 teams and only 4 sections.