Moving advice

areaman · Post by **areaman** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 9:19 am

Here's some very specific advice.

I would avoid Edina.

Between the 97 and 98 years, there's something like 20-some goalies.
Doubtful he could compete against the 97s (a very, very good crop)...which may leave him possibly one year playing in goal in high school. If he's better than all the existing 98s. Not to mention the 99s. Plus, all the teams except the C teams have two goalies. So he's splitting playing time with another kid. (An observation, there's nothing wrong with being on a C team in general and for a goalie in a town like Edina, it actually may be a good thing because he'll play all the time).

I believe Richfield and Hopkins need goalies. You'll want to check the strength of the programs. But if you are serious about your child getting a chance to play, you should find a town in need of goalies. He'll be welcomed with open arms and it will probably make the transition to a new school a lot more enjoyable.

Another suggestion (and I may be killed for saying this), you can try the private schools. Kids come from all over the place, so he may be able to make friends more easily. Plus, you might be able to get a wink and a handshake-type agreement that he'll be the netminder (oh, right, recruiting never happens).

Puckstopper81 · Post by **Puckstopper81** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:12 pm

Guys - great stuff! Again, I really appreciate all the advice. I am very aware of the goalie coaches at Goalcrease, PHT, and Mike Valley, as mentioned before, but thanks for letting me know anyway. I totally agree with a number of the posts that we should stay away from some of the Superpowers. Please, keep the suggestions coming. Thanks and have a great weekend!

InigoMontoya · Post by **InigoMontoya** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:55 am

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag ... 18116.html

warmskin · Post by **warmskin** » Sun Aug 29, 2010 1:39 am

I just moved back to MN from VA and the politics in MN are no match for the crazies in VA. Just as a heads up the current governor of VA ran on a platform of more money for the schools and less taxes (heard that before?). The opposite of course happened this year in VA and they don't even support hockey facilities which are primarily privately owned.
I would have one foot note that Michelle B. gets a lot of face time in the DC press which I am not sure how much that helps back here in MN.

The Next One · Post by **The Next One** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:51 pm

Where did this family end up?

Puckstopper81 · Post by **Puckstopper81** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 10:56 am

Actually, we haven't made a decision as of yet, but thank you to everyone who has steered us in one direction or the other. Will keep you posted. Thanks!

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:46 am

Puckstopper81 wrote:Actually, we haven't made a decision as of yet, but thank you to everyone who has steered us in one direction or the other. Will keep you posted. Thanks!

So you didn't move to Minnesota?

Towelie · Post by **Towelie** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 2:38 pm

So you're either from CO or WI.

Mise well just read my signature because your kid is going to need a lot of them to wipe away the tears.

Puckstopper81 · Post by **Puckstopper81** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:57 pm

Presently still in Michigan and won't be moving until school lets out in June.

Towelie - My kid needing a towel to wipe away his tears? From what? Probably from the lack of competion of Bantam A coming from AAA.

PoniesDad45 · Post by **PoniesDad45** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 10:16 pm

Woodbury recently split their high school so I would suggest Woodbury. It was just named one of the top 10 places to live in America by some magazine.

Plus, your son should have a good chance of getting a spot on one of the Varsity teams in a couple of years.

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:37 am

Puckstopper81 wrote:Presently still in Michigan and won't be moving until school lets out in June.

Towelie - My kid needing a towel to wipe away his tears? From what? Probably from the lack of competion of Bantam A coming from AAA.

Michigan's AAA (the five Tier I programs) is a great deal stronger than average Tier I and a world apart from Massachusetts AAA.

The Top 10 associations in Minnesota have a Bantam team that plays around that level. As you know, this isn't an apples-to-apples comparision for a few reasons, but you have an idea.

MnMade-4-Life · Post by **MnMade-4-Life** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:54 am

O-townClown wrote:
Puckstopper81 wrote:Presently still in Michigan and won't be moving until school lets out in June.

Towelie - My kid needing a towel to wipe away his tears? From what? Probably from the lack of competion of Bantam A coming from AAA.
Michigan's AAA (the five Tier I programs) is a great deal stronger than average Tier I and a world apart from Massachusetts AAA.

The Top 10 associations in Minnesota have a Bantam team that plays around that level. As you know, this isn't an apples-to-apples comparision for a few reasons, but you have an idea.

There is no doubt that Michigan's best are just as good as Minnesota's best ... the same thing can be said about just about any hockey community from Maine to Florida to Cali.

HOWEVER, Minnesota hockey is just to dern deep. Most of those communities mentioned have drastic drop offs from their top tier to their second. Not the case here. If given the opportunity we could easily form 8-10 tier 1 teams that would / could make serious waves in the national tier 1 league.

****This is just an observation of the deep talent pool here in Minnesota. This is NOT an endorsement of tier 1 over association hockey, I LOVE association hockey. Well, I love it at the PWA level and up Please, please do NOT turn this thread into a tier 1 rant!!!!!****

Towelie · Post by **Towelie** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:00 am

My point is the odds of your kid coming in playing "goalie" in a top lvl association at bantams is slim to none. The odds of your kid playing "goalie" are even worse to make a Division 1 team.

It's not a knock on your kid, its a knock on his chosen position.

bluemind · Post by **bluemind** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:03 pm

Eastview....

Very Good High School, close in.. Small association, probably need a goalie

Blackhawkfan · Post by **Blackhawkfan** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:57 pm

hockey_is_a_choice wrote:Puckstopper 81,

Given that your son is a '98 and by the time you move to Minnesota he will be a first-year Bantam, my unsolicited advice would be that, in addition to considering the strength of a hockey association, you consider the strengths of the local high schools' academic and athletic programs.

The metro area has some strong public and private high schools that also have strong hockey programs. Within a 30-minute drive of MSP Airport, you have numerous public high schools to choose from, including Eden Prairie High School (very large and very strong in hockey; academics are okay), Minnetonka High School (large and recently has established itself as a contender; academics are strong), Edina High School (current State champs in the large school division and very strong academically, but good luck finding a house in Edina that you would want to live in under $300,000), Woodbury High School (large and becoming a contender; academically strong), Lakeville North and Lakeville South (large and improving; academics good), Blaine (very large with a strong hockey program; academics are so-so), Centennial (large with a strong hockey program; like Blaine, the academics are so-so). Stillwater, Bloomington Jefferson, Apple Valley, Eagan, and a few others I'm sure I missed also have decent academics and decent hockey programs. (I purposefully left off Wayzata and Maple Grove because it frequently takes more than 30 minutes to drive to the airport from those locations, although both schools are strong academically and Wayzata produces competitive hockey players.) A school you might want to consider is Mahtomedi, which is a smaller high school in the metro with great academics and a hockey program that is on the rise. (No, I don't live in Mahtomedi.)

As for the private schools, the larger Catholic high schools, Cretin-Durham, Hill Murray and Benilde-St. Margaret's, all play in the big leagues and all have strong hockey programs. The academic programs at HM and BSM are strong. The tuition at all three schools is roughly in the range of $11,500 per year.

Two smaller privates, Breck and St. Thomas Academy, are very strong academically and historically have dominated small school high hockey. Breck is the current small school champion. The tuition at Breck is roughly $21,000; your son will need to be a good and serious student. STA's tuition is roughly $17,000; your son will need to determine if he wants to go to an all boys' school and wear military uniforms daily. Both schools are highly regarded and both send kids to the best colleges.

Blake and St. Paul Academy are, in my humble opinion, the two top prep schools in the metro area. The tuition is steep, roughly $23,000 per year and the students are serious about their academics. Former Gopher and NHL player Joe Dziedzic was recently named the new head boys' hockey coach at SPA, which in recent years has struggled to offer a competitive hockey program. The fact the SPA adminstration hired Dziedzic means the school is serious about turning their hockey program around, but you don't go to SPA (or Blake) for hockey--you go for the academics.

Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield is a Catholic school, has a great hockey program and decent academics. The tuition is roughly $11,000 per year. You can buy a very nice home for $300,000 in Richfield and you're only 10 minutes from the airport (of course, you will have planes flying a few hundred feet over your house).

One thing you should be aware of is that when your son enters ninth grade in two years he cannot change high schools without forfeiting his eligibility to play varsity hockey for one year, unless he physically moves to a different residence. This is a Minnesota State High School League rule.

Now, I'm sure my post will generate the usual public versus private school discussion, but that wasn't my intent in passing the information on to you. The fact is the metro area has some very good public and private schools that also have excellent hockey programs. I suggest you send your son to some camps and clinics in the metro area and start asking parents at those rinks about the different high schools. You should ask how many kids tried out for the high school team. There are some really good boys who played AAA hockey who didn't make their high school teams because those teams have the luxury of numbers. Finally, when you settle into your new community, you should send your son to his chosen high school's Summer Training Program (STP), so the coach gets to know your son.

Good luck to you.

If you have a goalie, I would strongly recommend staying away from both Lakeville North and South. The high school coaches are trouble. No development and they play mind games.

The Huge Hook · Post by **The Huge Hook** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:48 pm

If you have a goalie, I would strongly recommend staying away from both Lakeville North and South. The high school coaches are trouble. No development and they play mind games.[/quote]

Psycho

Blackhawkfan · Post by **Blackhawkfan** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:30 pm

The Huge Hook wrote:If you have a goalie, I would strongly recommend staying away from both Lakeville North and South. The high school coaches are trouble. No development and they play mind games.

Psycho

[/quote]

I think your description of them is pretty harsh!

The Huge Hook · Post by **The Huge Hook** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:42 pm

Blackhawkfan wrote:
The Huge Hook wrote:If you have a goalie, I would strongly recommend staying away from both Lakeville North and South. The high school coaches are trouble. No development and they play mind games.
Psycho

I think your description of them is pretty harsh![/quote]

The quoting process has been screwed-up. All I wrote was "psycho". It is my fault (I did it wrong). Apparently twice now

Puckstopper81 · Post by **Puckstopper81** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:43 pm

Never said we were moving to a top level organization. Actually, I think I said we would rather not move to one of the top organizations for a number of reasons. Politics being one of them, but you are going to run into politics large or small.
As far as Lakeville goes, we visited there this past summer and it's very, very nice. However, being ranked 19th and 25th doesn't give them a whole lot of room to be playing head games with anybody.

B-Ville Hockey Guy · Post by **B-Ville Hockey Guy** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:54 am

Puckstopper81 wrote:Never said we were moving to a top level organization. Actually, I think I said we would rather not move to one of the top organizations for a number of reasons. Politics being one of them, but you are going to run into politics large or small.
As far as Lakeville goes, we visited there this past summer and it's very, very nice. However, being ranked 19th and 25th doesn't give them a whole lot of room to be playing head games with anybody.

Burnsville Hockey Is on the rise. Highschool is ranked top ten. Bantams Ranked top ten Peewees ranked top ten. Bantams play one goalie on the A team one on the B1 team. Numbers are down but we still turn out a competetive team at each level. District 6 is th toghest district in the state and coaches at all levels are pretty down to earth. Including the High school coach who is very involved in our youth program. I know that I am biased but things are looking up.

Night Train · Post by **Night Train** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:30 pm

Gotta say South Minneapolis is the nicest place to live in the Twin Cities metro. Not even close. Outstanding youth association.

C-dad · Post by **C-dad** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:28 pm

Night Train wrote:Gotta say South Minneapolis is the nicest place to live in the Twin Cities metro. Not even close. Outstanding youth association.

And the best schools! Just gotta pick the right gang to join.

James B Mcbain · Post by **James B Mcbain** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:27 pm

B-Ville Hockey Guy wrote:
Puckstopper81 wrote:Never said we were moving to a top level organization. Actually, I think I said we would rather not move to one of the top organizations for a number of reasons. Politics being one of them, but you are going to run into politics large or small.
As far as Lakeville goes, we visited there this past summer and it's very, very nice. However, being ranked 19th and 25th doesn't give them a whole lot of room to be playing head games with anybody.
Burnsville Hockey Is on the rise. Highschool is ranked top ten. Bantams Ranked top ten Peewees ranked top ten. Bantams play one goalie on the A team one on the B1 team. Numbers are down but we still turn out a competetive team at each level. District 6 is th toghest district in the state and coaches at all levels are pretty down to earth. Including the High school coach who is very involved in our youth program. I know that I am biased but things are looking up.

And it's relatively close to MN Made for your summer hockey.

Night Train · Post by **Night Train** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Ya, the Ivy League gang.

From June 2010,

Newsweek magazine ranked the top public high schools in the nation, and Minneapolis Southwest was the highest among high schools in Minnesota.

hockey_is_a_choice · Post by **hockey_is_a_choice** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:50 pm

Perhaps, but the property taxes in Minneapolis are very high compared to many of the nicest suburbs and the crime rate is higher, too.

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