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I'm just randomly picking two programs I think have been somewhat resurrected over the decade. With the later, I think they've only been to state twice at the most in the decade, but whom do you attribute to the varsity's resurgence in recent times? Well, somewhat. I cannot think of the coach's name, but I think he's at Benilde now.

With Blaine, and going back a decade, has the program improved, play in a weaker section, a combination of the two? They seem to have been in the tournament several times now.

Blaine is definitely not as good as they were 10 years ago. However, I think all MN high school hockey has declined in the past ten years thanks to USA junior hockey programs and other year round leagues that are more important to athletes' careers as far as with NHL scouting etc.

Section 5AA is actually one of the stronger sections in the state. Blaine, Centennial, Maple Grove, Osseo and so on..

I think Blaine has done a nice job of building a program where they dont have to rely too heavily on seniors. Especially this year with Bjugstad, Scheid, Tufte, and Larson.

BlaineAlum wrote:Blaine is definitely not as good as they were 10 years ago. However, I think all MN high school hockey has declined in the past ten years thanks to USA junior hockey programs and other year round leagues that are more important to athletes' careers as far as with NHL scouting etc.

Blaine should consistently be one of the best programs. Growing community and resources second to none. What up?

Junior and USA programs? That should only be a sliver of the talent that could possibly be robbed. Furthermore,

I don't believe there are any Blaine kids in the USA program. Not sure if there are many of it's players playing Jr.

Tonka has a strong program.

Their hurdle has been getting over the hump and getting into state. For many years they had to get by EDINA in sections. They lost to a good Hill Murray team at state in 2006 and finished 5th.

They arguably had the best team in the state in 2007 with Jake Gardiner, they just couldn't close in the section final against a good BSM team. Of course "arguably" is proved on the ice, not on paper.

They have had excellent success at the Schwan's Cup with a win and a 3rd place in the past two years.

I give a lot of credit to coach Brian Urick. That guy is a great hockey coach, and was a great player. If you saw the FSN game when they soundly beat Edina this year, you saw how cool that guy is. Pauley also did a good job at Tonka.

They always have a good deal of talent in the pipeline.

I think you can include Tonka in the top 5 or 10 programs in the state these days. The real trick is closing the deal, getting to state and doing some damage.

This year’s group is very interesting. They have an interesting mix of young talent and some experienced guys. They have strong goaltending and a sound defense. They have some good offensive punch up front. With wins over Edina, AHA, HM etc. Tonka has proven they can beat the best when they are on. They are a dangerous team.

The real question is how much heart do they have this year? How bad do they want it? They are so close to stepping into the highest echelon of MN HS puck. All they need to do is reach down deep and have a really good next two weeks!

sorry, CAPS lock was stuck on for Edina and I meant Tonka had arguably the best team in 2008, not 2007.

breakout wrote:

BlaineAlum wrote:Blaine is definitely not as good as they were 10 years ago. However, I think all MN high school hockey has declined in the past ten years thanks to USA junior hockey programs and other year round leagues that are more important to athletes' careers as far as with NHL scouting etc.

Blaine should consistently be one of the best programs. Growing community and resources second to none. What up?

Junior and USA programs? That should only be a sliver of the talent that could possibly be robbed. Furthermore,

I don't believe there are any Blaine kids in the USA program. Not sure if there are many of it's players playing Jr.

Bjugstad played on the Team USA 17U this past summer I believe. However, its not like hes going to turn his back on Blaine hockey. I think finishing up at least 1 more year of HS before he goes to the U of M would be the best thing for him.

breakout wrote:
Blaine should consistently be one of the best programs. Growing community and resources second to none. What up?

You're right, they've only been to 3 consecutive state tournaments....

BIGSEXY wrote:

breakout wrote:
Blaine should consistently be one of the best programs. Growing community and resources second to none. What up?

You're right, they've only been to 3 consecutive state tournaments....

I was going to say since 1999 they've been to state at least five times with one state title. Their best period ever. It would be interesting to know what has attributed to their success.

I would say one of the biggest reasons for their success is to have won the tourney in 2000. It gave all the younger kids something to look forward to and people to look up to. Hendricks, Frisch, Romfo, Foyt, Bochenski, Homer and so on were all hard working guys who set an example and set the bar for all the kids in the youth org.

The other thing I would say is the outdoor park, Happy Acres. Those two reasons I believe are the biggest. It sure as heck is not the coaching. The assistants are good, which I guess is part of being a head coach is surrounding yourself with good hockey people, but I don't think Aus should get a whole lot of it.

MNHockey2199 wrote:I would say one of the biggest reasons for their success is to have won the tourney in 2000. It gave all the younger kids something to look forward to and people to look up to. Hendricks, Frisch, Romfo, Foyt, Bochenski, Homer and so on were all hard working guys who set an example and set the bar for all the kids in the youth org.

The other thing I would say is the outdoor park, Happy Acres. Those two reasons I believe are the biggest. It sure as heck is not the coaching. The assistants are good, which I guess is part of being a head coach is surrounding yourself with good hockey people, but I don't think Aus should get a whole lot of it.

Why Happy Acres?

Nostalgic Nerd wrote:

MNHockey2199 wrote:I would say one of the biggest reasons for their success is to have won the tourney in 2000. It gave all the younger kids something to look forward to and people to look up to. Hendricks, Frisch, Romfo, Foyt, Bochenski, Homer and so on were all hard working guys who set an example and set the bar for all the kids in the youth org.

The other thing I would say is the outdoor park, Happy Acres. Those two reasons I believe are the biggest. It sure as heck is not the coaching. The assistants are good, which I guess is part of being a head coach is surrounding yourself with good hockey people, but I don't think Aus should get a whole lot of it.

Why Happy Acres?

i loved that place growing up. 4 rinks. Always someone to play against. Every once in a while a goalie would bring their pads and you could get quality shooting practice. I think the reason for Happy Acres attributing to the success of blaine is the amount of interest it brought to the game of hockey to all of the kids.