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Reflections on State Tourneys, Whitecaps & 2018-19

By Minnesota Hockey, 03/19/19, 5:00PM CDT

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With the crowing of the Minnesota Hockey State Champions on Sunday, the 2018-19 season has officially come to an end. Over the coming weeks, teams across the state will host banquets to wrap up the season so we thought we would take a similar approach. 

To recap the 2018-19 season, we sat down with Minnesota Hockey Executive Director, Glen Andresen, to hear his thoughts on this season and what areas will priorities heading into the offseason.

Q: The 2019 State Tournaments just wrapped up, and there were some epic battles throughout the weekend. After visiting each of the tournaments, are there any unique stories or highlights that stick out from this year’s tournaments?

Glen Andresen: Well, I traveled around to hit every location this weekend, and when you do that, you can’t stay in any one place for too long. That said, I timed my arrival perfectly in Grand Rapids on Friday. I got there for the start of the 12U A quarterfinal game between Duluth and defending champion, Andover. Duluth tied the game in the third at 2-2, and then the game went five overtimes before Duluth won on an amazing goal.

The game was so fun to watch, and the girls on both teams battled so hard. Either team could have won, but both teams should be proud for what they gave in that game. It was really impressive.

Q: You were asked to present at the Bantam A & AA State Tournament banquets. What was the theme of your presentation and why was it important to share to that group?

Andresen: It’s a presentation that has taken on the title of “Only in Minnesota,” and it really highlights what we have here with our community-based model. Not only is hockey in Minnesota this beautiful, fun and romantic thing, but it also produces more top level players than any other state. I think the Bantams are a good group to hear that message, because there are going to be people telling them a lot of things about their development from here on out. But hopefully the facts, stats and examples that I shared showed them how good they have it here in Minnesota, and they don’t need to go anywhere else to become the best they can be.

Q: Much of the focus the past few weeks has been on teams striving for the ultimate goal of a state title, but only a handful of teams at each level finish their season with wins. Are there any areas in particular you hope people consider when they reflect on the season and whether or not it was a success?

Andresen: One thing I always think about when watching these State Tournament games, especially in the championship side of the bracket, is that I hope coaches are using all of their players as much as possible. I get that the goal is to win state, and it should be. But I do think we need to remember these are youth state tournaments.

And that really applies throughout the season. We recently heard a story of a Squirt player who was told by a teammate that he didn’t deserve his medal because he barely played in the tournament championship. That's just gut-wrenching to hear, and sadly, there are still too many coaches send similar messages to young kids each season.

I’m not advocating for everybody to get a medal, but winning shouldn’t come at the expense of kids not playing, not having fun and giving up on hockey. At the end of the day, we want every player to have fun, develop, and return to hockey next season, no matter what level they’re at.

Q: In addition to all of the youth and girls State Championship games, the Minnesota Whitecaps concluded their inaugural season by winning the Isobel Cup in St. Paul on Sunday. What type of impact do you think the Whitecaps playing and having this type of success in the NWHL will make on the landscape of girls and women’s hockey in Minnesota?

Andresen:  I hope it has a big impact on all of hockey, not just girls. Yes, the Whitecaps are exceptional role models for girls, but they are for boys too. And they are another example of a team littered with Minnesota natives who reached the highest level of hockey after going through our community-based youth and high school model.

But to answer your question, I think their success is only going to keep our girls numbers exploding at a rapid rate. It helps that the Whitecap players are so generous with their time, and they seem to have such a huge focus on just making the game better and more welcoming for girls.

Q: Every season kind of has its own story. Looking back on 2018-19, what do you think were some of the biggest highlights?

Andresen:  Well, it wasn’t youth hockey, but the Greenway Boys High School story was a huge one for me. Not just because they were this small town, Northern team that captured the entire state’s attention on their magical run, but because of the journey that association has been on. About 10 years ago, this was a program on the verge of collapse and forming a co-op in Grand Rapids.

Instead, a small group of volunteers went door-to-door to get kids to come play hockey. Wherever the kids were, that community found them. They kept the program alive, and they showed what community-based hockey is all about. So in a way, it was a youth hockey story too.

As I say all the time, our high school players inspire our youth players. You don’t have youth hockey here if not for high school hockey, and the same is true the other way. Greenway showed any community that has hockey that it’s not easy to reach the top. But with hard work and a refusal to quit, it can happen anywhere.

Q: It’s super early, but are there any programs Minnesota Hockey is already working on for next season that have you excited about their potential impact?

Andresen:  Diversity. The bottom line is we need more kids from different backgrounds in the game. We have more players than any other state, but there are plenty of kids not playing hockey. We want them all to at least give hockey a shot. And I think we can find new and exciting ways to do that, but we need input from people from different backgrounds. So that will be a huge focus this offseason, and it will be a long-term project. It’s almost comparable to Greenway. We just need to work hard at it now, so we see the benefits 10 years from now.

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