What do Minnesota kids need to know as they enter junior hockey?

by Kevin Hartzell, Lets Play Hockey Columnist | Lets Play Hockey photo by Mike Thill

This is an excerpt from “Off To Juniors: What do Minnesota kids need to know as they enter junior hockey?” on StateOfHockey.com.

It’s that time of year. Graduation parties on the horizon. Young hockey players making decisions on where hockey fits into their lives. Some will pursue hockey further, and for the great vast majority of those players, it means junior hockey.

If I am an expert in anything, it might be the world of junior hockey. How it all works. Why it works. I’ve seen a lot of it and from a lot of different angles.

When I graduated high school, I was a good student. I was a very good baseball player. I had college offers to play baseball which would have made me the only of my five family siblings to attend a four-year college. It was enticing. But I loved hockey more. Much more. I made what was for me an easy decision – “no” to baseball, “yes” to junior hockey. This decision took me to the St. Paul Vulcans and coach Doug Woog.

Continued on StateOfHockey.com >