Feature Story

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The state of hockey players

By Kevin Kurtt

Let’s Play Hockey Editor

Pick up nearly any issue of Let’s Play Hockey and you’ll see various lists of Minnesotans in various levels of hockey.

Upon compiling those lists, it became incredibly clear the sheer volume of hockey players that Minnesota produces on an annual basis to numerous hockey leagues is staggering.

Without taking into account the thousands upon thousands of youth, high school, club and recreational hockey players that exist throughout the state, Minnesota develops an amazing number of elite hockey players.

From our calculations, there are 1,376 Minnesotans currently playing hockey at the pro, college and junior level in North America and Europe.

Have we overlooked some players in the numerous leagues in the U.S. and Canada? Probably. Not a week goes by that we don’t receive an e-mail notifying us of a Minnesotan we failed to include. Are there Minnesota natives coaching at the pro, junior and college level? Of course. Given more space and time, perhaps you’ll see a “Minnesota-Grown Coaches” list in the future.

The Minnesota Wild got it right – this state really is the State of Hockey. The impact that Minnesota has on hockey throughout the nation is staggering. One look at the numbers proves it.

For the current hockey season, 41 Minnesotans have played at least one game in the National Hockey League. Division I and Division III college hockey leagues have seen 887 men and women from Minnesota suit up for their respective school. The numerous junior hockey leagues in the U.S. and Canada boast 308 Minnesota natives on their rosters.

And the numbers will only continue to grow. At last summer’s NHL Entry Draft, 11 Minnesotans were selected by various NHL teams, including four picks in the first two rounds. The NHL Central Scouting Service’s midterm rankings for the 2009 Entry Draft list 24 more Minnesota natives who have a decent shot at hearing their name called this June.

This season alone, 83 players that call Minnesota home have made commitments to a Division I hockey program. That total will surely increase as the season progresses, and does not take into account the incredible number of Minnesotans that wind up playing hockey at a Division III institution.

On top of all of that, colleges and unversities in the North Star State produce substantial number of non-Minnesotan professional hockey players. This season, 42 former Minnesota collegiate players have played pro hockey, including 13 in the NHL.

Sure, Canada will continue to be the major supplier of players to North America’s various hockey leagues, but Minnesota’s contribution to the sport has been immense. Not only is Minnesota the State of Hockey. It’s also the State of Hockey Players.

Minnesota in Hockey: By the Numbers

Professional Hockey

Total Minnesotans: 181

National Hockey League: 41

American Hockey League: 35

East Coast Hockey League: 29

Central Hockey League: 13

International Hockey League: 4

Southern Professional Hockey League: 5

European leagues: 40

Western Women’s Hockey League: 13

National Women’s Hockey League: 1

On the Stanley Cup

Minnesotans: 23 names, 32 times

2008 NHL Draft

Total Minnesotans: 11

College Hockey

Total Minnesotans: 887

Division I: 332

Men: 200

Women: 132

Division III: 555

Men: 305

Women: 253

Division I Commitments

Total Minnesotans: 83

Men: 67

Women: 16

Major College Award Winners

Hobey Baker Minnesotans: 7

Patty Kazmaier Minnesotans: 1

Junior Hockey

Total Minnesotans: 308

Minnesota Junior Hockey League: 125

North American Hockey League: 95

United States Hockey League: 54

Central States Hockey League: 9

Western Hockey League: 6

Superior International Junior Hockey League: 5

Western States Hockey League: 4

Manitoba Junior Hockey League: 3

Eastern Junior Hockey League: 2

U.S. National Team Development Program: 2

Atlantic Junior Hockey League: 1

British Columbia Hockey League: 1

Central Junior A Hockey League: 1

NHL Cental Scouting Rankings

Total Minnesotans: 24

Skaters: 22

Goaltenders 2

Minnesota College Products

Total: 42

National Hockey League: 13

American Hockey League: 10

East Coast Hockey League: 9

Central Hockey League: 3

International Hockey League: 2

European leagues: 5

Let’s Play Hockey wants to publish your hockey stories. From tournament reports, to feature stories on teams, players or coaches, to opinion pieces on the game of hockey, Let’s Play Hockey accepts submissions from readers throughout the hockey community. To submit your hockey story and/or photo(s), e-mail us at editor@letsplayhockey.com.