Kevin Kurtt
Feeling a Draft: Minnesotans in the NHL Draft
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 06 June 2013 17:05
By Kevin Kurtt
Let’s Play Hockey Editor
After a one-year hiatus, Minnesota returned to the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. When the N.Y. Rangers selected Lakeville native and U.S. Under-18 Team defenseman Brady Skjei with the 28th pick of the first round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, it marked the ninth time in the last 10 years that a Minnesota native was drafted in the first round.
The Rangers’ selection of Skjei also meant that for 44 straight years, a Minnesotan heard his name called at the NHL Draft. In all, nine Minnesotans, were selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
The Minnesota Midshipmen
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- Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 20:28
Five hockey-playing Minnesota natives are challenging themselves on and off the ice at the United States Naval Academy
The State of Hockey Players
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 31 January 2013 18:59
Beyond the thousands of youth and high school players in the state, nearly 1,500 Minnesota natives are playing hockey in the juniors, college and pros
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 college to the NHL
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 06 June 2013 18:16
By Kevin Kurtt
Let’s Play Hockey Editor
If you’ve watched nearly any NCAA sporting event on television in the past several years, you’ve seen the ad. You may even be able to recite the tagline: “There are 380,000 NCAA student-athletes, and just about all of them will be going pro in something other than sports.”
It’s a noble campaign directed at educating the masses that most athletes in college will see their athletic careers come to an end at graduation.
In the world of NCAA hockey, the vast majority of players on the 59 Division I and 78 Division II/III men’s teams will not make the jump to the NHL, AHL, ECHL or any other of the various professional hockey leagues around the world. But for a select few, college hockey is merely a steppingstone to the bright lights of the National Hockey League.
They’re Baaaaaaaack!
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 17 January 2013 18:00
The four-month lockout is over and NHL players are returning to the ice this week. Will disgruntled and casual fans return as well?
By Kevin Kurtt
Let’s Play Hockey Editor
Let’s Play Hockey! It’s those three words that have started every Minnesota Wild home game since the franchise’s inception in 2000. And it’s those three words that the NHL owners and players consistently ignored since the collective bargaining agreement expired and the lockout began at 11:59 p.m., on Sept. 15, 2012.
For nearly four months, a bunch of billionaires argued with a bunch of millionaires over how much money each side was owed from a game that most of us pay to play.
And now, hockey’s back. Or more accurately, NHL hockey is back. Hockey, especially in Minnesota, never went anywhere. Only the version with the billionaire owners and millionaire players went away for a few months.
