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What basketball is to Indiana and football is to Texas, hockey is to Minnesota. And there’s no better hockey event to cap off the winter season than the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament!
The tradition of community-based hockey in Minnesota makes it unique among many other states. This is partly due to community investment in both indoor and outdoor rinks (making ice time accessible and affordable for families), organizational excellence at local, district and state level, and being in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes (and even more ponds) which freeze for 4+ months each winter, all combine to create a hockey culture that is unique and provides opportunities for players of all ages and calibers.
Consequently, instead of driving across town to play on a club team, or having to send kids away to boarding school or to play juniors (which still happens, but far more rarely than in other states), many top youth players stay and play for their home-town teams, and grow up playing together with their friends, dreaming of one day being able to play at the X.
The state tournament is played each year from late February to early / mid-March at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, home to the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Frost. The tournament regularly draws over 100,000 spectators who come to watch the excitement, the high-caliber hockey, and even see some of the stars of tomorrow today. The championship games will sell all 18,001 seats at the X!
For both boys and girls, the teams are divided into both Class A (smaller schools) and Class AA (big schools) and each will have their own tournament. Interestingly, many Class A and AA teams will play each other throughout the year, and top players from either level will go on to higher level hockey. The largest cities are not usually the powerhouses…just look at Warroad or Edina as examples.
The girls’ high school hockey tournament leads the way each year, and this year it began in late February and has already concluded. Congrats to Dodge County (Class A winner), and Hill-Murray (Class AA winner)! The boys’ tournament is set to run March 5-8. Games are broadcast on local network channels (including a staggering 60 years of broadcasts by former NHL player and local hockey legend Lou Nanne), and/or via online subscription for fans outside of the state. Parents take their kids out of school for the day(s) to go watch hockey at the X, whether their community’s team is playing in the game or not! And hundreds of fans will also gather at their local taverns to watch either their team, or any team for that matter, and celebrate this unique event.
Many of the players who lead their teams to this stage will have the opportunity to play hockey after high school, either in junior hockey or collegiate hockey, and many players will even be considered for the upcoming summer’s NHL or PWHL drafts! And for those who didn’t get enough looks during the regular season can now showcase their talents and grit to collegiate and professional scouts, and help solidify a roster spot after high school. It is not uncommon for teams to have 5-6 D1 commits on their team!
The tournament has also gained notoriety for the hilarious hockey hair videos produced by local beer leaguer (and advertising legend) John King with Pulltab Sports. Each year, King highlights the top-10 list of best hockey “flow” or “lettuce” in the tournament, plus many other gems that is absolute comedic gold. So legendary, in fact, that high school teams start preparing their “look” the previous summer in anticipation of getting on camera and being shown on camera. Beards, mullets, peroxide, mustaches, braids, and more. Click here to view a sampling of King’s brilliance from a prior year:
Lastly, concurrent with the boys tournament is the Let’s Play Hockey Expo, the largest consumer hockey show, which is in the convention center adjacent to the Xcel Center, and draws 100,000+ attendees each year. In addition to product vendors such as Warroad, Howie’s Hockey Tape and Snipers Edge who participate, the Expo draws local and national hockey celebrities such as current and former players, coaches, training professionals, and social media influencers for photographs, signatures and other fun with fans.
As a Minnesota-based company, Snipers Edge Hockey is proud to have played a role in the development of youth hockey in our state and to celebrate this capstone event to end the winter season. Many of these players and teams put in the work at home, day in and day out, until their tarps were blackened with puck marks, to reach their dreams of playing with their friends in the top hockey event in Minnesota.
Congrats to the girls champions, and good luck to the boys! We’ll see you at the X!
