July 31st 3rd Annual Camp for Kids charity event

Thomas Vanek at the lumberyard helping out kids

We are  excited to announce that Minnesota Hockey Magazine (MHM), on behalf of the MHM Foundation, is hosting our Third Annual  charity golf tournament!

Please join us on Friday, July 31st , for a day on the greens at beautiful Pheasant Hills Golf Club in Hammond, Wisconsin.  The course is located just 3 miles north of I-94 about 35 minutes from downtown St. Paul.  New owner Jeff Kelm has the course in excellent condition and is looking forward to hosting the event.

All proceeds will benefit Minnesota youth looking to attend hockey development camps to improve their skills, develop as a person and have some fun by going to various camps.  Without this program they do not have the means to do so.  In our first 2 years, we have sent 12 players to hockey camps and we hope to double that number this year!  We are currently working on an interactive website to keep everyone informed of our Foundation’s  progress.

So far this year, we have  silent auction items and prizes that will  include framed autographed photos  from 1980 Miracle legends Neal Broten and Dave Christian, along with framed autographed photos of hockey legends John Mayasich,  Henry Boucha, and others.  We also have some autographed items from golfing legends  Bernard Langer, Kenny Perry, and more.

Individual tickets are $75 per golfer, and includes golf/cart, dinner, raffle, prizes for golf contests and a silent auction.  For those registering early, we will offer a healthy discount.

Registration starts at 11:30 am with a shot gun start at 1:00 pm.

MHM is also offering a variety of sponsorship opportunities for individuals, organizers and advertisers, to include:

• Diamond Level Sponsorship | $750 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 4 golfers with carts and dinner
• Gold Level Sponsorship | $500 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 2 golfers with carts and dinner
• Silver Level Sponsorship | $300 Includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 1 golfer with cart and dinner
• Bronze Level Sponsorship | $150 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, advertising at the tournament & hole sponsorship
• Hole and Contest Sponsorship | $100

To register for the event or donate to our silent auction, contact Scott Tiffany at scott@mnhockeymag.com , or call  him at 715-222-6460.  If you run a training facility or a hockey camp and want information on how to participate, call Scott for details.

See the complete Golf Tourney flier here.

Hope to see all of our Minnesota hockey fans out on the course — should be a fun day for an even better cause!

The post Save the date (July 31st) for MHM’s 3rd Annual Golf Event for Sending Kids to Camp appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

I had an amazing time covering the Olympics for KARE 11 this month. It was VERY busy (hence the lack of articles) but it was a lot of fun. As I sit here on my final night in my hotel room overlooking the beautiful Olympic Park, I realize that something has to change: It’s time to bring amateurs back to the men’s Olympic hockey tournament. Now, you might read that sentence and think I am crazy or you may agree, either way hear me out.

This is not about a lack of effort or caring on the part of NHLers. I very much believe that everyone on Team USA wanted to win a Gold medal. In talking to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter before the games, this was very evident. They were fired up about the 2010 games and in chatting with them before the games here in Sochi, they had a possible rematch with Canada on their mind.

However when they lost to Canada in that rematch of the 2010 Olympic Gold medal game, not everyone was on board for the Bronze medal game against Finland. Instead I think some were already mentally on board their flight for the United States. It didn’t take too many postgame interviews to confirm what we’d already suspected, that not everyone brought their ‘A’ game for this one.

But I can’t really blame there guys. In the NHL it’s a win OR lose mentality. There is no in between. There is no second and third place in the race for the Stanley Cup; you don’t get the Stanley “Mug” or the Stanley “Shot Glass”. These guys are wired to win and that is it. So when they lost the opportunity to win the ultimate prize of the Olympic Games, they gave up. Kind of like what you’d expect a loser’s bracket to look like in the NHL playoffs. Could you see players risking injury for that? I can’t. And that doesn’t mean they don’t have pride in their country, it means they have to think about their day job too.

Speaking of injuries, that was a major issue in these games. New York Islanders star John Tavares is gone for the year after suffering a torn MCL in the game versus Latvia. Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg had to withdraw from the Olympics during the preliminary rounds because of a herniated disc—while it the injury didn’t occur here, playing certainly didn’t make it better.

Imagine that you’re a NHL General Manager and your best players are leaving your team to go play for another one risking injury in a friendly, battle between countries. You be worried about your investment. If you had a Ferrari, would you let the kid down the street drive it up and down the street? NO! Please don’t get me wrong, I love the Olympics they are a time honored tradition in our world where everything else is forgotten for a few weeks and we all get together and play games—it’s fantastic. But if I am a GM of a hockey team and I am seeing other teams star players getting hurt, I’m beginning to get a little nervous that someday it will be my star getting hurt and I am paying A LOT of money for him.

The other thing that convinces me that it’s time, is our extreme interest in all of the other sports that actually use amateur athletes. We fall in love with these Olympic stars. Mainly because we don’t see them play all of the time. They are new and different which we find very cool and intriguing. My good buddy John Shuster, skip of this year’s US Curling team, is like a rock star during February. Why? Because curling is different and for most folks it’s something that they only watch every four years. So when it rolls around, it’s new and fun again. How many guys on the US Olympic hockey team are close personal friends with San Francisco 49er’s Tight End Vernon Davis. My friend Chris Plys (an alternate on the US Men’s Curling team in 2010) is. Because Vernon thinks curling is cool. How many of us cheered and cried with the US Women’s team as their dreams came so close to reality (darn you Canada)? Part of the allure of the Olympics is the fact that these are regular people – who work or go to school every day just like you and me – who have committed themselves to doing extraordinary things and most of them they aren’t millionaires. I think we could have a renewed sense of excitement for the men’s hockey team if we were watching the future of the NHL rather than the current players.

Which leads perfectly into my last point. It would be a chance to see some of the up and coming stars in hockey. I remember watching guys like Brian Rolston, Darby Hendrickson and Peter Laviolette in the 1994 games knowing that they would go on to NHL careers. It was exciting to see guys show their skills before they got to the big show. That was part of the fun.

I am not against NHL players being in the Olympics, but I do think (now more than ever) that there are viable reasons why it could be time to usher in a new (and subsequently old) era in Olympic men’s hockey. I believe it will be just as much fun to watch and maybe even increase of chances of winning the country’s first gold in over 30 years.

The post Time for NHL Olympians To Go? appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Henry Boucha as an Olympian
(Submitted Photo)

When Henry’s name was mentioned to his fellow 1972 Olympic Silver medalist team mate Ron Naslund, the first thing that came to mind was how tireless Henry was.  Naslund, a Minneapolis Roosevelt player was asked to try out for the Olympic team late in the tryout process, and as a 28 year old player, made the team. Playing against the world’s top players,  Naslund watched with amazement and recalled “Henry was just a tireless player.  I mean he never got tired.  He would kill penalties, work the power play and just keep going, just a terrific hockey player and a real good guy”.

Marv Jorde, a winner of USA Hockey’s Ironman award given to people that have tirelessly given to the game and is a story in himself that we will tell another day, was mesmerized the first time he saw Henry play.

Jorde coached the St. Paul Park Indian High School Hockey team in the 60’s and 70’s and recalled ” The first time I saw Henry Boucha play was his sophomore year.  we were playing on the Iron Range in the Holiday Classic and Boucha was playing defense.  The more I watched him, the more mesmerized I became, as not one time did he lose the puck in his defensive zone and he just controlled the game.  This was against one of my very good Park High teams (the team lost in the sectional final that year).  I watched him play the whole game as he never once came off the ice.  With the score tied 2-2 and now in overtime,

Henry Boucha with Warroad Warriors team mates
(Submitted Photo)

Henry decided it was time to end the game, and skated an end to end rush, and once in on his top two defenders, he did a spin move causing the two defenders to collide while he split them and went in to score the winning goal”.

Boucha is a treasure in Minnesota Hockey lore and is considered to be one of the best all-around athletes to come out of Minnesota.  He participated in football, hockey, baseball, and track and was offered full scholarships to compete in all four sports. Henry chose hockey and his story speaks for itself.  From his youth days of winning the Bantam state championship for Warroad, to the memorable “David vs Goliath” state final with Edina, his Minnesota legend started.

Henry Boucha was instrumental in the USA medalling
(Submitted Photo)

Add onto the world scene, where he helps in leading his team to qualify for the Olympics after getting the US out of the B pool in the 1971 World tournament, to earning a silver medal in Sapporo Japan, and finally playing in the NHL and WHA, Boucha’s career is inspiring from his athletic accomplishments and even more of accepting his Native American culture and making a difference. For those old enough to recall Henry Boucha, they will know the impact he had on hockey at all levels in Minnesota and for those that are younger learning a piece of hockey history about this icon makes his book “Henry Boucha, Ojibwa Native American Olympian” a must read.

It ties together a story of a person that overcame a number of personal tragedies and heartache to achieve heights at the highest of levels in his profession. He holds the record for the fastest goal scored in the NHL while with the Detroit Red Wings.  A horrific eye injury ended his career after six seasons in the NHL.  He continued to play in the WHA with the Minnesota Fighting Saints and after many surgeries retired from hockey at the age of 25.

Henry Boucha scores his first NHL goal with Detroit
(Submitted Photo)

If you can’t make it to Dave’s in Fridley or Stillwater this weekend, purchase Boucha’s book online at HenryBoucha.com or at Amazon.com.  Be sure to check out this week’s Minnesota Hockey Magazine Radio Show as Henry discusses his life in and out of hockey with our host Pete Waggoner. Last year, Scott Tiffany and MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com sat down to talk hockey in a multiple part series. Here are the first and last parts of those interviews. For the whole story, you really don’t want to miss out, we recommend buying his book this weekend at Dave’s Sports Shop.[vimeo id=”62318782″ width=”620″ height=”360″] [vimeo id=”64475284″ width=”620″ height=”360″]

The post Dave’s Sport Shops to host Boucha book signing events this weekend in Fridley and Stillwater. appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Ottawa Senators forward Matt Kassian during game two of their second round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, May 17, 2013 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
(Photo: Michael Miller/Pens Through My Lens)

In the summer of  2012 Matt Kassian was on the Wild Road Tour in Minnesota when it was announced that he had signed a new two-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. By March of the following year the honeymoon was over, however, and Kassian was traded to the Ottawa Senators. With the Sens in town Kassian seemed like an ideal candidate for our “Know Your Frenemy/Enemy” series!

The Senators have slowly been building up a huge roster, literally in terms of size, and Kassian was a perfect fit for the towering team from Canada. To give a quick comparison there are only two players on the Ottawa Senators roster right now who fall below six feet tall while the Wild have nine currently listed. We spoke to Kassian during the Senators visit to the Xcel Energy Center today and what we got, was a great Q&A with the humorous gentle giant, that is Matt Kassian.

Q: Do you feel like you’ve evolved as a player since being traded to the Senators and leaving the club you were with for so long?

A: I haven’t reinvented myself as a player or tried to reinvent myself as a player because that would not be very smart, but it’s about opportunity and there wasn’t a lot here in Minnesota for me and in the end I was sent elsewhere to get that opportunity. Ottawa has been great, it’s been a lot of fun up there and I do think I’ve improved and I want to keep improving. I do feel like I’ve been better, which comes with having the opportunity to get out there and play and work on everything.

Q: How have you adjusted to the playing environment in Canada?

A: The culture of hockey in Canada is a bit different, not that it’s not good here in Minnesota because it is, but Canada is just on another level as far as hockey goes. It wasn’t difficult to adjust though, there are great fans there just like there are here. I loved my time here and it was a great place to play and Ottawa is the same. I don’t have any complaints or worries about my time there or here.

Q: How do you feel about the dressing room you call home now as a Senator?

It’s a good group. That Methot guy, he’s a bit of a different bird, I don’t know about him he sketches me out a little bit but it’s a pretty fun group. [Methot had no comment on Kassian’s chirps although it was obvious the two players are great friends who consistently jest one another all in good fun!] It was really easy for me to come in and fit in with these guys. I didn’t have to test the waters to see if I was accepted with my sense of humor and my slight awkwardness [laughs]. It’s even been easy with the guys who have come in since I’ve been there, like Bobby Ryan who was tweeting pictures of pigeons of me before I even met him, so it’s a good group, a fun group, and a group who likes playing with each other and for each other and I think that’s really important.

Kassian poses with a fan during the MN Wild Road Tour 2012. The fan gifted Matt with a great Gnome/Rooster war statue in honor of a long standing inside joke from Kassian’s twitter.

Q: Is it strange coming back to Minnesota?

It’s a little weird. It’s a little different seeing all of the places you’ve been before and seeing the people you’ve seen before from the security guards to the guys at the doors and gates…when you’ve been around a place for awhile you still know them all, so it’s good to see everybody and fun to be back.

Q: Do you have any former teammates or things you particularly miss?

You miss guys and good friends. Scandella is one of my closer friends so it’s good seeing him, we got a chance to go to dinner last night and sit down together so that was nice. I mean you’re going to see guys, I saw Brodziak a bunch this summer and Spurgeon, but it is what it is. It’s part of the businesses and they know it just like I do that even if you get traded you’re going to be seeing those guys around because it’s a small world and for me it’s right now and it’s going to be fun and I’m excited for it.

As the lights fell dim over the Xcel Energy Center ice, Matt Kassian took to his twitter account as he often does and tweeted, “After much deliberation I have decided that winning on the road is fun…” The 3-0 win was not the first for the Sens this road trip, but it certainly was a night Matt Kassian probably won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

You can follow Matt on twitter at @Kassassination as well as the author of this article @AmySnow17! Be sure to check out @MNhockeymag as well for all of our latest updates, articles and events!

The post Know Your Frenemy ~ Ottawa Senators’ Matt Kassian appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Boucha called his time playing for Glen Sonmor as some of the best years he ever played and the Minnesota Fighting Saints team that Somor put together was the best hockey team he had ever played on. To emphasize just how talented this team was, Boucha recalled one game in Phoenix, “We were slow starting out and about midway through the second period were down 6-0. One of the guys said let’s see what we are made of, and we decided to pick it up a notch, and ended up coming back to win 7-6.”

Boucha recalled playing on the team with some of the stars of the team that included David Keon, Johnny “Pie” McKenzie, Mike “Shaky” Walton, Wayne Connolly with Mike Curran and Carl Wetzel tending goal along with Minnesotan’s Keith Christiansen, George Konik, Pat Westrum, Dick Paradise and, of course, Carlson and Butters.

“I have no doubt in my mind that, in a seven-game series, we would have beat the North Stars,” Boucha said confidently.

Butters, now serving as a full time pastor for Hockey Ministries International to serve the hockey community and hockey players, was known for his toughness as a player. According to former Gopher teammate Brad Morrow, Butters was without fear and recalled one fight where he took on a whole team.

“We were playing Colorado College and Billy just went nuts,” Morrow recalled as if it were yesterday. “When he skated over in front of the CC’s player bench taunting the entire team for a fight, when no one came out, Butters jumped over the boards and into the CC players box and then just started swinging, taking on the whole team”.

Morrow is still amazed on the turnabout that Butters has made from one of the toughest rowdiest players he had ever played with to one who is now all about his Christian Ministry.

Carlson, who has also had a major change of character, was known as a fierce hockey fighter who took on the toughest NHL fighters and stood up for his teammates. Ironically, he now can be found as a referee in the Adult Hockey League as well as doing local youth games. Carlson, whose brothers appeared in the hockey movie “Slap Shot” as the Hanson brothers would have been in the movie if not for his playing for the North Stars. The movie, about a fictional professional team in Charlestown, Penn. named the Chiefs whose antics were more thuggery than hockey, was a studio success and featured Paul Newman as its leading man.

Sonmor’s style of coaching was always tough, physically tough. Sonmor had mentors that reflected that mentality. He recalled playing with the legendary John Mariucci for the old Minneapolis Millers, and when it came time for the championship series with Omaha, the Millers GM told the players that it was now up to them.

Mariucci told the guys that in order to win the best of 5 championship series, they would need to take only one game in Omaha, as he was convinced they would win two in Minneapolis on their small sheet of ice. Sonmor recalls literally beating the crap out of the Omaha team the first night, then winning the next three, as the Omaha team played scared the rest of the series. After a serious eye injury, Sonmor made the successful transition from player to coach.

Mariucci’s influence, along with Sonmor’s own physical style, created a coach that just loved the physical game. Sonmor did not disappoint as a general manager either, when in the mid 70’s, the World Hockey Association was birthed, giving St. Paul a franchise, Sonmor did a masterful job in creating one of the best hockey line ups ever to play in the state. At the outset, the Saints had a policy of favoring local players, with the 1972–73 roster featuring no fewer than 11 athletes who were either born in Minnesota or American citizens. This was almost unheard of in the early 1970s, when few NHL or WHA teams had even a single American player..

After starting out as GM and coach, Sonmor handed the coaching reins to Harry Neale. The team put on a far more entertaining show with the Saints games consistently outdrawing their cross city rival Minnesota North Stars. The league in many ways was very futuristic, and took out the center red line for a much faster game that took the NHL almost 25 years to figure out.

The interesting fact with the three men who visited Sonmor on Saturday Dec. 14, was they also played for the North Stars. In fact, Carlson was involved with the turn around, as with the Cleveland Barons folding in the 1978 season and merging with the North Stars, the team had an infusion of talent. Glen’s long-time friend and new North Star GM Lou Nanne, then took a bold step and told management that they needed a new coach, and that coach needed to be Sonmor. The problem was that Sonmor was successful in the WHA, and the NHL and the North Star ownership at that time did not want anything to do with Sonmor.

Sonmor recalled Nanne the negotiator, “Lou knew when he had the upper hand, and always won when he had the upper hand as he was one of the best there was in getting what he wanted.” In this case, Nanne held firm, as he knew the Gunds and the ownership knew they needed to make a change in the culture of the team.

Sonmor did just that, turning around what was considered a soft team into a team that battled the way the hardened Sonmor only knew. By adding tough guys and character people, the Stars were no longer going to be the team that other teams pushed around.

To prove his point, as the Stars were approaching making the playoffs and lining up against the rugged Boston Bruins, two months before in a late February game, the fiery Sonmor came into the locker room prior to the game and said tonight is the night we make our stand. Sonmor recalls telling the team “I don’t care what the score is at the end of the game, but by the time this game is over, Boston will know they won’t be able to push us around anymore. At the first time, not the second or the third, but the first time they pull any intimidating move, WE WILL RESPOND.”

Six seconds into the game, Bruins center Steve Kasper brushed his stick into Bobby Smith’s face. Smith, known as a gentle giant, and a smooth goal-scoring playmaker, dropped Kasper with a few hard rights to Caspers head. According to Sonmor, the first period had over 400 minutes in penalties, and at the end of the game, Carlson recalls both teams having only 7 or 8 skaters left, as the rest of the team was already tossed out for fighting.

The North Stars may have lost that game, but the key was they had stopped the endless losing in Boston as just two months later, the Stanley Cup series would start and have the Stars facing the Bruins in Boston for the first two games. The Stars would win both games in overtime before heading back to the Met where they would take the series leading to their improbable run to the Stanley Cup.

It is with great memories and fondness that the hockey community reaches out in prayers and visits the ailing Sonmor as all know that Sonmor would do the same for them. It is obvious that Sonmor appreciates all the kindness that is being expressed in his time of need.

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The post Saints March in On Sonmor appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The golf tournament will begin with registration and a silent auction at 11 a.m. on September 23. There will be a noon shotgun start followed by a dinner at 5 p.m. The day will conclude with a brief program and ceremony featuring past recipients of MHM’s hockey camp scholarship.

The tournament ambassador is former Minnesota North Star Carl Wetzel – the team’s very first goalie and first to sign a contract with Minnesota’s first and former NHL Team.

MHM is also offering a variety of sponsorship opportunities for individuals, organizers and advertisers, to include:

• Diamond Level Sponsorship | $750 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 4 golfers with carts and dinner
• Gold Level Sponsorship | $500 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 2 golfers with carts and dinner
• Silver Level Sponsorship | $300 Includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 1 golfer with cart and dinner
• Bronze Level Sponsorship | $150 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, advertising at the tournament & hole sponsorship 
• Hole and Contest Sponsorship | $100

Individual tickets are $75 per golfer, which includes 18 holes, boxed lunch, dinner and a silent auction.

Hope to see all of our Minnesota hockey fans out on the course — should be a fun day for an even better cause!

Tara

The post MHM’s FIRST Charity Golf Tourney – Help us send some kids to hockey camp! appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Here is a brief pictorial recap of our encounters up in Copper Country …

We made it! Not quite the Golden Gate, but the Houghton-Hancock Bridge connects, not surprisingly, the cities of Houghton and Hancock over Portage Lake. The monumental structure is signature to the town (That’s right, it’s on caps, coffee cups, coasters, you name it. Everywhere.) In the winter, they actually lower the bridge so it’s accessible to snowmobiles and skiers, while cars cross over the top!

This is the John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena, where the Huskies play. Its name comes from one of the most successful coaches in the history of college hockey, with a record of 555-295-39. Saturday night’s attendance at the arena was 3,883 — to give some perspective, that’s more than half the town of Houghton!

MTU’s favorite pup, Blizzard T. Husky, joined Charlie and I for tailgating. The school hosted a party for all the game attendees before Saturday night’s game. We met a couple from Coon Rapids, Minn., Don and Kay, who travel with the Gophers to every away game – since 1996! “This is our summer vacation,” they told us. “Some people have cabins, we watch hockey.” Hats off to them for their dedication to our favorite sport.

Game time! And last, but not least, here is a view from our seats at MacInnes. It was a split for the teams this weekend with 5-3 Huskies, followed by 3-2 Gophers. Game two definitely kept us on our toes!

Tara’s Top-5 Take-Aways:

5. Don Lucia really likes to win…like, 600 times over…

4. Michigan’s Pietila family has rockstar hockey genes.

3. Gophers need to pump up on the power-play.

2. Michigan Tech knows MUSIC. Yes, folks, their pep band even has a bagpipe…a BAGPIPE! How cool is that?!

1. “Michigan Nice” may very well be a close competitor to “Minnesota Nice.” Seriously, fabulously courteous fans in the UP!

All in all, it was a perfect weekend for college hockey, and a special thanks to our new friends up in Houghton for their unwavering hospitality.

Tara

The post Tara’s Takes: Our Trip to Houghton! appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.