Absence of NHL might return purity to Olympic hockey   

Hockey will still be the primary attraction at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, but it will be out of curiosity more than rampant nationalistic fervor. A whole generation of new hockey fans will be amazed to see the Olympic hockey tournament. completely devoid of National Hockey League superstars.

   To that I say “Good riddance.”

   That’s not because I dislike the NHL, or the presence of so many high-skilled Europeans playing in the NHL. I love hockey at all levels, and the NHL represents its own pinnacle. But while it was great to see the NHL stars representing their countries, I got to experience two Winter Olympic hockey tournaments, one each way, and I realize that international hockey doesn’t need the dictatorial influence of the NHL, which considers the terms “participation” and “control” as synonymous.

   Since 1998, the NHL has closed up shop and allowed its players to return to their national teams, including the U.S., Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland, Latvia, and any other countries that produce players of NHL quality. The changeover, heralded by most as a true world tournament of the world’s best players, makes this year an abrupt change back. Almost none of the players — even on the U.S. and Canada — will be  close to the NHL household names of the last 20 years.

Pavel Datsyuk (Photo by Jonny Watkins)

   Two notable exceptions make my choice easy for the gold medal: Russia. Or the independent athletes representing Russia, whichever is determined to be valid. Pavel Datsyuk, who was among the best players in the NHL for the past decade, retired from the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL and took his family home to Russia. He is playing in the KHL, the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, which is clearly the second best pro league to the NHL, and Datsyuk is cavorting around like a 20-year-old, making magnificent plays and scoring sensational goals.

  In a roster listing of all the members of all the nations, Datsyuk’s name leaps off the page as the best individual player in the Olympics, even as he moves closer to his 40th birthday. Great as he is, Datsyuk’s individual skills are better suited to making his linemates and teammates better. That brings us to Ilya Kovalchuk, a mere pup of 34, and Datsyuk’s teammate on the St. Petersburg KHL team. Presumably they will play together on the Russian team, and alone, they make Russia a prohibitive favorite.

  The biggest name on Team USA might be Brian Gionta, former Boston College star who played for New Jersey, Montreal, and Buffalo, choosing to not re-sign with the Sabres after they acquired Jason Pominville from the Wild, in favor of being captain of Team USA. Former St. Cloud State scoring star Garrett Roe, ex-Gopher Ryan Stoa, both playing in Europe, and current WCHA players Troy Terry of Denver and defenseman Will Borgen of St. Cloud State also were named to the roster by coach Tony Granato.

St. Cloud State defenseman, and current Olympian, Will Borgen. (St. Cloud State Athletics)

  My recommendation would have been to call together representatives from all the college leagues and, just after the first of the year, select a college all-star team to go to the Olympics as Team USA. They would be youthful, exuberant, exciting, highly skilled, and if lacking pro experience, they would have been a huge attraction to the television moguls who are still looking for another miracle.

  Canada’s most recognizable names might be Mason Raymond, who starred at UMD and had some strong years with Vancouver in the NHL, before signing to play in Bern, Switzerland, and Chay Genoway, a four-year puck-rushing defenseman and superstar at North Dakota. He was signed by the Minnesota Wild, but got only one game with the parent club, and signed to play for Lada in the KHL.

  Very good players, but a considerable distance from Pavel Datsyuk.

  To me, the best part of the change to allow NHL players was to level the rink, to coin a phrase, for all countries, compared to the days when Russian and other European players who stayed home to play in their own leagues, where they might have been paid, but they also held jobs or were in the military to remain “amateurs” in the eyes of the Olympics, against the true amateurs from the U.S. and Canada.

  And perhaps the worst change in the tournament structure is because of the overwhelming influence of network television money — the only thing more dominant than the NHL. After Herb Brooks led Team USA to its incredible 1980 gold medal, the TV networks who were caught by surprise gathered all its forces for the 1984 Winter Olympics, anticipating another miracle. When the U.S. fell short of unfair expectations, the networks were left with huge plots of time and no Team USA. So they enforced a change to something that U.S. viewers could more easily understand.

  Instead of the traditional round-robin preliminary play that led to the top two teams coming together in an extension of that round-robin, which is why top-seeded Soviets and Sweden were scheduled in the final game, so the U.S. had to play the Soviets in the next-to-last round, then face Finland on the final day. Viewers who recall that might remember that the U.S. networks taped the game and played it back in prime time, while Canada television simply adjusted to show the gold-medal game live, in the afternoon.

  Apparently, U.S. viewers aren’t considered bright enough to figure out the unique and compelling round-robin structure, and must have an NCAA-basketball-like bracket of quarterfinals, semifinals and final. That, presumably, will never change back.

  After the NHL let its players loose to play in 1998 at Nagano, Japan, the next turn was 2002 in Salt Lake City, and I had the opportunity to lead one of the dozen separate staffs for the Olympic Committee, with our responsibility the intra-net computer reporting on hockey for all the on-site media types who couldn’t cover all the simultaneous events. Immediately after games, we sent a result piece, press conference story, and various pertinent sidebar features. It was fun and gratifying to watch up close and from the inside, particularly because Herb Brooks coached Team USA.

   We also produced off-game-day features, and I wrote one about how unfair it was of the NHL to hold all its players back until the day before the games actually started. Some of the lesser countries, including Latvia, had its hopes pinned to only a couple of standout players, and because the NHL wouldn’t release them, their plane was landing as Latvia was being eliminated in a preliminary round game. I wrote about it.

   Next thing I knew, a quite-abrasive fellow from the NHL office was present, and assumed control over what I was controlling, editing and even delaying the deadlline stories we produced, to assure any information going to the world’s media would be positive PR for the NHL, rather than incisive facts we accumulated. When I had a long discussion about the situation with the Olympic Committee’s very astute media director, he hesitantly explained to me that he was powerless to do anything to counter the NHL’s control.

  Of course, the NHL was just as eager for Canada to win as the U.S., and when Canada beat the U.S. team in the gold medal final, any observer of the media enclosure would have been certain the Games were being held in a Canadian city as in the U.S.  Another strong NHL influence was to get the Olympic tournament played on NHL size rinks, rather than the traditional 200×100 international ice sheets, which allow much more playmaking and skating and much less forced congestion.

  The more recent games are in harsh contrast to the purity of coverage in Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980, when I had the thrill of covering all the hockey in the most spectacular Winter Olympics hockey tournament ever. That, also, was a Herb Brooks production, only at that time the official pros of the NHL were not allowed, and only the European pros who were employed outside their hockey endeavors were allowed. That meant all the players from the Soviet Union, Sweden, Finland, the Czechs, Germany and others were essentially pros, while Brooks conquered all with his college-based team that included a dozen Minnesotans and seven from his 1979 University of Minnesota NCAA champions.

   That truly was a “Miracle on Ice,” and covering it was extra special because nobody thought the U.S. had a chance, and almost none of the other media people knew anything about the U.S. players, who had trained for the previous year based in Met Center in Bloomington.

  My favorite recollections are from watching all the games I could, marveling at the skill level of the Soviets and the Swedish and Finnish teams, because our apartment was a last-moment deal at a home across the street from the high school, which was the Olympic Media Center, and the adjacent arena, where all the games were.

  My other favorite moment was when Brooks walked off from the interview room the day after the U.S. had stunned powerful Sweden with a 2-2 tie in the last minute. Brooks had confided in me that he didn’t want to bring two players to post-game media sessions, but figured he had to, right up until the Soviets said they would not. That allowed Brooks, still striving for East-West unity, to leave his players in their dressing room while he met the media. New York columnist Mike Lupica ripped him for being so egotistical he would not allow any of his players to be interviewed — which was far easier than to go out into the cold night air and interview whichever players he wanted to, if he only knew them. Brooks declared that if the columnist he’d never met thought he was coming alone because of his ego, from then on the media could talk to his assistant, Craig Patrick, because Brooks wouldn’t be coming to any more interview sessions.

   I told Brooks he shouldn’t give up the world stage, and he told me he had arranged with the arena manager to hide out in his office after games, in an area the media could not get to, and that I could meet him in that office after every game. That meant I got exclusive interviews with Herb Brooks after every U.S. game, and still have time to race outside and talk to every U.S. player as they departed after showering and dressing.

   It remains a highlight of my career, and maybe one of the best parts of it was that any reporter could use instincts and personal initiative to cover the players and the Games as best they could. A far cry from what was to transpire in the six Winter Olympics tournaments since then.

Note to readers: This article will be in the soon-to-be-published February Winter Special Edition of Minnesota Hockey Magazine that features Hockey Day Minnesota 2018 and St. Cloud hockey.  It will be available in print at store newsstands across Minnesota including Target and Walmart.  Digital issue will be available on the PressPad mobile app platform for Minnesota Hockey Magazine via Apple Store and Amazon/Kindle.  If you want to get it free, subscribe to our e-Edition and it will be sent directly to your email box.  Thanks.  MHM Staff

The post Amateur Hour appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Fundraising events scheduled to help local hockey standout and wife

Jim Hoey, Joe Eckel and Tom Younghans contributed to this article

While it’s not unusual for a family to have one serious medical issue as the years pass, it is rare for both husband and wife to contract potential life threatening conditions at the same time.  This is the situation for South St. Paul native, Mike Powers and his wife, Ricka.

Mike’s Hockey Background.

Mike Powers is well known in hockey circles around the metro.  He played two seasons for coach Denny Tetu’s South St. Paul Packers as a fluid defenseman in 1969-70 and 1970-71.

SSP Packers, Mike Powers on bottom row, 5th from right. (Submitted photo courtesy of Ricka Powers)

Although disappointed the team in his senior year did not make the state tournament, Mike was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.  The following year he attended St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, where he became an all-conference defender in the MIAC.  He was noted for his quickness and his puck-moving ability and helped the Redmen to consecutive runner-up finishes in MIAC league play.

Powers left St. Mary’s after his sophomore season in 1973.  He played semi-pro hockey in the United States Hockey League for three years; two in Marquette, Michigan and one in Traverse City.

Mike as a St. Mary’s Redman in 1972-73. (Submitted photo courtesy of Ricka Powers)

The following year he played in the Southwest Hockey League in Minot, North Dakota.

In 1977, he traveled to Europe to play in a professional league in the Netherlands, where he hooked up with a former St. Mary’s teammate, Jan Janssen, who was playing for the Heerenveen Feenstra Flyers.  It was a good time to start playing for the Flyers, as they were to begin a seven-year (1977-83) championship run, winning the Dutch Cup each season.  As was the custom on most European hockey clubs, only two imports were allowed on each team.  About half the players were either Dutch-American, like Janssen, or Dutch-Canadian.  Among his teammates were former Grand Rapids star Donnie Madson and South St. Paul product John Shewchuk.

The Feenstra Flyers, Dutch National Champions. Mike Powers in bottom row, 2nd from right. (Submitted photo courtesy of Ricka Powers)

The Feenstra club, which was sponsored by the largest heating and air-conditioning company in Europe, was started in 1967 and is still active as the Friesland Flyers.  When the Flyers were winning all their national championships in the Netherlands, it gave them a chance to compete in the European Cup, where Powers played against some of the elite teams, including the Soviet Red Army team.  In training camp, the Heerenveen team often traveled to Finland or Czechoslovakia and played exhibitions against the best from those nations.

After nine highly-successful seasons in Heerenveen, Powers was a player-coach in Denbosch in the same Eredivise league.  At the age of 33, Powers played his final professional season with a team based in Amsterdam in 1985-86.  Overall, it was quite an experience for Powers as he had the opportunity to travel and play in most European countries and to travel to some pretty exotic locales.

Mike Powers and friends with Golden Shovel after winning 2006 US Pond Hockey Championship (Photo courtesy of Ricka Powers)

Since his return to the United States, Mike has stayed active in the world of hockey.  He spent 11 years as the store manager of Center Ice in Eagan and another six-plus years working for Minnesota Made Hockey in Edina.  He has extensive experience in hockey operations, in AAA coaching, and as a youth hockey clinic trainer and skills instructor.

In 2006, he and three close friends won the 50+ division at the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Calhoun.  He has also participated in several adult hockey tournaments at both the local and national level.  Now in his 60’s, Mike still has energy and passion for the game.

Health Problems Surface.

Ricka and Mike Powers in a 2006 Christmas photo. (Submitted photo courtesy of Ricka Powers)

In May, 2014, his wife, Ricka, a breast cancer survivor, became seriously ill again and was diagnosed with another debilitating condition in the form of pulmonary sarcoidosis.  This caused tumors in her eye, lungs, and chest.  She went through major surgery and aggressive treatments to fight the tumors and lost her ability to work.

Mike, meanwhile, was laid off work about the same time.  While dealing with his layoff and seriously ill wife, Mike himself was diagnosed with stage 4a oropharyngeal cancer.  He recently went through surgery, chemo, and radiation.  As he regained strength, he started some part-time work again as a facilities technician for the City of Eden Prairie at the Eden Prairie Community Center.

Financial Hardship…You Can Help.

The loss of work and their illnesses have placed a serious financial strain on them and they can use your help.  A group of close friends has planned a charity event for their benefit in September.  This charity event will take place at the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday Sept. 6, 2015, with light appetizers and a silent auction at Patrick McGovern’s restaurant that same day.  The funds being raised will help provide Mike and Ricka with time to get back on their feet financially.  Events include:

1.  A special hockey game, Don’t Worry, Play Hockey, will include several former NHL players.

WHAT:  Benefit game for Mike and Ricka Powers to help them heal while fighting cancer.
WHERE:  Xcel Energy Center
WHEN:  Sunday, Sept. 6, from 5 – 7 p.m.
HOW:  There is a suggested donation of $125 per player.

If you are interested in playing in the Powers Fundraiser, please contact Ex-North Star, Tom Younghans at:

Phone:   612-703-4378 or E-mail:  youngy029@gmail.com

There are only about six available spots remaining out of 22, so act now if you are interested.

2.  The fund raising team has already collected donated items for the silent auction to be held at Patrick McGovern’s restaurant, 2 pm on Sunday, September 6th.  Stop in to check out the auction items and visit with friends.

3.  Here are a couple of other ways you can help:

•  Make a monetary donation to Mike and Ricka Powers via Paypal using this LINK.
• Send a monetary donation to:

Mike and Ricka Powers Benefit of Hope
℅ Think Mutual Bank
5200 Members Pkwy NW
Rochester, MN 55901
800-288-3425

Banker Kiersten Lawson
952-322-3512

 Finally.

Check out this fund raiser flier here…PowersFlier.

Attend the event if you can.  Help if you can.  Share with friends and hockey buddies who may know Mike and Ricka.  Show your support for Mike and Ricka during this difficult time.

Remember,

September 6^th,

Light Appetizers and Silent Auction at Patrick McGovern’s (2 pm) ,

Hockey Game at Xcel (5 pm).

 Thanks, MHM Staff

The post Hockey couple fighting health crisis appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

 Herb Brooks Foundation honors Bill Butters’ amazing comeback

When the good Lord made Bill Butters, he took one look and then broke the mold, as Butters is truly like no other. His transformation into who he is today is really hard to fathom. Butters went from one extreme to another, going from an NHL tough guy with the Minnesota North Stars to the church pulpit as a minister.

As a player, Butters was known as an enforcer, being one of the toughest and fiercest competitors who ever played hockey in Minnesota.  He was also known to have been just as tough off the ice, bending the rules as he saw fit, with his partying and other escapades.

Butters now is known as  a man with a gentle spirit who leads Chapel services in NHL and college locker rooms. He is now also serving on the staff of Hockey Ministries International.

On June 12, at the National Sports Center in Blaine Minn., Butters was recognized for all that he has done for the hockey community when he was honored with the 2015 Herb Brooks Foundation Youth Hockey Hall of Fame Award.  Brooks, his former coach at the University of Minnesota, was instrumental in helping Butters get to this point.

Early on in Butters’ ministry work, Brooks took him aside and told him he wanted to help and do a fundraiser for him. Brooks did just that, raising over $10,ooo to help Butters get started.

Pushing the envelope

The former Minnesota Fighting Saint’s character was not always saintly, though. In fact, according to an interview Butters did for Eagle Brook Church, Brooks once told him, “Right now Bill, you are a character; I hope someday you will have character.”

Bill’s escapades on and off the ice were legendary. When requesting stories from former team mates about Bill’s past, the most common response is I have a story, but can’t tell you, because it would not be suited for print. Besides, they also knew Bill was famous for getting people back in the pranking department, and wasn’t afraid to take his game to the extreme.

Former Olympian Rob McClanahan said of Butters, “Billy will be the first to admit he is lucky to still be alive.”

Bill Butters still entertaining others at the Herb Brooks Foundation Golf Tourney (photo by HBF staff)

Butters was always pushing the limits off the ice in his NHL playing days and his North Stars teammate, Steve Payne, offered a prime example.

Payne recalled a night  in Atlanta after a game against the Flames at a restaurant and bar adjacent to the team hotel.  As the story goes, a large tropical aquarium separating the restaurant from the bar quickly drew Butters’ interest.

“Bill was really quick with his hands,” Payne said.  “He stuck his hand in the tank and grabbed a fish.  He then looked at us, and stuck the fish in his mouth and ate him live.  When Butters repeated the dubious feat, the bartender, seeing his fish disappearing, asked him to stop.  Payne says this only encouraged Butters to push the envelope and he swallowed yet another tropical fish.

The bartender was now getting really upset, saying “That’s it, if you do it again, I’m calling the cops,” Payne said.  Bill took that as a challenge and ate another fish.

“Known for never backing down, Bill then proceeded to eat one more fish, just before he and the rest of the guys exited the bar, just seconds before the police arrived.”

Bill grew up in White Bear Lake, Minn. with his mother and two sisters.  He played baseball until he couldn’t hit the curve and football until his 5’ 9” stature and lack of speed made a future career in either sport highly unlikely. When he tried hockey, it was like football on ice for him and he thrived as he became a feared and fierce competitor.

At the University of Minnesota, Butters also played for Glen Sonmor, a coach also known for his tough character. Former NHL star Reed Larson recalls the day he was first introduced to Butters. While being recruited by the U and having been asked to attend the Gopher game versus Colorado College, Larson found himself sitting at the old Mariucci arena right behind the Colorado bench.

“In the old Mariucci Arena, the recruits would sit right behind the opponents bench, with just a bar separating the visiting team and the first row,” Larson recalled.

What happened next was classic Butters. Larson witnessed him not just take on a player, but the entire CC team.

According to Larson, the game became chippy and Butters was ejected for fighting. But before leaving the ice, Butters skated to the visitors’ bench and challenged the Tigers to a fight.

“When no one came on the ice, Billy jumped into the player’s bench with both fists flying,” Larson said. “I was shocked, but then started to reach and grab the Colorado College guys from behind, trying to help Bill out.”

An inspirational leader

Butters made a name for himself as a tough guy who was all about putting the team first. His senior year, although not the most talented player, Butters was named captain of the Gophers. When others are asked to describe Bill in one word, the most common response is inspirational.

Former teammate and 1980 Olympian Buzz Schneider recalls “I was a freshman and Bill was the senior captain of the Gophers. Bill was the ultimate team guy, I just loved playing with him and having him as a captain.”

Butters’ notorious reputation across the WCHA drew the ire of many an opposing fan. Former Gopher great Rob Harris recalls all 8,100 at the old Dane County Coliseum repeatedly chanting “Billieeee Buuutterrrs.”

“Bill would have his hands high saying bring it on,” Harris said. “The ironic thing is the chant continued the following year, even though Butters was no longer playing for us.”

Former NHL “Enforcers” Bill Butters and Jack Carlson (photo by HBF staff)

Fighting for a job

Butters desire was to play professional hockey. At that time, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins were winning championships through toughness and intimidation, and he  figured the only way he was going to make it as a professional player was to have that same level of toughness.

Butters signed a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs before moving on to the fledgling World Hockey Association. His  job as a professional hockey player was  to protect the more skilled players, playing just outside the rules, as an enforcer in an era that was known for its bullies.  Butters was known for being a tough guy, having been in over 100 hockey fights with over 240 stitches in his face.

Butters would play 7 years as a professional including 217  games in the WHA, playing with the likes of Goldie Howe, and another 72 games in the NHL.  He amassed 607 minutes in his 289 pro contests. Although he had hoped to play for many more years, his career came to an end when he was informed that his services were no longer needed.

At 30 years of age, Butters did not know what he was going to do.

Bill Butters’ transformation is truly from sinner to saint. It’s fitting that one of the pro teams he played for was the character-filled Minnesota Fighting Saints. Butters in his previous life could best be described as a self-destructive wild child.

Bill has always been a character but, as Brooks noted, it’s not the same as having character. Bill would be the first to admit he made mistakes along the way, but in life you don’t get a rewind button.

Upgrades, on the other hand, are allowed.

The turning point

Legendary South St. Paul girls hockey coach Dave Palmquist summed it up best.

“Bill Butters is a man of faith,” said Palmquist, the state’s all-time leader in wins among girls’ high school coaches. “His story is a great story of transformation in turning his life over to Jesus Christ and from one making very poor choices, to now the man who is looked up to and held in the highest respect.”

What changed Bill was his encounter with Jesus Christ when, in a prayer huddle as an instructor at a hockey ministries camp, he came to the realization of where he was at and where he was going.

In Bill’s own words from his short autobiographical booklet entitled Out of the Penalty Box Butters tells his story of his own transformation:

“I went back home to Minnesota to look for a job, and even though I had attended college for four years, I had not completed my degree, so I had trouble finding employment.”

Then a friend, a long-time pro hockey player named Tom Reid called me and asked if I would like to help at a youth hockey camp. At first I agreed saying that I could use the money. Tom told me that this was a Christian camp and I would be working as a volunteer. I told Tom that I would not come. I hung up the phone, but Tom was persistent calling me again and again. For some reason I agreed to work at the camp.

At the camp I saw young boys and pro players having fun, singing songs and studying the Word of God. No one was swearing, fighting or other things I had witnessed in boys that age. In one of the large group meetings the song leader looked at me (assuming that all of the pro instructors at the camp were Christians) and sang, “Oh Billy do you love Jesus?” I was supposed to respond “Oh yes I love Jesus.” My face started getting red and my eyes welled up with tears. I was embarrassed, not so much because I didn’t know the song, but because I didn’t know who the song was about. During the meeting, Chico Resch, a pro goalie, got up and told how Jesus had changed his life. I had never heard anyone talk about a personal relationship with Christ before that time.

Later we broke into small huddle groups. At the end, the counselor said we were going to close in prayer and whoever wanted to, could pray. The counselor prayed, the boy next to him prayed and then each boy in the circle prayed. They were heading in my direction and I was nervous because I had never prayed before and I didn’t know what to say.

All of a sudden a calmness came over me and I started to listen to the boys prayers. Each boy was praying for me. The Holy Spirit used those prayers and those 11 and 12 year old boys were showing me the love of Jesus Christ. I was there teaching them how to play hockey; and they were there teaching me how to love.

They prayed that I would find peace in my life, employment, and that I would know Jesus as my Savior. I went back to my room, got down on my knees and asked Christ into my life. I admitted that I was a sinner and that I needed Him to help me turn away from the sinful life I was living.

When I came home from camp, I knew Christ had changed me. I told my wife about my becoming a Christian. I told her that at camp, I had asked God for forgiveness. I also then told her of all my shortcomings and how I had not always been faithful, and asked for her forgiveness. After some time, my wife saw the change in my life was real and her faith allowed her to forgive me. Jesus Christ had restored our marriage.”

This real transformation that has lasted over 30 years is miraculous. Butters exemplifies the traits associated with Christ and the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5: 22-25 states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

A legacy of honor

Butters has consistently shown these positive traits to hockey players of all ages, from the eight-year-old camper at the Hockey Ministries camp, to coaching high school and college players, all the way to working with the NHL’s veteran players and coaching staffs.

Current Gopher assistant coach Mike Guentzel recalls joining the Minnesota coaching staff in 1994 and having the opportunity to be mentored by Butters for a season. Besides sharing advice on coaching and life, the one comment that really stuck out  is, “The team from the East that wears red is a team we can never lose to.”

The ironic thing is that the hockey world is pretty small, and a decade and a half later, Butters joined Mike Eaves’ staff as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin. He began poaching the talent pool of the top prospects in Minnesota, including former Minnesota Mr. Hockey, Grant Besse. The former Benilde-St. Margaret’s star, who scored five goals in the 2013 state championship game, three of them shorthanded, is now starring for the Badgers.

Butters has come a long way from the day Herb Brooks called him out for his character.  Besse said that was the trait which stood out in Butters throughout the recruiting process that factored heavily in his decision to sign with Wisconsin.

“I knew Bill was sincere and really cared about me as a person and had my own best interest in mind,” Besse said.

Besse was one of several hockey dignitaries attending the event in Butters’ honor to offer their thoughts and recollections on their encounters with him over the years.

Several Minnesota Gophers including Kyle Rau, Brady Skjei and Justin Kloos said the thing that comes to mind when thinking of Bill Butters is his present work with Hockey Ministries and how he makes himself available.

“It is much more than talking hockey,” noted Rau. “Bill talks to us about life and making the right choices and how to deal with all of the pressures of life.  We greatly appreciate Bill taking the time to help us out.”

One Tough Foursome -Bill Butters, Jack Carlson, Murray Rudisell and Sean Goldsworthy (photo by HBF Staff)

St. Olaf men’s hockey coach Sean Goldsworthy, a close friend of Butters stated, “The transformation of Bill Butters is nothing short of miraculous. Bill has translated his passion and loyalty for his teammates, to now living for Christ in the hockey community. His love for people is evident in his soft heart, unconditional love, and kindness for people wanting to know more about living for Christ. His toughness is now represented in love.”

Former Gopher and NHL star Chris McCalpine talked fondly in saying, “Bill recruited me and was like a father figure, not just to me, but all of the guys, teaching us how to treat people, and the game. He helped many of us advance our career and is a major reason why I was able to play in the NHL. I just think the world of Bill.”

Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo added, “I had heard about Bill before I arrived here, and have now gotten to know him personally. During the season when things weren’t going well, getting texts from Bill meant a lot to me. His work with the chapel and helping others has meant a lot to me and many other individuals.”

Wild forward Ryan Carter thought so highly of Butters, his coach at White Bear Lake High School, that he asked him to officiate as the minister at his wedding. “Bill Butters has been a selfless individual for as long as I have known him. Bill has always thought about what is in the best interest of others. And when I was considering going  to play Junior A hockey instead of high school, Bill took me aside and went through how I was a person who really cared about my family, that it wasn’t necessary to play juniors, and he was absolutely right. It gave me the leadership skills that helped get me to the NHL playing with the Wild, I can’t thank Bill enough for all he has done.”

The 2015 Herb Brooks Foundation Youth Hockey Hall of Fame Award is a fitting tribute to Butters’ lasting hockey legacy and Brooks would be proud of how far he has come, and all of the hearts and lives that he has touched.  If you would like to learn more about Hockey Ministries Int’l check out: hockeyministries.org .

Bill Butters – Herb Brooks Foundation 2015 Hall of Fame inductee (photo by Herb Brooks Foundation staff)

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