It’s only the second week of October but my mind has fast tracked to the start of the high school hockey season. One of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the season for true Minnesotans is the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament but we have to go back a few steps before we get to that point. I thought it’d be fun to have a very early discussion of the upcoming State Tournament and what teams are favorites. 

If they haven’t started already, hockey practices will be getting started soon, then tryouts and finally the most exciting part; games. It’s always fun to watch how hard these kids work all season long to get to their version of the Stanley Cup. Last season the boy’s A Championship went to Hermantown after they took down Warroad. While the boy’s AA Championship went to Andover in a thrilling overtime win over Maple Grove.

The Tourney games last season were very entertaining as they always are and while I typically find it hard to cheer for cities teams, I was able to cheer for Maple Grove and I wasn’t super disappointed when Andover won because it was such a thrilling and well fought game. It seems like the competition gets better with each season and I can’t wait to see who comes out on top this year. 

The obvious favorites are the defending champions in Hermantown and Andover but Maple Grove and Warroad were strong teams to take second place and they’ll be eager to get vengeance for their losses. In Class A you can’t count out Delano who seems to always get extremely close to the tournament but they either lose in the final round before the tournament or they make it to the first round and no further. 

East Grand Forks, St. Cloud Cathedral, Monticello, Alexandria and Mahtomedi are all strong and capable teams I’d keep my eye on as this season unfolds as well. At least two of them will most likely make it to the tournament, how far they go after that is a mystery. 

On to Class AA and the typical favorites of Moorhead, Grand Rapids, Edina, Roseau, Hill-Murray, and Eden Prairie are the teams to watch out for. Some of these teams I can’t stand to cheer for but they are entertaining to watch. Even if you don’t like a team, you can still have respect for their level of talent and winning abilities. 

When I played hockey, I didn’t play long enough to have a chance in the high school tournament, I did however make it to the U-14A state tournament and that was an incredible experience. I always dreamed of playing in the high school tournament but being able to watch it is almost as fun. Every hockey player dreams of playing for their school and then their college and finally the NHL. 

These kids all have that dream and for a lot of them it may be the only chance they get as it’s a very competitive sport with not a lot of roster spots open to go on past high school. Regardless of where they want to go in their career, if you want to watch some fun and fast paced hockey, check out the State Tournament in March, you won’t regard it. 

With that I’m going to wrap up my small section about the teams expected to make it to the State Tournament and why it’s important to them. It’s very early but sometimes early predictions are the best, I hope everyone is having a great fall so far and here’s to hockey season just around the corner!