NICK MATTSON (five-part story)

[sticksuphigh]

I've found the story interesting because it shows the good and bad of leaving H.S. hockey. For players out there thinking that they'd like to pursue hockey at the highest level you get the other side of it including the fun things that you miss. Leaving home, school, classmates and friends behind to try and be the best at hockey is not an easy thing to do. There are no guarantees about how far Nick will go. You also see how hockey players go from being a primary player to a bench player as they move up to higher levels. Kids need to realize that the road to D1 schools or the NHL is not an easy one and takes great sacrifice.

Great article and it should be enjoyed by any fan of hockey or anyone desiring to play at a higher level in sports.

It's always good to get a look behind the scenes at something most of us don't get exposed to.

What also should be mentioned is that there are kids that don't take the path Nick did and still get college scholarships/get drafted/play pro hockey.

[sticksuphigh]

No offense WBMD, Nick is a great kid, its just hard not to miss the story when its on the front page each day...

Not everyone gets the Star Tribune.

I believe it is called the Star & Sickel Relax, Nicks Uncle.

[hockeyxprt1]

My gosh, the first thing that came to mind after reading the article is the Soviet Red Army team. Didn't they "steal" kids from the time they were very young and mold them into being great hockey players? Granted Nick is there voluntarily but I had no idea all that was involved. You can only be young once.

[ChrisK]

I am sure Nick is a great kid and I am sure he is a good player but it just seems off that 5 feature front page articles would be devoted to this story. Something is off with our media, our society and our families. No wonder so many kids are doing drugs and their is so much trouble in our world today.

The Strib does a five part in-depth story on a kid who leaves home and high school to play hockey and that means the whole world is off kilter!?! You're connecting dots that aren't there.

Isn't this a huge issue within hockey and other sports communities, kids sacrificing family, friends and education to climb the ladder to professional sports? The article reflects on what's lost but also what's gained. The kids are tested like they may never be again so it can give them maturity and confidence.

I hope the series does explore what happens to kids that don't make it, separating kids from their communities might make it difficult for them to get back on their feet when their dreams fall through.

[goldy313]

One other thing that bothers me about the whole thing is the timing. The state tournament starts tommorrow and for two days 320 kids will be decending on St. Paul to play hockey. The Minneapolis paper is devoting 5 days of front page coverage to 1 kid, who, unless he makes the NHL, will never play in front of so many people.

Good luck to Nick in whatever his future might be, but this isn't page 1 newspaper material.

[behonestbenice]

Why not page 1. It is at this time a good positive story about a good kid and a good family. Its interesting behind the scenes look at something unique in our sport. I think form many of the different topics about NDTP over the years and posts of people that had really no idea about the program this really answers many of those questions or at least gives a better insight to the details and real life of the program.

second why not front page it sure beats picking the paper up every day for the last years and seeing all the negative headlines or headlins of sadness politics, the war, terrrism school shootings, the economy, price of food and gas.

Its about time that the only news isn't bad news.

A week or 2 a go there was a nice full 2page story in the St Paul paper about Jordan Schroeder that was great also.

Its all nice to see kids trying to better themselves making headlines instead of so many of the thugs that make it everyday that are destroying things and killing.

Bring on more ducky and bunny stories. I welocme them.
Good News is what we need more of.

Good Luck no matter what happens Nick. You are someone chasing your dreams and make sacrafices to do it.

[Marty McSorely]

hockeyxprt1

My gosh, the first thing that came to mind after reading the article is the Soviet Red Army team. Didn't they "steal" kids from the time they were very young and mold them into being great hockey players? Granted Nick is there voluntarily but I had no idea all that was involved. You can only be young once.

My thoughts exactly. They're producing nut cases not hockey players...Frazee should be the poster child to why that's not a good program!

[WildFan]

This program is way too extreme. This kid is going to miss 3 yrs of HS where he grew up and leave his friends and family behind? What's wrong with playing HS hockey and then going on to college? In either case the kid is going to college on a scholarship. The program they run in Ann Arbor is like a military academy. This kid is going to miss some of the best years of his life playing in this program. From reading the 1st 3 parts of this story to me the kid sounds depressed and big time home sick. The kid has to be an adult at age 16 instead of being a teenage kid hanging out with friends and living at home with his parents.

[O-townClown]

The Minneapolis paper is devoting 5 days of front page coverage to 1 kid,

Goldy, I still don't see this as a story about Nick Mattson. The timing of the story was obviously chosen to conclude as the AA tournament commences. I don't think it has the same impact in June.

I'm going out on a limb and will predict that this piece of journalism wins at least one award. It is a very good story and the reporter's work has been top-notch so far.

I don't think people will have many unanswered questions about NTDP when this concludes.

[goldy313]

Your perspective is different on this, but you're also in Florida and options there are very limited and this is great information, borderline propoganda, but still great information. It doesn't make it wrong or right just different. I agree it is a very well written story, it's not news though. It will probbaly win an award but there are only 2 large dailies in the state, it's tough not to win one.

5 days on one kid bugs me, we've had National Guard troops in Iraq and Kosovo for over a year that don't get this type of treatment. We've had wrestlers win state titles, we've had many more things, many more important things happen but he paper spends space and resources on this? Hockey, even here, is a fringe sport. For a paper that complains ad nauseum about financial troubles I don't get it, it loks more like an article that should be in Let's Play Hockey, or USA Hockey's magazine than a major metropolitan newspaper.

Seriously, even in Florida would 1 major paper spend so much time and space on 1 high school football player or baseball player?

[O-townClown]

Seriously, even in Florida would 1 major paper spend so much time and space on 1 high school football player or baseball player?

Willie Williams? Noel Devine? Tim Tebow? Darius Washington? Amare Stoudemire? Let me count the ways.

You keep saying the story is about a kid. It isn't. The story is about the choices the state's (nation's) top hockey players face when given an opportunity to play with the NTDP (or a USHL team) and the vehicle to portray the story is to look at one player. Easy to pick Mattson, as he's the only Minnesotan on the younger team.

The newspaper's financial troubles shouldn't concern its readership, should it? Gee guys, can you give us less coverage please? Kosovo, Iraq, whatever - those stories are not being sacrificed to make room for a human interest story.

I applaud the paper for going deeper than the scores. Too often today the tack is to have guys like TJ Simer (or whatever his name is), Reusse, Barreiro, or Stephen A Smith skewer the easy targets. Until Mickelson won the Masters the guy in Orlando (Mike Bianchi) kept making fun of his man-boobs. Great journalism.

The story on NTDP requires a lot of planning and effort. Frankly I'm surprised you wish they'd skip it and focus on that gripping equal coverage for girls athletics.

[Mario58]

I'm not a big Strib fan lately, but I think this article is very well written.
It really conveys what the family members are going through.
I'm glad it's on the front page- great timing for the State tourney.

[Hockeyguy_27]

Seriously, even in Florida would 1 major paper spend so much time and space on 1 high school football player or baseball player?

Willie Williams? Noel Devine? Tim Tebow? Darius Washington? Amare Stoudemire? Let me count the ways.

You keep saying the story is about a kid. It isn't. The story is about the choices the state's (nation's) top hockey players face when given an opportunity to play with the NTDP (or a USHL team) and the vehicle to portray the story is to look at one player. Easy to pick Mattson, as he's the only Minnesotan on the younger team.

The newspaper's financial troubles shouldn't concern its readership, should it? Gee guys, can you give us less coverage please? Kosovo, Iraq, whatever - those stories are not being sacrificed to make room for a human interest story.

I applaud the paper for going deeper than the scores. Too often today the tack is to have guys like TJ Simer (or whatever his name is), Reusse, Barreiro, or Stephen A Smith skewer the easy targets. Until Mickelson won the Masters the guy in Orlando (Mike Bianchi) kept making fun of his man-boobs. Great journalism.

The story on NTDP requires a lot of planning and effort. Frankly I'm surprised you wish they'd skip it and focus on that gripping equal coverage for girls athletics.

I agree with O-town's assessment of this article. Furthermore, this article makes the NTDP look like a soulless Army boot-camp and I can't imagine too many kids who read it will be excited about the prospect of taking part in it.

[O-townClown]

Heat, I was thinking that some kids would read it and be turned off because it is such a sacrifice while others would read it and decide, "that's for me."

Take a room full of Bantams at the state or national championship and ask them if they want to play big-time college hockey. Of course all the 14-year-olds will say yes. What you don't find out, until five or six years later, is that most are them aren't willing to do what it takes to get there. Sure, the bona fide stars can do whatever they want, but the fringe kids usually have to make tremendous sacrifices to become college role players. You can cite several examples so I don't need to.

I like the articles because they seem to me to be objective. Here's the information, you decide if NTDP good or bad.

For those who don't know, the Miami newspaper had a season-long journal entry by one of the city's biggest football recruits ever - Willie Williams. It made quite a ruckus when he published his entry about how the official visit to Tallahassee paled in comparison to the treatment he received at Miami and another school, I think Alabama. He said others were treating him to lobster and FSU only offered up a barbeque cookout or some such thing.

The series ran all year, Williams (then 19) demolished everything in front of him as he led his school to the Class 6A title (where he broke QB Michael Dunn's collarbone on a clean tackle in the first series), and he eventually picked a school. As you all know now, it didn't work well for him at Louisville and he never became a contributor. He was considered an elite prospect along the lines of Lavar Arrington or Ernie Sims.

[goldy313]

It is very well written.

I'm curious is to what the end result the NDTP wants really is. Olympics are now played by the pro's, so winning gold medals can't be it. It seems, as someone else said, awful Soviet like. If they were charging kids or paying kids I'd understand more but they're not. I think the whole program is a waste of money and the money spent could be used in better ways, this series just confirms that. Couldn't they use the money to get more kids everywhere playing so kids like O-Towns don't spend so much time in a car?

[wildabouthockey]

chrisk my point is that putting an article such as that on the front page for 5 days makes the topic way more important than it is. The pressure these KIDS are under is enormous. I could name previous players who have come and gone from that program and are struggling to survive in normal day life right now. When you make something like hockey so big and it doesn't work out what do you think these kids have to look forward to or even fall back on? Thats when the trouble begins and the drinking and drugs can be used and are used in many many cases. To much pressure for Nick to have to live up to this five day feature article and living away from his family at the young age of 15. Wish him and his family the best of luck.

[chrissimonsguy]

This piece should be called Nick Mattson goes to camp and run in Boys Life Magazine.

Nick was not the star of the Chaska High Team as a freshman. Nick was placed on the team to set him up for the NDTP. He played on the blueline on both power plays and got more ice time than Crosby, on a team with 12 seniors. His only goal for the year was to make end-to-end runs and try to score whenever he touched the puck. Usually this invloved him going up the ice but the puck staying behind giving up odd man or breakaways. Snuggy always patted him on the back, even after giving the puck away. He had very few goals or assists and no interest in being part of the team. The coaches summary of his play in the article was accurate of his play for Chaska as well.
After taking time away from seniors and devloping juniors all season, he leaves. How does this help the local club? Fischer is a similiar player, he stayed at AV and his comming into his own at the U.

[VicKevlar]

This piece should be called Nick Mattson goes to camp and run in Boys Life Magazine.

Nick was not the star of the Chaska High Team as a freshman. Nick was placed on the team to set him up for the NDTP. He played on the blueline on both power plays and got more ice time than Crosby, on a team with 12 seniors. His only goal for the year was to make end-to-end runs and try to score whenever he touched the puck. Usually this invloved him going up the ice but the puck staying behind giving up odd man or breakaways. Snuggy always patted him on the back, even after giving the puck away. He had very few goals or assists and no interest in being part of the team. The coaches summary of his play in the article was accurate of his play for Chaska as well.
After taking time away from seniors and devloping juniors all season, he leaves. How does this help the local club? Fischer is a similiar player, he stayed at AV and his comming into his own at the U.

In other words, your precious little snowflake didn't get the ice time you thought he deserved all because of Nick.

[wildabouthockey]

The way kids are played on teams has everything do with their promotion. Kids that are placed on higher lines, PP and PK even if they are not as talented are the ones the schools are going after and the ones getting the press. It starts in Squirts, Peewees and Bantams when the parents are in control and it seems like it never stops. It is a part of the game but at some point you have to wonder aren't any of these people watching anymore? My thoughts are in the end it never helps the kid, especially when "real" life kicks in and that child is now an adult and is left to manage things on his own.

[GR3343]

The way kids are played on teams has everything do with their promotion. Kids that are placed on higher lines, PP and PK even if they are not as talented are the ones the schools are going after and the ones getting the press. It starts in Squirts, Peewees and Bantams when the parents are in control and it seems like it never stops. It is a part of the game but at some point you have to wonder aren't any of these people watching anymore? My thoughts are in the end it never helps the kid, especially when "real" life kicks in and that child is now an adult and is left to manage things on his own.

Agreed to a point. Some kids do get noticed for their abilities no matter what line they're on. There's still some truth & honesty to this game. If a player is dedicated and determined to outwork everyone else, he'll get his reward in the end. There are still those that choose a player based on his actual ability rather than what mom & dad do, or whether or not their youth coach promotes his own kid, no matter what, it's on the individual player to control what he has the ability to control, and satisfy him/herself that way. In the end, integrity, dedication and hard work will succeed.

[Can't Never Tried]

The way kids are played on teams has everything do with their promotion. Kids that are placed on higher lines, PP and PK even if they are not as talented are the ones the schools are going after and the ones getting the press. It starts in Squirts, Peewees and Bantams when the parents are in control and it seems like it never stops. It is a part of the game but at some point you have to wonder aren't any of these people watching anymore? My thoughts are in the end it never helps the kid, especially when "real" life kicks in and that child is now an adult and is left to manage things on his own.

Agreed to a point. Some kids do get noticed for their abilities no matter what line they're on. There's still some truth & honesty to this game. If a player is dedicated and determined to outwork everyone else, he'll get his reward in the end. There are still those that choose a player based on his actual ability rather than what mom & dad do, or whether or not their youth coach promotes his own kid, no matter what, it's on the individual player to control what he has the ability to control, and satisfy him/herself that way. In the end, integrity, dedication and hard work will succeed.

Agreed, and most times it will end up having nothing to do with hockey!

[GR3343]

The way kids are played on teams has everything do with their promotion. Kids that are placed on higher lines, PP and PK even if they are not as talented are the ones the schools are going after and the ones getting the press. It starts in Squirts, Peewees and Bantams when the parents are in control and it seems like it never stops. It is a part of the game but at some point you have to wonder aren't any of these people watching anymore? My thoughts are in the end it never helps the kid, especially when "real" life kicks in and that child is now an adult and is left to manage things on his own.

Agreed to a point. Some kids do get noticed for their abilities no matter what line they're on. There's still some truth & honesty to this game. If a player is dedicated and determined to outwork everyone else, he'll get his reward in the end. There are still those that choose a player based on his actual ability rather than what mom & dad do, or whether or not their youth coach promotes his own kid, no matter what, it's on the individual player to control what he has the ability to control, and satisfy him/herself that way. In the end, integrity, dedication and hard work will succeed.

Agreed, and most times it will end up having nothing to do with hockey!

Exactly!

[hockey234]

WBMD
I have enjoyed reading this article, and will contine to read the rest in the Star Tribune. We all do what we feel is best for our kid(s). I know my son would jump at the opportunity/honor of playing in Ann Arbor; and I would never deny him the opportunity to follow his dream.
I'm not surprised by the negativity brought to this hockey board. The hockey community is full of jealous people/parents. I am not one of them. I'm rooting for Nick. I wish you and your family the best.

[ChrisK]

chrisk my point is that putting an article such as that on the front page for 5 days makes the topic way more important than it is. The pressure these KIDS are under is enormous. I could name previous players who have come and gone from that program and are struggling to survive in normal day life right now. When you make something like hockey so big and it doesn't work out what do you think these kids have to look forward to or even fall back on? Thats when the trouble begins and the drinking and drugs can be used and are used in many many cases. To much pressure for Nick to have to live up to this five day feature article and living away from his family at the young age of 15. Wish him and his family the best of luck.

The point of the article is to illustrate the pressures that these kids are under, it certainly isn't glorifying the program. I think it's worthy of the front page, it shows the importance that our culture places on sports and the toll it takes on our kids.

I agree completely with your point about kids who have gone through the program and not made it, thanks for clarifying it. I hope the set of articles goes into this. Focusing so completely on one thing has to stunt a lot of these kids emotional growth and maturity and pulling them out of their communities doesn't leave them with a lot to fall back on for support.

[wbmd]

WBMD
I have enjoyed reading this article, and will contine to read the rest in the Star Tribune. We all do what we feel is best for our kid(s). I know my son would jump at the opportunity/honor of playing in Ann Arbor; and I would never deny him the opportunity to follow his dream.
I'm not surprised by the negativity brought to this hockey board. The hockey community is full of jealous people/parents. I am not one of them. I'm rooting for Nick. I wish you and your family the best.

It definitely has been interesting articles.