Abra Holiday Tournament Braemar Arena Edina 12/28-30

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:11 pm

Hey does anyone know the field of 8 schools invited this year? I know Edina and Hill Murray who are the other 6? This was the top Holiday Tournament last year

1) Edina
2) Hill Murray
3) Stillwater ?
4)
5)
6)
7)

royals dad · Post by **royals dad** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:16 pm

This what it shows on the classic lake conference calendar:

Edina,
Hopkins,
Grand Rapids,
Duluth East,
Hill-Murray,
Irondale,
Maple Grove,
Lakeville South

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:53 pm

Good strong field but I wonder why Stillwater is not back?

Last year they kind of had top 4 back from first year and invited 4 new - I was wondering if this year they might have had Stillwater and Roseville in the Tournament - did Stillwater go back to Kaposia with Roseville? Or are they going to Schwan Cup?

Edina - Host for 3 years
Hopkins - returning
Grand Rapids - returning (3rd year)
Duluth East - returning
Hill-Murray - returning (3rd year)
Irondale - returning
Maple Grove - new
Lakeville South - new

hockeywild7 · Post by **hockeywild7** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 5:59 pm

Eden Prairie girls tournament Dec.28-30
Blaine
Cloquet
Eagan
Eden Prairie
North Metro
Shakopee
Spring Lake Park/St. Anthony
Stillwater

iceage · Post by **iceage** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:44 pm

royals dad wrote:This what it shows on the classic lake conference calendar:

Edina,
Hopkins,
Grand Rapids,
Duluth East,
Hill-Murray,
Irondale,
Maple Grove,
Lakeville South

That's the teams listed on Edina's website as well. It shows the Abra Tounament games at Braemar on the 28th and 30th but the games on the 29th at Buffalo for both the varsity and jvs.

OntheEdge · Post by **OntheEdge** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:31 pm

iceage wrote:
royals dad wrote:This what it shows on the classic lake conference calendar:

Edina,
Hopkins,
Grand Rapids,
Duluth East,
Hill-Murray,
Irondale,
Maple Grove,
Lakeville South
That's the teams listed on Edina's website as well. It shows the Abra Tounament games at Braemar on the 28th and 30th but the games on the 29th at Buffalo for both the varsity and jvs.

I'm sure that the reference to Buffalo is a typo. I don't see why they would have those games anywhere but Braemar. The tournament weekend was changed this year to accomodate scouts and to switch it to a more fan friendly environment. The past two years the tourney was a weekend earlier and at Minnesota Made. Scouts attended the Schwan's Cup and it was burdensome to them to attend the Edina Invitational too since it was a long week for scouts. By moving the tournament this year it is hoped that there will be more scouts in attendance since the tourney will be the same weekend as the Schwan's Cup. Also, there were parking problems and not good sight lines for fans at Minnesota Made.

Moving the weekend may have caused some teams to pass on the tourney, but I don't know why Stillwater isn't attending and I too hoped that Roseville would have been added. I know the coaches want the best possible field of teams.

pepperpot1 · Post by **pepperpot1** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:51 am

Channel 12 Holiday Classic at Plymouth
December 28-30
Hosted by Armstrong

Selected Games televised on Channel 12 (www.twelve.tv)

Armstrong
Champlin Park
Rogers
Buffalo
Hutchinson
St. Louis Park
Henry Sibley
Moose Lake

titleist · Post by **titleist** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:03 pm

OntheEdge wrote:
iceage wrote:
royals dad wrote:This what it shows on the classic lake conference calendar:

Edina,
Hopkins,
Grand Rapids,
Duluth East,
Hill-Murray,
Irondale,
Maple Grove,
Lakeville South
That's the teams listed on Edina's website as well. It shows the Abra Tounament games at Braemar on the 28th and 30th but the games on the 29th at Buffalo for both the varsity and jvs.
I'm sure that the reference to Buffalo is a typo. I don't see why they would have those games anywhere but Braemar. The tournament weekend was changed this year to accomodate scouts and to switch it to a more fan friendly environment. The past two years the tourney was a weekend earlier and at Minnesota Made. Scouts attended the Schwan's Cup and it was burdensome to them to attend the Edina Invitational too since it was a long week for scouts. By moving the tournament this year it is hoped that there will be more scouts in attendance since the tourney will be the same weekend as the Schwan's Cup. Also, there were parking problems and not good sight lines for fans at Minnesota Made.

Moving the weekend may have caused some teams to pass on the tourney, but I don't know why Stillwater isn't attending and I too hoped that Roseville would have been added. I know the coaches want the best possible field of teams.

Roseville is very loyal to the Kaposia. They have been there from the beginning and will probably continue to be there as long as it continues to be a premier venue. I can't confirm, but I have heard Minnetonka and Warroad may be joining the Kaposia this year.

iceage · Post by **iceage** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 5:19 am

titleist wrote:
OntheEdge wrote:
iceage wrote: I am not familiar with the Kaposia over the years but hasn't it basically been a single A tournament? Seems like it was last year.

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 8:26 am

iceage wrote:
titleist wrote:
OntheEdge wrote: I think before Holiday Tournaments expanded it was the one and clearly the best - remember SSP only recently went A they were a long time AA power. Edina Abra Tournamnet the last three years has stole some of the top teams and the Schwan Tournament gives everyone a chance to play. I would guess every school is different - find the best tournament field or find a tournament field you can win.....

titleist · Post by **titleist** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:38 am

iceage wrote:
titleist wrote:
OntheEdge wrote: It has turned into a mix of A and AA. EP and Stillwater have been fixtures there up until last year when Stillwater went to the Edina Classic and now EP is hosting their own with Stillwater going over there.
As far as I'm concerned, I think all of the so called biggies (tourneys) are going to be watered down per-se, as the teams that are the potential year end favorites, seem to be pretty spread out over the holiday tournaments. Unlike last year where Edina had probably the nicest field. I will never downplay the quality of the A schools, Blake and Warroad were some of the best teams I saw last year, regardless of class.

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:12 am

It will be interesting if one Tournament can emerge as the top tournament - much discussion on this board has been made on wouldn't it be great to get the top 8 teams to State to play each other......it won't happen. What can happen is for someone to do an invitational mid season that brings the projected top 8 teams (AA or A) together to play. In some ways if it happened it might force more creative discussion re Sections and the State Tournament. I have heard the discussion a few times on the boys side that the Schwan Tournament - top bracket has become as big or bigger than the year end tournament - MSHSL might take notice if a strong girls tournament could outdraw State Tournament.

Bensonmum · Post by **Bensonmum** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:54 am

iceage wrote:
royals dad wrote:This what it shows on the classic lake conference calendar:

Roseville is very loyal to the Kaposia. They have been there from the beginning and will probably continue to be there as long as it continues to be a premier venue. I can't confirm, but I have heard Minnetonka and Warroad may be joining the Kaposia this year.
I am not familiar with the Kaposia over the years but hasn't it basically been a single A tournament? Seems like it was last year.

Not accurate--Kaposia had 3 of the top 4 teams in AA (Roseville, SW and EP) as recently as 3 years ago, along with the NSP team with Thunstrom and Hogan as seniors. I think it's great for a program to have traditions that go beyond chasing around to find the 'coolest' tournament year-to-year. It's also nice to see a mix of A and AA, as well as having a couple northern teams. You get to see matchups that normally would never happen outside of that tournament. If all you're worried about is how many college scouts are in the stands, if Blake is back with Roseville and SSP, and if Warroad showed up, there would be more future DI players there than any tournament bracket in the state. The scouts will be there.

hockeywild7 · Post by **hockeywild7** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:47 am

The only people who worry about how many scouts will be at the game are parents. Coaches don't pick which tournament to go to based on scout attendance. I also doubt the MSHSL really cares about attendance at these tournaments. It would be impossible to pick the "top 8" teams based on some ranking to play in a tournament for lots of reasons. First of which is how are you supposed to set your schedule up each year? Leave 3 games unscheduled and hope you get "ranked" in the top 8 by mid-season? Believe me no athletic director is going to allow that. It would become a scheduling nightmare if you don't make it into the tournament. You also assume all coaches want to play in such a tournament. If you play a team twice already each year for league play and possibly a third time in the section, why would you want to also be in the same tournament with them? This was Stillwater/Rosevilles dilema when they were both in Kaposia a couple years back.

royals dad · Post by **royals dad** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:43 pm

I don't care much about the scouts but seeing some great close games at Abra last year sold me on the set up there. Last year at Kaposia I think Roseville was not really challenged even in the game vs Blake. Looking at match ups this year I think Abra is more likely to produce some close games maybe a good upset or two, like Blaine over GRG last year. No offense to Minnesota Made but the venue change makes this an even better tournament for fans and parents this year. Not sure how the field will shake for top 15 compared to last year but we saw lots of great 1 goal and OT games last year.

Bensonmum · Post by **Bensonmum** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:57 pm

royals dad wrote: ... Last year at Kaposia I think Roseville was not really challenged even in the game vs Blake. ...

I think that has more to say about how Roseville was playing at the time than the field at Wakota. Blake beat plenty AA teams last year including a couple state tournament teams.

MNhockey24 · Post by **MNhockey24** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:32 pm

Earlier tourney also worth mentioning...

MG Thanksgiving Tournament
Nov 27-28

Duluth
Hopkins
Maple Grove
Roseville

OntheEdge · Post by **OntheEdge** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:48 pm

MNhockey24 wrote:Earlier tourney also worth mentioning...

MG Thanksgiving Tournament
Nov 27-28

Duluth
Hopkins
Maple Grove
Roseville

Also, the Edina Cake Eater Tournament (otherwise known as "The Hornets and the Bs Tourney") at Braemar over Thanksgiving:

Edina
Benilde
Blake
Breck

iceage · Post by **iceage** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:34 am

titleist wrote:
iceage wrote:
titleist wrote:

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:03 am

Hill Murray might be class A in size but is in AA class.

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:43 am

joehockey wrote:Hill Murray might be class A in size but is in AA class.

Many forget that HM has been pretty-much opting up to AA since day 1!

iceage · Post by **iceage** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:21 pm

ghshockeyfan wrote:
joehockey wrote:Hill Murray might be class A in size but is in AA class.
Many forget that HM has been pretty-much opting up to AA since day 1!

Agreed...Hill-Murray is technically a single A school that chooses tp play AA. Schools like EP, Wayzata, and Stillwater are four times bigger with hundreds of youth hockey girls funneling into their school programs. HM (ans the other privates) have none of that.

Silent But Deadly · Post by **Silent But Deadly** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:44 pm

iceage wrote:
ghshockeyfan wrote:
joehockey wrote:Hill Murray might be class A in size but is in AA class.
Many forget that HM has been pretty-much opting up to AA since day 1!
Agreed...Hill-Murray is technically a single A school that chooses tp play AA. Schools like EP, Wayzata, and Stillwater are four times bigger with hundreds of youth hockey girls funneling into their school programs. HM (ans the other privates) have none of that.

Ah....but where do you think those great private school kids come from?

iceage · Post by **iceage** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:30 pm

Silent But Deadly wrote:
iceage wrote:
ghshockeyfan wrote: Many forget that HM has been pretty-much opting up to AA since day 1!
Agreed...Hill-Murray is technically a single A school that chooses tp play AA. Schools like EP, Wayzata, and Stillwater are four times bigger with hundreds of youth hockey girls funneling into their school programs. HM (ans the other privates) have none of that.
Ah....but where do you think those great private school kids come from?

The same place that all those great public school kids come from

The difference being that private schools don't have a concetrated community around them. Virtually all kids going to private schools are transfer stidents whether they play sports or not. If you want to wonder where good hockey players come from, consider this....HM has a 2009-2010 enrollment of 814, Warroad has an enrollment of 335......now you can start scratching your head.

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Abra Holiday Tournament Braemar Arena Edina 12/28-30

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