HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

Night Train wrote:Ya, the Ivy League gang.

From June 2010,

Newsweek magazine ranked the top public high schools in the nation, and Minneapolis Southwest was the highest among high schools in Minnesota.

I read that same article...it was Highest in MN for "criminal activity"

Don't kid yourself. The kids are all the same age and every school faces similar problems. Even the privates.

Just saying, working downtown which a lot of transfers do, and taking a nice little 5 minute drive home around the lakes is better than running 30-45 minutes out to some distant suburb every day.

Puckstopper81 wrote:First, my company is not moving. My company may be moving me to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I do work from home. Why is that so hard to understand and why is anybody concerned with that? I figured their would be some people who would read my thread until they find something wrong with it, and then start questioning everything. Also, I did not say that I expected my kid to play college hockey, especially Div. I. I said it was an achievable goal to play college hockey. What is wrong with saying it is "achievable"? I didn't say he had an offer already or scouts were already looking at him. I am sorry I IMPLIED that he may come in as a first year Bantam and take over the Number 1 spot from one of your kids. Sorry you are so insecure and have no faith in your child.

We had a similar situation. We moved to MN when my son was a 1st year bantam. He played AAA out of Detroit. We moved to a large metro association, and he did not make Bantam A. You have to understand, the sheer volume of kids playing here, along with the "politics" present in EVERY association make the assumption that you son will come in a "steal the number 1 spot" a bit arrogant. The recommendation for a smaller association not in the top 10 or 20 is a good one. New kids can get lost in the shuffle in those associations. You can check "Let's Play Hockey" for current state rankings.

Puckstopper81 wrote:Never said we were moving to a top level organization. Actually, I think I said we would rather not move to one of the top organizations for a number of reasons. Politics being one of them, but you are going to run into politics large or small.
As far as Lakeville goes, we visited there this past summer and it's very, very nice. However, being ranked 19th and 25th doesn't give them a whole lot of room to be playing head games with anybody.

I think you may not have gotten the subtle point. You assume that they want to develop kids for juniors or college. They are not interested in kids who want to do more in hockey. They (the south coach is a product of the north coach) are not about development for the next level. They are about control....do it my way or you do not play. They are stuck in the 70's & 80's model of play.

Good luck in your search.

Maybe cross-reference high school ranking (from www.schooldigger.com) and youth / high school hockey:

#2 - Mounds View - Bantam A are Top 15 this year and association is avg size so competition isn't nearly as steep as Edina, EP, Wayzata. High school team is decent, but they lose a couple kids each year to Totino Grace and Cretin. Very strong HS academics w/grade size ~ 450.

#3 - Edina - Enough comments about their hockey in this forum, but the HS has great academic programs. Bigger school than MV with ~ 600+ per grade.

#4 - Mahtomedi - Bantam A is about .500 this year. Smallest association (~ 45 skaters per level) in D2 so they don't send many teams to Regions, but they've created a couple D1 kids the last few years. HS team down this year, but the academics are as good as any private school with small grade sizes (less than 300).

#7 Wayzata - Youth program churning out top end teams at all levels. Much like Edina, they lose a lot of kids to private high schools. Great academic offerings with grade sizes over 800.

#8 Minnetonka - Youth program is pretty strong with a good emphasis on development and competitive schedules. High school has had very strong teams the last few years. Another big school w/700+ kids per grade.

#9 East Ridge - Brand new school in the East Metro. An association wasn't creation for the high school so the youth options are Woodbury and CG. Woodbury youth hockey is much more competitive than CG given the number of kids in Woodbury. The HS has brand new facilities and grade sizes around ~ 450.

Other mid-size options to consider are Eagan and Centennial. Good, but maybe not great, youth and HS hockey with solid academic options.