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I see the invites have gone out for most sections. Thoughts on this event..?

March 21-23rd at Wakota.

SuperStar wrote:I see the invites have gone out for most sections. Thoughts on this event..?

March 21-23rd at Wakota.

It is not without it's drawbacks, but I think it is well worth it for the following:

1. Players that do not have a college commitment
2. Players that are undrafted in the USHL
3. Players that just want one last chance to lace it up with/against friends and foes that they have been battling for the past 10+ years

Poorly organized at a poor venue with awful parking. Move it to Braemar or BIG and get some new blood to run and promote it.

Nuts&Bolts wrote:Poorly organized at a poor venue with awful parking. Move it to Braemar or BIG and get some new blood to run and promote it.

It is run by Minnesota Hockey so the organization and running it are pretty much set. No real need to promote it, it is for a pretty specific group to participate and another pretty set group to attend to observe.

It does need to be moved out of Wakota though. BIG, Plymouth, Braemar, New Hope or even the Super Rink would be 10 times better.

MN Hockey facilitated but run essentially out of Wakota arena.

I played in the Great 8 tournament in 2009. From the 8 sections, they picked one team to represent MN in the Chicago Showcase tournament, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of. Does anyone know if they still do this? As far as the venue goes, Wakota is a horrible rink to host this event. Can't figure out why they still use this location.

danglingnsnipen15 wrote:I played in the Great 8 tournament in 2009. From the 8 sections, they picked one team to represent MN in the Chicago Showcase tournament, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of. Does anyone know if they still do this? As far as the venue goes, Wakota is a horrible rink to host this event. Can't figure out why they still use this location.

They now pick a team made out of kids from each section to participate in a NIT tournament, like the one at the end of the Elite League.

OnFrozenPond wrote:

SuperStar wrote:I see the invites have gone out for most sections. Thoughts on this event..?

March 21-23rd at Wakota.

It is not without it's drawbacks, but I think it is well worth it for the following:

1. Players that do not have a college commitment
2. Players that are undrafted in the USHL
3. Players that just want one last chance to lace it up with/against friends and foes that they have been battling for the past 10+ years

I'd second this.

hshockeyfan8 wrote:

danglingnsnipen15 wrote:I played in the Great 8 tournament in 2009. From the 8 sections, they picked one team to represent MN in the Chicago Showcase tournament, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of. Does anyone know if they still do this? As far as the venue goes, Wakota is a horrible rink to host this event. Can't figure out why they still use this location.

They now pick a team made out of kids from each section to participate in a NIT tournament, like the one at the end of the Elite League.

Might be a dumb question, but who do they play against in this tournament?

CCM Minnesota High School Hockey National Invitational Tournament (NIT): The CCM NIT is an annual showcase tournament featuring the top high school hockey players in the country. Each year Minnesota enters a team of players selected from the HP 18 and Great 8 Festivals. Last year teams from Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts & North Dakota participated. The showcase is held in conjunction with the Reebok High Performance 16 & 17 Final 54, attracting junior, college and professional scouts.

Dates: April 24 – 27, 2014 at Plymouth Ice Center

rosters are out....

Here they are... Thoughts?

http://www.minnesotahockey.org/page/sho ... nd-rosters

Why is Nick Jerhoff from South St Paul on the section 8 roster? Or is that a typo?

Possibly not enough interest from the North to fill the roster and the tournament is run out of So. St. Paul. Read between the lines.

Nuts&Bolts wrote:Possibly not enough interest from the North to fill the roster and the tournament is run out of So. St. Paul. Read between the lines.

Could be, or maybe not enough number-wise to choose from ? Have to be a senior, right ?

Don't know myself.

Interesting to see that Mankato West has 5 players from 1A, and New Prague only has 1.

Stars67 wrote:rosters are out....

Here they are... Thoughts?

http://www.minnesotahockey.org/page/sho ... nd-rosters

An interesting distribution of talent...you've got Mr. Hockey Candidates and Brimseck goalies, but then you've also got Mankato West (5) and Kennedy (4) with as many or more players than Edina (2) and Eagan (2) combined.

Hard to read too much into who isn't on the different rosters, given all of the reasons why otherwise worthy players aren't on the lists (e.g injuries, spring sports, spring break).

I thought kids participated in this to get noticed, so isn't it expected that those who haven't committed are more likely to be in this?

At first blush weakest group overall I can ever recall. Nothing against any of these players and who knows the circumstances maybe a lot of players declined, etc. - don't see the number of top end skill, difference type makers here as in past years, maybe we were spoiled with some great kids in past several years . I understand and know the rules of this tourney, but as someone who has always loved HS hockey I am concerned we'll continue to see more defections to other leagues..sorry if this is a tangent but I'd love to know other people's views on if they feel more kids will continue to leave...

Why is Mitch Slattery participating? What is his next step before St. Cloud?

Who picks these teams?

Here is an overview and a link to a story on 1 who will participate...

Ted Brill grew up in St. Paul and I assume this is why it is held at Wakota.
This program was started for seniors that were being missed and didn't have any offers. I think the "Chicago Trip" got pretty competitive and "winning" became more of the focus... Which is why some of the committed players ended up on the teams. Good Luck to all who were picked. May some lucky scout find a "Diamond In The Rough"!

Overview.....
For over 30 years, the Ted Brill Great 8 has provided high school seniors the opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities to coaches and scouts from junior, collegiate and professional teams. The three-day tournament has expanded from two region teams (outstate & metro), in its inaugural season, to eight teams that represent the Minnesota State High School League’s (MSHSL) eight sections.

Organized by the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Association and Minnesota Hockey, the Ted Brill Great 8 is designated as a national development program by USA Hockey and continues to play a vital role in player development and exposure in Minnesota.

Ted Brill Great 8: Seniors from Class A and Class AA teams in each section are selected by the coaches. Each coach has the ability to nominate players, and a vote is held to determine the 17 player roster made up of two goalies, six defensemen and nine forwards. The teams compete in a weekend tournament with all of the players being evaluated for potential participation in the CCM Minnesota High School Hockey National Invitational Tournament.

Dates: March 21 – March 23, 2014 at Wakota Arena

http://www.minnesotahockey.org/news_art ... _id=747783

I do think this a great idea for the Seniors - I will have a kid playing and I hope it will be scouted as advertisied - For $225.00 and possibly a last shot at getting looked at, I thinks its worth it - for me atleast

Looks like alot of good talent will be playing, some kids I have never heard or seen, but alot I have. Should be fun.

WestMetro wrote:Why is Mitch Slattery participating? What is his next step before St. Cloud?

The Indiana Ice drafted him last year, but I don't know if they protected his rights. If they did, that's where he'll most likely be playing next year. Who knows though, he may opt for the BCHL like other Minnesotans have done in the recent past.

Superstar, you are correct this is a great opportunity for Seniors to have a last shot at being seen.

I have heard stories of kids every year having a good weekend and getting some interest from college and jr. teams when they had none going in.

Right now with so much emphasis being put on underclassmen committing, this may be a chance for Seniors that have fallen through the cracks to make a name for themselves.

[quote="Shortshift"]Here is an overview and a link to a story on 1 who will participate...

Ted Brill grew up in St. Paul and I assume this is why it is held at Wakota.
This program was started for seniors that were being missed and didn't have any offers. I think the "Chicago Trip" got pretty competitive and "winning" became more of the focus... Which is why some of the committed players ended up on the teams. Good Luck to all who were picked. May some lucky scout find a "Diamond In The Rough"!

Overview.....
For over 30 years, the Ted Brill Great 8 has provided high school seniors the opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities to coaches and scouts from junior, collegiate and professional teams. The three-day tournament has expanded from two region teams (outstate & metro), in its inaugural season, to eight teams that represent the Minnesota State High School League’s (MSHSL) eight sections.

Organized by the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Association and Minnesota Hockey, the Ted Brill Great 8 is designated as a national development program by USA Hockey and continues to play a vital role in player development and exposure in Minnesota.

Ted Brill Great 8: Seniors from Class A and Class AA teams in each section are selected by the coaches. Each coach has the ability to nominate players, and a vote is held to determine the 17 player roster made up of two goalies, six defensemen and nine forwards. The teams compete in a weekend tournament with all of the players being evaluated for potential participation in the CCM Minnesota High School Hockey National Invitational Tournament.

Dates: March 21 – March 23, 2014 at Wakota Arena

http://www.minnesotahockey.org/news_art ... _id=747783[/quote

How is it that some teams from the same section get as many as 5 players selected over ,say a top 5 scorer (class A) and from a team who won the section and was top scorer at state (A & AA), and all tourney? Yeah, I'm kinda sour