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Edina won the 2023 state Bantam championship, defeating Minnetonka, Grand Rapids & Moorhead at the state tournament. All are in this year's AA HS tourney. The old adage going back 40 years or more is that the state Bantams is a good predictor of HS success 2-3 years out.

Also in the field were OMG (#1 seed in Section V this year), Rogers (#1 in VI), Stillwater & White Bear Lake (IV).

The thing that can change it is private schools.

Hibbing Bantam A team won the state in 2023 also. They played AA and A at Dakota Arena
and Hibbing was the best team I saw that weekend.

Edina also won the 2021 Pee Wee AA state tourney over Minnetonka in the championship.

Other teams in that tourney
Andover
Hermantown
Moorhead
Bloomington Jefferson
Woodbury
Osseo-Maple Grove

elliott70 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2026 5:30 pm The thing that can change it is private schools.

Or transfer rules that are not enforced.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2026 5:30 pm The thing that can change it is private schools.

Well when you see Woodbury youth teams at state you can usually pencil in some good Hill-Murray teams in a few years!

Apologies for the dumb question here but can someone explain why the talent time and time again chooses to go to Hill/CDH and not Woodbury/Eastridge? Woodbury public schools aren't bad by any means and I've always heard good things about Coach Vogel so what's the deal? Obviously hard to deny the tradition at say Hill and CDH but what's really the driving factor? You throw in the young talent that's brewing in Cottage Grove and between those 3 schools it'd be fun as heck to see them all go at it each season.

Rosemount has been to the last two Bantam AA state tournaments finishing 5th and 2nd. Only team to beat the Irish was the Spuds.

headsupsticksdown wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2026 1:17 pm Apologies for the dumb question here but can someone explain why the talent time and time again chooses to go to Hill/CDH and not Woodbury/Eastridge? Woodbury public schools aren't bad by any means and I've always heard good things about Coach Vogel so what's the deal? Obviously hard to deny the tradition at say Hill and CDH but what's really the driving factor? You throw in the young talent that's brewing in Cottage Grove and between those 3 schools it'd be fun as heck to see them all go at it each season.

I think you just hit on it, there are three high schools in South Washington County School Dist.

I don't live there but have been led to believe by some with first-hand knowledge that the Woodbury HS portion of that school district is a bit different demographically these days with fewer young families, and also slightly less affluent than the East Ridge portion (I'm not implying that it's a bad place to live, but hockey isn't cheap these days).

Go Woodbury. Lot of HM names on those teams.

xy wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 10:00 am I don't live there but have been led to believe by some with first-hand knowledge that the Woodbury HS portion of that school district is a bit different demographically these days with fewer young families, and also slightly less affluent than the East Ridge portion (I'm not implying that it's a bad place to live, but hockey isn't cheap these days).

This is fairly typical, from what I know. The new school goes where the newer housing developments are, and that's where the families with kids and some dough-re-mi are. When Lakeville became Lakeville North after Lakeville South was built, the football coach had a choice to make. He could stay in the same building and become the LN coach, or he could go to the new school. This was a while back, but it's my recollection that he choose the new school because that was where the young families were.

About 2018 I was biking to a work site in Woodbury. My route took me through the older, west part of Woodbury. I was horrified! Some of those homes have single car garages! I was surprised they didn't just try to pawn off those neighborhoods onto JOakdale.

O-townClown wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2026 4:53 pm Edina won the 2023 state Bantam championship, defeating Minnetonka, Grand Rapids & Moorhead at the state tournament. All are in this year's AA HS tourney. The old adage going back 40 years or more is that the state Bantams is a good predictor of HS success 2-3 years out.

Also in the field were OMG (#1 seed in Section V this year), Rogers (#1 in VI), Stillwater & White Bear Lake (IV).

I think that it is perfectly logical to assume that a team of players in the 8th and 9th grades will have similar success in the high school league. That said I don't think it ever surprises anyone if Edina , Minnetonka, Grand Rapids , or Moorhead makes it to the state tournament in any year.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 5:17 pm About 2018 I was biking to a work site in Woodbury. My route took me through the older, west part of Woodbury. I was horrified! Some of those homes have single car garages! I was surprised they didn't just try to pawn off those neighborhoods onto JOakdale.

Tax base! They may only be one car garages, but they are still in Woodbury.

defense wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2026 12:12 am

O-townClown wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2026 4:53 pm Edina won the 2023 state Bantam championship, defeating Minnetonka, Grand Rapids & Moorhead at the state tournament. All are in this year's AA HS tourney. The old adage going back 40 years or more is that the state Bantams is a good predictor of HS success 2-3 years out.

Also in the field were OMG (#1 seed in Section V this year), Rogers (#1 in VI), Stillwater & White Bear Lake (IV).

I think that it is perfectly logical to assume that a team of players in the 8th and 9th grades will have similar success in the high school league. That said I don't think it ever surprises anyone if Edina , Minnetonka, Grand Rapids , or Moorhead makes it to the state tournament in any year.

To be fair, Moorhead, Minnetonka, and Edina always have great youth programs, and a down year (like Edina Bantams this year) is the exception that proves the rule. They also usually have enough talent in neighboring classes to still be good despite one mediocre group. Edina has made a couple state tournaments in this run with pretty weak senior classes.