High School Hockey Continues To Produce Top End Players

High School Hockey continues to produce players who move on and succeed at the next level, and as coaches this is something we should all take great pride in and be very proud of.  Here are some recent stats and figures that tell a great story about the success we are having as coaches developing players within our programs and communities.

Minnesota’s community based model continues to produce more players than any other state in the country when it comes to sending players to college hockey. Knowing the goals and expectations of players - and parents for their players – continue to grow with each passing season, along with the choices being presented to play with other organizations, it’s important to acknowledge the facts and figures that tell the real story about achieving the goal of playing beyond high school hockey in college.

Here are the most recent figures representing the number of Minnesota players on NCAA Division I rosters. Minnesota once again leads the way this season with 203 players, 50 more than any other state.

THE STATE OF HOCKEY AND COLLEGE HOCKEY

Division I Men’s Players:
Minnesota - 203
Michigan - 151
Massachusetts - 112
New York - 81
Pennsylvania - 52
New Jersey - 52

Minnesota produces 12.7% of all Division I men’s hockey players and 18.7% of all Americans playing Division I men’s hockey. Despite the growth of hockey in non‐traditional areas, the number of Minnesotans playing Division I men’s hockey is actually growing – an increase of 11% from last season (183).

Minnesota natives by Division I conference (men)

NCHC - 57
Big Ten - 39
WCHA - 35
ECAC Hockey - 32
Atlantic Hockey - 22
Hockey East - 18

Also of note is that 49 of the 59 teams in Division I (83%) feature at least one Minnesotan.

When it comes to the NHL, of the 33 Minnesotans on opening day rosters, 22 finished high school; another five participated in the Ann Arbor program with USA Hockey. 

And finally, when it comes to coaching, and a pipeline from high school into college hockey, Minnesota is also well represented with 10 Division I coaches hailing from Minnesota:

Seth Appert, Rensselaer
Dean Blais, Nebraska Omaha
Mike Hastings, Minnesota State
Don Lucia, Minnesota
Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State
Mel Pearson, Michigan Tech
Steve Rohlik, Ohio State
Scott Sandelin, Minnesota Duluth
Frank Serratore, Air Force
Tom Serratore, Bemidji State

These numbers tell a compelling story that should be shared with players and parents across the state of hockey. Print out this story and keep it as a reference the next time you have a conversation with a player, parent or member of the media because there is a lot to be proud of with high school hockey in Minnesota

Stats courtesy of College Hockey, Inc.