Raised in St Peter, Minnesota in the late 70s I was skating by six years old and playing local hockey in a city much more known for its football, baseball, and track teams. Our one real asset was Gustavus Adolphus College's Lund Arena and an outdoor rink later destroyed by the 1998 tornado.

After a dismal 1982 squirts campaign my father was approached by the president of the local hockey organization to coach, since no others had shown interest. My father made it clear --quite clear if you know my father-- that IF he should decide to coach he had some pre-requisites and some conditions.

He would coach my team "his way" and without any interference from parents, who would mostly fondly recall. In two short years our 1984 Pee Wee "B" team had a 29-7-5 campaign and qualified the Regional tournament by being a District Champion. Quite a feat for a city far from the Iron Range!

After showing little offensive aptitude for anything but dominating the corners and in front of the net, and leading the team in assists, I was quickly demoted to defense. I must quickly add that it was only a demotion to a young boy dreaming of hockey greatness, but it was also an astute observation of my true skills as a player and a blessing in disguise.

My father did this for several players, as he had a particularly strong eye for utilizing his teams talent, skills, and minimizing their weaknesses. He also had a penchant for Tortorella-like explosions on his players and a knack for motivation. A hole in the blackboard at the Owatonna arena will be his testament to his passion for the game.

Once our teams had begun to demand success, and the attention followed, my father quickly became disinterested and distanced himself from local hockey much to its detriment. He did, however, continue to take my brother and I to Golden Gopher and North Star hockey games and left a legacy of memories for all my past teammates.

I would later have the great privilege to have attended both St Cloud St Univ and MSU, Mankato in their inaugural WCHA seasons and attend those games for free minus cost of beer.

What a rare and unbelievable pleasure it was to see both those fast-growing institutions at the birth of their future success, as since then both have made NCAA appearances and made positive impacts on the WCHA and the NHL.