Select 15 Festival

The Boys Select 15 Festival got started yesterday. You can follow the tournament here.

I was in St. Cloud yesterday, and I'll probably be going back tomorrow. I'll post all my thoughts on the players later in the week. For now, here's a few things to note.

As always, there were a lot of coaches at the event. There were coaches from Minnesota State, Denver, Bowling Green, Connecticut, Brown, Western Michigan, Michigan Tech, and Notre Dame working at the camp. Other teams that I saw(and I'm sure I didn't see everybody) were: Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, St. Cloud. I also saw a number of OHL guys, some WHL guys, a few NHL guys, and Redline Report's Kyle Woodlief.

It looks like a big year for kids that play AAA hockey in the metro Detroit area. A large percentage of the top players came out of the MWEHL.

It looks like a relatively weak year for Minnesota kids. There were a lot of solid players, but there doesn't look to be a lot of top-end talent. Minnesota's kids tend to rise to the top a little later than other kids, but I'd be surprised if they had more than one kid invited to the NTDP team next season.

The ice of the main rink still looked a little soft, especially by the end of the 25 minute halves. It's still hot outside, but the temperature is actually quite nice, compared to what it was last year. I'm sure it helps the players a little bit.

Apparently Ted Nugent was in St. Cloud yesterday. You have no idea how disappointed I am that I missed him.