Excellent point. I think another key point is that the HS infrastructures are quite different. In the east, the strongest programs in the HS infrastructures have traditionally been private prep schools. One characteristic of prep schools is that they're not particularly community oriented; the players at the prep schools come from a very widely dispersed geography. If a school is located in Exeter, New Hampshire or Deerfield, Mass., it may have few, or even no students from Exeter or Deerfield. So there's not a particularly strong association betwen the school and the town in which it is located. Another class of strong programs in the eastern (at least Massachusetts and Rhode Island) hockey are the parochial schools. The student body isn't so widely disperesed as in the prep schools, but it still doesn't represent a community. Wins and losses are not reported on the front page of any home town newpaper. I have a different impression of Minnesota. Since my impression has been formed from a distance, it may be all wrong, and I'd appreciate feedback from Minnesotans. In Minnesota, I have the feeling that the strongest programs are the public schools. So there's a much closer link between the community and the school hockey teams. The hockey team is an important part of the local culture. The communities, not just the schools, think of "our" hockey team. I think an interesting parallel may be with Indiana and basketball, as exemplified in the movie "Hoosiers." I think that if there is only one "our" university, there is pressure on the in-state heroes to go to that university, and for that university to recruit from "our" high schools. In Minnesota there is -- I think some would argue was -- one dominant "our" university. Today, though, there may be more than one "our" university, and high school heroes are now less reluctant to venture out of state. Clay > -----Original Message----- > From: Rowe, Thomas [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Monday, April 19, 1999 10:21 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: All Minn hockey > > You can't really compare basketball with hockey that way. For a window of > time, Minnesota had a tremendous HS hockey infrastructure combined with a > big-name successful homestate hockey team. I know the East also had a > great > infrastructure, but there are a whole bunch of big-name teams in the same > area looking for the same talent - relatively speaking, Minnesota was > isolated. Hence, for a time, they made the idea work. I never liked it > much, but I'm not a Minnesotan. I seriously doubt they could continue to > make it work with all the college programs in Minnesota (and elsewhere) > trying to draw from the same pool. That is, times have changed. Et Vive > La > Change, eh? > > > Tom Rowe [log in to unmask] > ==================================== > Home of Division 3 National Champion Pointers > 89, 90, 91 & 93 and National Runners Up 92 & 98 > ==================================== > > HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to > [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.