Good morning Wilderness!
As part of our continued effort to bring you some of the best Minnesota hockey coverage on the interwebs, we have stepped outside the world of the NHL and increased our prospect coverage through Dan Chan, then we welcomed Bruce Ciskie into the fold for a weekly look at the college ranks. Now, with the number of comments and continued hits on our Minnesota State High School Tournament live threads, we have asked Chris Dilks from Western College Hockey Blog and one other member to give us regular articles on high school hockey across The State of Hockey.
You used to know him as Oni_Link_04, but he's stepped out of the world of internet anonymity and is now JDesthubert. Welcome, Jesse!
Greetings, Hockey Wilderness. My name is Jesse De St. Hubert (don't worry about the pronunciation. I know it's a killer.), and I've recently been given the opportunity to add some knowledge to the Wilderness. Before I get too far, I would like to thank both Bryan and Nathan in giving me this opportunity, as well as their vote of confidence. Despite all the silliness and sarcasm, I've come to learn that both are men of integrity, so their belief in me means that much more.
Now, to introduce myself, I've been a Minnesota hockey fans since I can remember. From the first time I laced up a pair of skates, I've lived and died vicariously through the sport. I'll watch baseball, I'll tolerate football, and I'll disregard most basketball, but hockey is in my blood. The worst day in my life would have been when the North Stars packed up and moved, and the best day (to date) was when the Wild took the ice against the Flyers on October 11th, 2000.
I began growing a passion for high school hockey watching my cousin play for the infamous Bloomington-Jefferson squad that took 3 straight State Titles. When the Stars left, I became more involved in High School Hockey as well as (at the time) the Minnesota Moose. After the Moose left (how does Minnesota lose two teams?), high school hockey became my passion. I'm one of those guys that has to have tickets to the State Tournament every year, or life just doesn't seem the same. Without a doubt, the Duluth-East/Apple Valley triple overtime game is the best tournament game I've seen, as teams traded chances and put on a great display of hockey.
As for my personal hockey career, I played through high school for a mediocre team, so I was unable to play at Xcel, but I did have the opportunity to skate at Met Center before the North Stars crushed the Flyers. After high school, I spent time playing in pick-up leagues before choosing the University of Minnesota-Duluth as my college. I was able to find good friends to play in the UMD Intramural League. I was even lucky enough to play with a female Russian Olympian, and we were fortunate enough to put everything together to win an Intramural Championship my senior year. Nowadays I still play pick-up hockey, as I prefer playing for fun instead of extreme competition; however, I will be playing in the Lake Superior Pond Hockey Tournament again. If you like wide-open skating, I suggest you take a trip to Duluth and check out the games. You will not be disappointed.
I look forward to adding to an already great Minnesota site, whether that be Wild, high school, or college hockey.