“High school hockey is to Minnesota what high school football is to Texas.”

Mike Snee has spent a lifetime in hockey even though his Elite Prospects Page is utterly devoid of action. And he’s ok with that. His heart bleeds the green and gold of Minnesota’s most famous hockey teams, and he’s spent his professional life committed to the continuous development of the game in the state of hockey.

Mike believes hockey can learn a lot from another famous sport in Minnesota: football.

Koi Perich was one of the best high school football players in the country in 2024. When that football season ended, he quickly switched his cleats for sneakers and became the all-time leading scorer in Esko basketball history. Perich is also a star track and field athlete.

What can we learn from Koi Perich?

For starters, an athlete is an athlete. A star football player can run off the field right to the hardcourt and put up numbers. An athlete is driven by habits first and specific techniques and skills second.

We can also learn that the passion and pride Koi Perich had while wearing the name of his community on his chest is unbeatable. There are 16,000 high school football teams in the United States. It’s available to everyone, players and fans alike.

For Mike Snee it begs the question: what if Koi Perich played hockey instead of football?

“Think of the impact Koi Perich had on all the five year-old basketball, football, and track stars in Esko.”

Minnesota has 135 hockey associations. The state is investing public money in hockey. Community-owned arenas and high school hockey teams have fees that are a fraction of what a lot of areas are dealing with. Minnesota is the only state where hockey is delivered to its young people the same way the rest of the country treats their youth football programs.

Hockey is expensive, ice time is expensive, that’s the reality, right? Well Minnesota finds a way to make it work. One out of three women in division 1 college hockey are from Minnesota.

One out of 2.7 women in the PWHL, the highest level of professional women’s hockey, hail from Minnesota. 26 NHL franchises have a player from Minnesota on their roster.

The Minnesota hockey model is working.

Hockey is driving players to leave home and pursue so-called elite hockey programs all over the continent. In Minnesota the players stay home, they pay less than anywhere else, yet more Minnesotans are making up the college ranks and professional hockey teams in both genders than any other state’s.

It’s not young hockey players who are worried about scouting and getting noticed and getting to the next level. It’s their parents.

What about their current level?

How about learning how to be a good player at their current level?

How about focusing on the process and letting the results take care of themselves?

For Mike Snee, there are opportunities to preserve, improve, grow, and most importantly celebrate community hockey.

Noteworthy Timestamps:

• 0:00 background in hockey
• 3:00 The Football Model in Minnesota
• 4:00 Esko High School - Koi Perich
• 7:00 The Football Model in Texas
• 9:30 The Hockey Model in Minnesota/everywhere else
• 11:30 Stats on Minnesota Hockey Model
• 17:50 What if Koi Perich played hockey?
• 21:35 Threats to the Model
• 24:50 Minnesota Wild