Best Of The Best Youth Hockey In Town Showcasing MN Talent

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The best boys and girls hockey players from across Minnesota are in St. Cloud to light the lamp this weekend. The kids are here taking part in the Minnesota Selects Festival.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habsstritt, WJON

The three-day tournament puts 340 girls and 340 boys onto regional teams to battle it out for the championship. Minnesota Selects President Todd Gutterman says they do a lot of work to make sure they get the most talented players:

"We have a lot of coaches that go out and watch a lot of winter hockey, association hockey to find the best players, and we certainly do our best to find the best out there but it's not easy. The coaches put a ton of work in, the directors put a ton of work in to make sure that we're, we are getting the elite of the elite up here."

Gutterman says they put a lot of time and effort into making the festival a great weekend for both the players and their families.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

The players are 10 to 14 years old and placed on teams according to their birth year. Minnesota Selects Vice President Dan Bushard says St. Cloud is a great fit for the festival:

"I mean having two locations with two sheets of ice where there's a lot of area for the parents to mingle and stay, of course, there's a lot of hotels here. It's a good central spot for the region so those traveling down those traveling in from west, east, north, south, it's just a central good spot and then I think too it creates a weekend event."

He says the tourney is all about bringing the kids together for fun:

"It's all about to that interaction that relationship these girls make across the state and there's a lot of them that play other things and are in a part of other training programs that they get connected so it, you see after the games, it's actually more interesting to see how much of them huddle up and talk and really have a bond that is a bigger part of this."

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Brushard says after 30-plus years they have running the tournament pretty much down to a science.

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The Minnesota Selects Festival is in its 37th year and is taking place at both the Municipal Athletic Complex and Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State University through Sunday. The festival is free to attend.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

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