Central Figures

By Tom Nelson

D1 hockey at St. Cloud State has played a major role in the growth of hockey in central Minnesota.

To kick off this season St. Cloud State and the city of St. Cloud held a special ceremony to officially dedicate “Herb Brooks Way,” the street adjacent to the National Hockey Center. The street’s name was changed to honor the many contributions and accomplishments that the late Herb Brooks made during his lifetime. In particular, it was done to recognize the important role that Brooks, along with several other key SCSU administrators, played in bringing NCAA Division I hockey and the National Hockey Center to St. Cloud in the mid 1980s.

On that particular night in October, Brooks would have undoubtedly been proud to see what has transpired in the St. Cloud area since the time he served as the Huskies’ head coach in 1986-87 – the last year in which SCSU men’s hockey competed at the NCAA Division III level.

Aside from the obvious impact of having a near sellout crowd of almost 5,800 fans packed into the National Hockey Center that night, a closer look at the 2004-05 SCSU roster would also illustrate the major impact St. Cloud State’s Division I program has had on the sport of hockey in the entire Central Minnesota region.

In an area of the state that was probably better known for town-team baseball and winter nights filled with basketball, there is now an unprecedented presence of three St. Cloud area skaters (St. Cloud residents Matt Hartman and Ethan Lyerly and Sauk Rapid’s Nate Raduns) on the Huskies’ roster in 2004-05. This is yet another indicator that hockey has become a prime player in Central Minnesota.

“During his year at SCSU, Herb Brooks spent a lot of his own time here in town talking to the youth hockey programs. He wanted us to understand that it was going to be a big deal to have a Division I hockey program in town,” said Paul Raduns, who has been involved with the Sauk Rapids Youth Hockey Association for more than 20 years and is the father of Nate Raduns. “He told us that we were going to see a whole different caliber of hockey and it would make us look at the sport of hockey differently in the St. Cloud area. Herb said having a Division I program in St. Cloud would put the sport of hockey on the front page.”

Numbers would certainly support the growth of hockey in the region. In the early 1970s, there was one sheet of ice in town at the Municipal Athletic Complex. A second sheet of ice was added in the mid 1980s with the opening of Arena East in Sauk Rapids. Since the introduction of SCSU’s NCAA Division I men’s hockey program in 1987-88, the number of indoor ice sheets in the St. Cloud area has jumped to seven. Included in that listing are the two rinks at SCSU’s National Hockey Center, another sheet of ice at the Municipal Athletic Complex and new rinks in nearby Richmond and Sartell.

This year the Sauk Rapids Youth Hockey Association has over 180 participants, which is a huge leap from the 35 players it listed in 1985. Population growth in the Central Minnesota area has certainly played a part in the increase in numbers but as Paul Raduns noted, “some of the growth can certainly be attributed to SCSU and the interest in Division I hockey.”

The youth hockey program in St. Cloud has also seen steady growth from the 1980s, despite the creation of new youth hockey programs in nearby Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Cold Spring-Richmond as new rinks were added in those towns. In 2004-05, SCYHA has 36 teams with over 575 participants.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes since we became involved with SCYHA,” said Colleen Donovan, the current SCYHA president and aunt of SCSU recruit and St. Cloud resident John Swanson. “When some of our local players made it to the Division I level, you could start seeing the change in the eyes of our youth hockey players. Their goals are now more than just the local high school team.”

Craig Dahl, who served as an assistant coach with Brooks at SCSU in 1986-87 and has been the Huskies’ head coach since the 1987-88 campaign, echoed Donovan’s comment about the influence of DI hockey on the community.

“I think having a Division I program in the area has raised the aspirations of the young hockey players throughout Central Minnesota,” said Dahl, who first tapped into the local talent pool with St. Cloud players Dan O’Shea (1989-93), Kelly Rieder (1992-96) and Andy Vicari (1994-98). “These young players get a chance to watch NCAA Division I hockey at the National Hockey Center, and they see it (playing college hockey) now as a dream they can obtain. When we started getting some of the St. Cloud players on our roster, the young kids in the area saw those local boys suit up for us, and they thought ‘maybe I can do that too.’”

SCSU’s Hartman, a freshman forward, is one of those local boys who followed his dreams and is now wearing a Husky sweater in 2004-05. He participated in the youth program in St. Cloud and prepped at St. Cloud Apollo High School before playing junior hockey at Sioux City of the USHL.

“I remember going to the games when I was real young,” Hartman said. “I had my SCSU jersey with all the players’ autographs and I idolized them. I would go to the games and I hoped that someday I could play for SCSU. It really helped having a Division I hockey program so close when I was growing up.”

Nate Raduns, a sophomore forward for the Huskies, had a similar experience to Hartman. A product of the Sauk Rapids Youth Hockey Association, Raduns went on to play for the National Team Development Program before returning back home for his collegiate career.

“I went to the SCSU games all of the time,” Nate Raduns said. “It had a big impact and it (playing Division I hockey) was definitely something to strive for when I was growing up.”

Paul Raduns relates the story of his son Nate bringing two of his fellow teammates in 2003-04 back to his hometown for some fun ice time with one of the Sauk Rapids youth teams.

“I’ve never seen such a clamor to be like those guys,” Paul Raduns said. “The SCSU program has done an excellent job with community outreach, first with Herb (Brooks) and Craig (Dahl) and now the local players are doing the same thing.”
SCSU is not the lone benefactor in the Central Minnesota hockey boom. Sartell resident Kurt Sauer played with Anaheim and Colorado (NHL) in 2003-04, while his brothers Kent Sauer and Michael Sauer have both played at professional hockey in recent years. The WCHA also features St. Cloud area players including junior forward Brandon Schwartz of Michigan Tech, freshman defender R.J. Linder of Minnesota State and Minnesota Golden Gophers junior defender Chris Harrington and freshman forward Mike Howe.

“Another thing to consider is what the sport of hockey has done to the community as a whole. Hockey brings a lot of money into this community, and that ranges from fans coming in from out of town to watch the Huskies to parents and players coming into town for youth hockey tournaments. We host several tournaments each year, and when these teams come in from out of town they spend money at our hotels, shops and restaurants,” Donovan said.

A lifelong resident of St. Cloud, Donovan can probably best attest to the impact that SCSU’s move to the NCAA Division I level in hockey has had on the community. A product of an active sports-minded family, Donovan recalls that football, basketball, baseball and track were the main focus in town.

“Hockey was not a real big deal in town back then,” Donovan said. “For most of us, you just went down to Lake George if you wanted to skate.” Ironically, there hasn’t been any skating on Lake George in downtown St. Cloud over the past few winters due to dangerous ice conditions.

“The addition of Division I hockey and the growth of the sport in the St. Cloud area has been a win-win situation for all of us,” Donovan said. “And our youth hockey kids have been the biggest winners of them all.”

Tom Nelson is the hockey sports information director at St. Cloud State
University.