Illinois new breeding ground for NHL prospects

[HF Article]

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As long as Brady Skjei can remember, he wanted to be a Minnesota Gopher. His grandfather Stan Skjei and relative Brett Sadek both played football at the University of Minnesota and like many other players born in the self-proclaimed State of Hockey, Skjei went to many games at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis hoping to one day be on the other side of the Plexiglas representing the school as a student-athlete.



“It’s awesome, actually,” the sophomore defenseman said with a wide smile on his face when asked what it’s like to don the maroon and gold. “As a kid, I was on the glass asking for pucks and now I’m the one that’s on the ice, so I try and give a puck to all these young kids every once in a while and know that their dream is probably to play here one day.… read more



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[No Fun Shogun]

Important bits to know....

The U of I is arguably the most discussed NCAA institution considering to make a jump up from club ACHA to varsity hockey, with various rumors over the years, such as that the university was in discussions with the founder of Jimmy John's to fund the creation of a varsity team and construction of a new arena. These discussions, however, have apparently gone nowhere.

Chicago was selected recently to host the 2017 Frozen Four and the Big Ten Network is ramping up their hockey coverage, raising hopes that increased public awareness of collegiate hockey could to greater demand for an instate program.

The Chicago Blackhawks have had an explosion of popularity, thanks to actually being competently run, on TV, and, of course, winning two championships in short order. The Hawks are not only a very hot product in Chicagoland, but gaining popularity in Central Illinois, an area that's usually a battleground between Chicago and St. Louis teams (Bears/Rams and especially Cubs/Cards fandoms collide particularly around the Champaign-Urbana area) but doesn't really have a Blues presence once you leave their immediate metropolitan area.

These have combined, and hopefully will continue to combine, into a near perfect storm that has seen youth hockey participation climb at a very rapid rate the past few years, likely paying dividends for the success of the Blackhawks but also possibly helping increase attention and desire for an instate collegiate program, too.

Illinois
2002-03: 21,067
2008-09: 21,954
2012-13: 27,638
Ten-Year Growth: 6,571 (31.1%)
Five-Year Growth: 5,684 (25.89%)
Notes: I find Illinois to be one of the most fascinating states in the entire country. The vast majority of its ten-year growth came over the last four seasons, which directly coincide with the Chicago Blackhawks’ franchise turnaround. Between 2008-09 and 2009-10, Illinois picked up more than 2,000 registered hockey players. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and the state picked up 2,500-plus more. It’s utterly remarkable how much of an impact the team has had on a state that had been hovering around 22,000 players for years. No state has grown as much in the last five years as Illinois. In 2012-13, Illinois boasted a record 27,638 members and after winning another Cup, who knows where that number goes next.

http://unitedstatesofhockey.com/2013/09/13/hockeys-growth-in-the-united-states-2003-2013/[/QUOTE]