Winter Classic profile: Grand Rapids, Duluth East represent H.S. hockey

The 2022 Discover Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis on Jan. 1 will not just be an outdoor game between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, it will also be a celebration of the "State of Hockey." Part of that celebration will include various hockey teams and clubs from throughout Minnesota skating on one of several auxiliary rinks at Target Field. NHL.com is profiling each of the teams. Today, the boys hockey teams from Duluth East and Grand Rapids high schools.

When fans attend Minnesota Wild games at Xcel Energy Center, one of the first things they see is the ring of hockey jerseys in the concourse representing each of the boys' and girls' high school teams in Minnesota.
High school hockey is the heart of the "State of Hockey," and Xcel Energy Center is the site of its biggest annual event: the Minnesota State High School League Boys' Hockey Tournament.
Grand Rapids and Duluth East, rivals who have combined for seven state titles, will represent high school boys hockey on an auxiliary rink when the Wild play the St. Louis Blues outdoors in the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN1, TVAS).
"High school hockey is everything to the hockey community in Minnesota," Duluth East coach Steve Pitoscia. "It's what you dream about from the time you're a little kid going to your first little outdoor rink. It's the pinnacle of playing with your friends, the kids you grew up with, for your school. It's equated to Indiana basketball and football in Texas. It's everything to us."

Duluth East won the state title in 1960, 1995 and 1998. Its alumni include Phil Verchota, a member of the "Miracle on Ice" team that won gold for the United States at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics and the captain of the U.S. hockey team at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.
Grand Rapids won the state title in 1975, 1976, 1980 and 2017. Its alumni include Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski and St. Cloud State defenseman Jack Peart, who was named Mr. Hockey in Minnesota in 2021 and selected by the Wild in the second round (No. 54) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
"It's embedded in the communities," Grand Rapids coach Wade Chiodo said. "It's pride. It's tradition. … It's something that you don't understand until you're actually in it or a part of it or have seen it, how important it is and how much legacy there is."

To understand the importance of outdoor hockey in Minnesota, consider that in the Duluth East program, each coach lists the rink from which he came. In Grand Rapids, an ice resurfacing machine is carried by trailer to neighborhood rinks each day so they can be flooded. Young players have an outdoor practice each week.
"They understand what it's like to play outdoors and they get used to it, so now it's become a part of their day or a habit," Chiodo said. "The game is created on the outdoor rink. We call it rink-rat hockey, and when they get out there, they could play for hours."

When kids reach high school, they often appear in packed arenas. Chiodo said Grand Rapids has season-ticket holders, folks who have been sitting in the same seats for many years.
"A high school game on a Tuesday or a Thursday or maybe a Saturday afternoon, it's a community event," Pitoscia said. "The kids from the community come out. They're wearing their jerseys in the stands. Your parents and your grandparents and the neighbors and the guy who owns the hardware store, they're cheering you on."

If they reach the state tournament, the kids play before large crowds at Xcel Energy Center.
But nothing will compare to what the players will experience at Target Field.
"They're excited," Chiodo said. "They're excited to represent the community. They take pride in wearing that 'GR' on their jersey. They take pride in the program. They're just … to be a part of it and to be recognized, they've talked about it and now neat it's going to be."
Pitoscia said, "Any opportunity you have to represent your school and your community and your neighbors, I think, is awesome, and to do it on a stage like the Winter Classic, I mean, what a blessing."