Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/900652
Edina native Anders Lee scored a career-high 34 goals in 81 games last season. D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 27 priority list for a lot of people to be not just a participant but to be good," Terry Cullen said. "Personally, I see nothing wrong with someone trying to be the best that they can be in any particular area. If your love is hockey, what a wonderful passion to go after it." Dreamers One reason why many believe so many Minnesotans ultimately make it to the NHL is because they don't just dream of making it to the "Show." As a kid, there's so many things for a hockey player in Minnesota to strive for, whether it's youth Region and State tournaments, making the high school team, playing in The Tourney, the Elite League, and of course, college. "I think Minnesota is the closest thing to Canada," Hendricks, 36, said. "It's almost like it's in our heritage, the game of hockey. I can just speak from my memories growing up, watching the state tournament. That was just as big as any North Star game or anything. So, growing up watching that, aspiring to play in that tournament, there's just so much opportu- nity here to play." Hendricks was a Blaine Bengal and went to the state tournament twice, including winning it all his senior year by shutting out Duluth East. "When I look back, as a kid growing up, we played hockey, we played baseball, we played football, but all summer we'd be playing roller hockey in the streets with your best friends in the neighborhood," he said. "And then you grow up playing with them through high school and you win championships with them. And off my senior year alone, three of us played in the NHL and out of my junior and senior year, eight or nine went Division I." Even Cullen said, "As a coach, I certainly aspired to coach in the state tournament one day or to win a region title. It was something really, really special, so you put all those things together and you got something above and beyond the norm of just playing a sport."