Minnesota Hockey Journal

S T "In smaller towns, there's everything you could possibly need to become a better hockey player," said Raboin. "It's affordable, the ice time is aplenty and there's opportunity. It's perfect for kids that love the game and are excited to hang around the rink and be part of something. It's what I love about a small community. It will always be home." Ice time may have been even more accessible for the Hennens than most. According to Hayden, currently a junior defenseman for Augustana, the family lived about a block from Hallock Ice Arena, so the brothers would go there sometimes as late as 10 or 11 at night and just play. Hayden supposes this is probably where the on-ice chemistry really took shape. "We had just the one main rink for everything," Hayden said. "I think my parents had a key to the rink and we would check the schedule and if there was nothing going on, we would just go down there in our free time. If there was a snowstorm or blizzard, we didn't have to worry about driving. We would just walk through the snow and get there. I loved it." A SHARED HOCKEY JOURNEY To say Hayden and Tyler have skated similar paths to get to where they are today would be a pretty big understatement. In fact, according to Hayden, he and his brother were teammates as Mites, Squirts and Peewees, in high school and juniors and now in college. Because player numbers were limited, Hayden says they never had to try out for a single age group growing up. "You signed up to play, you were on the team," said Hayden, who started as a forward but was moved back to defense in Squirts. "My two years of Peewees we had three defenseman the whole year. So, Tyler and I were actually D partners both years." Tyler had similar recollections. "One year in Squirts we had 10-12 guys and if one or two got sick, it really got interesting," Tyler said. "Some people didn't want that much ice time, but I always looked forward to it. It helped me grow." The brothers both went straight from Peewees to the varsity at Kittson Central High School. It was a big jump, but Hayden believes it was the best thing for their development. Tyler and Hayden led the Hallock Bearcats to the 2016 Minnesota Hockey Peewee B State Tournament. TYLER HENNEN

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