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Great 2004 Summer Comes To A Close
Dedicated to our founder Herb Brooks
The 2004 summer ended last week with a bang. It was one of the best summers our camp has had. We would like to thank all that made it happen. That includes the cooks, housekeepers, maintenance crew, pro shop staff, counselors, trainers, coaches, and the players who attended. It was very gratifying for us to see the number of high caliber athletes come through and use this facility to train. The thing to remember is we provide the program and place that athletes use to improve. If someone came through and wondered why they did not see their game go to another level they did not take advantage of the setting. For us it is easy, if you don't work you don't improve. You just can't show up and expect to get better. That is the only reason a player did not improve his game here.

This is a good time for me to thank the coaches and counselors that spent 8 or more weeks with us. The counselors were Noah Katz (10 weeks), Adam Haberman (9 weeks), Ryan Marvin and Cory Marvin (8 weeks). Coaches Tom Lenox (10), Craig Larson (10), Joe Ciardelli (10), Ty Eigner (9), Chuck Whalen (9), and Doc DelCastillo (8) spent almost the entire summer with us. So thanks again to all of those who take the time out of there summer schedules to help out. Nice to see people giving back to the game that made them what they are today.

Doc (University of Nebraska Omaha) has been a fixture here since his dishwasher days. This was Doc's 18th year. I would like to congratulate him on being chosen to work with the LA Kings rookie camp this summer. Doc has proven over the years to be one of the good young coaches in USA hockey.

Joe Ciardelli and his future wife Sarah Wamstad, were outstanding around the camp. Joe raised the bar around here more than any other employee on staff. If I were playing now I would want my future in Joe's hands. He knows how to maximize ability of athletes to their fullest potential of all ages. Good Luck to Joe and Sarah and congrats on your October wedding and new job in Philly.

We would also like to thank a few campers that spent the entire summer with us. B. Nolte and E. Tallent stayed on campus and C. Kragness, S. Burchill, J. Tamasy and J, Stearns all of Brainerd spent ten weeks training as well. Good luck this season!
 
Week 1
Week 1 started the camp off great when Joe Vitali stepped on campus for the first time and lit the place on fire. He is a young man from St. Louis who will be playing in Sioux Falls (USHL) next season. He is one of the best young athletes to ever come through the doors of MHC. He would be a great fit for any Division 1 hockey team.

The Brainerd High School team should be ready to have one of their most successful seasons. Chris Peluso, drafted by Pittsburgh, Carl Sneep, Mike Baker, Ryan Peltoma, Pete Larson, and Conrad Kragness all put in a very serious summer of training. So we would like to wish them the best of luck.

There were many younger players who helped start the first week off right. They put in some very good time here at MHC: M. Hanson, R. Steinbauer, T. Arcudi, P. Barrel, C, Hexum, J. "the agent" Liva, G. Sexsmith, J. Geerin, F. Csisar, K. Mountain, and D, Wizner. The camp and each player can be proud of the way they trained this summer.
Week 2
This was a great week for us. It was our second year of the father son camp. We would like to thank the fathers and sons that participated in the camp. Two of the kids were on there second year with us J. Gdovka and M. Johnson. It was nice see the group grow in numbers and we are hoping for more father-son participants in the future.

Mark Malone came back for a six-week stay. Mark, who plays Division III hockey, has improved every year he has trained here. I have watched him from the early stages of his career and it is nice to see him where he is today. Good luck to Mark this season.

The younger players that make an impact every year since they started here are J. Frazer, M. Lorenz, D. Payne and C. Engel. These young men have been coming for years now. They seem to raise the bar. Everything they do here is 100% and you can tell when the summer is over why they make big improvements each year.

B. Wolf and J. Wolf, were a nice addition to the camp this summer. These two boys, are two-thirds of a set of triplets who worked and improved each week they where here. Good luck this winter to them.
Week 3
This week was the return of Wes Bolin. This was his 16th summer at Minnesota Hockey Camps. Wes will be the new head coach at Woodbury High School after 18 very successful season at Fond du Lac High School in Wisconsin. Three of his players from Fondy: Tim Possehl, Steve Manowske, and Peter Jessen made an impact here as campers. They were such good kids they stayed the rest of the summer as counselors. Ryan Carden was back for his summer visit to Minnesota Hockey Camps. He has been a regular here since Peewee's. Nice to see he has grown as a player and person.
Week 4
Week four highlighted by the summer visit from John Perpich (scout Atlanta Thrashers) and his son JP who will be a senior at Bloomington Jefferson. Also, Scott Meyer who retired from Pro hockey and is entering his first year coaching with Cedar Rapids of the USHL.

Dan Germundson who was back for his 9th year. Dan started here as our Strength and Conditioning coach now Dan is the Head Hockey Coach at Prior Lake High School. I would also like to congratulate Dan on his marriage this summer. Greg Malone (Chief Scout Pittsburgh Penguins) an 11-year NHL veteran. Greg is one of the finest people I have meet in the world. He treats everybody here as if they are family. It is always a pleasure when he comes on board for his summer visit.

Rob Grillo (scout San Jose Sharks) is one of most respected coaches in hockey. He brings a high level of talent, humor and enthusiasm each week. He spends the summer here with his wife Carol, son Brandon, and daughter Briana.
Week 5
Week 5 was the start of the busy 6 weeks for us. Pat McCadden was in his second week and was starting to make a name for him self. Sam Holland was back for his visit to camp. Sam is moving up to high school hockey in Brainerd. Bryce Ravendalen made his second summer in a row and is looking better each week. Taylor Saunders is going to be a very good player in Lakeville this season. Bradley Malone made his way back, and with a future at Cushing Academy, things are looking bright. He is one of the best bantam/midget prospects to come through here. Great job guys! This was also the start to Allison Rushing's counseling career. She turned out to be very energetic and positive for the young kids. Allison will be a freshman hockey player at Forest Lake College.
Week 6
Week 6 the cold winds of Canada blew in Jim Malone (former 1st round pick New York Rangers) Jim spends his two week vacation with his brother Greg at the camp to form one of the finest coaching tandems in camp history.

Kevin Anderson (University of Notre Dame) fresh off the Irish's first trip to the NCAA. Showed his usual energy towards all the kids in camp. He shows up and the camp always gets a little better with him on board.

Blake Wheeler (2004 5th pick overall Phoenix Coyotes) attended camp for two weeks. Blake, the highest drafted Minnesota born player ever, was here training for his tryout for the World Junior Tournament. From what we saw his performance will give him a chance to play in the Tourney in December.

Paul Stastny (River City Lancers) was here for another summer visit. He will be attending the University of Denver this fall. He was here for the same reasons as Blake, preparing for the World Junior Tourney. Paul is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer, Peter Stastny. Good luck to both young men, in representing out country, and thanks Peter for recognizing our camp as one of the top training center's in the world.

Jeff White put in another solid summer. He comes each year and always trains and improves each session that he is here. We also would like to thank his parents for the Omaha steaks they keep us going for the rest of the summer.
Week 7
Ted Belisle (Bemidji State University) was back to work with the kids for his second summer. The coaching staff at Bemidji has done a wonderful job with program. He is a talented young coach who enjoys working with young athletes so it is always nice to have Ted around here.

This week really picked up the talent level. Tim Conboy (San Jose Sharks) who signed with the Sharks this spring was back in town. Tim spends 4 to 5 weeks each summer preparing for the season.

Kevin Goetz (Peoria "Rivermen" ECHL) was here this summer for the first time. He spent the last four weeks here and earned himself a tryout with Wilkes Barrie, the top farm team for Pittsburgh.

Mike Brown (University of Michigan), Will Engasser (Yale University), Brian Gifford (Indiana Ice), Alex Goligoski (University of Minnesota), Rob Page (Yale University), JT Wyman (Dartmouth) were all drafted in this years NHL draft. They were here training and getting a taste of what it takes to make to the next level. Mike Brown was another young man preparing for the World Junior's.

Tony Granato (Colorado Avalanche) brought his son Michael for his first taste of Minnesota Hockey Camps. Tony who trained here in the eighties was awesome to have around for a week. Tony is what this place is all about. We provide the setting and program. Tony was a player that got it done. Michael was great here for the week. He worked hard and plays with same grit and talent his father played with.
Week 8
What a week for Minnesota Hockey Camps. Ryan Malone (Pittsburgh Penguins) comes in for the final three weeks. Ryan, a rookie in the NHL, was named to the All Rookie Team, played in Young Stars Game in St. Paul over the All Star break, and led the Penguins in goals. It was a pleasure for all that have been involved in this camp over the years to see the season Ryan had. It is difficult to express is words the level of gratitude for the signed jersey and registered photo from his first NHL goal.

Jonathon Lehun (Owen Sound OHL) and Rob Lehtinen (Northern Michigan University) were back as roommates for the last three weeks. These two young athletes have been meeting here each summer for over 10 years. Pretty amazing when one from Toronto and one from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan can become such good friends and this where they meet to catch up and train each summer.

Casey Borer (St. Cloud State) came for the first time for the same reasons as Brown, Wheeler, and Stastny. He was preparing for the World Junior's. Casey enjoyed a good freshman season in college and was drafted in this years NHL draft.
Week 9
It was an outstanding week for Minnesota Hockey Camps. We had two groups of older players. One that consisted of NHL, AHL, ECHL, and NCAA and one that consisted of NCAA, USHL and NAHL. It was fun to watch the games that were played during the week.

Scott Hartnell (Nashville Predators) came to camp after spending four years in the NHL. This young man played in the league as an 18 year old. He is going on his fifth year and is just 22 years old. He made a positive impact at the camp with his training and attitude toward players of all ages.

Duvie Wescott (Columbus Blue Jackets), who has been attending camp since his college days at St. Cloud State, came back for one week this year and will be entering his forth year in the NHL. He is one player that no matter what time of year it is he is always playing the game the right way. He is one of the young exciting defenseman in the League.

Joe Motzko (Columbus Blue Jackets) spent the week with us. This Bemidji native, who spent four good years at St. Cloud State, had a solid rookie year with the Blue Jacket organization.

Eric Christensen (Pittsburgh Penguins), fresh off of a very good junior career with Brandon of the Western Hockey League, signed with the Penguins. He was one of the nicest and most conscientious, young men to train here. He spent the last couple of weeks here to increase his chances of making the Penguins roster in his first training camp.

Congrats to Rochester, Minnesota native Aaron Gill who signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks. He will be starting his professional career after four good years at the University of Notre Dame.

Ryan and Grant Potulny where back after spending one season together at the University of Minnesota where Ryan was a freshman and Grant a senior. They got a chance to play one season together before Grant graduated this spring. Grant signed this spring with Ottawa Senators and will attend their training camp this fall.

Matt Greene (University of North Dakota) met up with two of his good friends for their 10th summer. He meets up with Lehun and Lehtinen for good times and training. Matt is going into his junior year at UND and has turned into a nice D-man for them. Matt is a 2nd round pick of the Edmonton Oilers. His work ethic, and will to get better, will insure a nice career in the game.

Andy Sertich (University of Minnesota) was back for two weeks. He is a great young man who was drafted by Pittsburgh before he headed to the University. He was taken out of Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minnesota. Entering is junior year, Andy will be looked to take on a bigger offensive role and team leader. Congrats to Andy to recording the quickest time in our quickness test this summer.
Week  10
This week was the end to another fine summer, 24 years at Minnewawa Lodge home of Minnesota Hockey Camps. Herb Brooks has to be smiling as he looks down from heaven at the camp he founded with my father Chuck Grillo who currently scouts for the Pittsburgh Penguins. There are not many new comers the final week because most players are here for multiple weeks. Coach Don Granato (Worcester Icecats), which is the top farm team for the St. Louis Blues, was here the final week to help with the two top groups. It was a pleasure watching him work with the players. He has been a winner at all levels as a player and coach. Donnie, Tony and Cammi were fixtures here as kids and it was nice to have him back as a coach.

It was fun watching all age groups the final week because many of the players are seeing their final results. This is one week that is worth watching for the parents-sake because they can see where their children should or could be with the proper training. The young players have a chance to observe players that have made it to the highest level and can readily see what they are doing on and off ice to get ready for the up coming season. Many of the older players are here for the same reason the young players are: To get bigger, quicker, faster, stronger. This gives them a psychological edge on their opponent in life.

We would like to thank all campers, parents, and staff that made the 2004 summer a great one. We can't talk about all campers that come through here. The young players here are waiting in the wings to get their name next to a Pro team or College team. The players that come here find out what it takes to make it to the top level. You can never train too much in any sport if you want to succeed. I was watching a special on the USA sprinters who train 6hrs a day for a chance to compete every 4 yrs for their country. This is paying the price for the love of game. You must love to train and work out or it is going to be a painful experience at any training facility.

Good luck to everybody who was involved and hope to see you all next summer.
Thanks again for a great summer,
Dean Grillo
Minnesota Hockey Camps
P.O. Box 90 · Nisswa, MN 56468
Phone 218-963-2444 · Fax: 218-963-2325