Redesigning Minnesota High School Hockey

[Section30]

Hello everyone, I am currently taking a little break from my MAHL series in the sports fan fiction page to work on this new project I have been thinking about doing for a while. I plan on going back to it very soon, and it by no means is going to die, I just want to change it up a little bit ya know? Anyways, there has been a little bit of talk on the boards lately about high school hockey and with the state tournament just a week away, I thought now would be a great time to make a series where I redesign every men's high school hockey team in the state (I have nothing against the women's teams, there just are more men's teams and a lot of women's teams are combined with other schools). I will make a home, away and alternate for every team in the state.

 

I'm just gonna say this now, I will be using logos that are used by the high school, so if they happen to actually belong to a college or professional team, it is the schools fault, I am just trying to make use of what they really use. In a few cases I might decide to make a logo, only if what the school really uses is THAT bad. All of the logos will likely be re-done by me in illustrator to prevent pixelation and just overall improve the quality, so if anyone would like to see the logo alone I could post that as well, just ask.

 

 I'll be choosing conferences at random, but I'll begin with the Lake Conference since they have some of the biggest schools in the state.

 

Up first I have Eden Prairie. The Eagles use the flying eagle logo from Boston College both on its own and in front of "EP" for Eden Prairie as their logos.

 

Eden Prairie High School

Nickname: Eagles

Enrollment: 3,018

Rival(s): Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata

Class: AA

State Titles: 2 (2009, 2011)

State Tournament Appearances: 11 (1992, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)

 

Home:

I brought back the Mittelstadt era uniform with a few tweaks. The black stripe near the bottom of the jersey is gone to simplify it as it didn't really add anything IMO, and the BC Eagle logo is added to the breezers. This is a unique jersey that is instantly identifiable as EP, I still don't know why they switched from it.

Away:

The away jersey is new to EP, it is simply a color swapped version of their home with red taking prominence over the white.

Alternate:

The Eagles currently don't have a red jersey, which is stupid. They instead use these grey for grey's sake alternates. I love the script on those jerseys, I just hate the grey, so I took that jersey, made it red and adjusted the striping to match. I think this is a good faux-back look for them that brings their primary school color back into the uniform rotation.

 

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[TrentTheTrent]

Awesome.  Just in time for the tourney!

[NoE38_Concepts]

Looks like this'll be a good series. No complaints on the Eagles. Since I don't know too much about Minnesota College Hockey, can anyone from the school play, or are there certain eligibility rules?

[Section30]

1 minute ago, NoE38 said:

Looks like this'll be a good series. No complaints on the Eagles. Since I don't know too much about Minnesota College Hockey, can anyone from the school play, or are there certain eligibility rules?

 

Anyone from the school is eligible to play, it's the same requirements as any other high school sport like football, basketball, etc.

[Section30]

Up next are the most hated, and most successful team in the state, Edina.

 

Edina High School

Nickname: Hornets

Enrollment: 2,740

Rival(s): The State of Minnesota

Class: AA

State Titles: 13 (1969, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1997, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019)

State Tournament Appearances: 39 (55, 56, 57, 60, 62, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 96, 97, 98, 00, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19)

 

Home:

A year or two ago Edina added a strip of white in between the green and gold, I simply went back to their prior look with the green and gold touching. This is one of the most classic, and best looking uniforms in the state, not much you can improve on.

Away:

The away jersey is where things get a little different. I essentially just made this a green version of the home, but left the stripes the same and left the cuffs, hem and shoulders white to make a consistent look that isn't too far from their current unis.

Alternate:

Edina doesn't currently have an alternate, and I honestly don't think they need one, their main jerseys are so good already. But for the sake of this series I gave them a throwback to their jersey from 1962 which features a unique "Hornets" script that I really liked.

 

 

Next up will be the Hopkins Royals

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[Section30]

Alright, last one for today. Here are the Hopkins Royals. Hopkins recently updated their school logos and their new "lion with crown" logo might be one of the best in the state, but the hockey team still uses this bad rip off of the Nordiques instead. So I made it a point to emphasize this new, vastly superior, logo.

 

Hopkins High School

Nickname: Royals

Enrollment: 1,656

Rival(s): Minnetonka

Class: AA

State Titles: 0

State Tournament Appearances: 2 (1975, 1980)

 

Home:

There's nothing really wrong with Hopkins current home, it just looks boring or unimaginative to me. I took the basic idea of the striping but switched it up so it is blue, silver, blue, silver, blue. I think this is easier to see than the silver and white touching in the current home. The biggest change is removing the diagonal "Royals" in favor of the amazing Lion with crown logo on the front.

Away:

Hopkins current blue duds are just too busy in my opinion. For this one I just tried to make a cohesive set with the home jersey. The striping is the same style, but is adjusted so the white and silver don't touch. The Lion remains on the front of the jersey.

Alternate:

Since the school's official colors are royal blue and silver, I'm actually ok with a silver jersey (I usually avoid grey and silver jerseys). I kept the striping consistent with the other two jerseys, but changed the logo on the front to the script "Royals" that is found on the full version of their new logo, underneath the script is the player number.

 

 

Up next will be the Minnetonka Skippers

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[chcarlson23]

2 hours ago, Section30 said:

Edina High School

Nickname: Hornets

Enrollment: 2,740

Rival(s): The State of Minnesota

Hilarious! 

 

I do think that your redesign is a bit of a down grade... The current set was updated to match the homes stripes to the sock stripes, as well as to match the green road jersey, which is amazing. I like the change on the white, but the green jersey is a downgrade... 

 

As for Eden Prairie, the look you have is great! But they do have a red jersey this year... I recently went to the Minnetonka vs. Eden Prairie game, and EP wore these red jerseys... 

 

Also fantastic series! I'm very excited to see more! I have been waiting for more Minnesota High School fans on these boards! 

[Section30]

12 hours ago, chcarlson23 said:

Hilarious! 

 

I do think that your redesign is a bit of a down grade... The current set was updated to match the homes stripes to the sock stripes, as well as to match the green road jersey, which is amazing. I like the change on the white, but the green jersey is a downgrade... 

 

As for Eden Prairie, the look you have is great! But they do have a red jersey this year... I recently went to the Minnetonka vs. Eden Prairie game, and EP wore these red jerseys... 

 

Also fantastic series! I'm very excited to see more! I have been waiting for more Minnesota High School fans on these boards! 

 

Thanks for the feedback. I completely missed that red jersey for EP, I just saw the picture of Mittelstadt with it and figured it was with that old set and that they hadn't kept it.

[Section30]

Next up we've got the defending champs who just got upset in the section semi finals, the Minnetonka Skippers. 

 

Minnetonka High School

Nickname: Skippers

Enrollment: 3,311

Rival(s): Edina, Hopkins, Wayzata, Eden Prairie

Class: AA

State Titles: 1 (2018)

State Tournament Appearances: 6 (1985, 1990, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2018)

 

Home:

The home is essentially just last years home uniform, the most successful look they've had as they won their only state title with it.The jersey is all white with a thick blue chest stripe, the arms mimic this. This is the first appearance of the Gopher's M logo, but it is also probably my favorite in the state. I tried to go simple with this jersey so I removed the unnecessary chest number. I think this is a better look for the Skippers than the Toronto rip offs they switched to.

Away:

This is just the home jersey color swapped.

Alternate:

I brought back the uniform used in the early 2010's. I thought it was a great "old school" look and I loved the Skippers script.

 

 

Up next will be the Wayzata Trojans to round out the Lake Conference.

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[EJaws]

DUDE OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG HILL MURRAY PLEASE. I LIVE AND BREATH MN BOYS HS HOCKEY. THIS IS MY HEAVEN AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A long time ago, I did my own series of this, I have a bunch of teams done and saved too, but never posted them. If you have any questions about rivalries just let me know. After all i did make the state tournament one time. 

[Section30]

48 minutes ago, EJaws said:

DUDE OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG HILL MURRAY PLEASE. I LIVE AND BREATH MN BOYS HS HOCKEY. THIS IS MY HEAVEN AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A long time ago, I did my own series of this, I have a bunch of teams done and saved too, but never posted them. If you have any questions about rivalries just let me know. After all i did make the state tournament one time. 

 

I can do the Metro East Conference next, that's really cool you actually got to be in the tourney! It was always a dream of mine that never happened, but I still love following it and going every year. I'm assuming you played for Hill Murray then?

[Section30]

Closing out the Lake Conference is the biggest school in the state Wayzata.

 

Wayzata High School

Nickname: Trojans

Enrollment: 3,436

Rival(s): Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka

Class: AA

State Titles: 1 (2016)

State Tournament Appearances: 5 (1954, 2004, 2013, 2016, 2017)

 

Home:

The striping is based on the current home, but the shoulders are switched to solid blue rather than the Rangers template. The "Flying W" takes center stage instead of being crammed into a crappy Florida rip off. The biggest change I made for the Trojans is changing the helmet color to gold. Growing up you could always tell when Wayzata was playing or if someone was from there because of their iconic yellow lids, I never understood why they wore blue for high school so I made them yellow.

Away:

The new home but on a navy base, the numbers and logo don't have an outline and the shoulders are now yellow.

Alternate:

The third jersey is a bit of a frankenstein of a few jerseys the Trojans have worn. The stripes are based off of what they wore when they won their only state title when they won their only state title, the gold base is from their current alternates, the shoulders are meant to be an altered version of their Rangers templated jerseys, and the official school logo is on the front like it is on their youth teams.

 

 

That concludes the Lake Conference, next up will be the Metro East Conference, starting with Hastings.

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[NoE38_Concepts]

All of these have looked great. This series is really making me wish high school hockey was like this in Ontario.

[Section30]

Up first in the Metro East Conference, the Hastings Raiders

 

Hastings High School

Nickname: Raiders

Enrollment: 1,446

Rival(s): Park

Class: AA

State Titles: 0

State Tournament Appearances: 6 (1971, 1985, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)

 

Home:

Hastings is one of those teams that just looks "right" in just blue and gold, so I made that the base for the home and away. The Home is all gold with blue stripes like their current alternate, the stripes the classic 3 stripes, I took them from their current home and used it throughout the set. Down the front of the jersey diagonally is Raiders like it is on their current alternates.

Away:

The away is a color swapped version of the home but with Hastings diagonal on the front. These jerseys give me serious Swedish vibes which is always a good thing.

Alternate:

The third jersey is a white jersey with blue shoulders. The stripe style is the same as the other two, but it now has both blue and yellow stripes. The logo on the front is a simplified version of the schools main logo, it is just the H, no Raider. 

All of the jerseys in this set are meant to call back to their history, the striping style and diagonal wording are call backs to what they wore in the 70s

 

 

Up next will be the Henry Sibley Warriors.

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[DouglasQuaid]

As a Minnetonka alum, I love the look and I'm glad you brought back the 2010 uniform as an alternate. Im a big fan of your edina and hopkins concept too.

[_DietDrPepper_]

A lot, a lot of good stuff so far, it’s a shame it hasn’t gotten much attention. Hornets are my favorite so far

[EJaws]

5 hours ago, Section30 said:

 

I can do the Metro East Conference next, that's really cool you actually got to be in the tourney! It was always a dream of mine that never happened, but I still love following it and going every year. I'm assuming you played for Hill Murray then?

Play for Hill-Murray? I hecking wish, I swear im the only Minnesotan who doesn't know how to skate. I was the statistician for Hill-Murray from 2015-17. During those years I got to see one of the best teams in the state go toe to toe with other top teams in the state night and and night out. MN HS hockey is better than the NHL imo. I bleed MN HS hockey. I'd love to help with this tread as much as I can.

[Section30]

11 hours ago, DouglasQuaid said:

As a Minnetonka alum, I love the look and I'm glad you brought back the 2010 uniform as an alternate. Im a big fan of your edina and hopkins concept too.

 

9 hours ago, BellaSpurs said:

A lot, a lot of good stuff so far, it’s a shame it hasn’t gotten much attention. Hornets are my favorite so far

 

Thank you guys for the feedback, I'm glad you like it thus far!

 

9 hours ago, EJaws said:

Play for Hill-Murray? I hecking wish, I swear im the only Minnesotan who doesn't know how to skate. I was the statistician for Hill-Murray from 2015-17. During those years I got to see one of the best teams in the state go toe to toe with other top teams in the state night and and night out. MN HS hockey is better than the NHL imo. I bleed MN HS hockey. I'd love to help with this tread as much as I can.

 

Glad to see another die hard fan here on the boards!

[Section30]

Next up we have the Henry Sibley, a school based in Mendota Heights.

 

Henry Sibley High School

Nickname: Warriors

Enrollment: 1,400

Rival(s): St. Thomas Academy

Class: AA

State Titles: 0

State Tournament Appearances: 8 (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1993, 1997)

 

Home:

After looking through jerseys the Warriors have worn in the past I found what I believe is their current home, I really liked the stripe style with their colors so I went with it. I used the script from their new alternates on my home and away because it is just too sweet not to, plus they don't really have a good logo for a jersey.

Away:

The away is a red version of the home but with gold taking prominence in the striping, logo and numbers.

Alternate:

This is a direct throwback to what they used in back in 1976, it is a simpler stripe style with yellow gold instead of Vegas gold. and it features a glorious "Sibley" script with the y becoming the tail.

 

 

Up next will be the Hill-Murray Pioneers.

 

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

[EJaws]

I've always liked Sibleys colors and the script on their new gold jerseys is fantastic. Im a sucker for script fonts.The current HM jerseys are copies of the current University of North Dakota set, but with a really clean script font on the home jersey, personally id love to see it on the away jersey. As much as I love the black ALT that HM uses, a few years ago they had a jersey that was all white and had a script "Hill" on the front. Id love to see what you could do with that.

Hills big rival first and foremost is White Bear Lake. Edina is another big one just because everyone in the state sees the two as cake eaters. And recently Stillwater has become a rival over the past few years.

#RollPiosForever #HailHill