Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
In late December, 20 disabled veterans took to the ice at the West St. Paul Ice Arena to face Two Rivers High School alumni in a charitable hockey game. The veterans are members of Minnesota Warriors Hockey, a South St. Paul-based nonprofit serving disabled veterans, and their lineup featured people from several branches of the military and combat veterans. It was the organization’s first showcase in West St. Paul, and even though it was a one-sided loss for the veterans, the team captain said they had a good turnout and will do it again next year.
“We got worked over pretty good, but it was a fun skate,” said Minnesota Warriors team captain Kris Baker. “They [Two Rivers] said they were bringing in the alumni, so we were expecting some 30-year-olds, but I think the oldest person they brought out was, like, 21 and I think he was playing for the Gophers club team.”
Baker is a lifelong South St. Paulite who grew up playing hockey at Doug Woog Arena when it was still called Wakota Arena and only had one rink. He served in the Army for nearly 12 years and has been in the Army Reserves ever since. He has a bad ankle and foot as well as some psychological trauma from his military experience. He joined the Warriors team about three years ago to stay fit and improve his mental health.
“It’s literally my therapy for anything I’ve got going on in my life,” he said. “It’s not just hockey. For a lot of us this is a good reason to keep going…. I encourage anybody who’s interested and can qualify to please look us up and come see what we’re about. We’re a real open group of folks.”
Warriors’ director of business operations James Bracken served five years in the Navy and seven years in the Reserves before relocating from California to Minnesota and joining the organization about two years ago. He has issues with his hearing and is grateful to have made friends through the program since he has no family in the state.
“What’s great about it is there’s a lot of common ground already,” he said. “We already know much of what each other have been through based on brief overviews of what we did in the military, so you already feel familiar with everybody on some level, and that really helps to build those relationships…. Some of us are a little older and some a little younger, but you’ll find someone to fit in with, guaranteed.”
To join Minnesota Warriors, veterans must be honorably or generally discharged and have a 10% Veteran’s Affairs disability rating or higher. All hockey team members are considered “standing” players – even if some are on prosthetic limbs – and they don’t use any special equipment or handicap rules. Teams operate out of Duluth, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities metro area. The metro area has about 100 members across its three teams, which are divided by skill level. Baker said they’ve had players who are first-time skaters and some who have junior or semi-pro experience.
Teams typically practice once or twice a week and members can attend as many or as few as they’d like. Exhibition games against local schools and hockey associations are held about once a month and consist of 20 Warrior players. Many of the events are fundraisers to pay for ice rental, equipment, travel expenses and more. The group has also received funds from the Minnesota Wild’s Split the Pot raffle event, the Hastings-based United Heroes League and Richfield-based Hendrickson Foundation.
“We have self-appointed coaches and captains,” said Baker. “Any coaches who want to come help out, we’re more than happy to host them and let them put us through the ringer in practice.”
The Warriors select its best players from across the state to compete nationally against Warrior teams from other states. One of Baker’s best memories as a Warrior was his first tournament, the national championship in Pittsburgh, Penn., where he and his metro teammates beat Minnesota’s St. Cloud team in the semifinals to move onto the finals. Although they lost to a Michigan team that year, Baker led his team to gold last April when the event was held in St. Louis, Mo. He said that was also a very special moment. The upcoming national championship will be held in April in New Jersey.
Warriors Hockey is sanctioned by USA Hockey and has programs in NUMBER states. Minnesota’s program was founded in 2010 by Andy Qualy and offices out of the former Cunningham’s sporting goods store on Thompson Avenue in South St. Paul. USA Hockey also sanctions sled, blind, and special hockey teams. Qualy has since moved to Colorado.
“The primary mission isn’t to build ultra-competitive teams,” said Bracken, the director of business operations. “It’s to get people out on the ice and get them in a group of supportive folks that all want to play hockey.”
On Feb. 3, the Warriors will compete at Prairie Island Arena in Red Wing. In May, they will host Minnesota’s national tournament, the Hendrickson Foundation tournament at the Super Rink in Blaine. In the next 5-10 years, they hope to travel to a Nordic country and do some international exhibition games or tournaments there. For more information, visit mnwarriors.com.
“We’re always looking for volunteers for various events we do to help us out,” said Bracken. “I can’t say enough how appreciative we are when people step up to do that because it does make a big difference. It takes a lot of work and folks to maximize the value from our fundraising events and we’re aiming to grow in the future. We would love it if more folks from the local community would come out and help.”
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