2011 Frozen Four LogoEven without the Golden Gophers, Minnesota is well represented in the 2011 Frozen Four Tournament because of the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, who knocked out the #1 seed – Yale – in the first round.

But there’s another reason that the State of Hockey is making a big contribution in the Frozen Four this year, and it’s due to the total number of Minnesotans playing in the Frozen Four Tournament.

We’ve compiled a listing of the hometowns of all the players in the 2011 Frozen Four Tournament. What we’ve found is that the largest number of players for all four teams (Duluth, Michigan, Notre Dame and North Dakota) have come from Minnesota. In fact just over 25% of all players are Minnesotans. Here’s a ranking of where all of the players in the Frozen Four come from:

Location Players Country % of Total
Minnesota 27 USA 25.96%
Michigan 15 USA 14.42%
Illinois 5 USA 4.81%
Wisconsin 4 USA 3.85%
Connecticut 3 USA 2.88%
Pennsylvania 3 USA 2.88%
Alaska 2 USA 1.92%
California 2 USA 1.92%
Colorado 2 USA 1.92%
North Dakota 2 USA 1.92%
Rhode Island 2 USA 1.92%
Arizona 1 USA 0.96%
Indiana 1 USA 0.96%
Iowa 1 USA 0.96%
Massachusetts 1 USA 0.96%
Nebraska 1 USA 0.96%
New York 1 USA 0.96%
Texas 1 USA 0.96%
Washington 1 USA 0.96%
Alberta 12 CAN 11.54%
Ontario 7 CAN 6.73%
Manitoba 4 CAN 3.85%
British Columbia 2 CAN 1.92%
New Brunswick 1 CAN 0.96%
Saskatchewan 1 CAN 0.96%
Sweden 2 SWE 1.92%
Total Players 104 100.00%

These percentages would be similar to what we found in our 2010 article Minnesota Produces the Most NHL Players Born in the U.S. with one small surprise as to how few players come from Massachusetts or New York. This is most likely due to the absence of any East Coast teams in this years Frozen Four.

The other interesting item we noticed is that the Duluth Bulldogs have the largest percentage of home grown players, with 65% of the team made up of players from Minnesota. Michigan came in second with 46% of their players from Michigan. North Dakota has two players from North Dakota, and Notre Dame has just one player from Indiana.

Another interesting detail is that the top line of the Notre Dame team is made up of two Minnesotans: Anders Lee (LW – Edina, MN); and Ryan Guentzel (RW – Woodbury, MN). There are no Minnesotans on the Michigan team.

The following is a complete listing of all players in the 2011 Frozen Four, sorted by Team and Home State/Prov:

Team # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown State/Prov. Country
Duluth 17 Seidel, Mike W 5-10 185 So. Darien, Ill. Illinois US
Duluth 5 Palm, Trent D 6-1 195 Sr. Edina, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 6 Kishel, Scott D 6-0 190 Jr. Virginia, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 7 Schmidt, Kyle W 5-10 175 Sr. Hermantown, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 8 Olson, Drew D 6-0 200 So. Brainerd, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 10 DeLisle, Dan W 6-5 230 So. Arden Hills, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 12 Connolly, Jack C 5-8 175 Jr. Duluth, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 14 Flaherty, Keegan C 6-0 190 So. Duluth, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 15 Hendrickson, Jake C 5-10 180 So. Savage, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 19 Tardy, Max W 6-0 185 Fr. Duluth, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 21 McManus, Luke D 6-1 190 Fr. Apple Valley, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 23 Brown, J.T. W 5-10 170 Fr. Burnsville, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 24 Montgomery, Mike D 6-3 215 Sr. Lino Lakes, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 25 Faulk, Justin D 5-11 200 Fr. South St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 26 Huttel, Chad D 5-9 195 Sr. Hermantown, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 27 Grun, David W 6-1 200 Jr. White Bear Lake, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 30 Gaffy, Christian G 6-0 170 Fr. Scandia, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 31 Crandall, Aaron G 6-1 190 Fr. Lakeville, Minn. Minnesota US
Duluth 35 Reiter, Kenny G 5-11 170 Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa. Pennsylvania US
Duluth 2 Lamb, Brady D 6-1 215 Jr. Calgary, Alberta Alberta Canada
Duluth 22 Connolly, Mike W 5-9 180 Jr. Calgary, Alberta Alberta Canada
Duluth 28 Bergman, Wade D 5-9 170 So. Calgary, Alberta Alberta Canada
Duluth 37 Fontaine, Justin W 5-10 175 Sr. Bonnyville, Alberta Alberta Canada
Duluth 11 Oleksuk, Travis C 6-0 200 Jr. Thunder Bay, Ontario Ontario Canada
Duluth 18 Basaraba, Joe W 6-2 195 Fr. Fort Frances, Ontario Ontario Canada
Duluth 20 Danberg, Cody W 6-0 190 Sr. Canwood, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Canada
Michigan 9 Moffatt, Luke F 6-0 194 Fr. Paradise Valley, Ariz. Arizona US
Michigan 3 Vaughan, Scooter F 6-1 196 Sr. Placentia, Calif. California US
Michigan 13 Moffie, Lee D 6-1 200 So. Wallingford, Conn. Connecticut US
Michigan 2 Pateryn, Greg D 6-3 214 Jr. Sterling Heights, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 11 Lynch, Kevin F 6-1 198 So. Grosse Pointe, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 19 Rust, Matt F 5-10 194 Sr. Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 21 Treais, A.J. F 5-8 163 So. Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 22 Rohrkemper, Jeff F 6-0 176 So. Grosse Pointe, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 23 Glendening, Luke F 5-11 194 Jr. Grand Rapids, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 24 Merrill, Jon D 6-3 209 Fr. Brighton, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 25 Wohlberg, David F 6-1 195 Jr. South Lyon, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 30 Janecyk, Adam G 6-0 185 Fr. Ada, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 31 Hunwick, Shawn G 5-7 166 Sr. Sterling Heights, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 35 Hogan, Bryan G 6-1 193 Sr. Highland, Mich. Michigan US
Michigan 4 Clare, Kevin D 6-1 210 Fr. New Rochelle, N.Y. New York US
Michigan 18 DeBlois, Derek F 5-10 179 Fr. Narragansett, R.I. Rhode Island US
Michigan 37 Bennett, Mac D 5-11 180 Fr. Narragansett, R.I. Rhode Island US
Michigan 10 Brown, Chris F 6-2 194 So. Flower Mound, Texas Texas US
Michigan 7 Langlais, Chad D 5-9 171 Sr. Spokane, Wash. Washington US
Michigan 12 Hagelin, Carl F 6-0 187 Sr. Sodertalje, Sweden n/a Sweden
Michigan 16 Winnett, Ben F 6-1 179 Sr. New Westminster, B.C. British Columbia Canada
Michigan 6 Burlon, Brandon D 6-0 188 Jr. Nobleton, Ontario Ontario Canada
Michigan 29 Caporusso, Louie F 5-10 190 Sr. Woodbridge, Ontario Ontario Canada
Michigan 39 Sparks, Lindsay F 5-9 169 So. Oakville, Ontario Ontario Canada
North Dakota 19 Trupp, Evan F 5-9 174 Sr. Anchorage, Alaska Alaska US
North Dakota 26 Hextall, Brett F 5-11 195 Jr. Manhattan Beach, Calif. California US
North Dakota 35 Maris, Tate G 5-10 181 So. Denver, Colo. Colorado US
North Dakota 8 Cichy, Mike F 5-11 190 So. New Hartford, Conn. Connecticut US
North Dakota 4 Forbort, Derek D 6-5 200 Fr. Duluth, Minn. Minnesota US
North Dakota 7 Kristo, Danny F 5-11 188 So. Eden Prairie, Minn. Minnesota US
North Dakota 20 Gleason, Joe F/D 5-9 175 So. Edina, Minn. Minnesota US
North Dakota 24 Blood, Ben D 6-4 235 Jr. Plymouth, Minn. Minnesota US
North Dakota 28 Hill, Ryan F/D 6-3 202 So. Hermantown, Minn. Minnesota US
North Dakota 29 Nelson, Brock F 6-3 185 Fr. Warroad, Minn. Minnesota US
North Dakota 13 Bruneteau, Brett F 5-11 195 So. Omaha, Neb. Nebraska US
North Dakota 9 Lamoureux, Mario F 5-9 185 Jr. Grand Forks, N.D. North Dakota US
North Dakota 25 Marto, Jake D 6-0 173 Sr. Grand Forks, N.D. North Dakota US
North Dakota 3 LaPoint, Derrick D 6-3 205 Sr. Eau Claire, Wis. Wisconsin US
North Dakota 2 MacWilliam, Andrew D 6-2 220 So. Calgary, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 10 Knight, Corban F 6-2 195 So. High River, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 11 Rodwell, Derek F 6-2 200 Fr. Taber, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 18 Simpson, Dillon D 6-2 205 Fr. Edmonton, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 21 Frattin, Matt F 6-0 206 Sr. Edmonton, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 27 Rowney, Carter F 6-2 202 So. Sexsmith, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 31 Eidsness, Brad G 6-0 177 Jr. Chestermere, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 32 Dell, Aaron G 6-0 191 So. Airdrie, Alberta Alberta Canada
North Dakota 5 Genoway, Chay D 5-9 177 Sr. Morden, Manitoba Manitoba Canada
North Dakota 14 Dickin, Taylor F 6-2 190 Fr. Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba Canada
North Dakota 15 Davidson, Brent F 6-4 218 Sr. Morden, Manitoba Manitoba Canada
North Dakota 17 Gregoire, Jason F 5-11 196 Jr. Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba Canada
North Dakota 22 Malone, Brad F 6-2 212 Sr. Miramichi, New Brunswick New Brunswick Canada
Notre Dame 1 Summerhays, Steven G 6-0 193 Fr. Anchorage, AK Alaska US
Notre Dame 24 Lorenz, Sean D 6-1 201 Jr. Littleton, CO Colorado US
Notre Dame 20 Nugent, Kevin W 6-3 197 So. New Canaan, CT Connecticut US
Notre Dame 8 Calabrese, Sam D 5-11 183 So. Park Ridge, IL Illinois US
Notre Dame 17 Maday, Billy W 5-11 184 Jr. Burr Ridge, IL Illinois US
Notre Dame 18 Tynan, T.J. C 5-8 156 Fr. Orland Park, IL Illinois US
Notre Dame 25 Lind, Kevin D 6-3 218 Fr. Homer Glen, IL Illinois US
Notre Dame 29 Beers, Jared D 5-11 190 Fr. Mishawaka, IN Indiana US
Notre Dame 10 Gerths, David W 6-0 208 Fr. Ankeny, IA Iowa US
Notre Dame 33 Lavin, Joe D 6-2 198 Sr. Shrewsbury, MA Massachusetts US
Notre Dame 16 Voran, Mike W 5-11 197 Fr. Livonia, MI Michigan US
Notre Dame 19 Ryan, Ben C 5-11 197 Sr. Brighton, MI Michigan US
Notre Dame 21 Rust, Bryan C 5-11 196 Fr. Novi, MI Michigan US
Notre Dame 31 Rogers, Joe G 5-11 189 Fr. Marysville, MI Michigan US
Notre Dame 9 Lee, Anders C 6-3 218 Fr. Edina, MN Minnesota US
Notre Dame 26 Larson, Nick W 6-2 197 So. Apple Valley, MN Minnesota US
Notre Dame 27 Guentzel, Ryan W 184 Sr. Woodbury, MN Minnesota US
Notre Dame 35 Brooke, Brian G 188 Sr. Eden Prairie, MN Minnesota US
Notre Dame 6 Gaul, Patrick C 5-8 180 Jr. Pittsburgh, PA Pennsylvania US
Notre Dame 28 Johns, Stephen D 6-4 221 Fr. Wampum, PA Pennsylvania US
Notre Dame 11 Costello, Jeff W 6-0 210 Fr. Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin US
Notre Dame 14 Condon, Nick D 5-9 165 Jr. Wausau, WI Wisconsin US
Notre Dame 32 Johnson, Mike G 5-10 194 So. Verona, WI Wisconsin US
Notre Dame 22 Ridderwall, Calle W 193 Sr. Stockholm, Sweden n/a Sweden
Notre Dame 3 Taker, Shayne D 6-4 184 Fr. Surrey, BC British Columbia Canada
Notre Dame 4 Sheahan, Riley C 6-2 205 So. St. Catharine’s, ONT Ontario Canada
Notre Dame 12 Ryan, Richard W 5-10 185 Jr. Toronto, ONT Ontario Canada

Things seem to bode well for the State of Hockey regardless of how many teams from Minnesota are playing in the Frozen Four. The fact that the Golden Gophers haven’t made it to the Frozen Four since 2005 upsets a lot of Twin Citians, but Minnesota can be quite proud of their Duluth Bulldogs, as well as all of the Minnesotans on the other teams that have made it to the 2011 Frozen Four.

Source: umdbulldogs.com, fightingsioux.com, mgoblue.com, und.com