What Dan & Elite HS Players Get To Look Forward To...

We don't normally discuss Minnesota high school hockey for a few reasons but this is hard to pass up. The fall Elite League, which consists of many of the top high school hockey players in the state playing a 21 game regular season before the HS season, announced their uniforms for this season and...well I'll let them speak for themselves.

Missing: Legs (photo from the Elite League)

It's like Europe and Madison Avenue had a baby and that is what they had in mind. From the league:

The Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League gear is getting a slick new look for the 2012 season.

The new designs, put together by Gemini, take advantage of a model developed by European teams to increase league sponsorship.

"We've been discussing (this) for a few years because in order for us to generate more substantial sponsorship revenue we need to develop inventory that was going to be attractive to corporate Minnesota," said Elite League Marketing Specialist Robert Fallen.

To be fair, there's nothing wrong with a non-profit cutting down costs with advertising and lets face it, hockey is expensive. I don't know about the ethics of having high school amateurs wearing head to toe corporate jerseys - it's a gray area with a few sponsors being way outside the teenage demographic - but at the very least, they are not easy to look aesthetically.

The Elite League kicks off September 8th at Fogarty Arena in Blaine and goes through the end of October, playing throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin rinks. If you get a chance to watch tomorrow's stars today, do it - especially if there's no NHL hockey. Guys like Nick Leddy, Derek Forbort, Nick Bjugstad, Ryan McDonaugh, Jake Gardiner, Erik Haula, Nick Seeler, John Draeger and Louie Nanne all played in it.