Edina Lakers

Drawing boards have always been hot sellers in the sports world.

Teams can be at the top of their world (or in the St. Paul Lakers' case, their nation) one year, and be on the losing side of most games some years down the road. When teams hit the skids, it's always time to go "back to the drawing board," a concept that this writer believes was first undertaken by the famous captivity engineer Wile E. Coyote.

The Tier-2 Jr. A Lakers were the last Minnesota Junior Hockey League team to win a USA Hockey National Championship, back when the Lakers were a Jr. B-classified team in 1999.

Since then, it's been a rough road to the bottom of the league's standings, where they sat in late January with an 8- 26-0-1 record.

"We knew this year was the start of a rebuilding process," said Lakers general manager Steve Longren.

However, wins and losses aside, Longren sees great things ahead for the Lakers organization. Players are moving on to higher-level teams and others are coming in from other junior teams, seeing a coaching and management group focused on each individual player.

"We don't carry 28 or 30 guys," said Longren. "We carry 25. In fact, our goal would be to carry only 20 players, having everyone dress each game."

"Our primary goal is to develop players to move up and allow them to play at the highest level possible," Longren added. "Sean Randall is a great example of a player who came to us from a North American Hockey League team and our staff helped develop him and moved him back to the NAHL in just three months. (See story about Randall below).

"We're serious about giving kids a chance to play and develop into players even if this costs the team financially or in the win/loss column by letting our best players go," Longren said.

Cross-generation praise

Both the team's players and their parents have recognized this "player first" level of commitment by the Lakers.

"I was an All-American at Mankato [Minn.] State in the late 1970s, so I feel I've got a pretty good eye for organization," said Bill Essel, father of Lakers 1990-born left wing Cody Essel. "As a parent [of a player with another organization], we played against the Lakers, and I saw that the Lakers were a better fit for Cody from a developmental standpoint. They care about the legitimate development of each player."

Essel was already friends with 1989- born right winger Ben Schultz, and Cody learned about head coach Dan Strot and his approach through Schultz.

"Before my junior hockey experience, I was a lot more underdeveloped, but coming from a different team to where I am now, it's a step in the right direction. I got one of my buddies who used to play in the Central States League to play for our team," Cody said. "In practice, we mostly work on stickhandling and passing, and we still do overspeed training every Tuesday. Mostly, we work on systems and the harder aspects of hockey."

Strot, who has coached in levels ranging from squirts to high school to college, junior to international hockey, works hard every day to instill a core system of values into his players.

"I see the St. Paul Lakers as a developmental training program. My goal is to elevate the performance of our athletes mentally [i.e., attention to details of the game] and physically, preparing them for higher levels of athletics," said Strot. "Working together in implementing an approach to reach our goals will allow us the opportunity to produce an outstanding athlete."

"My philosophy is for each individual athlete to adhere to these core values: Cooperation - working together to achieve a common goal; Respect - caring for the people and the things around us; Responsibility - knowing and doing what is expected of us; Positive Attitude - finding the good in all that we do; Desire - a willingness to learn and become greater; Excellence - paying attention to detail and performing at the best of our ability; and Integrity - being authentic and consistent in our core values," Strot added.

Tom Anderson, father of 1990-born right winger Ryan Anderson, likes the "every player is equal" philosophy of development the team employs.

"They're playing all four lines," Tom said. "Ryan's been on other teams where the first line sees more than half the game. If you're on another line, you're not going to improve. [Strot] keeps the shifts short and changes them all, so Ryan has seen an improvement in his game time.

"[Strot] isn't a big screamer - he doesn't yell at the kids a lot, so they can be more creative on the ice and not worry about screwing up," Tom added. "Even though the record isn't there, it's fun to watch the team. Also, at this point in the season, they're beating teams they used to lose to."

Word gets around

Ryan Anderson also learned of the team through Schultz, a former youth hockey teammate of Ryan's.

"It's a different style of play - we really play as a team, and that's what got me hooked," said Ryan. "Coach plays everybody pretty much the same. He wants to do what's best for us. I've actually learned about being less selfish and working as a team. On the ice, I think I probably got a little faster."

Anderson's experience is music to the ears of Lakers president Ralph Hayne.

"We want each and every player to have a positive experience," he said. "If they aren't having a positive experience, we want to work to move them to an environment that meets their needs. This happens quickly and, again, sometimes at a cost to the team financially or in the win-loss column."

The team likes to keep the players it signs, however, another sign of the trust and commitment between organization and player.

"Trades will not be at the team's desire but rather the player's request," added Strot. "If he is putting in the effort, developing and contributing, there is no reason I would want to trade your son. I want to be very approachable and accessible to all players and parents."

The St. Paul Lakers certainly strive to be a team with a locker room where the players want to arrive early and leave late.