Minnesota's young guns set the pace

ATLANTA -- Everywhere one turned inside Philips Arena on Friday, there were Minnesotans galore.

Dallas Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen, the Mountain Iron native who played at Virginia High School and Minnesota Duluth, pointed that out immediately.

Epitomizing perfectly how Minnesota continues to produce elite hockey players making it to the highest level, one-quarter of the players (four of 16) in tonight's YoungStars Game hail from the State of Hockey.

Besides Niskanen, childhood buddies and teammates Erik Johnson (St. Louis Blues) and Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes), born and bred in Bloomington, will be reunited on the West, while former Apple Valley High Schoool standout Mike Lundin, a defenseman with the Tampa Bay Lightning, will play for the East.

And that doesn't even include Los Angeles' Jack Johnson, who played at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, and Sam Gagner, who used to be wheeled around the old Met Center in a stroller because he's the son of former North Stars center Dave Gagner.

"Right now, Minnesota's rolling out players," said Atlanta Thrashers coach and General Manager Don Waddell, who has managed four U.S. World Championship teams and the 2006 Olympic men's hockey team. "Great players are coming out of Minnesota. It's a credit to Minnesota youth hockey and the high school programs, because that's where it all starts."

All four Minnesotans were wide-eyed and all smiles Friday as they faced the media. Here are some scene-setters:

Matt Niskanen

The 21-year-old, who thought he would be in the AHL this season, has been Sergei Zubov's defense partner all season. "It's been an unbelievable ride," Niskanen said. "I'm just having a blast."

He and his 2001 Pontiac Sunfire, a car with 92,000 miles that he's had since age 16, was also the victim of a recent practical joke from Stars goalie Marty Turco.

"All the guys were giving me grief to go out and 'buy yourself a new car and get rid of that thing,'" Niskanen said. "We went on a 10-day road trip and Turco had somebody steal my car from the airport and bring it to a place similar to [MTV's] Pimp My Ride. They put 'Dallas Stars, Nisky and No. 5' all over it, gave it a sweet paint job, new rims and a sound system.

"I had no clue. They rolled it on the ice at practice when we got back. I drove it for three or four weeks, but people were honking at me and waving because my name was on it. I got a new truck on New Year's."

Erik Johnson and Peter Mueller

Mueller said maybe the "coolest" part of playing in the YoungStars Game is doing it alongside fellow 19-year-old Erik Johnson.

"We played bantams and peewees together, so it's an honor for both of us," Mueller said.

Added Johnson, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft, "This is fun, but hopefully we'll have some All-Star Games together. That would be the most fun if we could both be there, it'd be awesome. But we'll remember this for a while."

Mike Lundin

The 23-year-old from Burnsville and former Minnesota Mr. Hockey finalist, who played four years at Maine, might have been the most in awe. He has played all season in Tampa Bay, but quite frankly, in training camp, he was penciled to go to the East Coast Hockey League.

"I wasn't envisioning being in the NHL this year. I thought hopefully I'd just be in the AHL, so this is amazing," Lundin said. "I'm trying to take it all in and kind of settle down a bit."

So why are there so many great young Minnesotans in the NHL?

"As soon as you want to play hockey, you have a chance to," Mueller said. "You don't have to drive three hours to get to a rink. It's right in your backyard. The coaches, the youth development in Minnesota is just unbelievable right now."

The agenda for today's Board of Governors meeting is scant, but Bob Naegele, in the midst of selling the Wild to Craig Leipold, will update the board on the sale. The board also will get a chance to vote on increasing the schedule from 82 games to 84.