NHL Winter Classic embraces All-Hockey Hair traditions

A video features Wild and Blues players adopting the classic poses made famous at the state tournament while past team members will be at the event.

January 1, 2022 at 2:08AM
Minnesota Wild center Rem Pitlick, center, greets teammates at the bench after he scored a goal against the Seattle Kraken in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) ORG XMIT: MER674bda95f49b88e0ae946941739ba
Minnesota Wild center Rem Pitlick drops a “Hi, Mom” in his video turn. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The NHL Winter Classic aims to embrace Minnesota traditions as part of Saturday's event, so along with heading outdoors amid a painfully intense cold snap, it looks to tap the state's love for All-Hockey Hair teams surrounding the state high school tournament.

The league released a video featuring Wild and Blues players making like they were high schoolers hitting the big time. Among them: Rem Pitlick, who dropped a "Hi, Mom." Joining him from the Wild as Marcus Flow-igno, Jon Merrill, Ryan Hartman and Jonas Brodin.

Among the Minnesota teams to be skating at a Target Field auxiliary rink as part of the event will be eight past members. Daniel Sandvig, who was part of the 2016 squad with Burnsville, called it "a dream come true," in an interview with NHL.com.

"This will show people that Minnesota is the State of Hockey," he added. "I hope the Winter Classic brings that atmosphere and is just a moment people won't forget."

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Vince Tuss

Night home-page producer

Vince Tuss is a producer working on the StarTribune.com home page most evenings. Before that, he was a copy editor and a night police reporter. 

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