There's a lot of stuff out there in Let's Play Hockey

Sometimes I start reading and find something facinating. Like Page 36 of the April 15 issue of Let's Play Hockey.

For once, I was intrigued with the list of 2009-10 Minnesota-Grown Pros.

So how many are there in the NHL? 45, although 8 of them have played in only a few games this season. ... 23 are defenseman, 21 forwards and 1 a goalie, John Curry of Pittsburgh who has hardly played. ... State does not produce many great goalies, it seems.

Who has the most? Colorado with 5, Tampa Bay has 4. ... Minnesota just 1, D-man Nate Prosser who played in three games.

Bloomington is the city which is the hometown of the most NHLers, six. They are Peter Mueller and Ryan Stoa of Colorado, Toby Petersen of Dallas, Tom Gilbert of Edmonton, Erik Johnson of St. Louis and Mark Parrish ot Tampa Bay.

There are 69 Minnesotans in the AHL, although some split time between this league and the NHL. Six are goalies. The Lake Erie Monsters have the most with eight.

The East Coast Hockey League has 48 Minnesotans, including six goalies. ... The International Hockey League has 16, including two goalies. ... The Southern Professional Hockey League has eight, the All American Hockey League has five.

In Europe, there are seven Minnesotans playing in Austria, 20 in Germany, five in Italy, four in Great Britain, three in the Netherlands and Sweden, two in Norway and Switzerland.

NAHL PRODUCES PLAYERS

The Gophers recruited two older -- and wiser? can't tell yet -- players from the North America Hockey League for next season. Both played on teams in Alaska: Jake Parenteau of the Alaska Avalanche and Jared Larson of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

So does this league have players? You betcha. Ninetry-two players on 17 teams have made college commitment, 90 percent of them or so to Division I schools.

There's a third player in the NAHL who has committed to the U, Jake Youso of the Owatonna Express. But right now its uncertain if he will play there next season (probably not) or ever.

Nebraska Omaha has commitments from five NAHL players or alumni, St. Cloud State from four, Alaska Anchorage and Bemidji State and Michigan Tech three, Denver two, and Minnesota State and Wisconsin one.

Air Force have commitments from 11.

More and more it looks like Parenteau and Larson are recruited walk-ons. The U has not announced any signings, and the word is when they do the names will be Nick Bjugstad of Blaine and Mark Alt of Cretin-Derham all, that's it.

* Chuck Fletcher, Wild GM, was on recently with Sid Hartman on the radio and one of the questions Sid asked was if any Minnesotans would go high in the NHL draft in late June? First name Fletcher mentioned was Bjugstad for what it is worth.

* Minnesota had 14 players in NHL this season, same as North Dakota. Four colleges had more: Michigan 23, Wisconsin 17 and Boston College and Boston University 16.