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I WAS A TEENAGE RINK RAT

I started playing ice hockey when I was about five years old growing up in Minneapolis , Minnesota, USA, where there are 10,000 lakes and it gets rather cold in the wintertime.

So you either play ice hockey or ski or sit inside a watch TV.

Fortunately I had an older brother who was a very good athlete and what he did essentially was to make me skate for two years before he let me pick up a hockey stick.

Therefore, I was pretty prolific skater at a young age and the rest of the aspects of the game came rather easily because of this grounding.

It was just a matter of getting out and playing throghout the years and developing skills.

I took to the game just like I did to American football and a couple of other sports, but I felt I wanted to make hockey my priority.

I worked very hard and I was very determined and fortunately I had the opportunity to play with a national championship team at collegiate level at the University of Minnesota and went to play with the Minnesota North Srars Farm Club for a few months in the minor leagues in Oklahoma city.

IS MINNESOTA MAD ABOUT ICE HOCKEY?

Minnesota is very much about ice hockey.

It is located in the centre of the USA and on the border with Canada and is actually the number one American hockey state.

It's a big hockey state and mirrors Canada in developing its youth talent.

Because of the demographics you have got thousands of lakes and between 1,500 and 2,000 rinks in the state itself, probably almost 500 rinks in the Minneapolis - St Pauls area.

So in other words every public park has a hockey rink, so the facilities are there.

Getting on ice is just as easy as it is to go over the park in this country and kick around a football.

Our public parks generally speaking have either artificial or natural ice depending on the wealth of the community.

The amateur hockey association was conceived around 25 years ago with the aim of developing kids in all areas of the country - now yo find it is very strong in the East, Boston, New York, Up State Vermon and every gones as far as Los Angeles - Wayne Gretsky;s Kings - and Southern California and Florida now have professional teams.

WHAT DID YOUNG BRAD GET UP TO AT THE RINK?

When I was growing up I would get home from school at 2pm and it was straight down to the rink.

I was basically what you would call a rink rat.

I would spend two to three hours till dinner time at the rink, walk the two blocks to my home, eat and right back to the rink till 10pm.

It was eat, sleep, study, plaY . . .

I made a few sets of these as a donation to a fund raising event for my cousin's kid's hockey team.