For the 16th year in a row, we are offering weekend camps that prepare goalies of all ages and abilities for this important time of the year.

Tryout Camp for Advanced Goalies
Sept. 17-19 – Richfield Arena

Tryout Camp
Sept. 24-26 – Richfield Arena

Tryout Camp
Oct. 15-17 – River Falls, Wis.

Tryout Camp for Girls High School Goalies
Oct. 29-31 – Richfield Arena

Class sizes are limited. Register online today by visiting our website.

Coach Carroll at Minnesota Hockey Advanced Goalie Camp.

There were 50 high school-aged goalies at the four-day, three-night camp (25 boys and 25 girls.) The goalies were invited to participate based on their performance in the USA Hockey Advanced Festivals held during the spring.

I was one of the 17 college or high school goalies coaches who worked with the participants during the on-ice sessions throughout the weekend. Current Minnesota college goalies served as on-ice demonstrators/counselors.

It was a lot of fun and a cool event to be a part of.

Goalies at July session at Richfield Arena.

We have openings in both sessions. Convenient online registration is available.

At our July session at Richfield, we had goalies from several hockey communities in Minnesota as well Iowa and Canada. It was a fun group of kids. The goalies worked hard at improving their skills. The coaches saw lots of improvement in their individual skills by the end of camp.

Coach Carroll, one of the Minnesota's top goalie coaches, has been hosting clinics like this since 1995.

Our second summer session begins this Friday at Richfield Arena. This session focuses on fundamental skill development and building self-confidence through repetition. We have a few openings available. You can reserve a spot today by registering online.

Registered participants include goalies from Canada, Wisconsin, Iowa and several communities throughout Minnesota.

Last month at our Eagan session, goalies from all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as well as Hutchinson and Rochester joined us for the three-day, six-hour clinic. The coaches saw noticeable improvement in the skills of the group from Friday to Sunday.

Each participant received a special souvenir from the Minnesota Wild. Eric the Maskman, who custom paints goalie helmets, stopped by Sunday to visit with the goalie families and show off some of his latest creations.

This weekend we are in Eagan, Minn., for a six-hour session focusing on fundamentals. Great group goalies in the session, all working hard at getting better while also having fun.

Participants are from all over Minneapolis-St. Paul area as well as outstate communities including Rochester and Hutchinson.

Custom painted goalie helmet by Eric the Maskman.

Eric the Maskman who recently painted a goalie helmet for me, is expected to stop by on Sunday to visit with the goalie families to talk about what’s involved with custom painting a goalie helmet.

Goalies will get special gift from Minnesota Wild at conclusion of Sunday’s session.

Zane Gothberg, who just graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls, is the 6th ranked North American goalie available, according to the NHL Central Scouting Report.

I had the opportunity to work with Zane in 2007 when he participated in Minnesota Hockey’s Dave Peterson Advanced Goalie Camp. Gothberg has accepted a scholarship offer to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota. Gothberg attended the Carroll Goalie School during his youth hockey days.

If Gothberg is drafted, it would mark the second consecutive year a goalie who played high school hockey in Minnesota was selected in the NHL Draft.

Last year, the Phoenix Coyotes took Roseau’s Mike Lee in the third round (91st player overall). Lee will be a sophomore at St. Cloud State this fall.

There were six goalies in each age group. We had the challenging task of ranking the goalies from top to bottom. The highest ranked goalies in each age group have a chance to be invited to USA Hockey’s National Development Camp along other talented goalies from throughout the country.

The other goalie evaluators were Mandy Cronin from USA Hockey and Aaron Haupert, an assistant coach for St. Mary’s University women’s hockey team.

We watched the goalies closely during scrimmages (and expanded warm-ups) and we had some excellent in-depth discussions on the strengths and weaknesses of each participant as we determined the final rankings.

We had 16 boys and girls from four different youth hockey associations join us for the on-ice session. For some it was the final ice time of the year, for others it was a chance to sharpen their skills before the spring season gets going. Either way, all the goalies worked hard, improved their game and had fun!

Four players from the UW-River Falls women’s team helped with the session.