Behind Miners Memorial Arena in Virginia, on an adjacent indoor rink, Garrett Hendrickson can be found every night after hockey practice. Sometimes he's with friends, sometimes alone, while being just a block from home.
"If I'm by myself, I pretend I'm in a game and in different situations, and I work on different things. Mostly I work on my shot," Hendrickson said this week.
The junior center for Virginia-Mountain Iron-Buhl enjoys the life of a rink rat and has earned some rewards for his work. He accepted a scholarship from St. Cloud State this week and could be with the Huskies as soon as 2011-12.
Hendrickson, 17, was the second-leading scorer for last season's VMIB team that went 23-7 and won the Section 7A title. He had 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points. He's been on the hockey varsity since ninth grade, played in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League the past two years and was invited to USA Hockey Select 17 and 16 camps in New York.
He also made visits to Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth, and had contact from North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha. He received a scholarship offer from Bemidji State.
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"There's something about St. Cloud State that felt right for me. I like their style -- it's more like shinny hockey where you're able to be creative and make plays -- and I liked their coaches," said Hendrickson, who is 5-foot-1 and 167 pounds, and a varsity tennis player.
Hendrickson comes from a hockey family. His dad, Keith, 52, the VMIB head coach, played at Virginia and played in 150 games as a UMD defenseman from 1975-80 (including a red-shirt year) and was team MVP in 1979-80.
At UMD, Keith Hendrickson played for his uncle, Gus Hendrickson. Keith Hendrickson, following in the footsteps of his dad, Dave, became Virginia's coach in 1986-87.
Brothers Gus and Dave Hendrickson, who grew up in Eveleth, played at Michigan State, and Gus had a successful run as coach at Grand Rapids High School before coaching at UMD from 1975-82.
"Garrett has good hockey instincts, good vision and good hand skills," says Keith Hendrickson. "He's worked very hard at being a creative player."
