St. Paul high schools to fold into one boys hockey team

St. Paul Johnson boys hockey is no more.

The tradition-rich program with state titles in 1947, 1953, 1955 and 1963 was the latest boys hockey casualty, bowing to changing eras and demographics on St. Paul’s East Side.

“We hung on as long as we could,” Johnson coach Steve “Moose” Younghans told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Thursday morning.

St. Paul school district leaders sent an email to students and families announcing the news Thursday morning. In the email, obtained by the Star Tribune, district leaders wrote that they believe all St. Paul players will have an opportunity to play next season on this single team without cuts.

Highland Park will be the host school, with practices and games being held there. St. Paul Central also feeds into Highland Park; Como Park previously fed into Johnson. The Highland Park coaching staff will lead the team, the district’s email said.

Johnson has four players for the upcoming 2025-26 season, Younghans said, plus two from Como Park who fed the cooperative program and one from Open World Learning Community.

“It has been decided St. Paul Public Schools and the athletic directors to combine (co-op) the hockey teams and create one SPPS team starting the 2025-26 season,” Highland Park athletic director Pat Auran wrote in the email.

This news continues a trend of dissolving city and first-ring public school hockey programs. Minneapolis has had one team representing seven public schools since the 2010-11 season. Bloomington Kennedy players will fold into Bloomington Jefferson next season. Richfield disbanded its team, and Armstrong and Cooper form a single co-op.

Half of the eight 1991 state tournament participants will not field a team next winter: Richfield, Kennedy, Johnson and Burnsville.

How rich is Johnson’s history? Hockey Hall of Famer Herb Brooks played on the Governors' 1955 state champions before going on to coach the Gophers to three NCAA championships and the U.S. Olympic team to its improbable 1980 title.

“It’s a sad day, a real sad day,” said Skip Peltier, a standout member of the 1963 championship team.

More recently, Highland Park was on the opposite side of the sliding-participation trend in boys hockey. In 2016, the school completed construction of a privately funded locker facility, the centerpiece of its program comeback. The varsity program had ended in 1987 and formed a co-op with Central that lasted until 2007, when both schools decided to send their hockey players to Como Park’s program.

Strong youth program numbers led to Highland Park relaunching varsity hockey in 2010-11, and soon it will stand as the single host for all.

The Johnson and Highland Park programs posted losing records this season, with the Governors going 9-14-2 and the Scots 8-17-2. Minneapolis has posted successful seasons recently with its co-op team, including a 17-8-3 record this season.

“In the inner city, there’s a lack of interest, skills and parent involvement in some sports,” former Como Park interim activities director Nate Galloway told the Star Tribune in 2016. “I’m not making predictions, but I think you’ll see more consolidation.”