MANKATO, Minn. -- The wildly popular Hockey Day Minnesota will indeed be held south of the Twin Cities someday. But that will not happen in 2021.
Like so many other parts of the sports world that have been cancelled or delayed, the Hockey Day Minnesota event scheduled for Mankato early next year has been pushed back 12 months, it was announced on Wednesday.
There will still be some form of HDM in 2021, but it will not be in Mankato. Details of the replacement event will be announced at a later time, according to a press release sent out by the Minnesota Wild, who are among the chief organizers for the event, which was first held in Baudette in 2007.
“While Hockey Day Minnesota may look a little different this year, we know it will still be a very special experience for those watching on television,” said Wild president Matt Majka, in a statement. “It has become an annual tradition in the State of Hockey, and we look forward to hosting another great celebration of hockey this season and can’t wait for Hockey Day 2022 in Mankato.”
The 2022 event will be held at Blakeslee Stadium, the 7,000-seat home of the Minnesota State, Mankato football team and the site of Minnesota Vikings training camp for decades. The specific date will be announced later.
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“The local organizing committee is grateful for the outpouring of support from the Greater Mankato Area and the overwhelming enthusiasm to continue driving forward as the host community for Hockey Day Minnesota in 2022,” said David Wittenberg, the 2022 event’s co-chair.
In addition to the first two events in Baudette, Hockey Day Minnesota has also been held in St. Paul (twice), Hermantown, Moorhead, Minnetonka, Grand Rapids, Elk River, Duluth, Stillwater, St. Cloud, Bemidji and most recently in Minneapolis. The event features a full day of outdoor hockey, including high school and college games, and usually ends with Minnesota Gophers and Wild games, all of it televised by Fox Sports North.
