Edina Lakers

The Edina Lakers were a Tier III Jr. A ice hockey team located in Edina, Minnesota, a Southern suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Edina Lakers play in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL). 
They had been the St. Paul Lakers until 2009 when they moved to a new arena.
== History ==
Formed by Ralph Hayne in 1993 as the East Metro Lakers, the team called Aldrich Arena in White Bear Lake home until 2000. The team renamed "St. Paul Lakers" and moved to Highland Arena for one season before relocating to Veterans Memorial Community Center in Inver Grove Heights until 2009.
Renamed "Edina Lakers" in the summer of 2009, the club called Minnesota Made Ice Center home until summer of 2014.
Under the guidance of coach Mike LaValle, the Lakers won the USA Hockey Junior B National Tournament in 1999.
In 2015, the Minnesota Junior Hockey League was merged into the United States Premier Hockey League as part of the Midwest Division, a new Tier III league within the USPHL. However, the Midwest did not have its own league playoff championships, but instead the top teams from the Midwest Division played the top teams from the USP3 Division for a single championship. The Lakers won their conference semifinals, qualifying for the USPHL USP3/Midwest playoffs but failed to move on past the round robin stage. In 2016, the Midwest Division was split up among the USPHL Elite and USP3 Divisions with the Forest Lake Lakers going to the Elite Division.
==Season-by-season records==
Season 	GP	W 	L 	T	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Regular Season Finish 	Playoffs
1999–00	36	4 	31	0	1 	9 	97 	266	7th, MNJHL 	
2000–01	36	11	21	—	4 	26 	130	205	4th, MNJHL 	
2001–02	42	13	24	—	5 	31 	145	209	6th, MNJHL 	
2002–03	42	26	16	—	0 	52 	186	156	4th, MNJHL 	
2003–04	40	20	18	1	1 	42 	174	170	3rd, MNJHL 	
2004–05	48	14	29	3	2 	33 	176	211	5th, MNJHL 	
2005–06	48	10	35	2	1 	23 	163	271	7th, MNJHL 	
2006–07	40	6 	31	1	2 	15 	144	298	6th, MNJHL 	
2007–08	48	9 	38	1	0 	19 	174	299	8th, MNJHL 	
2008–09	48	12	33	1	2 	7 	168	279	8th, MNJHL 	
2009–10	50	27	19	0	4 	58 	195	162	6th, MNJHL 	Lost Division Quarterfinals
2010–11	45	21	20	—	4 	46 	162	173	5th, MNJHL 	
2011–12	48	20	27	—	1 	41 	160	249	6th, MNJHL 	
2012–13	50	23	23	—	4 	50 	189	220	6th, MNJHL-MN 	Lost Division Quarterfinals
2013–14	46	12	30	—	4 	28 	107	205	7th, MNJHL-MN 	Lost Division Quarterfinals
2014–15	42	26	16	—	— 	52 	163	109	6th, MNJHL-MN 	Lost Division Semifinals
2015–16	48	39	7 	—	2 	80 	257	91 	1st of 9, Western Conf.2nd of 17, USPHL-Midwest	Won Conf. Quarterfinals, 2-1 vs. Decatur BlazeWon Conf. Semifinals, 2-1 vs. Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings1-1-1 in USPHL Round Robin(L, 1-3 vs. Eels-USP3; W, 6-3 vs. Hounds-Midwest; T, 2-2 vs. Hitmen-USP3)
==Alumni==
The Lakers have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey, NCAA Division I and Division III, and ACHA college programs, and professional hockey.
One notable former player is Joel Rechlicz, who played with the Lakers in 2003–04 at the age of 16. Recruited by former Lakers General Manager Scott Ludwig, Rechlicz was signed by the coaching staff at the team tryout held in the Madison area in the summer of 2003. Rechlicz went on to play professional hockey in the ECHL, AHL and NHL.
* New York Islanders (2008–10)
* Washington Capitals (2011–12, 2013–14)
* Portland Pirates (while signed with the Phoenix Coyotes) (2012–13)
* Iowa Wild (while signed with the Minnesota Wild) (2014–15)
* Grand Rapids Griffins (while signed with the Detroit Red Wings) (2015)
== Coaches ==
Coach 	Seasons 	Notes
Jeff Parker 	1993–95 	
Mike LaValle 	1995–99 	Named assistant coach at Augsburg College
Jeff St. Martin	1999–02 	
Don Babineau 	2002–04 	46-34-1-1 record over two seasons.
Cal Ballard 	2004–05 	
Stu Ronsberg 	2005–08 	
Dan Strot 	2008–09 	
Wes Durand 	2009–10 	Single season most wins as a member of the MnJHL in franchise history and most goals scored in single season in franchise history.
Kasey Yoder 	2010–11 	Named assistant coach at Austin Bruins (NAHL)
Joe Long 	2011–12 	Named assistant coach at Hamline University
Dennis Canfield	2014–2016 	Named head coach of the Atlanta Capitals (NA3HL)
Kasey Yoder 	2016–present	
==References==
==External links==
* Lakers website
* @LakersJrHockey
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:Minnesota Junior Hockey League team
Category:Established in 1993
Category:Disestablished in 2014