Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

Growing up in Duluth was the perfect launching pad for a dedicated hockey fanatic, but it required an ironic twist before John Gilbert moved into the fast lane of a lifelong journey to capture in words the emotion and excitement of hockey, his favorite sport. His dad, Wally Gilbert, Duluth's all-time greatest athlete (who's experiences included playing third base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, running back and kicker for the Duluth Eskimos, as well as playing with touring basketball teams that were the forerunners of the NBA)taught him the love of sports. John's mother, Mary, a former librarian, taught him to also love the power and grace of the written word. But it wasn’t until the early 1960s when John decided to combine the two and become a sportswriter. Sportswriters all know baseball, basketball and football, so as a college student at UMD and Minnesota, John immersed himself into learning about hockey, the sport he knew the least, igniting a fascination that never ended. Covering high school and college hockey at the Duluth News-Tribune led to a 30-year career at the Minneapolis Tribune (later Star Tribune) where he covered every level of hockey from high school to college to professional hockey, at the same time. The most passionate moments often came from high school hockey, so he covered every high school game with the same intensity as the Stanley Cup finals or the Olympics. John’s wife, Joan, became an astute student of hockey, and their sons, Jack and Jeff, grew up to be smart and creative players. Fascinated by what he observed from coaches like John Mariucci at Minnesota, Del Genereau at Duluth Cathedral, Glen Sonmor of the Gophers, and the legendary Herb Brooks, with whom he shared many discussions about divergent international styles from the Soviet Union and Sweden, John volunteered to coach youth teams of sons Jack and Jeff, where he proved some experimental systems worked at any level. He also coached Joan's senior women's team, and enlisted Joan to coach girls and women's teams with him before the start of girls high school hockey. Moving back home to Duluth, John has continued writing about sports, mainly hockey. Always striving to find the nuggets amid the superficial results of any sports event, John Gilbert has covered numerous Stanley Cup Playoffs and NCAA hockey tournaments, as well as the Lake Placid and Salt Lake City Olympics, but he always returns to his favorite venue -- the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. It's the purest form of the game, and he hasn't missed one since he went to the old St. Paul Auditorium as a college student, in 1963.