Minnesota Blades

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Minnesota Blades is an American bandy club from Minnesota who play in the United States Premier Division.


Contents

[edit] History

The Blades were formed at the beginning of the 2002-2003 bandy season as the successor club to the Stabaek (MN) Bandy Club, which, after enjoying success in the 1980s and 1990s, had fallen on hard times. After Stabaek finished last in the Premier League table in 2001-2002, the Blades exceeded expectations in their inaugural season by finishing the season in third place, before losing in the semifinals of the league playoffs to the Amur Tigers.

The Blades have won two US Premier League titles, taking the Gunnar Cup in both 2004 and 2005. In 2005, the Gunnar Cup, which is traditionally awarded to the playoff champions, was awarded to the Blades by virtue of their first place regular season finish, as inclement weather in Minnesota caused the cancellation of that year's post-season tournament. In the 2005-2006 season, the Blades finished 4th in the regular season, and were eliminated from the league playoffs by expansion side OBS.

In both 2005 and 2006, the Blades were the runners-up in the North American Cup competition. The Blades are captained by Steve "Jazz Hands" Nelson; he earned the nickname due to his indelible stick handling prowess in the 2006 Federation cup. His off the ice antics in the local Discoteques solidified his nickname forever.

[edit] Results

Year N.A. Cup Premier Division
2007-2008 1st 1st
2006-2007 2nd 2nd
2005-2006 2nd 4th
2004-2005 2nd 1st
2003-2004 n/a 1st
2002-2003 n/a 3rd

[edit] Current Roster

As of January 22, 2007. [1]

No. Position Player
2 Flag of the United States MF Patrick Fronek
3 Flag of the United States DF Mark Stevens
4 Flag of the United States DF Jeremy Graff
5 Flag of the United States FW Aaron Allar
6 Flag of the United States MF Jordan Anderson
7 Flag of the United States DF Mike Stevens
9 Flag of the United States MF Bobby Scott
11 Flag of the United States MF Alex Seitz
No. Position Player
12 Flag of the United States MF Steve Nelson (captain)
14 Flag of the United States FW James Van Guilder
17 Flag of the United States DF Todd Fronek
20 Flag of the United States MF Andy Fronek (captain)
22 Flag of the United States FW Dan Bissonette
33 Flag of Canada GK Thom Wynn
34 Flag of the United States GK Ben Levy
99 Flag of the United States FW Scott Fronek

Thom Wynn has played for both USA and Canada

[edit] External links

  • [2]ibdb.bandysidan

Thom Wynn is a U.S. Citizen, and plays in the United States. He played for the Canadian National Team on special loan at the 2004 World Bandy Championships after the U.S. and Canada received approval from the International Bandy Federation.