Chicago Blackhawks First Round Draft Pick Mason West Just Led His High School Football Team To A Minnesota State Championship

Multiple things about Mason West's story fascinate me. Football aside, to be taken in the first round of the the NHL draft, straight off your high school hockey team is wild. That's more of a testament to the quality of high school hockey being played in Minnesota than it is to Mason West himself. But the fact that a kid can be a round one NHL talent and still choose to play 4 years at a public high school... the fact that the caliber of hockey being played in Minnesota is good enough that it's even a competition for him... as a person who grew up playing high school hockey in Ohio, it's hard for me to even wrap my mind around. D1 colleges barely even bother recruiting out of high school. Typically, any kid who has a real shot to play in college doesn't even consider playing high school hockey. Or maybe they'll play their freshman year before moving on to whatever the best junior team is within a 100 miles radius. High school hockey in Minnesota is just on a whole different level. 

Secondly in a world where young athletes are seemingly looking for ANY to quit on their current team, and focus on preparing for the next level, this is such a rare story to see. Take college football for example. Most players with even an outside shot at playing in the NFL aren't playing in a bowl game. Penn State's QB2 last season, Beau Pribula, left Penn State before the playoffs started so he could get a jump start on preparing for next season with Missouri. You can't blame these kids for doing it. There's so much money on the line. And especially for a guy like Beau Pribula, who most likely isn't going to have a career in the NFL, this might be his only chance to really cash in on his talents. 

So with all that going on, to have a guy like Mason West with a whole NHL career laid out in front of him, and be willing to risk it all to play a season of high school football... that's pretty fucking admirable. I gotta imagine there were people in his camp (family, friends, the Chicago Blackhawks, etc.) who wanted to puke when he made that decision. If I were his parents, I'd be sick to my stomach every time I watched my 1st round NHL draft pick son drop back to pass. Or god forbid tuck the ball and scramble up the middle.

But I'll be damned if it wasn't worth it. Edina beat Moorhead in the state championship, 42-35. Mason West went a 7-for-7 for 78-yards and 2 TD's. While his running back, Chase Bjorgaard (who was also Edina's goalie in hockey), ran for 320-yards and 6 TD's. I suppose when you have a running back like that to lean on, it makes your decision to play one more season a little bit easier.

But for the record, aside from being a top NHL prospect, Mason West is also a 3-star QB recruit. He could play D1 college football if he felt like it.

In a different world, we might be watching Mason West lead Kent State to a hilarious win over UMass on a rainy Tuesday night in November. 

Spittin Chiclets interviewed him on their most recent episode. He seems like a great kid. You just don't see two sport athletes like that much anymore. Not even in high school. Not the way you used to. Kids are so heavily pushed into focusing on one sport nowadays. To see a guy like Mason West do it on the highest level is pretty damn cool.