Hendrickson's Hockey Skill Started In The Back Yard
MOORHEAD--- Garrett Hendrickson had a makeshift ice rink in his back yard in the winter from an early age, thanks to his father.
"He would put plastic down and wood around it and flood it all night and wait for it to freeze," said Hendrickson, who is from Virginia, Minn. "It got bigger every year. By the time I was 10 
years old, it was the whole yard."
These days, he plays on more refined rinks. He's a sophomore forward on the Concordia men's hockey team and leads the team in scoring with 14 points through 12 games.
"He's spent his whole life on the ice," said Cobbers head coach Chris Howe, whose team is off to a 5-4-3 start. "He really has a sense for how to play the game."
Hendrickson comes from a hockey family. Keith Hendrickson, his father, was the head high school hockey coach in Virginia for 25 years and now is a regional scout for the Buffalo Sabres.
Dave Hendrickson, his grandpa, played hockey at Michigan State, coached two Olympians as a high school coach and also coached the Hanson Brothers from the hockey movie "Slapshot" when they were in high school.
Garrett started skating around 3 years old, Keith said. The first backyard ice rink was constructed using a shallow, inflatable yard pool.
"It was like twice the size of a king-size bed," Keith said. "That was it."
Keith remembers the frigid nights when icicles were hanging from his nostrils as his flooded the different rinks through Garrett's childhood.
"He was on it every day," said Keith, who played hockey at Minnesota-Duluth for his uncle, Gus Hendrickson. "He spent hundreds of hours out there."
When Garrett didn't know he was watching, Keith would see his son pretending like it was the Stanley Cup Finals on those outdoor rinks.
Garrett would be doing the commentating, along with acting like he was players on both teams.
"It was a good thing," Keith said. "That helps develop passion and creativity. He had fun out there."
The creativity Garrett created is evident today. He leads the Cobbers with 10 assists.
"His biggest attribute is that he sees the ice so well," said Cobbers senior Andrew Deters, who is from Sartell, Minn. "His passing and scoring ability is above anyone else."
While his family played an important role in his hockey development, a current NHL player also helped Garrett get better as a player. Matt Niskanen – a defenseman for the Washington Capitals – is from Virginia and played for Keith in high school.
Niskanen graduated from high school in 2005, while Garrett is a 2011 graduate.
"He was pretty much my role model growing up and he treated me well," said Garrett.
Another perk of growing up in a hockey family for Garrett was being able to be around the high school teams his dad coached.
Hanging out in the locker room with the high school boys was a cool thing for Garrett before he was old enough to play on the varsity.
"When they would tell a story that wasn't appropriate for me at that age, they would tell me to put on earmuffs," Garrett said with a smile. "I wouldn't actually cover up. I would still listen."