Lake Placid, Minnesota native, plays prep hockey | News, sports, jobs

“Even though he’s a Blackhawks player and kind of a rival, he’s probably been one of the guys that I looked up to and considered an idol,” Ericsson said.

This fall, Ericson, whose parents are Catherine and Chris Ericson of Lake Placid, will be able to follow in his idol’s footsteps when he visits and plays prep school hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minnesota, the same school where Toews played during his high school hockey career. The 15-year-old was one of only three hockey players born in 2009 to be offered a spot to join the team the following year.

The school has produced more than 100 NHL players, including superstars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. The projected first overall pick in the upcoming NHL draft, Macklin Celebrini, was also in attendance at Shattuck-St. Mariaschool.

“The alumni list is pretty crazy,” Ericsson said. “It’s pretty awesome to go to the same school they went to and see them playing in the NHL today.”

Ericson also has ambitions to have a professional hockey career in some way. Although he is still at least three years away from considering a professional career, his passion for hockey and competing at the highest level has taken him to the same place Toew and many other players did when they were his age.

“Hockey has been my sport since I was about three or four years old,” Ericsson said.

Although he dabbled in lacrosse and youth football, nothing could match his love for hockey.

He started playing youth hockey in Lake Placid before taking it a step further when he joined the Clifton Park Dynamo AAA team almost four years ago.

While the commute to Clifton Park, which is about 250 miles round trip, isn’t necessarily ideal – especially considering he had to practice two or three times a week – his parents were determined to support his hockey journey.

For the past two years, Ericson played for Northwood School in Lake Placid. Although he saw limited time on the ice as an eighth-grader at Northwood, he practiced daily with the team and continued to play for the CP Dynamo. In his first season, Ericson played in nearly all of Northwood’s 60 scheduled games.

While still playing AAA hockey, he was named to CP Dynamo’s top line and was selected as an All-League player, which earned him an invitation to the CCM 68 Camp. The camp invites 68 of North America’s top 14-year-old boys hockey players to a weeklong camp in Chicago, with scouts in attendance.

Shattuck-St. Mary’s was one of the prep schools that had a scout there. The school used game footage, along with what they saw at camp, to determine his fit for the program.

“When we visited Shattuck, he didn’t actually skate there – they had all the information they needed, so it was just an interview with him and an interview with us,” said Chris Ericson. “We spent about eight hours on campus and we went from there.”

A few months later, when Chris picked up CJ from school, he received a call from an unknown number with the location: “Faribault, Minnesota.”

“We were both like, ‘Well, we’re going to find out now.'” Chris said. “The coach called and told us he was participating and had a spot on the team. We were kind of high-fiving and I was really trying to shake him by the shoulders and not make any noise because we were so excited. I didn’t want to seem too eager.”

The decision to leave Northwood for Shattuck-St. It wasn’t easy for Mary, as the school is 20 hours away and in a different state than his hometown. But with some of his friends already on the Shattuck-St.Mary team, he decided it was the right school for him.

“It was a pretty big decision for my family and me,” CJ said. “I know it will be a huge change for my life in general and I was just overall super excited and looking forward to what was to come.”

Along with its long list of NHL and PWHL alumni, the school has a long history of success. The school’s hockey programs have won 36 national championships, including four this past year.

The school, located about 45 minutes south of Minneapolis, has two full-size ice rinks and a practice rink on campus, as well as a strength and conditioning facility.

“It wasn’t what I could have imagined,” CJ said. “Every aspect of it is at a professional level. Training facilities, ice rinks, coaches. It’s all professional level. It’s pretty crazy.”

There are approximately 450 students attending Shattuck-St. Mary’s, which runs from seventh grade to 12th. The hockey players will be on the ice six days a week for seven months and will compete in a 60-game schedule against teams from across the U.S. and Canada. Seventeen coaches guide Shattuck’s teams, including a U14, U15, U16, U18 and prep.

When CJ arrives in Shattuck-St. Mary is in August, he will try out for the school’s boys’ teams. Based on his age alone, he will likely make the school’s 15U team.

Right now, he’s just excited to play hockey in Minnesota, the only U.S. state to list ice hockey as an official state sport.

“I’ve seen videos and photos and been to games with a crazy atmosphere and a student section,” he said. “It really changes the game when you’re on the ice and all those people are cheering for you.”