Growing up in St. Louis, Mike McKenna heard stories from his grandfather about what it was like trying to muster a hockey game in Missouri.

McKenna’s grandfather was one of half a dozen guys who would travel two hours to Springfield, Illinois, to play on a real rink. St. Louis finally received a National Hockey League expansion team, the Blues, in 1967, and as more Blues players settled in the area, the seeds of youth hockey germinated and eventually blossomed.

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