Valley Forge Minutemen Celebrate 25 Years

Valley Forge Minutemen Celebrate 25 Years

The Valley Forge Minutemen’s inaugural season was 1996-1997, prior to this they were Valley Forge Colonials Tier I. The first season of the Valley Forge Minutemen was out of the Viking Rink in King of Prussia which has since become Upper Merion Community Center. Construction of Center Ice began in Spring 1997 and in November of 1997 the Minutemen began playing in Oaks, and the rest, as they say, is history.

To date, the Minutemen Organization has had many players go on after youth hockey to continue to play at a higher level:

• The Minutemen program has had 5 Alumni that have played in the NHL; Chad Kolarik, Chris Bala, Eric Tangradi, Colby Cohen and Dave Sloane.
• We have had 5 Alumni that are playing or are committed to play Division 1 Girls ice hockey; Hadley Hartmetz, Jenn Fischl, Ava Rinker, Riley Grimley and Grace Dwyer.
• Over 100 Minutemen Alumni have played NCAA Division 1 or Division 3 ice hockey.
• 8 Alumni have played for the National Training Development Program (NTDP); Matt Herneisen, David Robertson, Steve Mandes, Chad Kolarik, Chris McCarthy, Tyler Gratton, Kenny Connors and Owen McLaughlin; with Kolarik and McLaughlin being drafted to the NHL.
• The Minutemen won a National Championship in 1999 by Peewee Major.

The Minutemen Organization has grown steadily over the years and looks forward to continued growth and success. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Now let’s play some hockey and let’s win some hockey games!

Minutemen Mission

The Valley Forge Minutemen Hockey Club is committed to developing youth hockey players from Mite to Midget. We teach young athletes fundamental and advanced hockey skills and team concepts. We emphasize the importance of education, nutrition, off-ice training and rest/recovery. We value hard work and reward commitment, honesty, loyalty and respect for the game of hockey. We take pride in advancing our players to the highest level.