EAST GULL LAKE — It’s time to get this party started.
In Late January, the Minnesota Wild, in partnership with FanDual Sports Network North, announced Hockey Day Minnesota 2027 would be played in Brainerd at Brainerd International Raceway.
Specific dates, events and teams highlighted in the event have not been announced, but to get the local population up to speed, the organizing committee is hosting a community event from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, June 22, at Ernie’s on Gull Lake.
The event will feature live music, food and drink and a Hockey Day Minnesota 2027 logo reveal.
The Brainerd/Little Falls Warriors competed against Shakopee as part of the 2025 Hockey Day in Minnesota, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at Valleyfair.
Minnesota Hockey Magazine / Rick Olson
“To keep community interest and community involvement, we’re planning events every three or four months from now until the actual Hockey Day in Minnesota 18 months from now,” Brad Pieper, chair of the local organizing committee, said. “The community is encouraged to come out on June 22. In between the sets of a variety of musicians, we are going to unveil the logo that we will use for Hockey Day Minnesota in Brainerd. We’ll talk more about our plans moving forward and how people can get involved. We’ll hear from a few sponsors of the event.
“I think this will be great and really highlight our community. It will show off what it’s like in the Brainerd lakes area during the wintertime. It will drive our winter economy during a time when a lot of our businesses are struggling to keep the lights on.”
The Brainerd/Little Falls Warriors competed against Shakopee as part of the 2025 Hockey Day in Minnesota, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at Valleyfair.
Minnesota Hockey Magazine / Rick Olson
Hockey Day Minnesota is a 25-year-old celebration of hockey in the State of Hockey. The multi-day event started in 2007 in Baudette. The event has traveled to St. Paul, Hermantown, Moorhead, Grand Rapids, Elk River, Duluth, Stillwater, St. Cloud, Bemidji, Mankato, Warroad and last year it was held in Shakopee, where the Brainerd/Little Falls Warriors girls hockey team played against host Shakopee at ValleyFair.
“This is all being driven and supported by the Minnesota Wild,” Pieper said. “There will be three hockey games televised on FanDuel Sports Network North and it’s the most watched TV event in the state of Minnesota every year. There will be a lot of interest in our community because of that event.
“We’re hoping to get between 10,000 to 20,000 people there on the day of the event. There are usually 10 to 12,000 tickets sold, but our goal is to have the largest Hockey Day yet. We’re going to do the best job we can, but we want to have the most people ever to attend a Hockey Day because we have the venue for it. BIR is enormous and we hope to fill it up.”
Brainerd/Little Falls’ head coach Tate Rusk cheers on his team on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, during Hockey Day Minnesota at Valleyfair.
Minnesota Hockey Magazine / Rick Olson
JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at
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Covering the Brainerd lakes area sports scene for the past 23 years.