The Minnesota Mullets are a Tier III junior ice hockey team located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Mullets play in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Premier Division. From 1993 to 2015, the team played in the former Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL). For most of the franchise's existence, it was known as the Lakers and played in various cities in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area.

History Formed by Ralph Hayne in 1993 as the East Metro Lakers, the team called Aldrich Arena in White Bear Lake home until 2000. Under the guidance of coach Mike LaValle, the Lakers won the USA Hockey Junior B National Tournament in 1999.

The team renamed St. Paul Lakers and moved to Highland Arena for one season before relocating to Veterans Memorial Community Center in Inver Grove Heights. In 2009, it was renamed Edina Lakers when the club called Minnesota Made Ice Center. In 2014, the team relocated again to Forest Lake and became the Forest Lake Lakers.

In 2015, the Minnesota Junior Hockey League was merged into the United States Premier Hockey League as part of the Midwest Division, a new Tier III league within the USPHL. However, the Midwest did not have its own league playoff championships, but instead the top teams from the Midwest Division played the top teams from the USP3 Division for a single championship. The Lakers won their conference semifinals, qualifying for the USPHL USP3/Midwest playoffs but failed to move on past the round robin stage. In 2016, the Midwest Division was split up among the USPHL Elite and USP3 Divisions with the Forest Lake Lakers going to the Elite Division. In April 2016, Kasey Yoder replaced Dennis Canfield as head coach and general manager.

On September 9, 2016, Hayne sold the franchise to Chris Walby. Walby then took over as head coach and general manager from the recently promoted Yoder. He then led the Lakers to a 23–17–4 record and a home playoff spot in the first round. At the conclusion of the 2016–17 season, Walby renamed the franchise to the Minnesota Mullets while remaining in Forest Lake. The Mullets also became a player development affiliate of the Jersey Hitmen of the National Collegiate Development Conference, a new higher-level league run by the USPHL for the 2017–18 season. In 2019, the team moved to Northeast Ice Arena in Minneapolis.

Season-by-season records Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA Regular season finish PlayoffsMinnesota Junior Hockey League 1999–00 36 4 31 0 1 9 97 266 7th, MNJHL 2000–01 36 11 21 — 4 26 130 205 4th, MNJHL 2001–02 42 13 24 — 5 31 145 209 6th, MNJHL 2002–03 42 26 16 — 0 52 186 156 4th, MNJHL 2003–04 40 20 18 1 1 42 174 170 3rd, MNJHL 2004–05 48 14 29 3 2 33 176 211 5th, MNJHL 2005–06 48 10 35 2 1 23 163 271 7th, MNJHL 2006–07 40 6 31 1 2 15 144 298 6th, MNJHL 2007–08 48 9 38 1 0 19 174 299 8th, MNJHL 2008–09 48 12 33 1 2 7 168 279 8th, MNJHL 2009–10 50 27 19 0 4 58 195 162 6th, MNJHL Lost Division Quarterfinals 2010–11 45 21 20 — 4 46 162 173 5th, MNJHL 2011–12 48 20 27 — 1 41 160 249 6th, MNJHL 2012–13 50 23 23 — 4 50 189 220 6th, MNJHL-MN Lost Division Quarterfinals 2013–14 46 12 30 — 4 28 107 205 7th, MNJHL-MN Lost Division Quarterfinals 2014–15 42 26 16 —— 52 163 109 6th, MNJHL-MN Lost Division SemifinalsUnited States Premier Hockey League 2015–16 48 39 7 — 2 80 257 91 1st of 9, Western Conf.2nd of 17, Elite Won Conf. Quarterfinals, 2–1 vs. Decatur BlazeWon Conf. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings1–1–1 in USPHL Round Robin(L, 1–3 vs. Eels-USP3; W, 6–3 vs. Hounds-Midwest; T, 2–2 vs. Hitmen-USP3) 2016–17 44 23 16 — 5 51 145 135 4th of 8, Midwest 13th of 27, Elite Lost div. quarter-finals, 1–2 vs. Chicago Cougars 2017–18 44 26 15 — 3 55 165 122 4th of 9, Midwest West 15th of 44, Premier Won First Round series, 2–0 vs. Wisconsin MuskiesLost quarterfinals, 0–2 vs. Minnesota Moose 2018–19 44 22 19 — 3 47 155 145 6th of 9, Midwest West 28th of 52, Premier Lost First Round series, 0–2 vs. Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings 2019–20 44 22 17 — 5 49 175 149 6th of 9, Midwest West 26th of 52, Premier Lost First Round series, 0–2 vs. Minnesota Moose 2020–21 44 19 20 — 5 43 157 168 6th of 9, Midwest West 34th of 62, Premier Lost First Round series, 0–2 vs. Hudson Havoc 2021–22 44 18 24 — 2 38 131 164 6th of 8, Midwest West 45th of 64, Premier Lost First Round series, 1-3 vs. Hudson Havoc 2022–23 44 7 36 — 1 15 89 209 9th of 9, Midwest West 63rd of 69, Premier Did not qualify 2023–24 44 13 31 — 0 26 135 202 8th of 9, Midwest West 50th of 61, Premier Lost Div Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings 2024–25 44 25 17 1 1 52 191 148 4th of 9, Midwest West 32nd of 71, Premier Won Div Quarterfinals, 2-1 vs. Dell DucksLost Div Semifinal 0-2 Minnesota Squatch 2025–26 43 11 31 1 0 23 102 241 7th of 9, Midwest West 32nd of 71, Premier Lost Div Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. Norwest Express

Notable alumni The Lakers have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey, NCAA Division I and Division III, and ACHA college programs, and professional hockey.

Matiss Kivlenieks: Lakers in 2013–14 and 2014–15; played for the Columbus Blue Jackets (2019–20) Joel Rechlicz: Lakers in 2003–04; played 23 games for the New York Islanders (2008–2010) and three games for Washington Capitals (2011–12)

Coaches CoachSeasonsNotes1993–95Mike LaValle1995–99Named assistant coach at Augsburg CollegeJeff St. Martin1999–02Don Babineau2002–0446-34-1-1 record over two seasons.Cal Ballard2004–05Stu Ronsberg2005–08Dan Strot2008–09Wes Durand2009–10Single season most wins as a member of the MnJHL in franchise history and most goals scored in single season in franchise history.Kasey Yoder2010–11Named assistant coach at Austin Bruins (NAHL)Joe Long2011–12Named assistant coach at Hamline UniversityDennis Canfield2014–2016Named head coach of the Atlanta Capitals (NA3HL)Kasey Yoder2016Chris Walby2016–presentBought the franchise in September 2016, renamed it to Minnesota Mullets the next season.

References

External links Mullets website