08/27/2026
Pete Carlson (center) was presented the 2026 Herb Brooks Youth Hockey Hall of Fame Award by Kelly Brooks Paradise (left) and Dan Brooks (right) at the annual Herb Brooks Foundation Golf Tournament August 3 at Dellwood County Club.
Pete’s hockey journey began at age six in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and took him to Brainerd Community College — where, as Pete puts it, “saying yes to BCC for hockey turned out better than expected.” That’s also where he met his wife, Jennifer. They’ve been married 35 years.
In 1988, Pete traded his skates for a coach’s whistle, starting at Heartland Hockey Camp. Over the next decade, he coached at five different high schools and co-owned Peak Performance Hockey Camp in Winona, where more than 1,000 kids came through every summer.
But Pete’s biggest impact came off the ice, in arena management. He was the first manager hired at Eagles Nest Ice Arena in Verona, and in 1997, the first manager hired at the NSC Super Rink in Blaine. Over 29 years there, as the facility grew from 4 to 8 sheets of ice, Pete helped touch the lives of more than 50,000 players, from age 2 to 80.
Along the way, he built a close working relationship with Herb Brooks, co-developing programs still running today, including the NSC Hockey Academy — one of the longest-running programs at the Super Rink. He helped bring international talent from Sweden, Norway, and Japan to the facility, and served on the boards of the Minnesota Ice Arena Managers Association, the US Ice Rinks Association, the USA Hockey Adult Council, and the Herb Brooks Foundation, later stepping in as the Foundation’s interim Executive Director.
Pete’s retirement lasted exactly one week before the rink pulled him back. Today, he serves as Executive Director of Heartland Hockey Camp — bringing his career full circle.
Fifty-two years as a player, coach, entrepreneur, programmer, event planner, and arena leader.
We are proud to celebrate Pete Carlson and his well-deserved place in the Herb Brooks Foundation Youth Hockey Hall of Fame! 🏒❤️
