I've never spent much time in the Midwest, so when a friend from Minneapolis recently sent me a video highlighting this year's "All Hockey Hair Team," I was confused—and intrigued. I had never heard of the All Hockey Hair Team, but now that I've seen the video and learned about it, I'm all in and can't wait to see the lineup every year!
This year's All Hockey Hair Team video—which was inspired by Hollywood and whose theme is "There's no business like flow business"—highlights the ten top hairstyles from the Minnesota High School State Hockey Tournament, which took place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul in early March. The hairstyles of the 2025 All Hockey Hair Team include mullets, a "dust watnd," a couple of "butter heads" (the lettuce variety), a "mashed potato," and a 'do inspired by Bob Dylan.
The video was created by John King, who first had the idea back in 2005 and created a top 10 video that aired on a local Minnesota television show called "The Show To Be Named Later." The first attempt didn't gain any traction, but in 2011 he tried again—this time, due to YouTube, the video became a hit. He's been creating them every year since.
The New York Times recently featured the series and interviewed Mr. King. Here's an excerpt:
A self-described "archaeologist of hockey hair" and former advertising executive, Mr. King, 50, is one of the founders of Pulltab Sports, a sports and entertainment site that he says has a "flyover state of mind."
"We try to take stuff in the Midwest that gets overlooked and make it a big deal," Mr. King said. "The hockey hair would be a good example of that."
When asked his process of choosing members of the team, Mr. King stated:
I guess I'm a purist. I actually like good hockey hair. There's a lot of really crazy stuff now, and I'll put that in there. But I'm actually looking for the best hockey hair. Bleach is a trend, and it makes it way harder, because you can't really tell who has good hair when it's all bleached and it all looks the same.
Mr. King also revealed one of the current trends in hockey hair: "where guys are shaving the tops of their heads and leaving the sides long."
The video, sponsored by Duke Cannon, a Minnesota-based men's grooming products company, raises funds for the Hendrickson Foundation, which helps makes hockey more accessible for all. If you've never seen an All Hockey Hair Video, you're in for a real treat (and you can get some hair inspo!). I'm so happy to have learned about this awesome Minnesotan tradition!
