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The Micheletti family (l-r): Joe, Tom, Pat, Jean, Andrea, Jerry, Andy, Don, Jim.

 

By Allison Micheletti
 

In an age where the average family consists of four to five members, it is hard to imagine growing up in a family of 11. Even more challenging to think about is how to fit 11 people into a four-bedroom house. The Micheletti family of Hibbing, Minn., was up to the task.

The parents, Americo and Mary, claimed a bedroom upstairs. Jean and Andrea, the two sisters of the nine children, shared a room. The boys all had rooms in the basement, with the oldest boy in the house at the time residing in a single room to himself, and the rest of the boys sharing a larger room.

Although this sounds to me like a claustrophobic attack waiting to happen, my father, Don, accounts that it was not that bad. Perhaps this close proximity and fierce competition was what drove my uncles to exceed in sports, resulting in making the Michelettis into a well-known Minnesota hockey family.

In the hockey world, people are most familiar with the three Michelletti boys that played at the University of Minnesota: Joe, Don and Pat. However, every boy born into the family was a talented athlete that contributed to the success of the family.

Tom is the oldest, and played hockey at Harvard. Jim is the second-born and played football for the University of North Dakota. Andy is a two-time hockey All-American for Gustavus Adolphus and a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. He was the only family member to play goalie. Jerry is the fourth-born and played hockey at Air Force Academy. His senior year at AFA he was voted Best Athlete of All Sports.

Joe was the first of the three brothers to play at the University of Minnesota. He was a defenseman who played in 135 games for the Gophers, racking up 106 points in his career. He is currently listed 10th for most points by a defenseman in Gopher history.

My father, Don, came second in the line of Michelettis to play for the Gophers. Don is tied for 27th with 148 points in 127 career games. He is also ranked 16th all-time in career penalty minutes (257).

Youngest and the last to play for the Golden Gophers is Pat “The Rat” Micheletti. Pat holds amazing records at the U, being the No. 2 all-time points leader with 269 points, following short only to the legendary John Mayasich. If that is not enough, Pat also is holding strong at No. 3 for all-time penalty minutes with 403 minutes tallied. To spend that much time in the box and still have enough time to get 269 points, well, that is something else. That something else also just got him inducted into the “M” Club Hall of Fame.

The question on my mind, and I’m sure on the minds of others, is how all these athletes from one family came to be so successful.

My father always encouraged me to play outdoor pick-up hockey and told me it was the best way to hone my skills. Well, the cold and I just never got along. However, perhaps that free-for-all, wind in your face, biting cold on your hands and feet outdoor hockey is the trick to learning the game and developing skills.

My father recounted for me his youth hockey days playing for his neighborhood team, Cobb Cook. In those days, Hibbing youth hockey was split into teams by what elementary school you attended, or the area you lived in, like Kitsville, a small “suburb” outside of Hibbing. My dad and his brothers would spend hours out on the ice, day in and day out. In regard to how it develops one as player, he said, “Everyone was out on the ice at once. You had to learn to move the puck quick or you would get killed.”

If playing at the local outdoor rink was not enough, when the snow fell and became packed down onto the roads, boot hockey was the name of the game. A story that always makes me laugh when I hear it at family gatherings is the trick that Uncle Joe would play to get the advantage. When he had the puck, he would yell “Car!” and everyone would stop and look around while he made his way to the net.

In the basement, a few of the boys would strap Pat up in Andy’s goalie gear and shoot at him, pretending they were a specific pro player and would even commentate for themselves.

As for me, I grew up a child that disliked playing out in the cold and had no siblings to compete with. I may not be setting point records at the University of Minnesota, but I am happy to be carrying on the Micheletti hockey name out East where I play at Providence College. To my surprise, I still get a lot of recognition out there, even though I am 1,400 miles away from my family’s roots.

It is not the recognition that makes being a Micheletti so great. It is not the weight of success the name carries. It is not being part of a “Minnesota hockey family.” In fact, the best part of being a Micheletti has nothing to do with hockey at all. The best part is the love and support I receive from my family, and friends of the family.

If the Michelettis are not known for their success in hockey, they are known for being outstanding people. Numerous times, from absolute strangers, I have heard how wonderful my dad is, my uncles and aunts are, and what special people my grandparents were.

Never in my hockey career have I ever felt pressure from my family members to be a better player. Rather, I only get support and advice. For example, I remember calling Uncle Pat a few days before my first high school state tournament game and talking faceoff strategies with him. I can say that I do not know many other players who have that kind of hockey knowledge on tap. Or even this year while I was at a New York Rangers game, I stopped in the press box to visit Uncle Joe (he is the color analyst for the Rangers broadcasting team), and although he was in between periods, he was enthused to talk to me about my season I had just finished at Providence College.

The best thing about being a Micheletti has nothing to do with hockey or achievement; it has to do with the caliber of people I am surrounded by, their continuous support, and the unconditional love received, no matter failure or success.