A Brief History
Back in 2005, I had moved up to Michigan from Florida to run a hockey store in Rochester, MI. I was a store manager and since my duties did not include buying for the store, I wasn't allowed to attend the hockey tradeshow which was in Boston in January 2006. I figured that if I couldn't go, then I'll make the hockey tradeshow come to me. I contacted some of the sales reps in the Michigan area and told them that I was arranging a skate in Rochester on December 28th with Detroit-area ModSquaders and that I would like for them to bring the new product in a closed-door setting (as it was not set to be unveiled to the general public. A couple of them couldn't make it, but the ones who did really made an impression - when Nike/Bauer and KOR both showed up with skate fit stock! When we left the locker room there was a big snowstorm outside but we braved the elements and went to a bar in Rochester. The drive home was ridiculous - it took me 1 hour to drive 8 miles!
The following year I changed jobs and moved the skate location out to Novi, MI. MSH II saw its first non-Detroit attendees in Jim Anderson (Dallas), Lester Tiu (Toronto), Chris Williams/James "Jesus" Peterec (Indianapolis) and Kelly Barker (Edmonton) and we picked up Reebok/CCM and Mission Hockey as first-time attendees. Reebok/CCM was gracious enough to donate jerseys for the event (they were all XXL, that was funny!)
MSH III was at the same location in Novi, with even more out-of-towners joining in on the fun. At this one I had a slumber party full of inebriated skaters at my apartment.
MSH IV was the first one in which I was not living in Michigan as I had moved back to Florida in June 2008. As an organization that champions the cause of the local hockey store, we moved the event to what we like to call a "MSH-friendly" store - Get An Edge Pro Shop at the Orchard Lake St-Mary's School Rink. Blackstone Sports, Warrior Hockey and Easton Hockey attended for the first time. Blackstone brought out portable sharpeners and offered Flat-Bottom V sharpenings to any of the skaters and Reebok/CCM and Warrior raffled off product.
The event has continued to grow, along with a renaming. We decided to go with Winterfest, as we currently will have more attendees traveling in for it. It's definitely not a knock against Michiganders, but a testament to the growth of the event. Winterfest is recognized in the hockey industry as the first consumer tradeshow of the season.
In a nutshell, it has never been about the actual game. It's been about bringing people from all over the continent together to meet each other, to share their love of hockey equipment and somehow squeeze a hockey game in amongst the fun.