Former NHL Player Makes Home In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Before the Wild were making playoff runs -- and before the Wild even existed -- Brad Maxwell came to Minnesota to play hockey on a national scale.
Now, years later, he's created his own life after hockey in Minnesota that's proven to be just as satisfying.
He still hits the ice every now and then -- like last week, when he took part in an NHL alumni exhibition to raise money for Alzheimers. He runs the group of alumni, and pulls together events regularly.
"We've got a great organization of over 70 or 80 guys locally," Maxwell said. "We play a lot of charity events, trying to raise money for hockey associations around the state of Minnesota."
He came to the state to play hockey for the Minnesota North Stars in the 1970s, and made some memorable playoff runs of his own along the way.
"It was fun, you know. I think the whole state of Minnesota supported us," Maxwell said. "We were just a bunch of young kids trying to play the game, and it was just really wild. It was a lot of fun."
Little did he know, he was training for a life after hockey during his time in the NHL. While playing for the North Stars, he started working on his hockey sticks, and found the work satisfying.
In the 1980s, he bought a piece of land outside of Elko and made his own woodworking shop, building pieces for individual clients.
"I'm just a small shop, but you know, I like doing it," he said.
Maxwell says the whole process of woodworking -- from inception to delivery -- is very gratifying.
"The satisfaction of when I'm done, I know I've put something really nice into somebody's home," he said.
Maxwell and a group of former North Stars are part of the alumni team, skating around Minnesota regularly throughout the year.
