LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time in a decade, a Kentucky 16U ice hockey team is heading to nationals. That’s a dream come true for the 19 guys who make up the 2021-2022 16U Louisville Ice Cardinals team.

What You Need To Know

  • 16U Louisville Ice Cardinals head to USA Hockey National Tournament

  • This is Burton’s second team to make it to the national stage

  • Burton has coached for 25 years, 20 of them in Louisville

  • The 16U Louisville Ice Cardinals team is made up of high school players from around the state

Although it’s a different team leading the way this year, they’re under the same head coach as 20 years ago, Don Burton.

“I mean I’ve seen some of these kids now, 10 years in a row, 4 or 5 times a week, traveled with them, got invited to their birthday parties since they were little so they are part of my family as well,” Burton said.

The team that has now turned into a family will hit the ice on one of hockey’s biggest stages.

“We’re trying to make it the standard, not the one off every once in a while to make sure these kids know there’s hockey opportunities outside of Louisville for them if they work hard,” Burton said.

Beginning March 31, the Ice Cardinals will compete in the USA Hockey National Tournament.

“It kind of motivates me, 10 years is a long time so I’m glad we changed that and broke the streak,” Colin Duncan, a freshman at St. Xavier, said.

This is Coach Burton’s second team making the national stage.

“Don’s like the best coach,” Duncan said. “He’s everything you could ask for, he’s great, he’s awesome and I’m really happy he’s been our coach for that long.”

This is a dream the entire team has worked for since they were 10 years old.

“It helps a lot with communication and just knowing what the other player is going to do because you’ve played with them for who knows how long,” Colin Graham, a sophomore at Trinity High School, said.

The team said they can’t imagine taking the ice with anyone else. 

“No, I don’t think so,” Parker Konigsberg, a sophomore at Trinity High School, said. “I feel like I just have to play with this team for a long time, as long as I can.”

Burton has 25 years of coaching experience under his belt and is now the GM of Iceland Sports Complex, so it’s safe to say that he spends a lot of his time on the ice. Burton volunteers his time with the team and said his only goal is to give back the way the game once did for him.

“I played all my life and hockey gave me a lot, a lot of good friends, good experiences and I’d like to share with the kids all the good things I got out of it,” Burton said. 

The 16U Louisville Ice Cardinals team will represent the state of Kentucky at the USA Hockey National Tournament in Troy, Mich. from March 31 - April 4. The team is 100% self-funded and are raising funds and donations through a GoFundMe page for the cost of traveling and tournament fees.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Louisville Ice Cardinals are the first 16U ice hockey team from Kentucky going to nationals in a decade. The Ice Cardinals are the first Louisville 16U team going to nationals in a decade. This error has been corrected.

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