Hastings native joins U.S. national bandy team

What is bandy? An adjective? A food? A funny name for a stretchy fastener? Actually, it is a popular sport in Europe that combines ice hockey, field hockey and soccer. The only place in the United States that bandy is played is in the Twin Cities, where several recreational leagues of varying skill are held, and Hastings native Joe Welch is one of the people playing. Welch is part of the U.S. national team traveling to play in the bandy world championships in Sweden over the next week and a half. According to the American Bandy Association, bandy is played on a field of ice the size of a soccer pitch and is basically field hockey on skates. It is similar to soccer in how the game is played and its rules, but the players use skates like those speed skaters wear, as well as field hockey sticks and a ball instead of a puck. Bandy is older than hockey, having originated in England centuries back; the first official rules were published in the 1800s. Bandy has become immensely popular in Russia, Sweden and, to a lesser degree, their surrounding countries. Bandy in general first came to the United States when the International Bandy Federation and the American Softball Association organized an exchange of sports in 1973, the American Bandy Association website states. Not long after, the first bandy clinic was held by Edina Parks and Recreation in 1976, and then the first bandy rink was built in Edina in 1979. That same year, the rink hosted its first bandy game, held between two Swedish teams. From then on, bandy slowly grew in the Twin Cities area and the American Bandy Association was formed. The first bandy league was started in the early 1980s. The sport has slowly grown and there are now several bandy leagues for those of various skill throughout the area. All of the leagues play in Roseville, Edina and Bloomington.

Welch, 29, graduated from Hastings High School in 2005 and is the son of former Raider hockey coach and HHS teacher Russ Welch. Joe played hockey and football for the Raiders before going on to play both sports at Gustavus Adolphus College. Three years ago, he was exposed to bandy by some former teammates of his and was instantly drawn to the game. "What drew me to (bandy) was the big ice and the gentlemanship of the game; it's kind of a gentleman's sport," Welch explained. "Where if you hit somebody, it's like 'oh, hey, sorry.' I still play hockey and it's physical, but with bandy, I can get a good workout in and skate without too much aggression. The fast speed and the sportsmanship that's shown on the ice were what appealed to me." Welch's official position on the U.S. team is fullback, which is a defensive position on the back line. Joe said he enjoys playing defense as it is much the same concept as when he played defensive back in football. Not much contact is allowed, so skating skills are at a premium, which he said has always been a strength of his. Welch has only been playing bandy for three years, but he's already gaining some notoriety. It doesn't hurt that Minnesota is the only place in the United States where the sport is played; with fewer players, it was not hard for him to be noticed. Bandy players are treated as celebrities in Sweden and Russia, where there are professional leagues and players can make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The best-known players are household names. The leagues in both countries are considered the best in the world and many players move to either country if they are serious about playing bandy. Welch explained that the U.S. national team is made up of a few professional bandy players who have U.S. citizenship or moved overseas, but all the rest are Minnesota natives who have played some form of collegiate hockey and play in the bandy leagues around the Twin Cities. The bandy leagues in the Twin Cities range from lower-skill rec leagues to the "elite" league, which is made up of the best players. The U.S. team is made up of the best players from the top league as well as the professional players overseas who have U.S. citizenship. Welch himself plays in the elite league and was invited to try out for the U.S. team and made it. World championships The 2017 bandy world championships, where Welch and his team are headed, are being held in Sandviken, Sweden. Before the tournament even starts, Welch said the team will play a few tune-up games against two Swedish elite teams. This will be to create chemistry between the players who come from the local Twin Cities leagues, some of whom have played together, and those playing professionally in Europe. "We will land on Thursday morning, Jan. 26," Welch said. "That night and Friday night, we'll play two games against Swedish elite teams. We need to play those games because we haven't played as a team yet. While a lot of us have played together in the local leagues, we haven't played with those playing in the professional leagues yet, so that will be good. Then Saturday (Jan. 28) is an off-day before the tournament starts Sunday." The tournament is split up between two pools; Pool A is made up of the better teams and Pool B is a step below in terms of skill. Then each pool is divided into two divisions of four teams. The first part of the tournament is a round-robin between the teams of each division. Based on their record in those first three games, the teams in the same pool are seeded and then start tournament play with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game; once a team loses in that portion they are eliminated. The U.S. team is in Pool A, in the lower division with Germany, Norway and Belarus. The upper division, made up of the best teams in the tournament, consists of Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan and Finland. After the tournament is over, the last-place team in Pool A is demoted down to Pool B for the next year and the winner of Pool B is promoted to Pool A, a practice called relegation. While Welch said he is excited about the tournament, he is realistic about his team's chances. "Sweden and Russia have the best odds of winning," Welch said. "If we were to beat one of the top teams, especially those two, it would be considered a bigger upset than the Miracle on Ice." As for Welch's future with bandy, and that of the sport in general, the prospects are mixed. "I will for sure be playing bandy for a long time," Welch said. "As a part of the U.S. team, I don't know." Bandy right now is not popular in the United States. However, Welch did say that there was talk of it becoming an Olympic sport for the 2022 games in Beijing, China. If that happens, its popularity could get a boost from the exposure on national television, especially if the United States has a team. "It's not a sport that a lot of people know about, but I think it's one a lot of people would enjoy playing," Welch said.What is bandy? An adjective? A food? A funny name for a stretchy fastener? Actually, it is a popular sport in Europe that combines ice hockey, field hockey and soccer. The only place in the United States that bandy is played is in the Twin Cities, where several recreational leagues of varying skill are held, and Hastings native Joe Welch is one of the people playing. Welch is part of the U.S. national team traveling to play in the bandy world championships in Sweden over the next week and a half.According to the American Bandy Association, bandy is played on a field of ice the size of a soccer pitch and is basically field hockey on skates. It is similar to soccer in how the game is played and its rules, but the players use skates like those speed skaters wear, as well as field hockey sticks and a ball instead of a puck. Bandy is older than hockey, having originated in England centuries back; the first official rules were published in the 1800s. Bandy has become immensely popular in Russia, Sweden and, to a lesser degree, their surrounding countries.Bandy in general first came to the United States when the International Bandy Federation and the American Softball Association organized an exchange of sports in 1973, the American Bandy Association website states. Not long after, the first bandy clinic was held by Edina Parks and Recreation in 1976, and then the first bandy rink was built in Edina in 1979. That same year, the rink hosted its first bandy game, held between two Swedish teams. From then on, bandy slowly grew in the Twin Cities area and the American Bandy Association was formed. The first bandy league was started in the early 1980s. The sport has slowly grown and there are now several bandy leagues for those of various skill throughout the area. All of the leagues play in Roseville, Edina and Bloomington.

Welch, 29, graduated from Hastings High School in 2005 and is the son of former Raider hockey coach and HHS teacher Russ Welch. Joe played hockey and football for the Raiders before going on to play both sports at Gustavus Adolphus College. Three years ago, he was exposed to bandy by some former teammates of his and was instantly drawn to the game."What drew me to (bandy) was the big ice and the gentlemanship of the game; it's kind of a gentleman's sport," Welch explained. "Where if you hit somebody, it's like 'oh, hey, sorry.' I still play hockey and it's physical, but with bandy, I can get a good workout in and skate without too much aggression. The fast speed and the sportsmanship that's shown on the ice were what appealed to me."Welch's official position on the U.S. team is fullback, which is a defensive position on the back line. Joe said he enjoys playing defense as it is much the same concept as when he played defensive back in football. Not much contact is allowed, so skating skills are at a premium, which he said has always been a strength of his. Welch has only been playing bandy for three years, but he's already gaining some notoriety. It doesn't hurt that Minnesota is the only place in the United States where the sport is played; with fewer players, it was not hard for him to be noticed.Bandy players are treated as celebrities in Sweden and Russia, where there are professional leagues and players can make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The best-known players are household names. The leagues in both countries are considered the best in the world and many players move to either country if they are serious about playing bandy.Welch explained that the U.S. national team is made up of a few professional bandy players who have U.S. citizenship or moved overseas, but all the rest are Minnesota natives who have played some form of collegiate hockey and play in the bandy leagues around the Twin Cities.The bandy leagues in the Twin Cities range from lower-skill rec leagues to the "elite" league, which is made up of the best players. The U.S. team is made up of the best players from the top league as well as the professional players overseas who have U.S. citizenship. Welch himself plays in the elite league and was invited to try out for the U.S. team and made it.World championshipsThe 2017 bandy world championships, where Welch and his team are headed, are being held in Sandviken, Sweden. Before the tournament even starts, Welch said the team will play a few tune-up games against two Swedish elite teams. This will be to create chemistry between the players who come from the local Twin Cities leagues, some of whom have played together, and those playing professionally in Europe."We will land on Thursday morning, Jan. 26," Welch said. "That night and Friday night, we'll play two games against Swedish elite teams. We need to play those games because we haven't played as a team yet. While a lot of us have played together in the local leagues, we haven't played with those playing in the professional leagues yet, so that will be good. Then Saturday (Jan. 28) is an off-day before the tournament starts Sunday."The tournament is split up between two pools; Pool A is made up of the better teams and Pool B is a step below in terms of skill. Then each pool is divided into two divisions of four teams. The first part of the tournament is a round-robin between the teams of each division. Based on their record in those first three games, the teams in the same pool are seeded and then start tournament play with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game; once a team loses in that portion they are eliminated.The U.S. team is in Pool A, in the lower division with Germany, Norway and Belarus. The upper division, made up of the best teams in the tournament, consists of Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan and Finland. After the tournament is over, the last-place team in Pool A is demoted down to Pool B for the next year and the winner of Pool B is promoted to Pool A, a practice called relegation.While Welch said he is excited about the tournament, he is realistic about his team's chances."Sweden and Russia have the best odds of winning," Welch said. "If we were to beat one of the top teams, especially those two, it would be considered a bigger upset than the Miracle on Ice."As for Welch's future with bandy, and that of the sport in general, the prospects are mixed."I will for sure be playing bandy for a long time," Welch said. "As a part of the U.S. team, I don't know."Bandy right now is not popular in the United States. However, Welch did say that there was talk of it becoming an Olympic sport for the 2022 games in Beijing, China. If that happens, its popularity could get a boost from the exposure on national television, especially if the United States has a team."It's not a sport that a lot of people know about, but I think it's one a lot of people would enjoy playing," Welch said.