Do you like to travel?

Jeff did, and the road was his mode of choice.  Between June 20, 2011 and December 20, 2011, he logged 31,000 miles on a journey to visit every American state and every Canadian province — and play hockey in each of them.  As a goalie.

The 29-year-old Minnesotan was a software engineer by profession, with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman and an MS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford.  Much to his mother’s chagrin, he ended a profitable consulting engagement in the medical device industry in order to become a travel bum for a while.

Glove save!

Had Jeff played his whole life?  He wishes he had.  No, his childhood in Minnesota was spent being a nerd.  The closest he got to playing hockey was playing the sousaphone in pep band at his high school’s hockey games.

After finishing undergrad in Indiana, Jeff returned to Minnesota to work on designing neurostimulation systems.  At the same time, he decided that it was his birthright — nay, his duty! — as a Minnesotan to play hockey.  And so, he signed up for a “learn to play hockey” class. That was in 2004 when he was 22. His only regret is not starting sooner.

So how did the trip come to be?  Blame literature.  A bunch of books planted an idea in his head: he should combine his loves of travel and hockey into an epic adventure of his own.  Hockey in every state and every province? It would be glorious!  It had never before been done.

After a year and a half of planning, Jeff set out to explore North America by hockey.  This blog chronicles his surprises with grizzly bears in Alaska, his moments of reflection alone with his car “Sam”, and his numerous encounters with interesting people on and off the ice from all walks of life.  It’s the experience that many people wish they would do or have done, and here, perhaps, they can live it vicariously.

On the beach in Florida

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The route maps and the hockey info might be interesting to see the actual route Jeff took and where he played hockey in each state and province.

More background about the trip can be found in the newspaper, television, and radio pieces done along the way. See the links on the right side of the page under the category “As seen on”.

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(One clarification: different sources have put Jeff’s hometown as Maple Grove or Fridley.  Neither is wrong.  Maple Grove was where Jeff grew up, and Fridley was where Jeff lived for the year prior to embarking on the trip.)

Contact Jeff at jeff.keacher@gmail.com