Allan "Al" Opsahl was as true a born leader as ever came out of Minneapolis. Born in 1924 in the Southwest school district, before there was even a Southwest High School, Al was like all hockey players of his generation, a rink rat, who became a great hockey player by playing pick up hockey at Lake Harriet, where his first pair of skates were way too big, so he stuffed newspapers in the toes to make them fit. Al grew up in a small house at 4025 Ewing Ave South that his father built before power tools were invented. Al was a multi sport athlete at Southwest High and as a senior he was hockey captain, an "all city" selection,  and led the hockey team to their first ever Minneapolis City Championship.

Al then attended the University of Minnesota, where in his first year he skated on the freshman hockey team(freshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports at the time). He then became the first D1 hockey player to come out of Southwest when he not only made the Gopher varsity as a sophomore, he was named the captain of the team. This was unprecedented at the time, not only at Minnesota but in all of college sports, as captains were almost always upperclassmen. No surprise that Al also captained the Gopher hockey team in both his junior and senior seasons. In doing so he became the first 3-time captain of Minnesota Hockey and one of only two to be so honored in their 100 plus year history.  Standing 5’-10” tall and weighing 190 lbs, Al was a force to be reckoned with on the ice, but he was also an outstanding student, earning his degree from the U in Aeronautical Engineering. This would ultimately lead to a lifelong career at Boeing participating in the 707,727,737,747 and 757 design groups.  He was most notably recognized for developing the mechanical design that we see in many aircraft today where the door actually will move inside the door opening prior to moving outward.  Al’s name is on a number of patents held by Boeing regarding this technology. Although Al was most recognized for his work on the doors he was also Boeing’s “go to” engineer when they had other problems.  Al was always out in the garage or in his shop building models to illustrate his suggested redesigns.

After graduating from the U in 1947 Al played for both the Minneapolis Bermans and the St Paul 7-Ups in the AAHL.  He was then selected to play for the US Olympic hockey team that competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St Moritz, Switzerland. He was the first player from Minneapolis Southwest to ever skate for the US in the Olympics. No surprise that Al, a consummate leader, was named captain of the USA team. After his Olympic year Al did play a season for the Rochester Mustangs in the AAHL, but then he began his career at Boeing, bringing his family with him to Seattle. But, even though he was far from the Minneapolis ice that he grew up on,  Al Opsahl never lost his love for hockey, nor his desire to keep playing. Once a week, every week, in Seattle, he would play hockey with a group of friends.  He also competed in a number of Senior Olympics Hockey Tournament in Santa Rosa, California Hosted by Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts and a St. Paul native). On July 19, 1990, at age 65,  while skating in a game at the Senior Olympics in Santa Rosa,  Allan Opsahl collapsed on the ice and later died, but did so while doing what he loved.

What made Allan Opsahl an excellent hockey player, but even more so such an exceptional leader? He came from humble beginnings, a middle child who knew he had to work for and earn everything. He decided at an early age to never settle for anything less than being the best athlete and the best person that he could possibly be. His children and grandchildren confirm that Al was also the best husband, father and grandfather there ever was.  In 2014 Southwest High School honored Al by inducting him into their inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame. Now Minneapolis Hockey is proud to also honor this extraordinary man. Welcome to the Minneapolis Hockey Hall of Fame, Allan "The Captain" Opsahl.

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