Mason West told NHL teams that interviewed him last year that his intention was to play his senior year of high school football whether he was drafted into the league or not. He wanted one more shot at winning a state championship with his friends in what would be his last season of competitive football. While that endeared him to some teams, others felt that added risk to his draft profile.

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The Chicago Blackhawks picked West 29th overall anyway, shocking many in the theater during the draft. Amid concerns about potential injury on the gridiron and the risk that a major college program could decide to offer him a scholarship and NIL package to play football, would he still want to play hockey?

West didn't seem to care what anyone thought. He had a mission to accomplish.

West, who did draw interest from NCAA Division I football schools after his impressive junior season, and his Edina High School teammates accomplished the goal they set coming into the season. The Hornets beat Moorhead 42-35 to win the Minnesota state championship Friday night.

In the game, West went 7-for-7 on pass attempts, throwing for a season-low 78 yards and two touchdowns as the Hornets looked to run the ball more against Moorhead. 

The 6-foot-7 QB finished his senior season with 183 completions for 2,389 yards, 28 touchdowns through the air. He also rushed for 184 yards and five TDs, caught one pass for 12 yards and a TD and also punted 31 times for Edina, while keeping a promise he made to his teammates to stay one more year.

After being selected 29th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, Mason West discussed why he wanted to return for his final year of high school football with the Edina Hornets, and one of the reasons was that he wanted a shot at a championship.

Tonight, he won that championship.… pic.twitter.com/NS88ya22Hn

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) November 22, 2025

Some wondered if West going in the first round would deter him from playing football, but he never wavered and played the season with the support from the Blackhawks. In fact, Chicago GM Kyle Davidson and his staff went to watch West play an early-season game when they were in town for the team's rookie tournament.

The expectation is that West will soon join the Fargo Force in the USHL, likely some time after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Last season, West was a multi-sport star at Edina, scoring 49 points for the boy's hockey team, reaching the state tournament. Following his high school season, West joined Fargo for 10 USHL games, over which he scored nine points to help solidify his already growing NHL Draft stock. 

He is not going to be the first star quarterback to choose hockey over football. In fact, he's not even the first Edina High School quarterback to do it. New York Islanders Anders Lee, whom West considered a bit of a model to follow, was Edina's QB and drew interest from Division I schools for football before deciding to play hockey in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers, then at Notre Dame and has since played more than 860 games in the NHL.

Now West will turn his full focus to hockey. He committed to Michigan State for the 2026-27 season after getting his game back on track at Fargo after several months off the ice. His USHL season debut will certainly be among the most anticipated games on the schedule to see how he handles the adjustment.

While there is still a lot to be learned about West's hockey career and where it goes from here, a lot of other players probably would have made a different decision than the one West did. After Friday night's championship performance, he will never have to look back with regret on giving up on some of the goals he had set with the buddies he grew up with.

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