For Neal Broten, mornings in River Falls, Wis., typically start around 7 a.m. The small town, located about 40 miles from Minneapolis, is where Broten owns 75 acres and where he and his wife, Sally, used to tend to the needs of 44 horses. The couple began selling those horses a decade ago, so Broten now spends much of his time removing snow during the winter and working the grounds during the summer.

Since ending his hockey career in 1997, Broten has had nearly no affiliation with the game that made him a household name throughout the hockey community in the United States.

He did skate last month with his brothers, fellow former NHL players Aaron Broten and Paul Broten, in an alumni game that was part of the 2014 Hockey City Classic, in which the University of Minnesota hosted Ohio State University at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. That was Neal’s first time skating in two years.

View the complete article here