WATCH: Minnesota’s All-Hockey Hair Team brings the heat in 2016 – CBSSports.com

Hockey is a team sport, but getting some individual recognition is always nice. The Hart Trophy, some might say, is the greatest individual honor one can receive in the sport. Being the NHL MVP is certainly a pretty big deal, but there’s one award above all that is both elusive and desperately coveted: A selection to the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament’s All-Hockey Hair team.

Being named to the All-Hair squad is the roster literally everyone wants to be on. To make this team, it means your own club made the state tournament in the hockey-mad state of Minnesota, signifying excellence of the group as a whole. It also means that coif you’ve been working all season on is going to get the recognition and camera time it so richly deserves. Even if you don’t win the state title, a spot on the All-Hockey Hair Team is the perfect consolation prize.

It comes with tangible benefits, like a custom spray-painted comb and even a nice hat. But above all else, a selection to this team brings immortality.

Following the State Tournament’s conclusion Saturday night with Wayzata claiming the Class 2A title, the eyes of Minnesota and the hockey-loving world turned to YouTube to wait in anxious anticipation for the 2016 All-Hockey Hair Team. Within hours, it was there and it was glorious.

If you’re new to this, first off, where have you been? Secondly, an explainer: At the beginning of the tournament, each player is individually introduced. He gets the nice long skate up to the blue line and his single camera shot, sending his face to the jumbo screen in the arena and around the state on cable TV. And when you’re a high school hockey player, full of bravado and follicular fortitude, this close-up is one of the biggest moments of your life to that point. So you better bring it. Flowing locks, a wink, a stroking of a not-quite-full mustache, whatever it takes.

The All-Hockey Hair Team has been named for the last few years now, and I have to say, every single year, it just gets better and better. This year, they got Barry Melrose, one of the most famous mullets in all of hockey history, to weigh in on the team. Matt Martin of the New York Islanders, a member of the NHL’s All-Hockey Hair Team, also provided some soundbites for the show.

While we enjoyed this year’s team, there is certainly going to be some controversy, but let’s see what the “Land of 10,000 Locks” had to offer in 2016:

If you didn’t watch the video yet, let me just SPOILER ALERT this for you: Highly controversial No. 1 selection this year, going with a quartet of players from Burnsville High School. I love the reasoning, but this was hardly fair? It was like the Four Hairsmen of the Apocalypse rode in. Impossible to stop.

More controversy: I think the kids from Anoka are going to be pretty upset that their golden locks got only a passing mention (albeit a hilarious one). There was a lot going on here, but the judge seems to value natural color over the bleach. Fair.

The #Tourney16 hockey hair is out of control in our #Top10Tweets! Do you have a favorite? https://t.co/iOuYlTaKWS pic.twitter.com/PXgbyDZTTd

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) March 4, 2016

Lastly, big congratulations to Hermantown, better known as Hairmantown from these videos, as they won the Class 1A state title and managed to get a few mentions on the video, including one All-Hockey Hair Team selection.

As always, the commentary is just as good as the hair it comments on. Adding Melrose to the show was a big get.

Last year’s video has gotten over 2.5 million views on YouTube. With the special guests and a truly inspiring crop of selections for this year’s team, 2016’s could surpass it.

It’s been a big year for hair in hockey, especially with Jaromir Jagr dusting off his signature mullet and seemingly getting better as his hair grows longer. Now we’re seeing that the future of hair in hockey is very bright, too, and long.