Before Christmas, I mentioned The Breakdown's listing of top forward lines in the state of Minnesota, and now they have a listing of top defensive units, led by Duluth East, and followed by Bloomington Jefferson, St. Cloud Cathedral, Edina, and Hill-Murray. I think it does a really nice job of picking out some kids who may not receive much hype, but are excellent players.
A look around the Big 9 conference, which covers most of southern Minnesota.
Hermantown and Duluth Marshall played on Fox Sports North last night, and though I missed it, it sounded like a great game. Marshall is playing without Zach Mausolf, who was one of the more talented players in Class A.
Blaine beat Duluth East in Blaine last night in a match-up of two top ten teams, by a score of 5-3, with an empty net goal. The game attracted quite a bit of attention from NHL scouts.
Edina's Anders Lee committed to Notre Dame for the 2010-2011 season. Lee had considered Notre Dame for a long time, but was a bit reluctant because they wanted him to play a year in the USHL after graduation, but apparently those worries of a post-graduate year of juniors were quelled.
Woodbury made their first state tournament in 2007 with a surprising upset over Cretin-Derham Hall. Last year, it was less surprising when they made the tournament. This year, they're probably the Section 3AA favorite and have become a power in the eastern suburbs. There must be something in the water out there.
Showing posts with label high school hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school hockey. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
#5 Mankato East vs. Austin
Who: Mankato East HS vs. Austin HS
Where: Lund Arena, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota
When: February 25th, 2006
Final Score: 3-2 Mankato East
This game was the Section 1A semifinal back when Section 1A was probably the weakest section in the state, so this wasn't necessarily a game between the greatest two hockey teams. Current Air Force defenseman Tim Kirby played for Austin, but other than that, there's no real recognizable names on either side. But whatever this game lacked in skill, it made up for ten times over in terms of grit and heart.
Austin was the #2 seed in the section, while Mankato East was seeded third, thanks to these two teams tying in Mankato, and Austin winning 4-1 at home in the regular season. Earlier that day, 4th seed Marshall had upset top seeded Austin Lea--a game that very well may have made this list had I been there, because I have a tough time imagining how that happened--so the door was open for the winner of this game to make it to the state tournament.
Gustavus' arena is set up really nicely for neutral site games with a balcony of seats along each sideline, giving each team half of the arena. Austin was a little more organized in their cheering, giving an especially tough time to Mankato East's goalie, while you could tell the Mankato East contingent wasn't used to being able to cheer their team in big games, but they were no less enthused.
Austin had the edge in play most of the day. It looked like every kid on their team was only about 5'11" or so, but had eaten Spam three meals a day every day for their entire life, was a solid 190 lbs. or so. Mankato East wasn't as strong, and was probably about a half step slower, but did everything they could to hang in the game.
After a scoreless first period, Mankato East opened up the scoring less than a minute into the second period, but Austin answered back with two goals in the second period to take the lead. Austin had a number of chances to extend their lead, but Mankato East held strong and went to the locker room only trailing by one.
You would have expected the underdog to wear down in the third period after doing nearly everything in their power just to keep the game close through 2 periods, but Mankato East came out like a different team in the third period. They scored twice in the first three minutes of the period to put themselves back on top. The final 14 minutes of the game was like a game in itself. Mankato East had an insurance goal disallowed a couple different times due to the net coming off right before the puck crossed the line. Austin had some great chances as well. A number of times they worked the puck back to Tim Kirby at the point for big slap shots, but Mankato East were literally throwing themselves in front of every shot, and doing whatever they could to maintain their lead.
That Mankato East team wasn't the most skilled, or the fastest, or the prettiest group of players. But I've never seen a team play with more heart. It doesn't take a lot of skill to block a shot, but it does take a lot of guts to dive in front of a guy winding up for a slap shot and get hit somewhere where you may or may not be padded. It takes a lot of effort to stay with someone on the backcheck at the end of a long shift. They were so close to their school's first ever trip to the state tournament, and they were going to do whatever it took to make sure they got there. In all the hockey I've seen, I'm not sure I've ever seen a team play harder.
As a postscript to this game, Mankato East did beat Marshall in the section final to earn their first trip to the state tournament where they lost an incredibly entertaining game to Little Falls something like 7-6. Both Mankato East and Austin completely fell off the hockey map after that game however. Austin only won one game last season, against Mankato East. Neither team has won more than 6 games in a season since. Hopefully, one day they'll both make it back to prominence.
Where: Lund Arena, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota
When: February 25th, 2006
Final Score: 3-2 Mankato East
This game was the Section 1A semifinal back when Section 1A was probably the weakest section in the state, so this wasn't necessarily a game between the greatest two hockey teams. Current Air Force defenseman Tim Kirby played for Austin, but other than that, there's no real recognizable names on either side. But whatever this game lacked in skill, it made up for ten times over in terms of grit and heart.
Austin was the #2 seed in the section, while Mankato East was seeded third, thanks to these two teams tying in Mankato, and Austin winning 4-1 at home in the regular season. Earlier that day, 4th seed Marshall had upset top seeded Austin Lea--a game that very well may have made this list had I been there, because I have a tough time imagining how that happened--so the door was open for the winner of this game to make it to the state tournament.
Gustavus' arena is set up really nicely for neutral site games with a balcony of seats along each sideline, giving each team half of the arena. Austin was a little more organized in their cheering, giving an especially tough time to Mankato East's goalie, while you could tell the Mankato East contingent wasn't used to being able to cheer their team in big games, but they were no less enthused.
Austin had the edge in play most of the day. It looked like every kid on their team was only about 5'11" or so, but had eaten Spam three meals a day every day for their entire life, was a solid 190 lbs. or so. Mankato East wasn't as strong, and was probably about a half step slower, but did everything they could to hang in the game.
After a scoreless first period, Mankato East opened up the scoring less than a minute into the second period, but Austin answered back with two goals in the second period to take the lead. Austin had a number of chances to extend their lead, but Mankato East held strong and went to the locker room only trailing by one.
You would have expected the underdog to wear down in the third period after doing nearly everything in their power just to keep the game close through 2 periods, but Mankato East came out like a different team in the third period. They scored twice in the first three minutes of the period to put themselves back on top. The final 14 minutes of the game was like a game in itself. Mankato East had an insurance goal disallowed a couple different times due to the net coming off right before the puck crossed the line. Austin had some great chances as well. A number of times they worked the puck back to Tim Kirby at the point for big slap shots, but Mankato East were literally throwing themselves in front of every shot, and doing whatever they could to maintain their lead.
That Mankato East team wasn't the most skilled, or the fastest, or the prettiest group of players. But I've never seen a team play with more heart. It doesn't take a lot of skill to block a shot, but it does take a lot of guts to dive in front of a guy winding up for a slap shot and get hit somewhere where you may or may not be padded. It takes a lot of effort to stay with someone on the backcheck at the end of a long shift. They were so close to their school's first ever trip to the state tournament, and they were going to do whatever it took to make sure they got there. In all the hockey I've seen, I'm not sure I've ever seen a team play harder.
As a postscript to this game, Mankato East did beat Marshall in the section final to earn their first trip to the state tournament where they lost an incredibly entertaining game to Little Falls something like 7-6. Both Mankato East and Austin completely fell off the hockey map after that game however. Austin only won one game last season, against Mankato East. Neither team has won more than 6 games in a season since. Hopefully, one day they'll both make it back to prominence.
#6 2007 Minnesota State HS Finals
Who: Duluth Marshall vs. Hermantown & Grand Rapids vs. Roseau
Where: XCel Energy Center
When: March 10, 2007
Final Scores: 4-1 Hermantown & 5-1 Roseau
Neither game on Championship Day ended up being that close. In fact, the best game of that day may have been the Class AA consolation game, where upstart Rochester Century, on paper, probably the weakest team in the tournament, pulled off a surprising win over Burnsville to take third place. But it was still a special day for hockey in Minnesota.
2007 was a special year for out-state Minnesota because all four finalists came from the northern part of the state, with no representation from the Twin Cities, and three of the four finalists were public schools.
I'm not one of those people that deny the right of private schools to exist and compete in the MSHSL, like some people; though I think I've made my opinion on big city private schools playing in Class A pretty clear. But I do think sometimes it seems a little more meaningful to see public schools succeed at the high school level. When a private school does well, it's a big deal for the school. When a public school, especially an out-state public school does well, it's a big deal for the whole community.
Grand Rapids and Roseau are two small communities--both schools could have been playing in Class A, but opted to play in the bigger division--where hockey is king. The two towns combined have a population of about 10,000, and odds are, pretty much all of those 10,000 people helped make up the crowd of 18,000 that watched the championship game. It may not be the olden days when people from Roseau or Grand Rapids would make their way to the state tournament and get their only glimpse of a building bigger than two stories. But with big cities and suburbs ever expanding, and small towns shrinking, it's getting tougher and tougher for the teams from these small communities to compete. There's no Acceleration Sports Training Center in Roseau. But the 2007 state tournament served notice that these old school hockey powers were still a force to be reckoned with in the world of high school hockey. And that their communities still mattered.
Nobody seemed more aware of the effect on their communities than the coaches and players themselves. I was covering the games that year, and the scene on the arena level of the X was pretty amazing. The kids from Hermantown talked about all the dads that laid down water for rinks for them to skate on growing up. The kids from Roseau had tears in their eyes talking about what it meant to be part of the history of Roseau hockey. A state high school championship is a special thing, and it was pretty cool seeing it go to people to whom it meant so much.
Where: XCel Energy Center
When: March 10, 2007
Final Scores: 4-1 Hermantown & 5-1 Roseau
Neither game on Championship Day ended up being that close. In fact, the best game of that day may have been the Class AA consolation game, where upstart Rochester Century, on paper, probably the weakest team in the tournament, pulled off a surprising win over Burnsville to take third place. But it was still a special day for hockey in Minnesota.
2007 was a special year for out-state Minnesota because all four finalists came from the northern part of the state, with no representation from the Twin Cities, and three of the four finalists were public schools.
I'm not one of those people that deny the right of private schools to exist and compete in the MSHSL, like some people; though I think I've made my opinion on big city private schools playing in Class A pretty clear. But I do think sometimes it seems a little more meaningful to see public schools succeed at the high school level. When a private school does well, it's a big deal for the school. When a public school, especially an out-state public school does well, it's a big deal for the whole community.
Grand Rapids and Roseau are two small communities--both schools could have been playing in Class A, but opted to play in the bigger division--where hockey is king. The two towns combined have a population of about 10,000, and odds are, pretty much all of those 10,000 people helped make up the crowd of 18,000 that watched the championship game. It may not be the olden days when people from Roseau or Grand Rapids would make their way to the state tournament and get their only glimpse of a building bigger than two stories. But with big cities and suburbs ever expanding, and small towns shrinking, it's getting tougher and tougher for the teams from these small communities to compete. There's no Acceleration Sports Training Center in Roseau. But the 2007 state tournament served notice that these old school hockey powers were still a force to be reckoned with in the world of high school hockey. And that their communities still mattered.
Nobody seemed more aware of the effect on their communities than the coaches and players themselves. I was covering the games that year, and the scene on the arena level of the X was pretty amazing. The kids from Hermantown talked about all the dads that laid down water for rinks for them to skate on growing up. The kids from Roseau had tears in their eyes talking about what it meant to be part of the history of Roseau hockey. A state high school championship is a special thing, and it was pretty cool seeing it go to people to whom it meant so much.
Monday, December 22, 2008
#9 Breck vs. Chisago Lakes
Who: Breck School vs. Chisago Lakes Area
Where: Chisago Lakes Arena
When: December 13, 2007
Final Score: 5-2 Breck
I realize this is kind of an odd game to make the list. There wasn't much on the line in this game. It was just a regular season high school game, and the heavy favorite won a game with a final score that wasn't all that close. But this game was one of my favorites because I felt like it really captured what Minnesota high school hockey is all about.
Chisago Lakes is an amalgamation of a couple small towns built by Swedish immigrants in the far, far outskirts of the Twin Cities suburbs. Technically, their sports teams play in the Northern Suburban Conference, but there's really nothing suburban about it. The number of large lakes in the area make their arena a little difficult to get to. Chisago Lakes Arena is about 10 miles from my apartment as the crow flies, and yet it takes me like 30 minutes to get there. The high school, gym, and hockey arena are all clumped together about a mile south of town on a road with absolutely no lights. After about 5pm on a winter night, it really feels like you've driven off the face of the earth.
The Breck School is a prestigious, Episcopalian-affiliated college prep school in Golden Valley, Minnesota, in the posh western suburbs on the Twin Cities. Looking over their list of famous alums, there are CEOs, poet/authors, the dude who invented GPS. They've also had some fine hockey players come through the school in recent years including Blake Wheeler, John Curry, and Jordan Fulton.
So the two teams were from very different backgrounds. One group of parents were in suits, the other in hunter orange and camo. The teams themselves were quite different too. Breck was two days removed from a huge win over top-ranked St. Thomas Academy. They were loaded with skilled, talented players, with at least a couple kids that would have a future in hockey beyond high school. Chisago was a team that would only win 6 games all season. It's unlikely that any of those kids would play hockey at any level after high school. On paper, it looked like the third period would be played with running time.
Breck managed to escape with a win, but the game was far closer than anyone could have expected. The atmosphere was top notch. Chisago Lakes Arena is one of those old school arenas with stands along one sideline and a metal roof. The arena was pretty full, and the crowd was loud. And not just loud after goals. They were loud after everything. A nice hit, a good scoring chance, a nice save.
Breck jumped out to an early lead, and controlled play throughout the game. I can't find a listing for shots on goal in the game, but Breck must have outshot Chisago by like a 4 to 1 margin. Chisago had an excellent goalie though, and took advantage of the few opportunities they had. By the third period, Chisago had cut Breck's lead to 3 to 2 and momentum was starting turn towards the home team. Chisago had a great chance to tie the game, but Breck's goalie made an amazing save to keep the lead. Breck was able to add an insurance goal late and then an empty-netter to make the final score look lopsided, but it was still a great game to watch.
When people start discussing which state has the best hockey, they start throwing out statistics about how many players make to the college or pro level. I think that misses the point though. None of the players on Chisago's team will ever make the NHL; probably not even any of the Breck players. But no where else in the country would you get such a fun game, and more importantly such a great atmosphere in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere.
Where: Chisago Lakes Arena
When: December 13, 2007
Final Score: 5-2 Breck
I realize this is kind of an odd game to make the list. There wasn't much on the line in this game. It was just a regular season high school game, and the heavy favorite won a game with a final score that wasn't all that close. But this game was one of my favorites because I felt like it really captured what Minnesota high school hockey is all about.
Chisago Lakes is an amalgamation of a couple small towns built by Swedish immigrants in the far, far outskirts of the Twin Cities suburbs. Technically, their sports teams play in the Northern Suburban Conference, but there's really nothing suburban about it. The number of large lakes in the area make their arena a little difficult to get to. Chisago Lakes Arena is about 10 miles from my apartment as the crow flies, and yet it takes me like 30 minutes to get there. The high school, gym, and hockey arena are all clumped together about a mile south of town on a road with absolutely no lights. After about 5pm on a winter night, it really feels like you've driven off the face of the earth.
The Breck School is a prestigious, Episcopalian-affiliated college prep school in Golden Valley, Minnesota, in the posh western suburbs on the Twin Cities. Looking over their list of famous alums, there are CEOs, poet/authors, the dude who invented GPS. They've also had some fine hockey players come through the school in recent years including Blake Wheeler, John Curry, and Jordan Fulton.
So the two teams were from very different backgrounds. One group of parents were in suits, the other in hunter orange and camo. The teams themselves were quite different too. Breck was two days removed from a huge win over top-ranked St. Thomas Academy. They were loaded with skilled, talented players, with at least a couple kids that would have a future in hockey beyond high school. Chisago was a team that would only win 6 games all season. It's unlikely that any of those kids would play hockey at any level after high school. On paper, it looked like the third period would be played with running time.
Breck managed to escape with a win, but the game was far closer than anyone could have expected. The atmosphere was top notch. Chisago Lakes Arena is one of those old school arenas with stands along one sideline and a metal roof. The arena was pretty full, and the crowd was loud. And not just loud after goals. They were loud after everything. A nice hit, a good scoring chance, a nice save.
Breck jumped out to an early lead, and controlled play throughout the game. I can't find a listing for shots on goal in the game, but Breck must have outshot Chisago by like a 4 to 1 margin. Chisago had an excellent goalie though, and took advantage of the few opportunities they had. By the third period, Chisago had cut Breck's lead to 3 to 2 and momentum was starting turn towards the home team. Chisago had a great chance to tie the game, but Breck's goalie made an amazing save to keep the lead. Breck was able to add an insurance goal late and then an empty-netter to make the final score look lopsided, but it was still a great game to watch.
When people start discussing which state has the best hockey, they start throwing out statistics about how many players make to the college or pro level. I think that misses the point though. None of the players on Chisago's team will ever make the NHL; probably not even any of the Breck players. But no where else in the country would you get such a fun game, and more importantly such a great atmosphere in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere.
Friday, December 19, 2008
MN HS Roundup
Tim Kolehmainen, editor at The Breakdown wrote a nice feature on the top lines in Minnesota high school hockey. It's a pretty solid list. I'd maybe move the top lines at Duluth East and Minnetonka a little higher into the top ten.
Ben Hanowski is making a run at the state scoring record. As a general rule, I think any stats for high school hockey are essentially meaningless, and especially so for an out-state player that plays a lot of weaker teams, but Hanowski is still a very good player that has had a great high school career. It's looking pretty likely he'll make his fifth state tournament appearance with Little Falls this year, which is a really nice accomplishment.
Fox Sports North has done a pretty good job getting good high school games on TV this past week. I only caught the third period and overtime of Duluth East/Centennial but that was a very hard fought 2-2 tie. Both games that were on TV last night ended up being closer than expected. The Elk River/Eden Prairie and Edina/Grand Rapids games not only featured some of the bigger name players in the state, but also featured some of the better up-and-coming sophomores in the state.
Here are Follow the Puck's Top Ten rankings for each class.
Class AA: 1. Hill-Murray 2. Edina 3. Bloomington Jefferson 4. Holy Angels 5. Duluth East 6. Blaine 7. Centennial 8. Moorhead 9. Roseau 10. Eden Prairie
Class A: 1. Little Falls 2. Warroad 3. Hermantown 4. St. Thomas 5. Rochester Lourdes 6. Breck 7. Duluth Marshall 8. Mahtomedi 9. Thief River Falls 10. St. Cloud Cathedral
One of the problems with the way the state playoffs are set up is that it is designed to name one champion, and not necessarily get the best 8 teams to the XCel Center for the state's showcase event. Case in point, a week ago, Bloomington Jefferson, who could conceivably be seeded third in their section, took on Lakeville South, who so far, is looking like the favorite in Section 1AA and took the game into running time. Some of the best games this year could come in the section finals, as opposed to the state tournament.
Ben Hanowski is making a run at the state scoring record. As a general rule, I think any stats for high school hockey are essentially meaningless, and especially so for an out-state player that plays a lot of weaker teams, but Hanowski is still a very good player that has had a great high school career. It's looking pretty likely he'll make his fifth state tournament appearance with Little Falls this year, which is a really nice accomplishment.
Fox Sports North has done a pretty good job getting good high school games on TV this past week. I only caught the third period and overtime of Duluth East/Centennial but that was a very hard fought 2-2 tie. Both games that were on TV last night ended up being closer than expected. The Elk River/Eden Prairie and Edina/Grand Rapids games not only featured some of the bigger name players in the state, but also featured some of the better up-and-coming sophomores in the state.
Here are Follow the Puck's Top Ten rankings for each class.
Class AA: 1. Hill-Murray 2. Edina 3. Bloomington Jefferson 4. Holy Angels 5. Duluth East 6. Blaine 7. Centennial 8. Moorhead 9. Roseau 10. Eden Prairie
Class A: 1. Little Falls 2. Warroad 3. Hermantown 4. St. Thomas 5. Rochester Lourdes 6. Breck 7. Duluth Marshall 8. Mahtomedi 9. Thief River Falls 10. St. Cloud Cathedral
One of the problems with the way the state playoffs are set up is that it is designed to name one champion, and not necessarily get the best 8 teams to the XCel Center for the state's showcase event. Case in point, a week ago, Bloomington Jefferson, who could conceivably be seeded third in their section, took on Lakeville South, who so far, is looking like the favorite in Section 1AA and took the game into running time. Some of the best games this year could come in the section finals, as opposed to the state tournament.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
2 Sport Stars
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote a feature on Zach Budish's knee injury, suffered during football season, that will keep him from playing hockey his senior year.
Minnesota coach Don Lucia set off the internets with a quote saying he would advise hockey players against playing high school football. From the article:
Anyway, you can read the criticism in the comments of the article, or, if you want something a little more intelligent and grammatically correct, Bruce Ciskie had a rebuttal for the College Hockey News Blog.
I will say two things in defense of Lucia. First off, Lucia received a fair amount of criticism earlier this year--here included--for a quote in the Star-Trib about Minnesota never giving up a home game to play in an event like the Minnesota Hockey Showcase, when in fact, at least by that Saturday, his opinion was drastically different. Maybe he changed his mind, or maybe the quote was out of context, who knows. Not that this is an attack on any journalist in particular(the two articles were written by different writers anyway), but things do get misinterpreted sometimes.
Second, it's not hard to see why he might feel that way. He mentioned the Budish and Smaagaard injuries. Mike Forney's hockey career may have been a little less rocky had he not missed time and been so beaten up by football.
But at the same time, Lucia is also one of the more outspoken coaches on the issue of early commitments, and reportedly not a huge fan of 'family advisors' especially after debacles with Kyle Okposo and Phil Kessel, but I don't think you can play it both ways. You can't say 'we should let kids be kids' and then turn around and say 'you need to focus solely on hockey' If a player has to make a "career" decision that early on, they should also be able to make the wise hockey decision by locking down a scholarship early on, and getting professional advice on what his best for him as a hockey player.
Bottom line though, is that it is Lucia's program and he has the right to run it the way that he wants. There is a lot of pressure attached to playing and coaching at Minnesota. Look no further than about 11 months ago for evidence. By committing to the University of Minnesota, a player becomes a part of the team(more or less), and I think it's fair for Lucia to make sure a player's priorities are in order upon doing so. Minnesota isn't the only hockey program out there, and perhaps other programs would feel different. A player that still wants to play football wouldn't have to make a commitment to Minnesota.
Minnesota sets a very high standard for itself, and there are certain obligations that come along with that. There's nothing necessarily wrong with playing multiple sports, but if a player wants to commit to play at a big-time college hockey university, they should probably commit to being a big-time hockey player too.
Minnesota coach Don Lucia set off the internets with a quote saying he would advise hockey players against playing high school football. From the article:
""I have never discouraged or encouraged [playing football], but that may change now in light of what happened to Zach and what happened to Garrett, too," said Lucia, who also watched recruit Garrett Smaagaard of Eden Prairie miss his senior year of hockey after tearing his ACL in the 2000 Prep Bowl."Said athlete would be Mahtomedi's Ben Marshall, for those that were curious.
...
"Just weeks after Budish's injury, Lucia received a verbal commitment from an athlete who played both football and hockey.
"We had a talk," Lucia said. "I said, 'It's time to be a hockey player, not a football player.' He agreed and he's not going to play football next year.""
Anyway, you can read the criticism in the comments of the article, or, if you want something a little more intelligent and grammatically correct, Bruce Ciskie had a rebuttal for the College Hockey News Blog.
I will say two things in defense of Lucia. First off, Lucia received a fair amount of criticism earlier this year--here included--for a quote in the Star-Trib about Minnesota never giving up a home game to play in an event like the Minnesota Hockey Showcase, when in fact, at least by that Saturday, his opinion was drastically different. Maybe he changed his mind, or maybe the quote was out of context, who knows. Not that this is an attack on any journalist in particular(the two articles were written by different writers anyway), but things do get misinterpreted sometimes.
Second, it's not hard to see why he might feel that way. He mentioned the Budish and Smaagaard injuries. Mike Forney's hockey career may have been a little less rocky had he not missed time and been so beaten up by football.
But at the same time, Lucia is also one of the more outspoken coaches on the issue of early commitments, and reportedly not a huge fan of 'family advisors' especially after debacles with Kyle Okposo and Phil Kessel, but I don't think you can play it both ways. You can't say 'we should let kids be kids' and then turn around and say 'you need to focus solely on hockey' If a player has to make a "career" decision that early on, they should also be able to make the wise hockey decision by locking down a scholarship early on, and getting professional advice on what his best for him as a hockey player.
Bottom line though, is that it is Lucia's program and he has the right to run it the way that he wants. There is a lot of pressure attached to playing and coaching at Minnesota. Look no further than about 11 months ago for evidence. By committing to the University of Minnesota, a player becomes a part of the team(more or less), and I think it's fair for Lucia to make sure a player's priorities are in order upon doing so. Minnesota isn't the only hockey program out there, and perhaps other programs would feel different. A player that still wants to play football wouldn't have to make a commitment to Minnesota.
Minnesota sets a very high standard for itself, and there are certain obligations that come along with that. There's nothing necessarily wrong with playing multiple sports, but if a player wants to commit to play at a big-time college hockey university, they should probably commit to being a big-time hockey player too.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
MN High School Hockey in Trouble?
The state of Minnesota hasn't been hit as hard economically as some other states, but times are still tough, and those economic problems could reach rinks in Minnesota. WCCO reported this weekend that the MSHSL board of directors is considering cutting the boy's high school hockey season by 20%, from 25 games to 20.
Minnesota high school hockey has a great tradition, and for the most part, has survived losing some of their top players to the USHL and NTDP, partly aided by the Upper Midwest Elite League, but a cut that big to their already sparse schedule could be disastrous.
AAA hockey is growing at the youth levels in the state of Minnesota. Type 'minnesota aaa hockey' into Google and on the first page, you get results for the homepages of the Minnesota Blades, Minnesota Magicians, Minnesota Rockets, Minnesota Stars, Red River Mud Sharks, and Minnesota Northern Wings; not to mention other AAA programs like the Minnesota Machine, Minnesota Flames, Minnesota Lightning, Minnesota Icemen, Jr. Wild, Minnesota Northern Storm and Team Easton. Most of these teams are forged in the spring and summer for a couple of tournaments here or there, but they provide a higher level of competition and depth than players would face in the winter with local teams. It seems like only a matter of time before players start eschewing their local hockey associations in favor of playing AAA hockey full-time.
Not that AAA hockey is without its faults, but Minnesota would have a leg up on the rest of the country with two of the bigger problems: cost and travel. With lots of available ice time and a deep talent base, it's not as necessary for teams to travel all around the country in search of competition.
If the state keeps making cuts to high school hockey, what is to stop the best players from opting out of playing high school altogether and playing in something like the Elite League throughout the winter? Again, the spectacle and history of the state tournament has huge drawing power for players, as does playing with the kids one grew up with, but between private schools and open enrollment, things seem to be heading away from that anyway. Both state champions last season were amalgamations of the top players from a number of different cities. The starting goalie for Warroad in the vaunted Warroad/Roseau game was a kid that had been cut by the Roseau HS team.
If that were to happen, it would be a real shame for the fans--two AAA all-star teams aren't going to draw 10,000 people on a weeknight the way Edina vs. Burnsville did last year--but it may be in the best interests of the players. Stats in high school hockey are practically meaningless since every player on a decent team seems to play at least a handful of blowout games where they could basically score as often as they want. I don't think high school hockey is a huge detriment, but with more quality players coming from non-traditional hockey areas, having Minnesotan players sharpen their skills against a higher level of competition wouldn't be a bad thing.
I think the bottom line is that there is a ton of demand to play hockey from players, and if the MSHSL can't meet that demand, players may start to look elsewhere.
Minnesota high school hockey has a great tradition, and for the most part, has survived losing some of their top players to the USHL and NTDP, partly aided by the Upper Midwest Elite League, but a cut that big to their already sparse schedule could be disastrous.
AAA hockey is growing at the youth levels in the state of Minnesota. Type 'minnesota aaa hockey' into Google and on the first page, you get results for the homepages of the Minnesota Blades, Minnesota Magicians, Minnesota Rockets, Minnesota Stars, Red River Mud Sharks, and Minnesota Northern Wings; not to mention other AAA programs like the Minnesota Machine, Minnesota Flames, Minnesota Lightning, Minnesota Icemen, Jr. Wild, Minnesota Northern Storm and Team Easton. Most of these teams are forged in the spring and summer for a couple of tournaments here or there, but they provide a higher level of competition and depth than players would face in the winter with local teams. It seems like only a matter of time before players start eschewing their local hockey associations in favor of playing AAA hockey full-time.
Not that AAA hockey is without its faults, but Minnesota would have a leg up on the rest of the country with two of the bigger problems: cost and travel. With lots of available ice time and a deep talent base, it's not as necessary for teams to travel all around the country in search of competition.
If the state keeps making cuts to high school hockey, what is to stop the best players from opting out of playing high school altogether and playing in something like the Elite League throughout the winter? Again, the spectacle and history of the state tournament has huge drawing power for players, as does playing with the kids one grew up with, but between private schools and open enrollment, things seem to be heading away from that anyway. Both state champions last season were amalgamations of the top players from a number of different cities. The starting goalie for Warroad in the vaunted Warroad/Roseau game was a kid that had been cut by the Roseau HS team.
If that were to happen, it would be a real shame for the fans--two AAA all-star teams aren't going to draw 10,000 people on a weeknight the way Edina vs. Burnsville did last year--but it may be in the best interests of the players. Stats in high school hockey are practically meaningless since every player on a decent team seems to play at least a handful of blowout games where they could basically score as often as they want. I don't think high school hockey is a huge detriment, but with more quality players coming from non-traditional hockey areas, having Minnesotan players sharpen their skills against a higher level of competition wouldn't be a bad thing.
I think the bottom line is that there is a ton of demand to play hockey from players, and if the MSHSL can't meet that demand, players may start to look elsewhere.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
High School Hockey Recap
The Minnesota High School Hockey season got underway last weekend. Here are your scored for the 28th and 29th.
#1 Edina won their Turkey Trot tournament with wins over Buffalo and Wayzata. Maple Grove came in third, after losing to Wayzata in a shootout on the first day, and came back with a nice win over Buffalo. The boys from Suburban Consumerism Hell have some really nice players--sophomore Dan Carlson is one in particular that will be watched closely this year--and could be a nice sleeper team this year. They've got a tough section with Blaine and Centennial, but could surprise people.
The big result that stood out on Saturday was Breck beating fellow Class A power Duluth Marshall 5-1. Breck was absolutely loaded with young talent last season, and could maybe even make a run at that military school from Mendota Heights that wasn't very good a long time ago.
FSN's high school hockey coverage gets started this Tuesday when defending state champion Hill-Murray plays Burnsville at 7pm CST. Burnsville looks a little down compared to last season--as you'd expect after losing Tyler Barnes and Jake Hendrickson. They lost their first game of the season to resurgent Bloomington Jefferson last weekend, while Hill looks like they'll have their usual strong team. As a warning, the game is in Burnsville meaning they'll have B-vile alum Kevin Gorg doing something stupid.
#1 Edina won their Turkey Trot tournament with wins over Buffalo and Wayzata. Maple Grove came in third, after losing to Wayzata in a shootout on the first day, and came back with a nice win over Buffalo. The boys from Suburban Consumerism Hell have some really nice players--sophomore Dan Carlson is one in particular that will be watched closely this year--and could be a nice sleeper team this year. They've got a tough section with Blaine and Centennial, but could surprise people.
The big result that stood out on Saturday was Breck beating fellow Class A power Duluth Marshall 5-1. Breck was absolutely loaded with young talent last season, and could maybe even make a run at that military school from Mendota Heights that wasn't very good a long time ago.
FSN's high school hockey coverage gets started this Tuesday when defending state champion Hill-Murray plays Burnsville at 7pm CST. Burnsville looks a little down compared to last season--as you'd expect after losing Tyler Barnes and Jake Hendrickson. They lost their first game of the season to resurgent Bloomington Jefferson last weekend, while Hill looks like they'll have their usual strong team. As a warning, the game is in Burnsville meaning they'll have B-vile alum Kevin Gorg doing something stupid.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
MN HS Hockey Linkorama
Let's Play Hockey Magazine released their first rankings. Comparing them with my ad hoc top 10 from a couple weeks ago, it looks like I forgot about Bloomington Jefferson, who looks to be back after a brief downswing. No idea why St. Thomas is ranked that high since they were bad a really long time ago.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune profiled Mahtomedi's Ben Marshall and Hill-Murray's Tyler Zepeda.
The Mankato Free Press featured Mankato West's Andrew Bruggeman.
A look at the Lake Conference.
The Rochester P-B took a look at Rochester John Marshall, who is looking to rebound after a tough year last year.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune profiled Mahtomedi's Ben Marshall and Hill-Murray's Tyler Zepeda.
The Mankato Free Press featured Mankato West's Andrew Bruggeman.
A look at the Lake Conference.
The Rochester P-B took a look at Rochester John Marshall, who is looking to rebound after a tough year last year.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mr. Hockey Candidates
I took a stab at the top ten candidates for the Minnesota Mr. Hockey award. It looks like this year's award will be Nick Leddy's to lose, but there are a number of talented players that could win the award.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Elite League NIT Report
The Upper Midwest Elite League held their National Invitational Tournament last weekend at New Hope Ice Arena, and I was there the first two days of the tournament, and a good time seemed to be had by all. Shattuck-St. Mary's took home the title with a win over Minnesota Red in the final, while Minnesota White beat Malmo in the third place game.
Among the more amusing things at the tournament:
1. Minnesota White managed to take 2 Too Many Men penalties in a 25 second span. And neither were of the 'bad line change, guy trying to race back to the bench' variety. They were literally playing with too many men for a good ten seconds, before the opposition's coach's shouting got the attention of the officials.
2. Only in Minnesota would the 'Jean' in 'Jean-Paul' be pronounced like "Gene".
3. Between the Norwegian team that played in the Elite League regular season, and Malmo, I will never stop being amused by the way Scandinavians dress.
On to the slightly more serious stuff...
Malmo's team looked much better than they were last year. Victor Ohman was on the Malmo team that came over to the States last year, and didn't really do much to impress me. Then again, he was a '92 birthdate, so he was one of the youngest players on the ice. I had heard a fair amount of hype about him over the past year, which didn't really connect with what I saw last year. But this year, he was probably the best player at the tournament. I think he finished with 9 points for the tournament, and seemed to have a hand in nearly all of Malmo's goals. The big difference between Ohman and some of the American '92s at the tournament was that Ohman was listed at 6'1" 201 lbs., and seemed to be every bit of that. Insert your own joke about eating your lingonberries. He's a very strong kid with a great nose for the net. He'll definitely be a name to watch for the 2010 Draft.
Axel Wemmenborn was another '92 birthdate that was like a poor man's version of Ohman. Not quite as big, and not quite the scorer, but still a good looking player. Sebastien Dyk was a '92 that played with Ohman and also ended up with a hand in a lot of goals. '90 defenseman Ziga Grahut played on their top powerplay unit and had a great shot from the point.
Erik Haula was the player I was most interested in seeing for Shattuck, as he is projected as a potential first round draft pick this summer. Haula was his team's best forward, and a talented player, but not as dominant as you might expect. Still, he scored a beautiful overtime goal against Malmo, and did a lot of little things very well. He still needs to add a lot of strength, which could hold him back a little in terms of the draft, but still a very nice player.
Alexander Fallstrom is the other top forward for Shattuck this year. I was a little surprised he got passed over in the draft last year. He's very talented, and I wouldn't be surprised if he got picked in this year's draft. Belarussian import Kirill Gotovets was very impressive on defense. I think he'll get drafted too.
This Shattuck is maybe a little underrated compared to past teams. Fallstrom is the only player committed to a college right now, and Haula and Gotovets are the only other serious potential draft picks. But they do have a lot of very talented, though small, hockey players. Guys like Blake Matejcek, J-P Lafontaine, Brad Robbins, and Sam Alfieri on offense, and Nathan Sinz and Kevin Tuohy on defense are all small, but pretty good hockey players.
Minnesota Red won the battle of the Minnesota teams. The Red team had less talent, but did a great job of playing as a team and always looking to make the extra pass, while the White team was always looking to take a shot, as opposed to setting up a teammate for a shot.
Off the Red team, Derek Forbort has really developed into a great hockey player. He's made great strides over the past 10 months or so since I last saw him, and should have a bright future.
Max Tardy is another player that has made a huge jump in development. He led the regular season in scoring, and I heard a lot of impressive reviews of his play by people at the rink.
I had Danny Mattson rated a lot higher in the draft than most people do--though I also suspect I've seen him a little more than most people. I may have him a little too high just because he lacks ideal pro size, but his offensive instincts are certainly at that level.
I really like the way Adam Knochenmus plays, even though he's another little guy. He's another typical Roseau kid--hard worker, and a very smart player. Max Gardiner still doesn't have the skating ability of his brother, but he gets around ok and really uses his size to create havoc.
Nick Leddy was probably the top prospect for this year's draft at the tournament. He had kind of a rough game on Saturday, but overall, looks to have a fantastic future. He should easily be the best player in the state this year. I also thought his defensive partner Brendan Baker played well. I've always like Baker and think he gets overshadowed by the other big names from Edina.
Speaking of the other Edina players, Marshall Everson and Anders Lee played pretty well. Lee has absolutely ridiculous strength for a high schooler. But I think they missed Zach Budish making plays and setting them up offensively.
The line of Tyler Pitlick, Willie Hess, and Danny DeLisle was probably White's most effective line, though on Saturday, it seemed like they didn't get out there 5-on-5 enough to be effective--penalties killed White against Red. All indications are that Pitlick will jump straight to college hockey next year. He's added a lot of strength, but I think still has a ways to go before he's strong enough to be really great in the WCHA. Centennial defender Joe Schmitz has really seen his stock rise this fall. I don't know if it's true or not, but he looks a lot bigger than he was at the end of last year. He was held fairly quiet in the games I saw though. The other Centennial defender, Brett Stern got injured in the first game and was replaced by Zach Palmquist. Palmquist has gotten a little WCHA interest this fall. He's a skilled kid, but still on the small side. I could see where teams would like him though, once he adds weight.(The program listed Palmquist as 190 lbs. Last summer's Model Camp roster listed him at 150. The Model Camp weight looks far more accurate.)
I mentioned the Minnesota '92s being a little behind in terms of weight. Christian Isackson, Brett Patterson, and Nick Bjustad were listed at 170, 160, and 155 respectively. There's a huge difference between that and a guy that's a solid 200 lbs. and it showed. But I suspect that by next fall, those guys will have caught up and should be in the conversation for the 2010 draft. They all had moments where they flashed their talent, but overall didn't do a lot. White kept putting Isackson on the point opposite Leddy on their powerplay, which never seemed to work all that well.
Team Wisconsin competed as their own team in this year's NIT, as opposed to last year, where they were absorbed into the Red team after years of struggling on their own. Ironically, last year was probably the one year they could have really competed as their own individual team.
It seemed like a lot of the strength in this year's team was in the junior class, but then again, who knows how many of those kids will be playing high school hockey next fall. Matt Paape was the top forward for Wisconsin. He's a solid, honest player though not all that flashy. Defenseman Aaron Harstad looks like a really nice player, as did defenseman Nolan Kirley.
The MDHL, Michigan's answer to the Minnesota Elite League, team is always a scrappy one. Talent-wise, there was a pretty big gap between the top four teams--Minnesota Red, White, Malmo, and Shattuck--and the other four, but Michigan was a scrappy bunch, and gave Shattuck a pretty good game on the first night--the only decent game of the first night-- despite probably not playing their best hockey.
Brent Darnell is the first player from the MDHL to make a college commitment while playing in the league. He's maybe not the flashiest player, but is the type of player that coaches will love because he plays great defense, hits people, and is solid on face-offs. Cranbrook's Patrick Brown is another '92 player that looked pretty good.
It'd be nice to see the MDHL continue to have some success. They held their league tournament two weeks ago and had a lot of scouts attend, and those kids got a lot of exposure this weekend. Without making a value judgement on high-level AAA hockey, I will say that it's probably not for everyone, and it's nice to see kids have another option to go with.
Among the more amusing things at the tournament:
1. Minnesota White managed to take 2 Too Many Men penalties in a 25 second span. And neither were of the 'bad line change, guy trying to race back to the bench' variety. They were literally playing with too many men for a good ten seconds, before the opposition's coach's shouting got the attention of the officials.
2. Only in Minnesota would the 'Jean' in 'Jean-Paul' be pronounced like "Gene".
3. Between the Norwegian team that played in the Elite League regular season, and Malmo, I will never stop being amused by the way Scandinavians dress.
On to the slightly more serious stuff...
Malmo's team looked much better than they were last year. Victor Ohman was on the Malmo team that came over to the States last year, and didn't really do much to impress me. Then again, he was a '92 birthdate, so he was one of the youngest players on the ice. I had heard a fair amount of hype about him over the past year, which didn't really connect with what I saw last year. But this year, he was probably the best player at the tournament. I think he finished with 9 points for the tournament, and seemed to have a hand in nearly all of Malmo's goals. The big difference between Ohman and some of the American '92s at the tournament was that Ohman was listed at 6'1" 201 lbs., and seemed to be every bit of that. Insert your own joke about eating your lingonberries. He's a very strong kid with a great nose for the net. He'll definitely be a name to watch for the 2010 Draft.
Axel Wemmenborn was another '92 birthdate that was like a poor man's version of Ohman. Not quite as big, and not quite the scorer, but still a good looking player. Sebastien Dyk was a '92 that played with Ohman and also ended up with a hand in a lot of goals. '90 defenseman Ziga Grahut played on their top powerplay unit and had a great shot from the point.
Erik Haula was the player I was most interested in seeing for Shattuck, as he is projected as a potential first round draft pick this summer. Haula was his team's best forward, and a talented player, but not as dominant as you might expect. Still, he scored a beautiful overtime goal against Malmo, and did a lot of little things very well. He still needs to add a lot of strength, which could hold him back a little in terms of the draft, but still a very nice player.
Alexander Fallstrom is the other top forward for Shattuck this year. I was a little surprised he got passed over in the draft last year. He's very talented, and I wouldn't be surprised if he got picked in this year's draft. Belarussian import Kirill Gotovets was very impressive on defense. I think he'll get drafted too.
This Shattuck is maybe a little underrated compared to past teams. Fallstrom is the only player committed to a college right now, and Haula and Gotovets are the only other serious potential draft picks. But they do have a lot of very talented, though small, hockey players. Guys like Blake Matejcek, J-P Lafontaine, Brad Robbins, and Sam Alfieri on offense, and Nathan Sinz and Kevin Tuohy on defense are all small, but pretty good hockey players.
Minnesota Red won the battle of the Minnesota teams. The Red team had less talent, but did a great job of playing as a team and always looking to make the extra pass, while the White team was always looking to take a shot, as opposed to setting up a teammate for a shot.
Off the Red team, Derek Forbort has really developed into a great hockey player. He's made great strides over the past 10 months or so since I last saw him, and should have a bright future.
Max Tardy is another player that has made a huge jump in development. He led the regular season in scoring, and I heard a lot of impressive reviews of his play by people at the rink.
I had Danny Mattson rated a lot higher in the draft than most people do--though I also suspect I've seen him a little more than most people. I may have him a little too high just because he lacks ideal pro size, but his offensive instincts are certainly at that level.
I really like the way Adam Knochenmus plays, even though he's another little guy. He's another typical Roseau kid--hard worker, and a very smart player. Max Gardiner still doesn't have the skating ability of his brother, but he gets around ok and really uses his size to create havoc.
Nick Leddy was probably the top prospect for this year's draft at the tournament. He had kind of a rough game on Saturday, but overall, looks to have a fantastic future. He should easily be the best player in the state this year. I also thought his defensive partner Brendan Baker played well. I've always like Baker and think he gets overshadowed by the other big names from Edina.
Speaking of the other Edina players, Marshall Everson and Anders Lee played pretty well. Lee has absolutely ridiculous strength for a high schooler. But I think they missed Zach Budish making plays and setting them up offensively.
The line of Tyler Pitlick, Willie Hess, and Danny DeLisle was probably White's most effective line, though on Saturday, it seemed like they didn't get out there 5-on-5 enough to be effective--penalties killed White against Red. All indications are that Pitlick will jump straight to college hockey next year. He's added a lot of strength, but I think still has a ways to go before he's strong enough to be really great in the WCHA. Centennial defender Joe Schmitz has really seen his stock rise this fall. I don't know if it's true or not, but he looks a lot bigger than he was at the end of last year. He was held fairly quiet in the games I saw though. The other Centennial defender, Brett Stern got injured in the first game and was replaced by Zach Palmquist. Palmquist has gotten a little WCHA interest this fall. He's a skilled kid, but still on the small side. I could see where teams would like him though, once he adds weight.(The program listed Palmquist as 190 lbs. Last summer's Model Camp roster listed him at 150. The Model Camp weight looks far more accurate.)
I mentioned the Minnesota '92s being a little behind in terms of weight. Christian Isackson, Brett Patterson, and Nick Bjustad were listed at 170, 160, and 155 respectively. There's a huge difference between that and a guy that's a solid 200 lbs. and it showed. But I suspect that by next fall, those guys will have caught up and should be in the conversation for the 2010 draft. They all had moments where they flashed their talent, but overall didn't do a lot. White kept putting Isackson on the point opposite Leddy on their powerplay, which never seemed to work all that well.
Team Wisconsin competed as their own team in this year's NIT, as opposed to last year, where they were absorbed into the Red team after years of struggling on their own. Ironically, last year was probably the one year they could have really competed as their own individual team.
It seemed like a lot of the strength in this year's team was in the junior class, but then again, who knows how many of those kids will be playing high school hockey next fall. Matt Paape was the top forward for Wisconsin. He's a solid, honest player though not all that flashy. Defenseman Aaron Harstad looks like a really nice player, as did defenseman Nolan Kirley.
The MDHL, Michigan's answer to the Minnesota Elite League, team is always a scrappy one. Talent-wise, there was a pretty big gap between the top four teams--Minnesota Red, White, Malmo, and Shattuck--and the other four, but Michigan was a scrappy bunch, and gave Shattuck a pretty good game on the first night--the only decent game of the first night-- despite probably not playing their best hockey.
Brent Darnell is the first player from the MDHL to make a college commitment while playing in the league. He's maybe not the flashiest player, but is the type of player that coaches will love because he plays great defense, hits people, and is solid on face-offs. Cranbrook's Patrick Brown is another '92 player that looked pretty good.
It'd be nice to see the MDHL continue to have some success. They held their league tournament two weeks ago and had a lot of scouts attend, and those kids got a lot of exposure this weekend. Without making a value judgement on high-level AAA hockey, I will say that it's probably not for everyone, and it's nice to see kids have another option to go with.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
It's Almost High School Hockey Time
(As a disclaimer, I'm sure the MSHSL would like to remind you that this is a blog and not a newspaper--one of the main differences being that I'm not cutting huge amounts of staff any time in the near future--and therefore nothing I say is worthy of reading. Also, this is a college hockey blog, so why would I even write about high school hockey?)
High school football is getting close to wrapping up(probably?) which means it's almost time for high school hockey season here in Minnesota.
Fox Sports North released their television schedule for this year, including a girl's game between Anoka and Centennial which, at least from a gender equity standpoint, is great to see. I also shouldn't poke too much fun at what is a great venture by FSN, but it's good to see Eden Prairie, St. Thomas Academy, and Cretin all on the schedule, so they'll have tons of footage for future Gopher games. Sadly missing from the TV schedule is my favorite school, the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley HS Deer Smackers(Editor's Note: Possibly not their real nickname.)
The 3rd annual Hockey Day Minnesota will be on January 17th this year, and the event looks to be even better this year. For one, they will be including other Minnesota universities, as Minnesota takes on St. Cloud. Southern Minnesota will also be represented in the form of Rochester John Marshall HS.
And finally, MyFoxHockey released their Preseason Top 10 poll.
Without putting a ton of research into it, my preseason top ten would look like this: 1. Edina 2. Eden Prairie 3. Hill-Murray 4. Centennial 5. Holy Angels 6. Hopkins 7. St. Thomas Academy 8. Blaine 9. Duluth East 10. Duluth Marshall
High school football is getting close to wrapping up(probably?) which means it's almost time for high school hockey season here in Minnesota.
Fox Sports North released their television schedule for this year, including a girl's game between Anoka and Centennial which, at least from a gender equity standpoint, is great to see. I also shouldn't poke too much fun at what is a great venture by FSN, but it's good to see Eden Prairie, St. Thomas Academy, and Cretin all on the schedule, so they'll have tons of footage for future Gopher games. Sadly missing from the TV schedule is my favorite school, the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley HS Deer Smackers(Editor's Note: Possibly not their real nickname.)
The 3rd annual Hockey Day Minnesota will be on January 17th this year, and the event looks to be even better this year. For one, they will be including other Minnesota universities, as Minnesota takes on St. Cloud. Southern Minnesota will also be represented in the form of Rochester John Marshall HS.
And finally, MyFoxHockey released their Preseason Top 10 poll.
Without putting a ton of research into it, my preseason top ten would look like this: 1. Edina 2. Eden Prairie 3. Hill-Murray 4. Centennial 5. Holy Angels 6. Hopkins 7. St. Thomas Academy 8. Blaine 9. Duluth East 10. Duluth Marshall
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Elite League NIT Rosters
The Upper Midwest Elite League will be hosting their National Invitational Tournament this weekend in New Hope, Minnesota. The tournament will bring together a number of top prospects. Here are the rosters for the event.
Team Minnesota White
Team Minnesota Red
Shattuck-St. Mary's
Los Angeles Selects
Team Wisconsin
San Jose Jr. Sharks
Malmo Redhawks
Michigan Stars
Minnesota White looks to basically be a Twin Cities team. Minnesota Red looks to incorporate more of outstate Minnesota, along with some Twin Cities players. The Michigan Stars are an all-star team made up of players from the Michigan Developmental Hockey League, a league designed after the Minnesota Elite League to give players that choose high school hockey more options. The Malmo Redhawks played in the MDHL's league tournament last weekend.
Team Minnesota White
Team Minnesota Red
Shattuck-St. Mary's
Los Angeles Selects
Team Wisconsin
San Jose Jr. Sharks
Malmo Redhawks
Michigan Stars
Minnesota White looks to basically be a Twin Cities team. Minnesota Red looks to incorporate more of outstate Minnesota, along with some Twin Cities players. The Michigan Stars are an all-star team made up of players from the Michigan Developmental Hockey League, a league designed after the Minnesota Elite League to give players that choose high school hockey more options. The Malmo Redhawks played in the MDHL's league tournament last weekend.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Other Shattuck Rosters
People had asked for the other Shattuck-St. Mary's rosters, so here you go, the rosters for the other seven teams.
SSM Rosters
SSM Rosters
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep Roster
Shattuck-St. Mary's picked the roster for their Prep hockey team yesterday, and will jump right into things with a game against the NAHL's Wenatchee Wild tonight. Here's a look at some of the players that will be on the team this year, along with their grade, and where they came from for the new guys.
Forwards:
Sam Alfieri 12
Alexander Fallstrom 12
Brad Robbins 11
Erik Haula(Newcomer from Finland) 11
Jason Clark (Newcomer from Eden Prairie, MN) 11
Joe Basaraba(Newcomer from Fort Frances, ON) 11
Jean-Paul Lafontaine 11
Blake Matecjek 12
Andrew O'Leary 12
James Polk 11
Sebastien Nilsson 12
Defense:
Ben Montgomery 12
Nathan Sinz 12(Playing an extra year with Shattuck)
Stephen Hickey 12
Kyle Forte 12
Kirill Gotovets 11
Justin Lutsch 11
Kevin Touhy 12
Goalies:
Garrett Jensen 12
Kurt Williams 12
Overall, this Shattuck team should be a little on the small side, but very fast. Haula is supposed to be the superstar of the group, with some draft projections having him go in the first round of next summer's NHL Draft. Alex Fallstrom, who almost opted to play in Sweden this year, has also looked very, very good. Basaraba was selected in the second round of last summer's OHL Priority Selection, so he could be a big contributor as well.
Forwards:
Sam Alfieri 12
Alexander Fallstrom 12
Brad Robbins 11
Erik Haula(Newcomer from Finland) 11
Jason Clark (Newcomer from Eden Prairie, MN) 11
Joe Basaraba(Newcomer from Fort Frances, ON) 11
Jean-Paul Lafontaine 11
Blake Matecjek 12
Andrew O'Leary 12
James Polk 11
Sebastien Nilsson 12
Defense:
Ben Montgomery 12
Nathan Sinz 12(Playing an extra year with Shattuck)
Stephen Hickey 12
Kyle Forte 12
Kirill Gotovets 11
Justin Lutsch 11
Kevin Touhy 12
Goalies:
Garrett Jensen 12
Kurt Williams 12
Overall, this Shattuck team should be a little on the small side, but very fast. Haula is supposed to be the superstar of the group, with some draft projections having him go in the first round of next summer's NHL Draft. Alex Fallstrom, who almost opted to play in Sweden this year, has also looked very, very good. Basaraba was selected in the second round of last summer's OHL Priority Selection, so he could be a big contributor as well.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wisconsin Wins Chicago Showcase
Team Wisconsin won the Chicago Showcase this past weekend, defeating Team Michigan in the semifinals by a score of 2-0, and beating Team Minnesota 5-2 in the final. It was a pretty good year for Wisconsin high school hockey, with Team Wisconsin finishing a surprising second during the Midwest Elite League season, and then Team Wisconsin winning it all in Chicago.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Team Philadelphia's Jayson Ritchey who played for Wissahickon High School, which has to be the greatest high school name ever. Ritchey is listed at 6'1" 205 lbs. He scored 88 points in 21 games this season for Wissahickon, despite missing a few games with a broken hand.
Minnesota's JT Brown had a nice tournament, scoring 9 points in 6 games. Wisconsin forwards Gavin Hartzog, Jefferson Dahl, and Casey Kirley all had nice weekends statistically. Team Michigan's leading scorer was the state's Mr. Hockey winner Josh Miller of Trenton. Miller has signed a tender to play for the Traverse City Stars of the NAHL next season. Wisconsin's Joshua Lehr was the top goalie at the tournament, stopping 57 of 58 shots faced.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Team Philadelphia's Jayson Ritchey who played for Wissahickon High School, which has to be the greatest high school name ever. Ritchey is listed at 6'1" 205 lbs. He scored 88 points in 21 games this season for Wissahickon, despite missing a few games with a broken hand.
Minnesota's JT Brown had a nice tournament, scoring 9 points in 6 games. Wisconsin forwards Gavin Hartzog, Jefferson Dahl, and Casey Kirley all had nice weekends statistically. Team Michigan's leading scorer was the state's Mr. Hockey winner Josh Miller of Trenton. Miller has signed a tender to play for the Traverse City Stars of the NAHL next season. Wisconsin's Joshua Lehr was the top goalie at the tournament, stopping 57 of 58 shots faced.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Chicago Showcase
The Chicago Showcase gets started tomorrow. It is an event for high school seniors from around the country to showcase their talents in front of a good deal of college and junior hockey scouts.
You can find the rosters for the event here. Minnesota has a rule that players that have already made college commitments aren't eligible to go to this event. Wisconsin doesn't have a similar rule, so their team should be led by Minnesota recruit Nate Condon. Team Michigan should be led by an excellent college prospect in goaltender Adam Janecyk of Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
You can find the rosters for the event here. Minnesota has a rule that players that have already made college commitments aren't eligible to go to this event. Wisconsin doesn't have a similar rule, so their team should be led by Minnesota recruit Nate Condon. Team Michigan should be led by an excellent college prospect in goaltender Adam Janecyk of Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Lots of Free Hockey
By now, I'm sure everyone has heard about the 8-overtime game in Michigan that ended in a tie.
Neate Sager had an interesting opinion on the matter.
I would have liked to see a winner, but ultimately, it seems to have worked out better for the kids involved since they've become a national news story in a game few people would have cared about otherwise.
Neate Sager had an interesting opinion on the matter.
I would have liked to see a winner, but ultimately, it seems to have worked out better for the kids involved since they've become a national news story in a game few people would have cared about otherwise.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
State Tournament First Round Preview
Here's the preview for Wednesday's Class A games. I'm picking Duluth Marshall, Warroad, St. Thomas Academy, and Blake to win.
And here is Thursday's Class AA preview. I'm picking Edina, Benilde, Roseau, and Hill-Murray to win. I'm such a risk-taker.
And here is Thursday's Class AA preview. I'm picking Edina, Benilde, Roseau, and Hill-Murray to win. I'm such a risk-taker.
Monday, March 03, 2008
HS Tourney Week
The Minnesota State High School tournament starts on Wednesday of this week, and goes until Saturday. Unfortunately, the MSHSL decided not to issue me a media pass this year, so I won't have as much coverage as last year. I should still be able to write a fair amount from my couch, however, so all is not lost.
Starting tomorrow, I'll have previews of all of the first round match-ups, and then hopefully recaps of all of the games throughout the week.
Also, I don't know if they had this last year, but this year's media guide is available to the public online. There's a good bit of info on all 16 teams. My favorite part is always the 'highlights' section, though it seems like coaches wrote a lot less this year.
Starting tomorrow, I'll have previews of all of the first round match-ups, and then hopefully recaps of all of the games throughout the week.
Also, I don't know if they had this last year, but this year's media guide is available to the public online. There's a good bit of info on all 16 teams. My favorite part is always the 'highlights' section, though it seems like coaches wrote a lot less this year.
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