Section 7A (2016-2017)
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:16 pm
Here’s my preseason thoughts on 7A. I would appreciate it if other 7A fans could correct my mistakes and help fill in important things I have missed. (I’m looking at you Greenie, PuckRanger, pekyman, and Jeffy95) Unfortunately, YHH doesn’t have last year’s bantam rankings/results available on their website, thus my assessment of incoming bantam classes will be shaky, at best.
Preseason ranking, team name (Record last season/7A seed last season/% goals returning/% total points returning)
1. Hermantown (21-2-1/#1/54%/59%)-To most Class A teams, losing players like Koepke, Aamodt, and Gotz would be a huge loss. To Hermantown, it’s merely a drop in their deep talent bucket. They return five of their top six forwards, will still have two Elite League defenseman, and they lose an Elite League goalie only to replace him with another one. As usual, their AA bantam team will provide another infusion of top talent to fill any gaps. If there is a weakness on this team, it may be depth at defense, but the quality of this program will ensure their 3rd and 4th defenseman will still be better than most A teams’ 1st and 2nd. It will take a colossal upset for them to not win 7A, and the A state title is theirs to lose.
Hopefully the rumors are true and the Hawks will opt up to AA starting next year. Yes, I am bitter that their delay in opting up keeps some outstanding Hibbing and Greenway teams from making a run at state, but I am almost as bitter that I didn’t get to root for the Hawks in the 7AA and State AA tourney, where they would have had as good of a chance as anyone to win. Plante and Hermantown should be proud of the success they have had in A and the great program they have created, but they should be most proud that they have developed their program to the point of being good enough to compete well with the best in AA. When they do move up, no, they won’t make it to state every year anymore, but they will make runs at state, giving fans of northern hockey another team to cheer for.
2. Greenway (21-4/#4/66%/70%)-The Raiders had their best team since they were going to state in AA about 15 years ago, as they put up a gaudy record and broke into the Class A top ten rankings. They do lose top scorer and physical presence Kalisch along with an excellent goaltender in Ladoux, but this is a team that still returns a lot of scoring and the majority of their defense, and will have a strong bantam class supplying them with more top talent and also depth. Head coach Clafton has already shown he will get the most out of his players, and it will be fun to see what he can do with even more talent this season.
A criticism of Greenway last season was their weak schedule, something that fortunately has been addressed as Breck, EGF, GR, Alexandria, Duluth Marshall, and SPA have all been added to the schedule. While Goliath will still awaits them at the end of the 7A rainbow, the Raiders will at least have a chance to show the state what they can do against strong competition and shouldn’t lose a section game to anyone other than the Hawks.
Questions I have:
-Goaltending. Whoever patrols the net will be inexperienced. How quickly can he adjust to the varsity game?
-Freshmen stars? I believe there are two outstanding bantam-age freshmen. Will they be called up to varsity this season, and if so, how much impact can they provide?
-Top line? Will Lantz-Troumbly-Carlson be kept together on a line, forming a very potent top unit? Or will Clafton opt for a more balanced top two lines?
3. Hibbing (22-3/#2/49%/42%)-No team in 7A was more impacted by departures than Hibbing, as the Bluejackets lost the state’s best defenseman to juniors and the state’s best goalie to Team USA. That said, the cupboard is not bare for the navy blue and white as they return two-time 20 goal scorer DeBoom, Elite League forward Lee, and near point-per-game forwards in Mattson and Versich. For the first time, these players will be asked to produce without the passing wizardry of Perunovich creating chances. The #2 and #3 defenseman return, and although the bantam team was weak last season, there may be a player or two that could fill roles on varsity this year.
So why do I have them all the way up at #3 given the not-so-rosy picture I have just painted? The junior varsity last season was spectacular. I’m dead serious. They were 21-2-2 last season, with their only losses being a 3-2 loss at Hermantown when Hibbing’s best defenseman didn’t play and a 4-3 loss to Denfeld in which they outshot the Hunters 44-15. They tied Cloquet despite outshooting them by a ton, and they tied an Apollo team that used varsity players because of low numbers. They beat quality programs GR, Brainerd, Roseau, EGF, TRF, and Warroad, held their opponents to 1 goal or less 17 times, and overall outscored their opponents 122-35!
This is the main criticism I have of the previous coach: His JV teams were too good. The year before, the JV tied freaking Hill-Murray and trounced other teams, and this past year’s JV team was even better. There were three juniors on last year’s team that were simply dominant in JV games, and there was no excuse for them not getting more time on varsity. You could never convince me that these three kids weren’t better than 3 or 4 seniors that got regular playing time on varsity last season, and I wasn’t alone in this belief. It was a surreal situation, and I think the only reason more ruckus wasn’t raised is because the varsity team was so good. I’m not saying these players would have made Hibbing good enough to beat Hermantown, but I think they certainly would have bolstered the back end of the roster while also benefitting more from regular shifts on the varsity 3rd line and 4th-5th defense spots than kicking butt at the JV level.
As I said, I’m not saying these players turn Hibbing into a top 5 A team this season, but they along with 4-5 other solid players who were sophomores on the JV team last year will provide enough depth to keep the Bluejackets a top 3 team in 7A this season, and perhaps a top 10-15 team in Class A.
Questions I have:
-New sheriff in town. What impact will new coach Justin Tomberlin have? I know nothing about him other than he is a Greenway guy who played hockey and baseball for Maine University.
-Goaltending. Filling the shoes of departed star goalie Ullan is a lot to ask of any HS tendy, and Hibbing will have a few inexperienced players who will give it a shot. Hopefully one of them grows into a solid option as the season moves along.
4. Virginia (9-14-2/#6/64%/69%)-In what is a recurring theme in 7A, yet another team loses a fantastic goaltender. Westerholm was a rock in net last year for the Blue Devils, as he kept them in many games that otherwise would have been blowouts. On the plus side, Virginia does return a lot of scoring, and will be bolstered by a wave of incoming bantam talent. Seitz is dominating the Elite Prep League, and I expect him to take another step this season as a junior. Murray and Lamppa had solid seasons last year, and Phaneuf will enter his junior season looking to replicate his success at youth levels. An X factor for Virginia the last few years has been exchange students, as they have had talented Finnish players such as Westerholm and Heikkila bring their talents to the Queen City. Will there be another Euro star on this year’s team?
The success of Virginia ultimately depends on how fast their youngsters can get up to speed at varsity. If enough of them can be reliable contributors right away, then the #3 seed is within their reach. Even if not, I still don’t see any of the teams I have ranked below them having enough to overtake them for #4.
Questions I have:
-Finnished. Westerholm carried the load last year, thus the backup didn’t see much action. Once again we will have to see how an inexperienced 7A goalie fares at the varsity level.
-Third wheel. Who will emerge to join Seitz and Lamppa on the top line? If one of their sophomores can step in and be productive, this line could be very good.
5. North Shore (18-7/#5/75%/65%)-North Shore surprised many people when they broke into the top 20 A rankings last year, but it soon became apparent their weak schedule was inflating their win total. Nevertheless, the Storm captured the #5 seed in 7A, and did so while relying on underclassmen. They return more goal scoring than any team in the section, and may be able to put a scare into Virginia and make a run at a top 4 seed. They are one of the few teams in 7A returning a goalie with significant varsity experience, so another step forward for the Storm is a possibility.
Questions I have:
-Will they stay or will they go? Nordean and Ketola are very good players, which makes me nervous that Duluth Marshall will be knocking on their doors, encouraging them to follow in the footsteps of previous Silver Bay stars that went to the Toppers. I hope they stay home and create more buzz around their program.
6. Eveleth-Gilbert (7-17-1/#9/56%/63%)-The Golden Bears return a decent amount of scoring, and I believe they had a solid bantam squad, thus they may be looking to rise in the section and get into the top 4. Hendrickson had a great sophomore season last year, so I expect him to take his game to another level and drive this team.
Question I have:
-Youth movement. It seems as though E-G has had some good youth teams the last few years, and those players should start arriving at varsity soon. Will the re-birth of E-G begin this season?
7. Duluth Denfeld (11-13-1/#3/13%/11%)-It seems strange to put the Hunters at this low of a ranking, but they return almost no scoring, lost their great goalie Alander, and don’t appear to have much bantam talent coming in. I have been wrong before about this team, as they got the #3 seed last season despite seemingly losing all their talent the year before. Will they surprise again?
Question I have:
-Will Trump have to build a wall around Denfeld high school? The last few seasons have seen the Hunters get players from Cloquet, Hermantown, Marshall, and Edina. Will there be any surprise transfers this year?
8. International Falls (10-14-1/#8/56%/61%)-The Broncos bring back a decent amount of scoring, and they did play well last year against a few of the teams I have ranked ahead of them, so perhaps they make a move upwards.
Question I have:
-Return to glory. With one of the most storied programs in MN history, I–Falls has fallen steeply due to economic factors. Nevertheless, it wasn’t that long ago they were a top 5 team in 7A and it appears there is some talent at the youth levels that should get them back there in a few years.
9. Proctor (11-13/#7/54%/53%)-The Rails created some early buzz in 7A last year by beating Duluth Marshall and scoring a lot of goals in their other games, but the balloon deflated as they lost many 7A games which led to a #7 seed. Overall they return half of their points, but 3 of their top 4 scorers are gone, leaving one to wonder if there will be enough talent coming in to fill those holes.
Question I have:
-Bring the boys back home. When will the all the top talent from Proctor decide to stay home? There is plenty of talent within the confines of the Proctor school district, but it needs to start staying there. If players like Worth, Aamodt, Samberg, and Judnick had been a part of last year’s Proctor team, they may have been the #2 seed. Hopefully this trend changes and more kids choose to don the green and black.
10. Ely-The Wolves are a small school that continues to field a team, which is great. They have great success in other sports, so hopefully that can carry over to hockey and their program will grow.
Overall: I will be shocked if it isn’t Hermantown vs Greenway in the 7A title game this year, and I will be just as shocked if Hermantown doesn’t win it. I sincerely also hope that the Hawks make the move to AA so that almost every team in 7A can be one great class away from a realistic shot at going to state.
Preseason ranking, team name (Record last season/7A seed last season/% goals returning/% total points returning)
1. Hermantown (21-2-1/#1/54%/59%)-To most Class A teams, losing players like Koepke, Aamodt, and Gotz would be a huge loss. To Hermantown, it’s merely a drop in their deep talent bucket. They return five of their top six forwards, will still have two Elite League defenseman, and they lose an Elite League goalie only to replace him with another one. As usual, their AA bantam team will provide another infusion of top talent to fill any gaps. If there is a weakness on this team, it may be depth at defense, but the quality of this program will ensure their 3rd and 4th defenseman will still be better than most A teams’ 1st and 2nd. It will take a colossal upset for them to not win 7A, and the A state title is theirs to lose.
Hopefully the rumors are true and the Hawks will opt up to AA starting next year. Yes, I am bitter that their delay in opting up keeps some outstanding Hibbing and Greenway teams from making a run at state, but I am almost as bitter that I didn’t get to root for the Hawks in the 7AA and State AA tourney, where they would have had as good of a chance as anyone to win. Plante and Hermantown should be proud of the success they have had in A and the great program they have created, but they should be most proud that they have developed their program to the point of being good enough to compete well with the best in AA. When they do move up, no, they won’t make it to state every year anymore, but they will make runs at state, giving fans of northern hockey another team to cheer for.
2. Greenway (21-4/#4/66%/70%)-The Raiders had their best team since they were going to state in AA about 15 years ago, as they put up a gaudy record and broke into the Class A top ten rankings. They do lose top scorer and physical presence Kalisch along with an excellent goaltender in Ladoux, but this is a team that still returns a lot of scoring and the majority of their defense, and will have a strong bantam class supplying them with more top talent and also depth. Head coach Clafton has already shown he will get the most out of his players, and it will be fun to see what he can do with even more talent this season.
A criticism of Greenway last season was their weak schedule, something that fortunately has been addressed as Breck, EGF, GR, Alexandria, Duluth Marshall, and SPA have all been added to the schedule. While Goliath will still awaits them at the end of the 7A rainbow, the Raiders will at least have a chance to show the state what they can do against strong competition and shouldn’t lose a section game to anyone other than the Hawks.
Questions I have:
-Goaltending. Whoever patrols the net will be inexperienced. How quickly can he adjust to the varsity game?
-Freshmen stars? I believe there are two outstanding bantam-age freshmen. Will they be called up to varsity this season, and if so, how much impact can they provide?
-Top line? Will Lantz-Troumbly-Carlson be kept together on a line, forming a very potent top unit? Or will Clafton opt for a more balanced top two lines?
3. Hibbing (22-3/#2/49%/42%)-No team in 7A was more impacted by departures than Hibbing, as the Bluejackets lost the state’s best defenseman to juniors and the state’s best goalie to Team USA. That said, the cupboard is not bare for the navy blue and white as they return two-time 20 goal scorer DeBoom, Elite League forward Lee, and near point-per-game forwards in Mattson and Versich. For the first time, these players will be asked to produce without the passing wizardry of Perunovich creating chances. The #2 and #3 defenseman return, and although the bantam team was weak last season, there may be a player or two that could fill roles on varsity this year.
So why do I have them all the way up at #3 given the not-so-rosy picture I have just painted? The junior varsity last season was spectacular. I’m dead serious. They were 21-2-2 last season, with their only losses being a 3-2 loss at Hermantown when Hibbing’s best defenseman didn’t play and a 4-3 loss to Denfeld in which they outshot the Hunters 44-15. They tied Cloquet despite outshooting them by a ton, and they tied an Apollo team that used varsity players because of low numbers. They beat quality programs GR, Brainerd, Roseau, EGF, TRF, and Warroad, held their opponents to 1 goal or less 17 times, and overall outscored their opponents 122-35!
This is the main criticism I have of the previous coach: His JV teams were too good. The year before, the JV tied freaking Hill-Murray and trounced other teams, and this past year’s JV team was even better. There were three juniors on last year’s team that were simply dominant in JV games, and there was no excuse for them not getting more time on varsity. You could never convince me that these three kids weren’t better than 3 or 4 seniors that got regular playing time on varsity last season, and I wasn’t alone in this belief. It was a surreal situation, and I think the only reason more ruckus wasn’t raised is because the varsity team was so good. I’m not saying these players would have made Hibbing good enough to beat Hermantown, but I think they certainly would have bolstered the back end of the roster while also benefitting more from regular shifts on the varsity 3rd line and 4th-5th defense spots than kicking butt at the JV level.
As I said, I’m not saying these players turn Hibbing into a top 5 A team this season, but they along with 4-5 other solid players who were sophomores on the JV team last year will provide enough depth to keep the Bluejackets a top 3 team in 7A this season, and perhaps a top 10-15 team in Class A.
Questions I have:
-New sheriff in town. What impact will new coach Justin Tomberlin have? I know nothing about him other than he is a Greenway guy who played hockey and baseball for Maine University.
-Goaltending. Filling the shoes of departed star goalie Ullan is a lot to ask of any HS tendy, and Hibbing will have a few inexperienced players who will give it a shot. Hopefully one of them grows into a solid option as the season moves along.
4. Virginia (9-14-2/#6/64%/69%)-In what is a recurring theme in 7A, yet another team loses a fantastic goaltender. Westerholm was a rock in net last year for the Blue Devils, as he kept them in many games that otherwise would have been blowouts. On the plus side, Virginia does return a lot of scoring, and will be bolstered by a wave of incoming bantam talent. Seitz is dominating the Elite Prep League, and I expect him to take another step this season as a junior. Murray and Lamppa had solid seasons last year, and Phaneuf will enter his junior season looking to replicate his success at youth levels. An X factor for Virginia the last few years has been exchange students, as they have had talented Finnish players such as Westerholm and Heikkila bring their talents to the Queen City. Will there be another Euro star on this year’s team?
The success of Virginia ultimately depends on how fast their youngsters can get up to speed at varsity. If enough of them can be reliable contributors right away, then the #3 seed is within their reach. Even if not, I still don’t see any of the teams I have ranked below them having enough to overtake them for #4.
Questions I have:
-Finnished. Westerholm carried the load last year, thus the backup didn’t see much action. Once again we will have to see how an inexperienced 7A goalie fares at the varsity level.
-Third wheel. Who will emerge to join Seitz and Lamppa on the top line? If one of their sophomores can step in and be productive, this line could be very good.
5. North Shore (18-7/#5/75%/65%)-North Shore surprised many people when they broke into the top 20 A rankings last year, but it soon became apparent their weak schedule was inflating their win total. Nevertheless, the Storm captured the #5 seed in 7A, and did so while relying on underclassmen. They return more goal scoring than any team in the section, and may be able to put a scare into Virginia and make a run at a top 4 seed. They are one of the few teams in 7A returning a goalie with significant varsity experience, so another step forward for the Storm is a possibility.
Questions I have:
-Will they stay or will they go? Nordean and Ketola are very good players, which makes me nervous that Duluth Marshall will be knocking on their doors, encouraging them to follow in the footsteps of previous Silver Bay stars that went to the Toppers. I hope they stay home and create more buzz around their program.
6. Eveleth-Gilbert (7-17-1/#9/56%/63%)-The Golden Bears return a decent amount of scoring, and I believe they had a solid bantam squad, thus they may be looking to rise in the section and get into the top 4. Hendrickson had a great sophomore season last year, so I expect him to take his game to another level and drive this team.
Question I have:
-Youth movement. It seems as though E-G has had some good youth teams the last few years, and those players should start arriving at varsity soon. Will the re-birth of E-G begin this season?
7. Duluth Denfeld (11-13-1/#3/13%/11%)-It seems strange to put the Hunters at this low of a ranking, but they return almost no scoring, lost their great goalie Alander, and don’t appear to have much bantam talent coming in. I have been wrong before about this team, as they got the #3 seed last season despite seemingly losing all their talent the year before. Will they surprise again?
Question I have:
-Will Trump have to build a wall around Denfeld high school? The last few seasons have seen the Hunters get players from Cloquet, Hermantown, Marshall, and Edina. Will there be any surprise transfers this year?
8. International Falls (10-14-1/#8/56%/61%)-The Broncos bring back a decent amount of scoring, and they did play well last year against a few of the teams I have ranked ahead of them, so perhaps they make a move upwards.
Question I have:
-Return to glory. With one of the most storied programs in MN history, I–Falls has fallen steeply due to economic factors. Nevertheless, it wasn’t that long ago they were a top 5 team in 7A and it appears there is some talent at the youth levels that should get them back there in a few years.
9. Proctor (11-13/#7/54%/53%)-The Rails created some early buzz in 7A last year by beating Duluth Marshall and scoring a lot of goals in their other games, but the balloon deflated as they lost many 7A games which led to a #7 seed. Overall they return half of their points, but 3 of their top 4 scorers are gone, leaving one to wonder if there will be enough talent coming in to fill those holes.
Question I have:
-Bring the boys back home. When will the all the top talent from Proctor decide to stay home? There is plenty of talent within the confines of the Proctor school district, but it needs to start staying there. If players like Worth, Aamodt, Samberg, and Judnick had been a part of last year’s Proctor team, they may have been the #2 seed. Hopefully this trend changes and more kids choose to don the green and black.
10. Ely-The Wolves are a small school that continues to field a team, which is great. They have great success in other sports, so hopefully that can carry over to hockey and their program will grow.
Overall: I will be shocked if it isn’t Hermantown vs Greenway in the 7A title game this year, and I will be just as shocked if Hermantown doesn’t win it. I sincerely also hope that the Hawks make the move to AA so that almost every team in 7A can be one great class away from a realistic shot at going to state.