Section 3A 2014 - 2015

HawkeyPower · Post by **HawkeyPower** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 6:57 pm

OU812 wrote:
TheSiouxSuck wrote:There might be some D1 potential down there, but they're still a long ways off. Derek Frentz from Mankato West put up some pretty good HS numbers against (although not as gaudy as the Luverne players) against much better competition and was taken in the firs round of the NA draft. This year he's got two goals in thirty games in the NA. Does he still have D1 potential? Sure, but lets not start throwing D1 scholarships all over the place based off some pretty good numbers against a pretty soft schedule.

Sioux, I'll take the bait like the good Scarlet fan that I am, but your point is valid - it is a long, long way from a So Minn high school to a D1 offer, and a look at some numbers shows why:

First of all, there are maybe 200 MN kids playing D1 right now, most of them 21-25 years old, and virtually all of them played extensively in juniors. Southern Minn kids have their hands full just trying to make it in one of the top two U.S. junior leagues: the USHL, for example, has about 25 MN '96 birth year players right now, and if we exclude Shattuck kids, I can't think of any from HS programs south of the metro. Most USHL kids are already signed to a D1 school.

As for the NAHL, Derek is one of about 75 Minnesota HS kids in the league right now (and one of 20 '96 birth years - all but three of the rest are 95's and 94's). To say the least, there is a lot of competition. I heard an estimate that over 1400 American and foreign players attended NA main camps last summer, and that 2500 or so went to open or pre draft camps earlier in the summer just trying to earn a spot in a main camp. Those players were fighting with returning NA players for about 450 opening day NA roster spots (btw Sioux, typically less than half of players drafted in the June NA draft make opening day rosters). When the USHL cuts from 30 to 23 players in September (or any other time), those cut players drop down to the NA and take spots, which sends a certain number of NA players down to Tier III.

As for Tier III, I have no idea how many MN kids are out there playing across the country in all of the 11 USA Hockey tier III sanctioned leagues, but I do see about 130 MN kids currently listed as playing in the NA3HL alone - most playing 50 game seasons and hoping to move up. Finally added to the mix, MN high schools rostered almost 3000 players this winter.

Almost all these kids mentioned above dream of D1 hockey. So, yeah, a D1 scholarship is pretty tough to come by.

One useful comparison for this topic might be Logan Norman, a '96 Luverne senior from last year who had 65 points, and is now in the NA3HL in Alexandria, where he is doing well and 8th on the team in scoring with 15 pts.

Having said all that, you have to give some credit here where it's earned by the current Luverne kids. Smedsrud's strong elite league play tells you more than his results with Luverne do; I'd say right now he is in the top 30 MN high school players in the '98 birth year, which certainly puts him in the D1 mix if you ask me. Nelson is harder to judge, but as a 2000, it won't take much further development before he is there too.

Sorry, I got a bit carried away (the 3A thread does that to a lot of people, I see). Southern Minn HS hockey is very healthy, and hopefully there will be a lot more HS kids in this conversation in the future.

Smedsrud had 3 goals and 7 assists in 18 games. Strong Elite League play? .56 points per game.

TheSiouxSuck · Post by **TheSiouxSuck** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 7:20 pm

I didnt mean that as a knock on Frentz at all, just that he was a pretty damn good high school player who's been slow to adjust to a league several steps below D1. Also, Nolan Schaeffer is from Marshal and playing for the Magicians as a 97 as is Chris Amsden (although he's a 94) from St. Peter.

Yes NA pre-draft camps bring in lots of kids for two reasons 1) you allow a younger kid like a 97 to come in and let him make your "all-star" game on sunday and the likelihood of that kid having warm fuzzies for your program go up so by the time he's graduated and looking to play juniors he's partial to your program. 2) at an average of $400 a kid its a MAJOR way of funding the program. Say you get 80 kids to your pre-draft camp in June thats $32,000 into your program.

As for the NA3, its a pretty big drop off from the NA. The leading scorer in the entire league (kroska from STA) put up 122 points in 47 games and in his 3 years in the NA3 never even played a game in the NA. As a senior he averaged 1.7 points a game (43 in 25 games) playing one of the most difficult schedules in the state. His final year in the NA3 he averaged 2.6. Either he became a much better player since departing high school, or was "overlooked" which seems a bit ridiculous since the NA3 and NA are supposed to have such close ties.

Again, I think a few guys on Luverne have some solid D1 potential, but putting up lots of points against weak competition when you're talented is expected and by no means a gaurantee that you can play D1.

OU812 · Post by **OU812** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:14 pm

Sioux, I agree with you maybe more than it sounded in my post. All kids, including the So Minn players, find a long, long road to D1 through a few tough levels. As for the fundraising aspect of the NA camps, I totally agree with you - been there, as you can probably tell - but still the sheer numbers of kids battling for spots shows how difficult it is to get to juniors, much less D1.

Hawkey: As for Smedsrud's elite league play, he had 10 points for the Great Plains team, putting him third on the team in scoring (the leader had 12). The way I see it, 10 points as a '98 against that competition puts him roughly in the top 30 in his age group statewide. JMO

12thgraders · Post by **12thgraders** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 5:24 pm

That was a quick two goals on the Cards by Totino.

wooshlager · Post by **wooshlager** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:00 pm

Cards up 3-2 on a natural hatty by Nelson per FTP

hockey9011 · Post by **hockey9011** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:04 pm

wooshlager wrote:Cards up 3-2 on a natural hatty by Nelson per FTP

Nelson has 4 goals now

wooshlager · Post by **wooshlager** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:14 pm

5-3 after 2

sterfry9 · Post by **sterfry9** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:55 pm

sounds like a good game going, anyone there watching able to give updates?

hockey9011 · Post by **hockey9011** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:00 pm

sterfry9 wrote:sounds like a good game going, anyone there watching able to give updates?

6-5 Luverne with 30 seconds left is last i saw

12thgraders · Post by **12thgraders** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:26 pm

Sounds like just the kind of game Luverne needs more of as they progress through the season toward playoffs instead of getting fat on cupcakes.

fastncrash · Post by **fastncrash** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:24 pm

sterfry9 wrote:sounds like a good game going, anyone there watching able to give updates?

I'm guessing 900 were there watching.

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:46 pm

fastncrash wrote:
sterfry9 wrote:sounds like a good game going, anyone there watching able to give updates?
I'm guessing 900 were there watching.

But not giving updates...

notTONIGHT · Post by **notTONIGHT** » Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:02 pm

alcloseshaver wrote:
fastncrash wrote:
sterfry9 wrote:sounds like a good game going, anyone there watching able to give updates?
I'm guessing 900 were there watching.
But not giving updates...

Do you have any questions?

alumni52 · Post by **alumni52** » Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:55 pm

notTONIGHT wrote:
alcloseshaver wrote:
fastncrash wrote: I'm guessing 900 were there watching.
But not giving updates...

Do you have any questions?

id enjoy a decent recap of the game, howd TG look? obviously luverne didn't blow them out of the water by any means......was luverne truly a better team or were they pretty evenly matched?

By all means I am beyond impressed with the win and im not an easy guy to impress.

Statement win

notTONIGHT · Post by **notTONIGHT** » Wed Dec 24, 2014 2:11 pm

alumni52 wrote:
notTONIGHT wrote:
alcloseshaver wrote:But not giving updates...

Do you have any questions?
id enjoy a decent recap of the game, howd TG look? obviously luverne didn't blow them out of the water by any means......was luverne truly a better team or were they pretty evenly matched?

By all means I am beyond impressed with the win and im not an easy guy to impress.

Statement win

In the first period Luverne kind of stood around and watched. Totino's second goal was a wrister from the point that should of been gobbled up by the tender but it snuck through. Totino definately. Controlled play in the period. Luverne started the second period on a power play and cashe'd in. The JAZ line really put their foot on the gas after that and 7 scored 4 consecutive goals from 8. Totino called a timeout and scored shortly after their timeout to make it 4-3 but the cards responded with a goal almost immediately. Luverne really shell shocked totino in the second which was evident when they pulled the goalie and took the timeout. Third period was back and forth and the 1000 or so fans really got their money worth. Totino scored with 30 seconds left because of multiple failed clearing attempts in the d zone.

Totino was very skilled, big, and fast. They did not use their third line much which I think hurt them in the end.

I cannot say enough about the atmosphere. Bmia has never been that full. It was loud and exciting. I think we may see a similar number of spectators when lord brings his eagles to Luverne for the first time ever next friday.

Video highlights can be seen here: http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=co ... s.facebook

Another neat video where you can get a sense of the atmosphere.
http://youtu.be/hCn9I6uxl80

lamplighter98 · Post by **lamplighter98** » Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:51 pm

Agree with NotTonight. The first period couldve been a lot worse for Luverne. The power play goal to start the second got the crowd and the team going. Watching Lverne they had to skate hard this game. Certainly need to be like this for the rest of the season to make it back to the X. TG was definitely bigger, but Luverne wasn't intimited, being able to check them, and play physical when needed too.

Lines 2 and 3 didn't score, but that's not to say they didn't have their chances and didn't play well. Those two lines are gaining a lot of on the job expierence, geling and playing a lot better than they did at the beginning of the year. #14 Kruse is going to be fun to watch down the road, and when #40 gets to be 80-90 percent, that'll definitely help 22 on the blue line

Best hockey game I've been to!

notTONIGHT · Post by **notTONIGHT** » Sun Dec 28, 2014 12:03 pm

Pretty quiet around here lately. Sad really...

I think there will be some interesting questions answered this week.
Is the unstoppable hutch train starting to slow down? With games coming up against Willmar, Mound, and Little Falls, we may get more of a sense of where they belong. Willmar should be an (easy) victory for Hutch, the next two however should be more challenging. Hutch got spanked 5-0 by delano. Litchfield actually played Delano closer than Hutch did. Little falls doesn't have a shiny record either, so I anticipate Hutch will handle their business their too.

Is New Ulm a contender in section 3a? With the Fergus falls tilt on Monday New Ulm will face a stiff test against a contender in section 6A. Will they represent 3A with a competitive effort? After closing out their holiday tournament with West Fargo and a Morris Benson squad that is almost at the bottom of Section 3A they head to Luverne on friday for their shot at proving they are a threat in this section.

I think people around the section (trout) will be interested to see if Litch can play with St. Peter, a team Luverne Dismantled, and New Ulm beat 5-4 on Tuesday.

How did Marshall lose to Waseca? Seriously, was anyone there? The win over New Ulm is looking like an anomaly [ https://www.google.com/search?q=anomaly ... &oq=&gs_l= (for your Bettman)]. Hopefully something changes there because a good Marshall team is a benefit for 3A.

Section 3A HockeyScout · Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:01 pm

notTONIGHT wrote:Pretty quiet around here lately. Sad really...

I think there will be some interesting questions answered this week.
Is the unstoppable hutch train starting to slow down? With games coming up against Willmar, Mound, and Little Falls, we may get more of a sense of where they belong. Willmar should be an (easy) victory for Hutch, the next two however should be more challenging. Hutch got spanked 5-0 by delano. Litchfield actually played Delano closer than Hutch did. Little falls doesn't have a shiny record either, so I anticipate Hutch will handle their business their too.

Is New Ulm a contender in section 3a? With the Fergus falls tilt on Monday New Ulm will face a stiff test against a contender in section 6A. Will they represent 3A with a competitive effort? After closing out their holiday tournament with West Fargo and a Morris Benson squad that is almost at the bottom of Section 3A they head to Luverne on friday for their shot at proving they are a threat in this section.

I think people around the section (trout) will be interested to see if Litch can play with St. Peter, a team Luverne Dismantled, and New Ulm beat 5-4 on Tuesday.

How did Marshall lose to Waseca? Seriously, was anyone there? The win over New Ulm is looking like an anomaly [ https://www.google.com/search?q=anomaly ... &oq=&gs_l= (for your Bettman)]. Hopefully something changes there because a good Marshall team is a benefit for 3A.

Good Post!

Hutch is the Front Runner at this moment. They have taken care of business and being down 4-0 in NU's Rink coming back for the Tie shows a lot of character. They should take care of Willmar and LF easily and last year they swept Mound Westonka. I look for them to go 3 and 0. They control their own fate and are in the Driver seat for the #1 Seed.

New Ulm has figured it out since Hutch and put Kraus back with his 2nd line mates and they have exploded. They have a Huge game on Friday they will be going into Luverne with a lot to prove.

Luverne did the whole Section a favor by beating Totino Grace. They seem to be up and down if you can shut down Nelson and Smedsrud you will beat them but as Totino Grace found out if you let them heat up they are scary good.

Dont Sleep on LDC they are a good team that is all Juniors they are growing up and will be dangerous. I think they beat St Peter this week and open some eyes.

Willmar and Marshall are both up and down. They can knock off a top team but also lose to an inferior team.

They rest are not in contention this year.

Should be a fun 2nd half and I really think in the Playoffs anything can happen. All theses clubs have gotten shaky goaltending whoever can cure that will go to State this year.

notTONIGHT · Post by **notTONIGHT** » Sun Dec 28, 2014 11:13 pm

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:
notTONIGHT wrote:Pretty quiet around here lately. Sad really...

I think there will be some interesting questions answered this week.
Is the unstoppable hutch train starting to slow down? With games coming up against Willmar, Mound, and Little Falls, we may get more of a sense of where they belong. Willmar should be an (easy) victory for Hutch, the next two however should be more challenging. Hutch got spanked 5-0 by delano. Litchfield actually played Delano closer than Hutch did. Little falls doesn't have a shiny record either, so I anticipate Hutch will handle their business their too.

Is New Ulm a contender in section 3a? With the Fergus falls tilt on Monday New Ulm will face a stiff test against a contender in section 6A. Will they represent 3A with a competitive effort? After closing out their holiday tournament with West Fargo and a Morris Benson squad that is almost at the bottom of Section 3A they head to Luverne on friday for their shot at proving they are a threat in this section.

I think people around the section (trout) will be interested to see if Litch can play with St. Peter, a team Luverne Dismantled, and New Ulm beat 5-4 on Tuesday.

How did Marshall lose to Waseca? Seriously, was anyone there? The win over New Ulm is looking like an anomaly [ https://www.google.com/search?q=anomaly ... &oq=&gs_l= (for your Bettman)]. Hopefully something changes there because a good Marshall team is a benefit for 3A.
Good Post!

Hutch is the Front Runner at this moment. They have taken care of business and being down 4-0 in NU's Rink coming back for the Tie shows a lot of character. They should take care of Willmar and LF easily and last year they swept Mound Westonka. I look for them to go 3 and 0. They control their own fate and are in the Driver seat for the #1 Seed.

New Ulm has figured it out since Hutch and put Kraus back with his 2nd line mates and they have exploded. They have a Huge game on Friday they will be going into Luverne with a lot to prove.

Luverne did the whole Section a favor by beating Totino Grace. They seem to be up and down if you can shut down Nelson and Smedsrud you will beat them but as Totino Grace found out if you let them heat up they are scary good.

Dont Sleep on LDC they are a good team that is all Juniors they are growing up and will be dangerous. I think they beat St Peter this week and open some eyes.

Willmar and Marshall are both up and down. They can knock off a top team but also lose to an inferior team.

They rest are not in contention this year.

Should be a fun 2nd half and I really think in the Playoffs anything can happen. All theses clubs have gotten shaky goaltending whoever can cure that will go to State this year.

What drivers seat is Hutch in? A time machine? They tied New Ulm, Only one team still Truly controls their own destiny.

Section 3A HockeyScout · Sun Dec 28, 2014 11:29 pm

Luverne does not even play LDC or Hutch this year. Two of the better 3A teams ? They will have a tough time in seedings

LDC still plays Hutch x2 Willmar Marshall and NU so they control their own fate.

lamplighter98 · Post by **lamplighter98** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:58 am

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Luverne does not even play LDC or Hutch this year. Two of the better 3A teams ? They will have a tough time in seedings

LDC still plays Hutch x2 Willmar Marshall and NU so they control their own fate.

It's not Luvernes fault that they have to play Fairmont, Worthington, Waseca, Redwood two times a year. I think they have a pretty solid non conference schedule with SPA, TG, Providence, Willmar, SPJ.
They still have to play Marshall, NU, St. Peter two times a year.

Another question is that 3A is supposed to be so weak, so they Luverne plays teams that are not in 3A, and now that's gonna have weight on seedings?

would I've liked to see them play Litch or Hutch or even Dodge County instead of MBA, yes!

Whiner33 · Post by **Whiner33** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 10:55 am

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Luverne does not even play LDC or Hutch this year. Two of the better 3A teams ? They will have a tough time in seedings

LDC still plays Hutch x2 Willmar Marshall and NU so they control their own fate.

It's not our fault they can't read a map and find Luverne! Even you can big guy!

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:50 am

Whiner33 wrote:
Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Luverne does not even play LDC or Hutch this year. Two of the better 3A teams ? They will have a tough time in seedings

LDC still plays Hutch x2 Willmar Marshall and NU so they control their own fate.
It's not our fault they can't read a map and find Luverne! Even you can big guy!

I don't see where scout says it is anyone's fault. Just pointing out the teams do not play, thus more difficult to cede.

From where I sit Luverne has the upper hand on #1 and then Hutch and then New Ulm. I do not see these teams play so just going off stats.
Question, does 3A use coaches voting or QRF?

Whiner33 · Post by **Whiner33** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:26 pm

elliott70 wrote:
Whiner33 wrote:
Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Luverne does not even play LDC or Hutch this year. Two of the better 3A teams ? They will have a tough time in seedings

LDC still plays Hutch x2 Willmar Marshall and NU so they control their own fate.
It's not our fault they can't read a map and find Luverne! Even you can big guy!
I don't see where scout says it is anyone's fault. Just pointing out the teams do not play, thus more difficult to cede.

From where I sit Luverne has the upper hand on #1 and then Hutch and then New Ulm. I do not see these teams play so just going off stats.
Question, does 3A use coaches voting or QRF?

Luverne was sick of always going up to those places and never having them return the favor of coming down. End of story on it! Good luck hutch you big dogs!

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:50 pm

Luverne 4-0 up on Winona after period 1.