State championship contenders 2018-2019

[hermantown2000]

So another state tournament has ended. Who do you think should be the favorites next season in both classes?

[kniven]

So another state tournament has ended. Who do you think should be the favorites next season in both classes?

Hermantown in A. They will be staked.

The usual suspects in AA. Minnetonka from the metro and Duluth East from the north will be the favorites from the north and Metro. Moorhead from the West.

[rainier2]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

[green4]

In A Cathedral looks like they could be dangerous.

AA Andover looks good, Tonka, Hill Murray might be a year away

[kniven]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

Section 7 is going to be fun in 2019!
You picked 2 good teams to contend rainier2. +++
Looking forward to seeing CEC back in St. Paul in 2019.

Section 8 Spuds return in AA. EGF in A.
Roseau a potential contender?
Come on RAMS!

Come on Rochester pull your hockey head out and get us a perennial contender in 1AA

[rainier2]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

Long shots? I'd disagree.

The bulk of Greenway's talent was sophs and juniors this season, and although they don't have a bumper bantam crop coming in, I think they will be better next season. Hermantown does have a great bantam group coming up, but they lose more to graduation than Greenway does.

Cloquet brings back most of their talent and has an excellent bantam group on the way. East likely will take at least a half-step back, especially if Donovan leaves, and GR and DM won't be contenders. Andover will be good, and I'm not sure how ER is looking next year.

[greenwayraider]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

If Greenway gets their goalie back they are not a long shot and will be competitive with Hermantown. Btw aren’t you the one who said Hermantown would put Greenway in running time?

[kniven]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

If Greenway gets their goalie back they are not a long shot and will be competitive with Hermantown. Btw aren’t you the one who said Hermantown would put Greenway in running time?

Yes. I love that program up in Greenway, but I’m not on this forum to be a “yes” man. Hermantown will be 3-4 lines deep with 4-6 D deep. Greenway 2 lines an 2-3 d deep. Hermantown would be top 5-10 AA team next year. Greenway would be somewhere around 30. I’m not saying it ant happen, but this also will be their last year in A so they will want to crush every A squad on their way out.

[Stang5280]

In A Cathedral looks like they could be dangerous.

Alexandria returns nearly everyone except Powell and Boline. While those are two important players, 6A is going to be a dogfight at the top again.

Elsewhere, Orono loses their goalie and quite a bit of scoring, but the cupboard is far from bare and they will still be dangerous. Warroad has some nice underclass talent and could definitely take a step forward next year. Mahtomedi returns nearly everyone, including Huber in net. I would peg the Zephyrs in the preseason top three teams, for sure.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

If Greenway gets their goalie back they are not a long shot and will be competitive with Hermantown. Btw aren’t you the one who said Hermantown would put Greenway in running time?

Yes. I love that program up in Greenway, but I’m not on this forum to be a “yes” man. Hermantown will be 3-4 lines deep with 4-6 D deep. Greenway 2 lines an 2-3 d deep. Hermantown would be top 5-10 AA team next year. Greenway would be somewhere around 30. I’m not saying it ant happen, but this also will be their last year in A so they will want to crush every A squad on their way out.

Knivsy, Hermantown's a program that just reloads most years. They lose 2/3 of the 1 line scoring so unknown where the scoring depth will come from as of today. 201702018 they were a 1 line team for scoring. Greenway gets all of their scoring back for next year and like greenwayraider stated if the goalie returns they are in great shape to challenge Hermantown for the section trip to St. Paul. Hope they punch the ticket in 7A.

Did you give up on Cloquet already?

[kniven]

Hey oldtimer. I sure hope your right. It would be fun to see someone challenge Hermantown. They will end up with 8 boys on the elite league North team. East will also have 8. I know the elite league isn’t everything, but it does make a person think.

I’ll never give up on CEC. This year was very tough and grinding on me. I want those boys to win so badly. Coach Smalley is a great guy/Coach. I just hope they can figure things out this off season/next year. The schedule for CEC gets a lot tougher next year. It scares me! I’m a huge fan of the team in purple but I’m also honest. I am an idiot and it’s just me. I’m also not in the habit of underestimating our competition. Andover, Duluth East, Elk, Rapids, and Marshall are tough Andover and East will also be very talented on paper next year and Randolph and Manney-who they’ve had as their coach for years. CEC still trying to figure it out - coaches and players.

[yesiplayedhockey]

Maple Grove will be better than people think (assuming they don't lose key kids to National Development)

St Thomas will be very good (Really good JV team moving up)

Chaska should be a solid state contender

WBL could be solid

Most improved team should be Eden Prairie (after their worst varsity season in years)

Minnetonka - Will either win state again or not make it out of their region

Edina will be loaded but as with every year goaltending may be their soft spot?

Holy Family is just 1-2 recruits away from being right there again

Duluth East and Moorhead should be the top teams from the North

Blake could and will surprise a ton of people

Right now I'm picking Edina as the early favorite.

[mulefarm]

Cloquet wins 7AA next year.

And Greenway wins 7A.

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

If Greenway gets their goalie back they are not a long shot and will be competitive with Hermantown. Btw aren’t you the one who said Hermantown would put Greenway in running time?

What do you mean get their goalie back? Was he a senior ?

[TheNightman]

Cretin is flying under the radar here.

[ryguyMN]

I hope I'm wrong, but the 2018-19 season feels like it will be Minnetonka and Edina, and then everyone else in AA. Instead of the "Big 4" like this past season, it will be the "Big 2". Having just two dominant teams is going to make for a long season.

[Stang5280]

Holy Family is just 1-2 recruits away from being right there again

Are they? I was wondering why Holy Family was not on O-Town’s sweet 16 list, but looking at the roster from this year they are graduating a ton of talent and production. HF had seven players who scored 20 or more points, and five of those are seniors. Hayton played nearly every minute in goal, and he will also be gone. That is a lot to replace, and it will take more than one or two new players.

Granted, HF still does have some young talent, and you never really know how the roster is going to shape up until shortly before the season. But looking at the current composition it looks to be a bit of a rebuilding year.

[TheNightman]

Holy Family is just 1-2 recruits away from being right there again

Are they? I was wondering why Holy Family was not on O-Town’s sweet 16 list, but looking at the roster from this year they are graduating a ton of talent and production. HF had seven players who scored 20 or more points, and five of those are seniors. Hayton played nearly every minute in goal, and he will also be gone. That is a lot to replace, and it will take more than one or two new players.

Granted, HF still does have some young talent, and you never really know how the roster is going to shape up until shortly before the season. But looking at the current composition it looks to be a bit of a rebuilding year.

Fetchko and Pino should be very good, but that's about all they have coming back. The thing that makes them hard to predict is that they tend to get some very convenient transfers. Hard to bank on that each year though.

[greenwayraider]

Wow. Greenway beats Hermantown and Cloquet beats Andover and Duluth East. Sounds good but those are very long shots.

If Greenway gets their goalie back they are not a long shot and will be competitive with Hermantown. Btw aren’t you the one who said Hermantown would put Greenway in running time?

What do you mean get their goalie back? Was he a senior ?

Greenway's goalie is a foreign exchange student so he only has one year of eligibility. He wants to come back but getting eligibility will be a challenge starting with having his mother moving here and then take care of any immigration issue or possibly guardianship issue. The backup goalie has improved quite a bit but he is small too and not nearly as quick as Ville.