Best freshman in the state

Hoops · Post by **Hoops** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:36 pm

hockeyjunkie2 wrote:
Teak wrote:A.J. Michaelson of Apple Valley with another big game today: 1g 2a in AV's 5-3 win over Rosemount.

Travis Boyd also had an important goal in Hopkin's 4-3 OT win over #1 Edina. Won the puck in the corner, skated behind the net and around out front and stuffed it in past Ankeny. Pretty impressive. Number 17 of the season for Boyd.
Michealson is really starting to feel more comfortable. Can't wait for the next three years he has a bright future ahead of him.

Boyd is also a very solid player. Congrats to him and Hopkins and their win tonight!

Comfort level for Michaelson had alot to do w/ playing center the last 2 games...which he's played all his life. Really controlled play in those games...fun to see him vs Burns and Jefferson in the next 10 days playing center instead of forward. Huge upside.

talkofthetown17 · Post by **talkofthetown17** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:33 pm

The answer to this is boyd hands down not even a question

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:28 pm

talkofthetown17 wrote:The answer to this is boyd hands down not even a question

Probably few arguments on that statement although some might claim that Christian Horn scores more important goals (i.e., game-winning goals).

Also, South St. Paul defeated Hopkins 5-2 (26 Dec) with Austyn Young outplaying Boyd in the points, 4 points (3g, 1a, +3) versus 0 points (0g, 0a, -1). But Boyd has been more consistent than Young over the season so far.

And then there's Mike Reilly, picking up a lot of assists for AHA, which is ranked higher than Hopkins. And A.J. Michaelson has been putting up good numbers since switching to center.

So, yeah, Boyd is a major talent and may not stick around for his entire 4 years of high school. But there are some pretty close to him in talent.

After naming this topic, I had a rethought and wished I had called it: Freshmen of Influence. Would reflect the thread better than a single question. Too late now.

SiouxRecruit · Post by **SiouxRecruit** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:24 pm

Sam Coborn from Park Rapids may be on the top 5...not sure about all the competition...he has around 30 points this season already...

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:50 am

SiouxRecruit wrote:Sam Coborn from Park Rapids may be on the top 5...not sure about all the competition...he has around 30 points this season already...

Scan back to page 3 of this thread and you can see the numbers for a bunch of freshmen including Coburn. He had 24 points as of the latest update.

eastsideguy · Post by **eastsideguy** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:21 am

You may want to watch AJ now, dont think he is going to be around another three years, Maybe one more year, he has Ann Arbor written all over him.

hockeyjunkie2 · Post by **hockeyjunkie2** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:06 am

eastsideguy wrote:You may want to watch AJ now, dont think he is going to be around another three years, Maybe one more year, he has Ann Arbor written all over him.

That could be a possibility for him. But I do know him and his friends have all wanted to play together throughout their high school career. David Fischer was given the chance to leave and opted to stay as well. I hope that he doesn't leave although it would be a great opportunity for him.

BOTCH #3 · Post by **BOTCH #3** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:30 am

are there any decent freshman in the big nine?

Doglover · Post by **Doglover** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:36 am

Boyd - Hopkins and AJ - Apple Valley. I could easily see them both out in Ann Arbor. Amazing talent especially in ones so young. Good luck to them in whatever they decide to do.

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:51 pm

BOTCH #3 wrote:are there any decent freshman in the big nine?

Eric Carlson of Albert Lea is the highest-scoring freshman from the Big 9, with 11 points in 17 games (9g, 2a) as of last week's update.

Brandon Parker of Faribault had 8 points (1g, 7a) as of last weekend.

The only other Big 9 frosh I have seen with points is Josh Christenson of Mankato West with something like 4 assists only. There may be others, but I am not aware. I have been doing an update every Saturday (my time), which is Friday night Minnesota time. This allows me to use the numbers from the Thursday games, if they are posted online by that time.

Look for an update tomorrow.

Hockeyguy_27 · Post by **Hockeyguy_27** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:43 pm

Has anyone seen Mikey Riley from Holy Angels? While he needs to put on about 50 pounds this may be one of the best defensemen I've seen in several years.

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:37 pm

Freshmen stats as of Friday, 30 January, for the data that is online. Travis Boyd with the big week; Mick Dhein picked up 2 goals in one game.

(Games Played – Goals – Assists)
38 points
Travis Boyd - Hopkins 18-20-18 (#1 on team)
28 points
Sam Coborn – Park Rapids 18-12-16 (#3)
24 points
Austyn Young – South St. Paul 17-7-17 (#2)
22 points
Christian Horn – BenildeSM 18-12-10 (#3)
20 points
Garret Schmitz – Red Lake Falls 18-9-11 (#4)
19 points
A.J. Michaelson - Apple Valley 17-9-10 (#3)
18 points
Tanner Jordan – Mahtomedi 18-11-7 (#4)
Dylan Zutz – Red Lake Falls 18-8-10
17 points
A.J. Fossen – Spring Lake Park 18-6-11
Mike Reilly - Academy of Holy Angels 16-2-15 (#4)
16 points
Kyle Krueger – Prior Lake 15-7-9 (#2)
Nick Auman – Spring Lake Park 18-2-14
14 points
Mick Dhein – Richfield 18-12-2
Zac McCarver – North St. Paul 18-8-6 (#3)
13 points
Nate Arentz – Lakeville North 18-7-6 (#2)
Jordan Stroh – North Metro 18-5-8
12 points
Jared Kolquist – Hermantown 18-4-8
Zach Hartley (8th) – Minnehaha Acad. 16-3-9 (#2)
Billy Foy – Ely/…/…./ 18-2-10 (#3)
11 points
Eric Carlson – Albert Lea 18-9-2
Nate Traina – Breck 18-7-4
Judd Peterson – Duluth Denfeld 12-4-7
Brady Skjei – Lakeville North 18-1-10 (#4)
Brandon Parker – Faribault 18-1-10
10 points
Charlie Klos – Waconia 17-3-7
9 points
Jake Oborsky – Red Wing 18-5-4
Matt Pohlkamp – Brainerd 15-5-4 (#4)
Cory Mack – East Grand Forks 19-5-4
Nick Matthews – Ely 18-4-5
Riley Williams – Mound-Westonka 18-4-5
Eric Schurhammer – STA 17-2-7
7 points
Braden Devescovi – Bemidji 18-4-3
Pete Kreiger - St. Thomas Academy 17-3-4
Erik Baskin – Minnetonka 18-3-4
Ethan Brekke – Detroit Lakes 15-3-4

coach95 · Post by **coach95** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:05 pm

There are 3 freshman playing for Breck. Traina 16games-11points. Austin Rudnick with 16 games 9 points and Wes Iverson 12 games 8 points.
they are getting good game time

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:31 pm

coach95 wrote:There are 3 freshman playing for Breck. Traina 16games-11points. Austin Rudnick with 16 games 9 points and Wes Iverson 12 games 8 points.
they are getting good game time

Thanks coach95. Rudnick was on the roster but I just missed it for some reason. Iverson wasn't on the roster (I use FollowThePuck.com). I have added them to my list, which will be updated following Thursday's games.

Cheers.

bigpoppababy · Post by **bigpoppababy** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:22 am

Teak wrote:
bigpoppababy wrote:Moose lake has a freshman making a statement this year, Chris Gassert has approx. 10 points (probably more but no stat people). He is becoming a major influence on the team, and reason for their great start. Looking forward to seeing him play the next 3 years!!
Thanks for the heads up on this one. Yeah, their stats guy must be sleeping on the job some because I only see six games posted. Gassert played in three of those, with 5 goals and 1 assist. Still, he is #3 in points on the squad for only playing 3/6 of the games.

Another freshman, Spencer Clough, is listed as having played in all six games, but no points.

I'll keep an eye on this one, hopefully the stats will be updated.

According to a recent article, it appears that Chris Gassert has 15 pts, but has unfortunately been out with an injury the past two games. He'll be back up and running soon.

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:04 pm

bigpoppababy wrote:
Teak wrote:
bigpoppababy wrote:Moose lake has a freshman making a statement this year, Chris Gassert has approx. 10 points (probably more but no stat people). He is becoming a major influence on the team, and reason for their great start. Looking forward to seeing him play the next 3 years!!
Thanks for the heads up on this one. Yeah, their stats guy must be sleeping on the job some because I only see six games posted. Gassert played in three of those, with 5 goals and 1 assist. Still, he is #3 in points on the squad for only playing 3/6 of the games.

Another freshman, Spencer Clough, is listed as having played in all six games, but no points.

I'll keep an eye on this one, hopefully the stats will be updated.
According to a recent article, it appears that Chris Gassert has 15 pts, but has unfortunately been out with an injury the past two games. He'll be back up and running soon.

Yup. It would be nice if someone at Moose Creek would update their stats at mnhockeyhub.com.

bigpoppababy · Post by **bigpoppababy** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:16 pm

Teak wrote:
bigpoppababy wrote:
Teak wrote: Thanks for the heads up on this one. Yeah, their stats guy must be sleeping on the job some because I only see six games posted. Gassert played in three of those, with 5 goals and 1 assist. Still, he is #3 in points on the squad for only playing 3/6 of the games.

Another freshman, Spencer Clough, is listed as having played in all six games, but no points.

I'll keep an eye on this one, hopefully the stats will be updated.
According to a recent article, it appears that Chris Gassert has 15 pts, but has unfortunately been out with an injury the past two games. He'll be back up and running soon.
Yup. It would be nice if someone at Moose Creek would update their stats at mnhockeyhub.com.

As a parent of a kid on the team, I have offered, but the coach for some reason won't give up the goods, so just doing the best I can do! I'm a believer that kids deserve the recognition when doing well, unfortunately, sometimes its easier said then done.

Papa Bergundy · Post by **Papa Bergundy** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:20 pm

While I respect you giving us a nice picture of how the freshman are doing in points, if this topic was created to crown the best and/or most influential freshman all that seems moderately irrelavant.

Scoring points is a little easier at Park Rapids than it is at Benilde.

Which leads in to my next points, Christian Horn is the best freshman in the state. While Boyd is a scary good player, I see Horn racking up the same numbers with Hopkins schedule. (I know the Royals schedule isn't terribly far off of Benildes but there is a signifigant enough difference for me to mention).

Also Horn is probably the clutchest player I've seen. He seems to always find a way to score a big goal in a big game. That's called having an impact. And gets him my vote as the best freshman.

Teak · Post by **Teak** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:33 pm

Papa Bergundy wrote:While I respect you giving us a nice picture of how the freshman are doing in points, if this topic was created to crown the best and/or most influential freshman all that seems moderately irrelavant.

Scoring points is a little easier at Park Rapids than it is at Benilde.

Which leads in to my next points, Christian Horn is the best freshman in the state. While Boyd is a scary good player, I see Horn racking up the same numbers with Hopkins schedule. (I know the Royals schedule isn't terribly far off of Benildes but there is a signifigant enough difference for me to mention).

Also Horn is probably the clutchest player I've seen. He seems to always find a way to score a big goal in a big game. That's called having an impact. And gets him my vote as the best freshman.

Point noted. As I said in an earlier posting, if I had to rename this thread, it would be freshmen of influence, with emphasis on both the plural and the word influence. The problem with looking for the best freshman (could be Horn, could be Boyd, could be Reilly), is that you ignore those that may not turn out to be D1 choices, but are actually very important to their teams.

For example, Kyle Krueger (Prior Lake) and Nate Arentz (Lakeville North) may not impress some people, but they are the number 2 scorers on their respective teams and thus important to their squads irregardless of the schedules that they play.

So, yeah, I like to honor some of those who aren't always mentioned with the ones with D1 written all over them (and talked about endlessly). I like to promote Minnesota high school hockey as an end in itself, not just a stepping stone to D1, or Juniors, or the NHL. The majority playing high school will end their formal careers with high school.

bafata88 · Post by **bafata88** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:31 am

Iverson from Breck has a huge upside. He is inconsistent at times but down the stretch may be a big influence on a strong team that should make a legit run at Class A State.

keepyourheadup · Post by **keepyourheadup** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:12 am

Zajac over at Eagan has come alive the past few weeks, keep an eye on this one. Big and strong, if he continues to gain confidence he'll have an impact.

gopherhockey99 · Post by **gopherhockey99** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:44 am

I agree, Zajac is a solid player at Eagan and is playing real well as of late. Michaelson and Zajac in the Lake are both very talented players.

High Flyer · Post by **High Flyer** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:18 pm

Papa Bergundy wrote:While I respect you giving us a nice picture of how the freshman are doing in points, if this topic was created to crown the best and/or most influential freshman all that seems moderately irrelavant.

Scoring points is a little easier at Park Rapids than it is at Benilde.

Which leads in to my next points, Christian Horn is the best freshman in the state. While Boyd is a scary good player, I see Horn racking up the same numbers with Hopkins schedule. (I know the Royals schedule isn't terribly far off of Benildes but there is a signifigant enough difference for me to mention).

Also Horn is probably the clutchest player I've seen. He seems to always find a way to score a big goal in a big game. That's called having an impact. And gets him my vote as the best freshman.

Strength of Schedule Ranking (156 teams)

BSM 38
Hopkins 64
Park Rapids 133

Papa Bergundy, you are correct in your comparison of schedules, but there are many other factors besides points/scheduling that should be considered. Hard to compare both Boyd and Horn, as they are two different types of forwards.

puck81 · Post by **puck81** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:25 pm

Two more goals for Horn tonight against Osseo in a 3-2 Benilde win.

cchky · Post by **cchky** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:33 pm

Teak wrote:Freshmen stats as of Friday, 30 January, for the data that is online. Travis Boyd with the big week; Mick Dhein picked up 2 goals in one game.

(Games Played – Goals – Assists)
38 points
Travis Boyd - Hopkins 18-20-18 (#1 on team)
28 points
Sam Coborn – Park Rapids 18-12-16 (#3)
24 points
Austyn Young – South St. Paul 17-7-17 (#2)
22 points
Christian Horn – BenildeSM 18-12-10 (#3)
20 points
Garret Schmitz – Red Lake Falls 18-9-11 (#4)
19 points
A.J. Michaelson - Apple Valley 17-9-10 (#3)
18 points
Tanner Jordan – Mahtomedi 18-11-7 (#4)
Dylan Zutz – Red Lake Falls 18-8-10
17 points
A.J. Fossen – Spring Lake Park 18-6-11
Mike Reilly - Academy of Holy Angels 16-2-15 (#4)
16 points
Kyle Krueger – Prior Lake 15-7-9 (#2)
Nick Auman – Spring Lake Park 18-2-14
14 points
Mick Dhein – Richfield 18-12-2
Zac McCarver – North St. Paul 18-8-6 (#3)
13 points
Nate Arentz – Lakeville North 18-7-6 (#2)
Jordan Stroh – North Metro 18-5-8
12 points
Jared Kolquist – Hermantown 18-4-8
Zach Hartley (8th) – Minnehaha Acad. 16-3-9 (#2)
Billy Foy – Ely/…/…./ 18-2-10 (#3)
11 points
Eric Carlson – Albert Lea 18-9-2
Nate Traina – Breck 18-7-4
Judd Peterson – Duluth Denfeld 12-4-7
Brady Skjei – Lakeville North 18-1-10 (#4)
Brandon Parker – Faribault 18-1-10
10 points
Charlie Klos – Waconia 17-3-7
9 points
Jake Oborsky – Red Wing 18-5-4
Matt Pohlkamp – Brainerd 15-5-4 (#4)
Cory Mack – East Grand Forks 19-5-4
Nick Matthews – Ely 18-4-5
Riley Williams – Mound-Westonka 18-4-5
Eric Schurhammer – STA 17-2-7
7 points
Braden Devescovi – Bemidji 18-4-3
Pete Kreiger - St. Thomas Academy 17-3-4
Erik Baskin – Minnetonka 18-3-4
Ethan Brekke – Detroit Lakes 15-3-4

TEAK- You are missing Jay Dickman in your point totals
NAME GLS AST PTS
#15 Jay Dickman 6 6 12
thru 1-31-09

#5 scoring on the team.

Jay is a Fr at St Paul Johnson. He is a big kid at 6'4" 195 lbs. He has great hands and good vision.