Best High School Players from Each Decade?

mulefarm · Post by **mulefarm** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:59 am

The Next One wrote:Mike Crowley was amazing for Jefferson in the 90's.

Definitely player of the 90's. No one even close.

Cooper35 · Post by **Cooper35** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:41 pm

80's.....don't forget about George Pelawa.

keepyourheadup · Post by **keepyourheadup** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 5:26 pm

I believe Matt Cullen played in the 90's......IMO he's at least close to Crowley.

EHSHack · Post by **EHSHack** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 5:33 pm

mulefarm wrote:
The Next One wrote:Mike Crowley was amazing for Jefferson in the 90's.
Definitely player of the 90's. No one even close.

I would say Spehar is up there too.

Duluth 4 · Post by **Duluth 4** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:05 pm

mulefarm wrote:
The Next One wrote:Mike Crowley was amazing for Jefferson in the 90's.
Definitely player of the 90's. No one even close.

No one even close, bold call. Spehar was one of the greatest to go through Minnesota High School Hockey.

breakout · Post by **breakout** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:24 pm

keepyourheadup wrote:I believe Matt Cullen played in the 90's......IMO he's at least close to Crowley.

Disagree. Crowley absolutely controlled games from the backcourt.

mnmouth · Post by **mnmouth** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:29 pm

Not nearly enough names have been mentioned. We're talking "best players of each decade" in the best high school hockey state in the country. Because I came on board in the 70s, I'll leave the 50s and 60s to others who actually saw players in those decades (admittedly, there may not be many out there who contribute to this forum) and focus on 70s-90s. For this post, I don't care if players went on to star in college or play in the NHL. We're talking high school. And there are many more that I have failed to mention because of a faulty memory. Also, please excuse the North-centric dominance. Since I grew up on the Range, that's just the way it goes, though I realize there were plenty of awesome hockey players south of Cloquet.

70s - Pete Waselovich, G, IFalls; Jim Jetland, G, Grand Rapids; Scott Lecy, F, John Marshall; John Rothstein, F, Grand Rapids; Buzzy Schneider, F, Babbitt; Joe Micheletti, F, Hibbing; Bill Baker, D, Grand Rapids; Phil Verchota, D, Duluth East; Mark Pavelich, F, Eveleth; John Harrington, F, Virginia; Paul Hammer, C, Aurora-Hoyt Lakes; Dave Delich, D, Eveleth; "Chocolate" Clafton, G, Grand Rapids;

80s - John DeCenzo, C, Grand Rapids; Matt Christensen, C, Aurora-Hoyt Lakes; Pat Micheletti, C, Hibbing; Cory Millen, C, Cloquet; Ken Gernander, C, Greenway; Tony Kellin, D, Grand Rapids; Robb Stauber, G, Denfeld; Bob Laakso, F, Aurora-Hoyt Lakes; Phil Housely, D, SSP; Tom Pederson, D, Jefferson; Larry Olimb, D, Warroad; Scott Bjugstad, F, Irondale;

90s - Darby Hendrickson, F, Richfield; Brian Bonin, F, WBL; Billy Lund, F, Roseau; Spehar, Locker bros, Fitzgerald, Mills, Carlson, et al, Duluth East; Welch and Taffe, Hastings forwards; Jamie Langenbrunner, C, Cloquet; Rick Mrozik, D, Cloquet; Bianchi, Crowley, Checco, Parrish, et al, Jefferson; Chris Marinucci, F, Grand Rapids; Matt Cullen, C, Moorhead; Ryan Kraft, C, Moorhead.

And on and on and . . . You get the picture - this ought to be a very lengthy list. Many of these players never played in a state tournament, and may not be known to even the best high school hockey fans. As for THE best, I'll go with two: Langenbrunner and Christensen. Matt Christensen was the best HIGH SCHOOL hockey player I have ever seen play in MN. Had he not suffered a stroke while playing at UMD, who knows what kind of career he'd have had in the NHL, though he was a bit undersized. But in high school, he was magic: really fast, unbelievable hands, highly skilled and no one ran a breakout better than he. Plus, he had a cool mustache.

Post by **east hockey** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:59 pm

breakout wrote:
keepyourheadup wrote:I believe Matt Cullen played in the 90's......IMO he's at least close to Crowley.

Disagree. Crowley absolutely controlled games from the backcourt.

Backcourt? Alright, who snuck onto my PC and put the link to the High School Basketball Forums where the High School Hockey Forums used to be?

Lee

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:02 pm

east hockey wrote:
breakout wrote:
keepyourheadup wrote:I believe Matt Cullen played in the 90's......IMO he's at least close to Crowley.

Disagree. Crowley absolutely controlled games from the backcourt.
Backcourt? Alright, who snuck onto my PC and put the link to the High School Basketball Forums where the High School Hockey Forums used to be?

Lee

Backcourt? What the...?

mulefarm · Post by **mulefarm** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:04 pm

mnmouth-good post I'd add Trent Klatt to the 80's list.

mnmouth · Post by **mnmouth** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:29 pm

mulefarm wrote:mnmouth-good post I'd add Trent Klatt to the 80's list.

Agreed.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:31 pm

WAIT now Mnmouth got me thinking . Who was better then Lynch NSP, Bridges WBMARINER in the late 70's early 80's. Very few.

AVPuck2010 · Post by **AVPuck2010** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:39 pm

Crosby, he played a yr in MN

starmvp · Post by **starmvp** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:40 pm

AVPuck2010 wrote:Crosby, he played a yr in MN

AVPuck2010 · Post by **AVPuck2010** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:46 pm

im sry i had to do it as a joke, watch Aj Michaelson and Hudson Fasching, if they keep improving and have a impact in the NHL they will be on the best players that graduated from 2010-2020

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:06 pm

starmvp wrote:
AVPuck2010 wrote:Crosby, he played a yr in MN

Whatever, star.

You love Cindy.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:18 pm

I thought it was highschool players, my bad back to phil housley, Broten , Dave Christian.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:21 pm

I think Bridges had two hat tricks in the tourny[82] and lynch scored 50 plus goals in one season.

The Next One · Post by **The Next One** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:52 pm

Does anybody have crowley's stats? I know those teams were loaded, but what was his won-loss record? I go back to the late 80's and yes we have had some phenomnal players, but to me none stand out as much as Mike Crowley did. The guy was in complete control of every game. Without him maybe Moorhead wins 2 or 3 state championships.

breakout · Post by **breakout** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:09 pm

east hockey wrote:
breakout wrote:
keepyourheadup wrote:I believe Matt Cullen played in the 90's......IMO he's at least close to Crowley.

Disagree. Crowley absolutely controlled games from the backcourt.
Backcourt? Alright, who snuck onto my PC and put the link to the High School Basketball Forums where the High School Hockey Forums used to be?

Lee

yaya, just an expression!

breakout · Post by **breakout** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:10 pm

mnmouth wrote:Not nearly enough names have been mentioned. We're talking "best players of each decade" in the best high school hockey state in the country. Because I came on board in the 70s, I'll leave the 50s and 60s to others who actually saw players in those decades (admittedly, there may not be many out there who contribute to this forum) and focus on 70s-90s. For this post, I don't care if players went on to star in college or play in the NHL. We're talking high school. And there are many more that I have failed to mention because of a faulty memory. Also, please excuse the North-centric dominance. Since I grew up on the Range, that's just the way it goes, though I realize there were plenty of awesome hockey players south of Cloquet.

70s - Pete Waselovich, G, IFalls; Jim Jetland, G, Grand Rapids; Scott Lecy, F, John Marshall; John Rothstein, F, Grand Rapids; Buzzy Schneider, F, Babbitt; Joe Micheletti, F, Hibbing; Bill Baker, D, Grand Rapids; Phil Verchota, D, Duluth East; Mark Pavelich, F, Eveleth; John Harrington, F, Virginia; Paul Hammer, C, Aurora-Hoyt Lakes; Dave Delich, D, Eveleth; "Chocolate" Clafton, G, Grand Rapids;

80s - John DeCenzo, C, Grand Rapids; Matt Christensen, C, Aurora-Hoyt Lakes; Pat Micheletti, C, Hibbing; Cory Millen, C, Cloquet; Ken Gernander, C, Greenway; Tony Kellin, D, Grand Rapids; Robb Stauber, G, Denfeld; Bob Laakso, F, Aurora-Hoyt Lakes; Phil Housely, D, SSP; Tom Pederson, D, Jefferson; Larry Olimb, D, Warroad; Scott Bjugstad, F, Irondale;

90s - Darby Hendrickson, F, Richfield; Brian Bonin, F, WBL; Billy Lund, F, Roseau; Spehar, Locker bros, Fitzgerald, Mills, Carlson, et al, Duluth East; Welch and Taffe, Hastings forwards; Jamie Langenbrunner, C, Cloquet; Rick Mrozik, D, Cloquet; Bianchi, Crowley, Checco, Parrish, et al, Jefferson; Chris Marinucci, F, Grand Rapids; Matt Cullen, C, Moorhead; Ryan Kraft, C, Moorhead.

And on and on and . . . You get the picture - this ought to be a very lengthy list. Many of these players never played in a state tournament, and may not be known to even the best high school hockey fans. As for THE best, I'll go with two: Langenbrunner and Christensen. Matt Christensen was the best HIGH SCHOOL hockey player I have ever seen play in MN. Had he not suffered a stroke while playing at UMD, who knows what kind of career he'd have had in the NHL, though he was a bit undersized. But in high school, he was magic: really fast, unbelievable hands, highly skilled and no one ran a breakout better than he. Plus, he had a cool mustache.

Nice list!

breakout · Post by **breakout** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:19 pm

AVPuck2010 wrote:im sry i had to do it as a joke, watch Aj Michaelson and Hudson Fasching, if they keep improving and have a impact in the NHL they will be on the best players that graduated from 2010-2020

Maybe I am reading this wrong. Are you assuming that they are both going to make it to the NHL?

Great players, but do not put the cart before the horse. The NHL gets players from all over the world. Canadian Major Junior, European Elite Leagues, NCAA, ECHL, AHL, etc. are loaded with guys wanting to get to the show.

Let's go one step at a time and wish both the best in their high school and college careers.

TheSiouxSuck · Post by **TheSiouxSuck** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:52 pm

The Next One wrote:Does anybody have crowley's stats? I know those teams were loaded, but what was his won-loss record? I go back to the late 80's and yes we have had some phenomnal players, but to me none stand out as much as Mike Crowley did. The guy was in complete control of every game. Without him maybe Moorhead wins 2 or 3 state championships.

If I recall he had a team leading 67 points when Jefferson went 28-0 in 93. I think during his HS career his team went like 79-3-1 or something like that?

From the 00's probably have to consider TJ Oshie, Blake Wheeler, Matt Niskanen, Alex Stalock, Jake Gardiner, Brian Lee, Paul Martin, Keith Ballard, Alex Goligoski, and finally, just because I feel cheated for not including him, Zach Parise (yes I'm aware he played at Shattuck).

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:07 pm

TheSiouxSuck wrote: Zach Parise (yes I'm aware he played at Shattuck).

And for the Sioux.

keepyourheadup · Post by **keepyourheadup** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:27 pm

No disrespect to Crowley here, he was an absolute joy to watch. Lets not forget he had a hell of a supporting cast with him. I watched every game the year Cullen was a senior and he was hands down the best forward in the tourney...and it wasn't close! The fact he makes millions playing hockey now is no accident. To say he wasn't close to Crowley is likely due to the fact we didn't get to see as much of him. His career speaks for itself.....for crying out loud the kid was a huge part of winning the cup.