Section 7AA 2013-2014?

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 9:23 pm

Little early but any thoughts on what section 7 will be like this year? A lot of talent will have graduated or left for juniors. I think Elk River, Forest Lake and maybe Andover will have strong teams. Don't know about East, Rapids, or Cloquet.

kniven · Post by **kniven** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:54 pm

MNhockey29 wrote:Little early but any thoughts on what section 7 will be like this year? A lot of talent will have graduated or left for juniors. I think Elk River, Forest Lake and maybe Andover will have strong teams. Don't know about East, Rapids, or Cloquet.

Cloquet, East, and Rapids will be fine. Competitive programs they are with rich tradition.

Post by **karl(east)** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:23 am

Alright, I'll bite.

Elk River should be the frontrunner. They return a ton of forwards, some of whom are legitimate top-end prospects, and the program is very deep. They also return a goalie, though with Hillman leaving they may lack any real dynamic defensemen. They have a decent shot of cracking the preseason top ten.

Duluth East loses a ton of scoring punch, but if Beaulieu is back (still uncertain, last I heard), they'll be in the mid-teens somewhere. The defense once again looks very solid, they return a line that was looking pretty good by season's end, and though some good Bantams are going to Marshall, the program depth will keep them from falling too far. Without Beaulieu, they drop back into the pack with the next three teams.

Andover doesn't return a lot of players, but the ones who are back are pretty good. If they can find a supporting cast, which is possible but not guaranteed with the size of their program, they'll contend.

Beyond Shepard in goal, Grand Rapids is going to be very inexperienced. That said, their Bantam team was very good last year, and they have several young top-flight players. Based on how quickly they grow up, they could definitely be a factor.

Forest Lake has a healthy stable of returning forwards and a goaltender, so they should be relevant again. They don't really have anything that makes them stand out, though.

Cloquet has an awful lot of people to replace, but there are still a few quality players on hand in the likes of Bender and Newgren. The Bantam team was not very good last year, so I'm not sure if much help is on the horizon.

STMA went to Bantam AA State last year and may start to make some noise, but they have a long way to climb. Give them another year or two.

St. Francis has some returners, most notably the goalie, but last year really was their best shot to pull an upset.

Cambridge, well, has a promising young goalie.

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:35 am

I would say this year almost all the teams will be pretty even with exception of ER if they live up to the hype.

Usthockey13 · Post by **Usthockey13** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:04 am

Phil will be back at East this season. Fox 21 had and an interview on him over the weekend. Stating that he will play in Fargo before and after the HS season

karl(east) wrote:Alright, I'll bite.

Elk River should be the frontrunner. They return a ton of forwards, some of whom are legitimate top-end prospects, and the program is very deep. They also return a goalie, though with Hillman leaving they may lack any real dynamic defensemen. They have a decent shot of cracking the preseason top ten.

Duluth East loses a ton of scoring punch, but if Beaulieu is back (still uncertain, last I heard), they'll be in the mid-teens somewhere. The defense once again looks very solid, they return a line that was looking pretty good by season's end, and though some good Bantams are going to Marshall, the program depth will keep them from falling too far. Without Beaulieu, they drop back into the pack with the next three teams.

Andover doesn't return a lot of players, but the ones who are back are pretty good. If they can find a supporting cast, which is possible but not guaranteed with the size of their program, they'll contend.

Beyond Shepard in goal, Grand Rapids is going to be very inexperienced. That said, their Bantam team was very good last year, and they have several young top-flight players. Based on how quickly they grow up, they could definitely be a factor.

Forest Lake has a healthy stable of returning forwards and a goaltender, so they should be relevant again. They don't really have anything that makes them stand out, though.

Cloquet has an awful lot of people to replace, but there are still a few quality players on hand in the likes of Bender and Newgren. The Bantam team was not very good last year, so I'm not sure if much help is on the horizon.

STMA went to Bantam AA State last year and may start to make some noise, but they have a long way to climb. Give them another year or two.

St. Francis has some returners, most notably the goalie, but last year really was their best shot to pull an upset.

Cambridge, well, has a promising young goalie.

Post by **karl(east)** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 12:10 pm

Usthockey13 wrote:Phil will be back at East this season. Fox 21 had and an interview on him over the weekend. Stating that he will play in Fargo before and after the HS season

Excellent news for East fans. He has a chance to really run the Hounds' offense from the blue line this year.

Here's the story: http://www.fox21online.com/sports/video ... -nahl-spot

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:27 pm

How will East look at goal and up front?

Post by **karl(east)** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:16 pm

MNhockey29 wrote:How will East look at goal and up front?

At forward: they lose the entire top line that carried most of the scoring load, but do return the entire secondary scoring line (Kolar, Bunten, Altmann), which was looking pretty strong at the end of a season. They also have another forward (Chartier) who was injured for most of last season but made the Section HP 17 team. He and Kolar were the only two junior forwards last year (varsity or JV), so they're going to be young, but the rising junior class is pretty deep, and they're getting several players off the State runner-up Bantam team who should be able to jump in. There aren't any obvious stars who are going to have 50+ point seasons here, so they'll have to buy into the Randolph system, and we'll see how far they can grow up by year's end.

Goaltending is a question mark, but I believe they have decent options at JV, and a Bantam made the District HP 15 roster. In a program like East, there are always going to be options.

Even moreso than last year's team, this group isn't going to be blowing out the opposition--to win, they'll have to buy in and play tight defense and develop good special teams.

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:51 pm

Here's my pre-season ranking.
1. Elk River
2. Andover??
3. Forest Lake
4. Duluth East
5. Grand Rapids
6. Cloquet
7. St. Michael
8. St. Francis
9. Cambridge

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 9:10 am

Who will start in goal for FL ?? I watched STP the other day and the senior and the soph both looked even. Line of Gravelle/Egle/Suess[when he gets back] should be good. Deep on D. I think the big ? is in the net for the Rangers.

TheHockeyDJ · Post by **TheHockeyDJ** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 9:20 am

MNhockey29 wrote:Here's my pre-season ranking.
1. Elk River
2. Andover??
3. Forest Lake
4. Duluth East
5. Grand Rapids
6. Cloquet
7. St. Michael
8. St. Francis
9. Cambridge

1. Elk River
2. Duluth East
3. Grand Rapids
4. Cloquet
5. Forest Lake
6. Andover
7. St. Francis
8. S. Michael
9. Cambridge

Post by **east hockey** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 3:48 pm

Looking forward to the FL-GR sparring heading into the upcoming season. Always fun to watch.

And Elk River should be the favorite. Possibly a big favorite. But let's see how their legs are after having to drive halfway to Siberia to play a game on Semifinal Saturday.

Lee

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:53 pm

old goalie85 wrote:Who will start in goal for FL ?? I watched STP the other day and the senior and the soph both looked even. Line of Gravelle/Egle/Suess[when he gets back] should be good. Deep on D. I think the big ? is in the net for the Rangers.

Ok if anything the goalie situation would be a strength. The kid whos gonna be a senior this year was the starter last year and will be the starter this upcoming year. Just cause the senior had a bad drill/practice doesnt mean theres a goalie controversy. Don't be so quick to judge.

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:56 pm

This upcoming year should be one of FL's best. Not a lot of size but they have a lot of experience. A couple solid lines of fast forwards, 3-4 solid defense, and solid goaltending. Forest Lake could surprise a lot of teams this year.

BodyShots · Post by **BodyShots** » Fri Jul 26, 2013 8:37 am

MNhockey29 wrote:This upcoming year should be one of FL's best. Not a lot of size but they have a lot of experience. A couple solid lines of fast forwards, 3-4 solid defense, and solid goaltending. Forest Lake could surprise a lot of teams this year.

I will be surprised if they finish in the top 3 in the SEC.

MrBoDangles · Post by **MrBoDangles** » Sun Jul 28, 2013 1:29 pm

BodyShots wrote:
MNhockey29 wrote:This upcoming year should be one of FL's best. Not a lot of size but they have a lot of experience. A couple solid lines of fast forwards, 3-4 solid defense, and solid goaltending. Forest Lake could surprise a lot of teams this year.
I will be surprised if they finish in the top 3 in the SEC.

Who do you see in those top 3 spots?

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:14 pm

WBL/Eastridge/CDH.

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:33 pm

WBL and Cretin will be up there but not East Ridge.

BodyShots · Post by **BodyShots** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 9:00 am

WBL
Cretin
STILL (without Housley)

Marty2013 · Post by **Marty2013** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:40 am

here's my pre-season prediction:

Elk River - Solid core returning, strong number's this age group had good success in youth hockey. this year they seem determined.

Duluth East - Always seem to reload. although will not be same as past few years. Still plenty of talent to be successful

Forest Lake - Strength with the SR group. 2 - 3 skilled forwards, a D or 2, and when his heads in it their Sr Goalie.

Andover - solid group, but will not have the same success as they did at youth level. some top end players have leveled off, Solid goalie when he's on. Ego's can hurt this groups chemistry at times.

Grand Rapids - rebuilding year, however some good talent moving up that will just need maturity and experince. may struggle from time to time, but never underestimate them.

Cloquet - I think lost to much at once, not quite the same number and talent coming up but they always have alot of tradition and pride.

St Michael - still maybe a year or two away from moving up to the middle of this pack. but some good young talent keeps them hungry.

St Francis - sorry I have never really followed so Unfamiliar with team
cambridge - sorry I have never really followed so Unfamiliar with team

I do think 7AA will be fun to follow this year. some still hinges on who actually returns and who chooses to play Jr's, I know some players are still considering possible options. anyway - just my two cents. best of luck to all the teams. its fun to read posters opinions.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 4:06 pm

New coach up in Rapids.

kniven · Post by **kniven** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:09 pm

old goalie85 wrote:New coach up in Rapids.

WOW!!

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 5:24 pm

With Perry gone things look better for the Rangers. Should be interesting to see what happens between the pipes for FL.

Granttenn · Post by **Granttenn** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 5:39 pm

What a change of fortune for Rapids. When is the last time that they had a quartet like the 2 Bischoff's, Avery Peterson, & Hunter Sheppard? Shows how quickly things can change.

I like Elk River based on what I've seen of some of their individual players.

north_bear · Post by **north_bear** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 6:40 pm

FYI, Rapids still has younger Bischoff, Hunter Sheppard and probably Avery...

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