7AA 2014-15

kniven · Post by **kniven** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 12:17 am

Thoughts?

Rocketwrister · Post by **Rocketwrister** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:50 am

Pretty early for this.....BUT wouldn't it something IF 7AA looked like this?
East
CEC
Rapids
Marshall
Hermantown
Denfeld
Forest lake
Elk

I believe that would bring some fans out. BUT....it won't happen.

MNhockey29 · Post by **MNhockey29** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:33 am

1. East
2. Rapids
3. Cloquet
4. Elk River?
5. STMA
6. Andover?
7. Forest Lake
8. St. Francis
9. Cambridge

DubCHAGuy · Post by **DubCHAGuy** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 10:30 am

MNhockey29 wrote:1. East
2. Rapids
3. Cloquet
4. Elk River?
5. STMA
6. Andover?
7. Forest Lake
8. St. Francis
9. Cambridge

Elk River returns a lot of fire power and has a great Bantam team. If they have a decent goalie to replace Berglove they will be better than this year.

How does Rapids future look? I'd like to see them back in St. Paul.

TheHockeyDJ · Post by **TheHockeyDJ** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:00 am

Rapids really had East's number in Bantams this year, and made it to state, I know GR beat Elk River and Edina last month at this level. Rapids should have better depth next year and their top line with Mattson, Bischoff, and Adams (all juniors) should be one of the best. Their big question is at defense, where they will return most of them, but will they make improvements over a season that was inconsistent at best for them? In goal I will be curious to see if Bantam team captain Zach Stejskal wins the job next year, sounds like he's not far off from Hunter Sheperd. For the other teams, as long as Randolph is the coach for East they will always be the favorites. I don't know what Andover and Cloquet will bring next season, but the success in bantams of the last couples years indicates Elk River and St. Michael-Albertvillle should be competing for top 3-4 seeds next season. Grand Rapids schedule is set to come out next week and I can confirm they have added Lakeville North, Wayzata, and Andover. This is a good start that hopefully leads to a 100% elimination of all Single A teams from their schedule.

Wet Paint · Post by **Wet Paint** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:02 pm

I agree with you about most of what you have posted but do have a couple of questions about both East and GR. I watched a lot of North hockey this season, youth and HS. I would not want to count out East due to their Bantam performance. I think that Randolph will have something to say about that as he usually does. He has a way of taking a team that is supposed to be "ok" and turning them into a very good team. Grand Rapids team at bantams this year has been very good. I think, though, their bantam goalies are both 1st year bantams and you don't see many teams pulling up goaltenders early. Elk River also looks promising at bantams. But, we all know, you don't win championships with the 1st years. Much summer work ahead for these boys....how bad do they want it....and how much work are they willing to put in to get it?

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 6:07 pm

The problem for Elk River is if their two best players return next year? Jaremko and Kierstad returning and any kind of goaltending would put them at the top of the list. They need to play their sophomores next year and try and get two years out of them before their high end players leave early. Randolph returning would keep East as the favorite.

Post by **karl(east)** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:56 pm

1-3 are probably Elk River, East, and Grand Rapids.
-Elk River probably has the most talent on paper, and has very good depth. Keeping the top players around would make them a clear favorite; without them, they're probably in a similar situation to this past year--a good spot to be in, but not markedly ahead of the others.
-Rapids has a nice potential all-junior top line, and more good young players coming up. More experience on defense and in the new coaching staff will help, too. They're still on the young side, though, and Shepard and Peterson aren't the sorts of players you can just replace.
-East only loses 4 seniors, but they are important seniors. The biggest change will be the lack of a dynamic top D pair, which has been the heart and soul of these past two East teams and the key to those gaudy special teams stats. No more Moore, Beaulieu, or Trapp running the show from the blue line. They only bring back one D-man who saw a regular shift, though they did have two converted D-men playing forward on the third line, so one or both might shift back to D. There's no lack of respectable players to fill the few holes in the lineup, and the top line should be pretty good; they just need to find the right combinations and adapt to the lack of obvious stars on D.

4-7: Cloquet, STMA, Andover, Forest Lake
-Cloquet won't have overwhelming talent, but they were playing the top teams very tough at the end of the year and could cause some serious trouble with another year of experience.
-STMA has some intriguing young talent and should be relevant, if not quite yet a contender. We'll see how quickly they can build up this program. They're worth keeping an eye on.
-Andover and Forest Lake both lose some big pieces, but their programs have enough depth that they won't go off the cliff and have to be taken seriously.

8-9
-Barring some surprise, St. Francis, then Cambridge. St. Francis was decent for an 8-seed this year, but I don't know how old the key players were.

Immigrant Fan · Post by **Immigrant Fan** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 11:27 pm

Hockey DJ, I certainly would like to see GR boost their strength of schedule, but I hope they don't eliminate all single A teams. I think Warroad and Hermantown are very good matches regardless of the tier designation. I think the Hibbing matches are fine given history, rivalry, and proximity. A single game each year with IFalls and Virginia are fine, to support northern hockey and maintain historic continuity. The annual game against DLH-Marshall does not seem a wash either.

If they were to drop one game against IFalls, Virginia, and DLH-Denfeld, that would open up space for the better AA teams you mentioned. Scheduling Hopkins turned out a stinker, so they could try to boost that schedule spot as well. I think a mix will yield best results for Rapids to grow their teams yet provide opportunities to measure and display their competitiveness.

TheHockeyDJ · Post by **TheHockeyDJ** » Tue Mar 11, 2014 12:55 am

Immigrant Fan wrote:Hockey DJ, I certainly would like to see GR boost their strength of schedule, but I hope they don't eliminate all single A teams. I think Warroad and Hermantown are very good matches regardless of the tier designation. I think the Hibbing matches are fine given history, rivalry, and proximity. A single game each year with IFalls and Virginia are fine, to support northern hockey and maintain historic continuity. The annual game against DLH-Marshall does not seem a wash either.

If they were to drop one game against IFalls, Virginia, and DLH-Denfeld, that would open up space for the better AA teams you mentioned. Scheduling Hopkins turned out a stinker, so they could try to boost that schedule spot as well. I think a mix will yield best results for Rapids to grow their teams yet provide opportunities to measure and display their competitiveness.

I understand what you are saying, it's just that when Rapids loses to a single A team it hurts them far more than losing to a AA team at the seeding meeting. If Rapids beats Warroad or Marshall they don't gain anything. I know that with some of the single A games the competition is as good and better than some AA games, but there are a lot of people that have this weird assumption that all single A teams are inferior to all AA teams. It's ridiculous I know, but that is the odd perception out there. Also, I don't see any point to the IRC, and I never have since a two class system. Everyone is playing for the playoffs. An IRC title is as worthless as a November team scrimmage when it comes to what matters. Conferences are dead and have no value at all. Do what the Cloquet coach wants and eliminate all conferences and have everyone play their section opponents twice and then you don't need a section meeting, you just seed by section standings.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:51 am

I like how FL schedules. Play in the SEC/alot of D2 teams[Stillwater/WBL/Cretin/MV/Roseville] that the kids grow up playing. Then play all teams in 7AA. Seems like the best of both worlds.

north_bear · Post by **north_bear** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:37 pm

Rapids Bantam AA team beat Stillwater 3-2 for the championship today!! There are some standout players on the team and sounded like the goalie, Stejskal, played outstanding. Wonder how he is related to Joe? Not sure how old he is but its good to know there is another solid goalie coming up. Micah Miller is a skilled forward that will make the jump next year. Rapids will be young but skilled. Things look encouraging for the next few years at least.

I hope this bantam squad can break the trend of good bantam teams that can beat the likes of East and Edina regularly but can't get over the hurdle at the varsity level.

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:06 pm

Great tourney for Rapids, Stillwater is a great team and to win this tourney with likes of Elk River, Eden Praire, Edina having outstanding teams has me looking forward to the Edina Classic next year. 7AA will continue to be very interesting next year. There were some very talented individuals on display in Rogers this weekend.

TennJed · Post by **TennJed** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:39 am

GR has not had a bantam team in recent years that "beat DE and Edina regularly". I do think notice has been served however. This bantam crew should be promising in coming years.

hawkenjonny · Post by **hawkenjonny** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:40 am

Yes, great performance from the GR bantams, which should transfer into some nice teams at the high school level in the next couple years. It would certainly free up some games if the conferences were eliminated and teams could focus more on quality competition and section games. Doubt it will happen. Go Thawks

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:39 am

Was also impressed with Hermantown competing with all the top programs. Their enrollment at the high schools shows 615, which is still a long way from going AA, I thought they were closer than that. Not likely to be moving to 7AA anytime soon?

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:39 pm

Rapids has some nice looking BAAs. Don't count them out anytime soon. Hermantown could opt up with no problem. STMA could be the up and comer.

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:00 pm

old goalie85 wrote:Rapids has some nice looking BAAs. Don't count them out anytime soon. Hermantown could opt up with no problem. STMA could be the up and comer.

No one counting them out and there still behind ER and East most likely.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:10 pm

The Rapids kids seem to stay for Sr year. Elks ??

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:16 pm

old goalie85 wrote:The Rapids kids seem to stay for Sr year. Elks ??

Good point, for sure don't leave with 10 games left.

offtheglas · Post by **offtheglas** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:45 pm

north_bear wrote:Rapids Bantam AA team beat Stillwater 3-2 for the championship today!! There are some standout players on the team and sounded like the goalie, Stejskal, played outstanding. Wonder how he is related to Joe? Not sure how old he is but its good to know there is another solid goalie coming up. Micah Miller is a skilled forward that will make the jump next year. Rapids will be young but skilled. Things look encouraging for the next few years at least.

I hope this bantam squad can break the trend of good bantam teams that can beat the likes of East and Edina regularly but can't get over the hurdle at the varsity level.

You got it right the goalie really out performed everyone in that game. Stillwater had control of most of the game and a couple lucky bounces and great goaltender and GR takes home the Ship! This group of kids had several move in players over the past couple years and obviously the right kind of players. Not discounting the rest of the team but without Micah Miller, John Stampohar, Mike Heitkamp and Blake McLaughlin they would be an average to slightly above average team.

HSchoolHOCKEY · Post by **HSchoolHOCKEY** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:27 pm

If you take the top four players off any bantam AA team from up north and they would be average at best. Not saying that to diss anybody, but they just don't have the numbers or depth as some of the bigger programs. That being said, congrats to GR, its always fun to see smaller programs win the big prize.

TheHockeyDJ · Post by **TheHockeyDJ** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 8:35 am

offtheglas wrote:
north_bear wrote:Rapids Bantam AA team beat Stillwater 3-2 for the championship today!! There are some standout players on the team and sounded like the goalie, Stejskal, played outstanding. Wonder how he is related to Joe? Not sure how old he is but its good to know there is another solid goalie coming up. Micah Miller is a skilled forward that will make the jump next year. Rapids will be young but skilled. Things look encouraging for the next few years at least.

I hope this bantam squad can break the trend of good bantam teams that can beat the likes of East and Edina regularly but can't get over the hurdle at the varsity level.
You got it right the goalie really out performed everyone in that game. Stillwater had control of most of the game and a couple lucky bounces and great goaltender and GR takes home the Ship! This group of kids had several move in players over the past couple years and obviously the right kind of players. Not discounting the rest of the team but without Micah Miller, John Stampohar, Mike Heitkamp and Blake McLaughlin they would be an average to slightly above average team.

Does anyone know what players are 9th graders that were on the GR bantam team, and of the 8th graders, who might make varsity as a freshman?

TennJed · Post by **TennJed** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:02 pm

Some thought #14 should have been on varsity this year. Partially due to skill level and partially to weak defensive corp on varsity.

Newguy_10 · Post by **Newguy_10** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:44 pm

TheHockeyDJ wrote:
offtheglas wrote:
north_bear wrote:Rapids Bantam AA team beat Stillwater 3-2 for the championship today!! There are some standout players on the team and sounded like the goalie, Stejskal, played outstanding. Wonder how he is related to Joe? Not sure how old he is but its good to know there is another solid goalie coming up. Micah Miller is a skilled forward that will make the jump next year. Rapids will be young but skilled. Things look encouraging for the next few years at least.

I hope this bantam squad can break the trend of good bantam teams that can beat the likes of East and Edina regularly but can't get over the hurdle at the varsity level.
You got it right the goalie really out performed everyone in that game. Stillwater had control of most of the game and a couple lucky bounces and great goaltender and GR takes home the Ship! This group of kids had several move in players over the past couple years and obviously the right kind of players. Not discounting the rest of the team but without Micah Miller, John Stampohar, Mike Heitkamp and Blake McLaughlin they would be an average to slightly above average team.
Does anyone know what players are 9th graders that were on the GR bantam team, and of the 8th graders, who might make varsity as a freshman?

Players who were 9th graders this year include most of the team including stampohar and miller. The only Freshmen i could possibly see moving up would be Gavin Hain who was a first year this year. They try there best in Rapids to keep the kids where they belong. Exceptions Jonah Bischoff who I believe should of stayed another year in bantams. Now with that being said there goalie Stejskal who is a first year would greatly help there high school team next year but have heard several times he wont be moving up.