Class A Mr. Hockey

[Stang5280]

I undertook this project to alleviate a bit of holiday boredom, and was curious where it would take me. It turned out to be a bit more involved than I expected, with statistics lacking for the early years, and some seasons either having fierce competition or a paucity of good candidates. A * indicates an actual Mr. Hockey winner, while a ? means that I was not confident in the selection. (1996, 1997, and the early 2000s were rough.) I tried to focus on the the players' high school careers, though I'm sure some hindsight crept into places.

Please feel free to chime in on where I may have missed the boat. I know there is a lack of defensemen on the list, but that is true of most of these types of awards.

2020 Blake Biondi, Hermantown *
2019 Donte Lawson, Greenway
2018 Tyler Watkins, Hermantown ?
2017 Ben Meyers, Delano
2016 Cole Koepke, Hermantown
2015 Dixon Bowen, EGF
2014 Kyle Sylvester, Warroad ?
2013 T.J. Roo, Totino-Grace
2012 Judd Peterson, Duluth Marshall
2011 Tyler Heinonen, Delano
2010 Brock Nelson, Warroad
2009 Ben Hanowski, Little Falls
2008 Ryan Walters, STA
2007 Nico Sacchetti, Virginia
2006 Jordan Fulton, Breck
2005 T.J. Oshie, Warroad
2004 J.T. Wyman, Blake
2003 Brent Borgen, Mahtomedi ?
2002 David Backes, Spring Lake Park
2001 John Adams, Breck ?
2000 Aaron Slattengren, Proctor
1999 Troy Riddle, BSM
1998 Johnny Pohl, Red wing *
1997 Trevor Hammer, Roseau ?
1996 Bryan Lundbohm, Roseau
1995 Wyatt Smith, Warroad
1994 Brian Bolf, Hibbing

[WestMetro]

That’s a good piece of work for the forums permanent historical record Stang. A real trip down memory lane. Curious how many of these did NOT get to D1 hockey?

[Stang5280]

That’s a good piece of work for the forums permanent historical record Stang. A real trip down memory lane. Curious how many of these did NOT get to D1 hockey?

Thanks Westy, I’m glad you enjoyed it. The only player from the list who didn’t see any D1 action was Sylvester, who played a single season at Stout after struggling to score in juniors. 2014 was a particularly weak senior class for Class A hockey. The blue blood programs like Hermantown, EGF, and Breck all had young rosters that year.

[Stang5280]

Upon further review, I am tempted to declare Bryan Lundbohm from Roseau the 1996 winner. I’m not sure how I missed him before.

[elliott70]

Bryan would be a good choice.

[karl(east)]

2016: Maybe Chase Ellingson? He was a Mr. Hockey finalist, after all, while Koepke was not. Adam Johnson would have a good shot in 2013, too.

Interesting how feast or famine it can be. For example, I'd call Dylan Samberg the best player to come out of Hermantown in my memory, but it's still hard to argue with Ben Meyers as the winner in 2017. And then in 2018 you end with Tyler Watkins, who was a perfectly nice player but not quite in that category, and I'm struggling to find anyone else who's even close to him. (Jack Powell, maybe?) And 2014 does just seem like a huge shrug...Sylvester lit it up and beyond that your only other candidates seem to be a couple decent EGF defensemen. Of course you get a little of that in AA, with some years of several early round draft picks and others with none, but it seems more pronounced in Class A.

Jake Youso from International Falls would be my 2008 sleeper pick. Maybe Aaron Marvin in 2007?

Unfortunately, I'm not much help in the years before that!

[Getitright]

Thinking back to 2007. Drew Leblanc best player by far on state champ team but be was only a junior. He left as a senior. How about jack connelly from Duluth Marshall. I think clearly a step above sachetii.

[Stang5280]

2016: Maybe Chase Ellingson? He was a Mr. Hockey finalist, after all, while Koepke was not. Adam Johnson would have a good shot in 2013, too.

Interesting how feast or famine it can be. For example, I'd call Dylan Samberg the best player to come out of Hermantown in my memory, but it's still hard to argue with Ben Meyers as the winner in 2017. And then in 2018 you end with Tyler Watkins, who was a perfectly nice player but not quite in that category, and I'm struggling to find anyone else who's even close to him. (Jack Powell, maybe?) And 2014 does just seem like a huge shrug...Sylvester lit it up and beyond that your only other candidates seem to be a couple decent EGF defensemen. Of course you get a little of that in AA, with some years of several early round draft picks and others with none, but it seems more pronounced in Class A.

Jake Youso from International Falls would be my 2008 sleeper pick. Maybe Aaron Marvin in 2007?

Unfortunately, I'm not much help in the years before that!

Yes, you nailed the challenge of this exercise, Karl. There were only a handful of years with obvious winners, and many seasons either had multiple strong choices or a weaker field.

Here were a few of the years where I had particular difficulty in selecting a winner, and my reasoning, which may have been been flawed.

2016 Cole Koepke, Chase Ellingson, Wyatt Aamodt
- Koepke over Ellingson may have been a case of hindsight, but he was by far the leading scorer on a dominant Hermantown team.

2007 Nico Sacchetti, Aaron Marvin, Jack Connelly
- I couldn't find stats for Marvin, but he never quite lived up to his potential. Connelly felt like I would be rewarding him for his post-HS career (though I may have overdone that angle). Sacchetti had huge stats and was a 2nd round pick.

Apologies to Keith Anderson, but his mythical 1996 award has been given to Bryan Lundbohm. I’m sure his feelings won’t be hurt too badly.

I appreciate the input from everyone, and may be making a few tweaks based on suggestions and counterarguments.