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benilde, totino grace, duluth east, duluth marshall, hermantown, edina, all are going to be very good. totino grace had a strong jv program this year

Nostalgic Nerd wrote:

breakout wrote:

HockeyMN1 wrote: If Molennar (sp.) sticks around there should hardly be a drop off at the blue line with some talented JV kids filling in. I think EP will win it all two more years in a row and then drop off the face of the earth.

As for sticking around, Molennar should be smart enough to learn a good lesson from Nick Leddy. Molennar's partner from his successful bantam days left for "greener pastures". Today he is struggling in the USHL and his draft stock has dropped.

Molennar needs to pick up his timing and speed while playing D. Bjugstad went right around him and scored a timely goal for Blaine. That was 10th grader vs. 10th grader, both appear to be good sized kids.

Bjugstad is only a sophomore?

Yes

minnesotahockey26 wrote:benilde, totino grace, duluth east, duluth marshall, hermantown, edina, all are going to be very good. totino grace had a strong jv program this year

I agree with East and Hermantown from up north. But, I don't see the Duluth Marshall part. They are losing Pat Mahoney, Derek Stauber, Joe Kozlak, Zach Mausolf, and 3-year goalie Willie Paul. Other than Dane Morin, these are pretty much the only guys that could put the puck in the net for them. They may be competetive via defense, but probably even a little more down than they were this year. My guess is they will be the 3 or 4 seed in section 7A (if they stay in 7A).

Here's what I see for the other top 7A teams:

Virginia is losing Chris Westin and Will Lustig and a couple of roll-players, but Jordan Krebsbach, Garrett Hendrickson, Andrew Judnick, and a total of 16 players with varsity experience will be back next year. Andy Milbridge was pretty solid in the action he saw in goal as the backup to Lustig, so I don't see a huge drop in goaltending coming for Virginia. This team will have a very good chance at repeating as 7A champs and will probably be the preseason favorites to do just that.

I Falls has Will Corrin, Matt Youso, Jordan Christianson, Jon McDonald, and Micheal Bounds back along with two goaltenders and a handful of other players who gained some valuable experience last year. This team will be a 7A contender.

Hibbing is losing the farm with Aaron Jamnick, Ryan Hanegmon, Drew Vechell, Jake McConkey, Aaron Wagner, Marcus Bugliosi, and Ryan Olds all graduating. They will be inexperienced next year and will have only a couple seniors who have had any kind of regular playing time. They will need a lot of help from the younger kids to compete with Virginia and I Falls. They didn't get that from them this year. Could be a bit of a down year this team.

I don't really see any of the other teams jumping up into the frey next year.

minnesotahockey26 wrote:benilde, totino grace, duluth east, duluth marshall, hermantown, edina, all are going to be very good. totino grace had a strong jv program this year

Now I only saw TG in an early season scrimmage with AV's JV team after the season started but I don't recall them being anything special to get excited about for the future.

A little tough to predict this early since no one knows who is staying and going. With Edina going down this year after all those boys stayed to win a State Championship, you may have kids taking offers to the USHL and Ann Arbor that may not have before. A few of the Edina boys got their Division I offers but there were still a few with no offers that may wish they had taken a different path their soph/Jr years. Nothing beats staying in HS with your buddies but if a future in hockey is your dream, MN hockey may not be the best ticket for everyone anymore, especially if your HS team will be weak. Even for the best players, it can be tough to stand out playing with mediocre players - even if they are your buddies. It worked for the Edina boys because there were so many talented players on one team so they got the publicity they needed to get the offers they wanted.

I do think you need to look at the Bantam teams as one indicator of the HS teams upcoming season, but as we've seen, they are not a major predictor of success at the HS level. EP did well as Bantams but I have to agree that without Leddy this year, they would have been just better than average.

Bjustad is an old sophomore - 92 birthyear. Curious to see if he heads to Juniors his senior year. I think Jefferson will be good next year if those strong juniors stick around.

Bantams does mean some about the future but a lot changes...Centennial has been a powerhouse the last 5-6 years in youth hockey but hasn't made it to state at the high school level since 04'. Players come, players leave, coaching, its a whole new level

Doglover wrote:A little tough to predict this early since no one knows who is staying and going. With Edina going down this year after all those boys stayed to win a State Championship, you may have kids taking offers to the USHL and Ann Arbor that may not have before. A few of the Edina boys got their Division I offers but there were still a few with no offers that may wish they had taken a different path their soph/Jr years. Nothing beats staying in HS with your buddies but if a future in hockey is your dream, MN hockey may not be the best ticket for everyone anymore, especially if your HS team will be weak. Even for the best players, it can be tough to stand out playing with mediocre players - even if they are your buddies. It worked for the Edina boys because there were so many talented players on one team so they got the publicity they needed to get the offers they wanted.

I do think you need to look at the Bantam teams as one indicator of the HS teams upcoming season, but as we've seen, they are not a major predictor of success at the HS level. EP did well as Bantams but I have to agree that without Leddy this year, they would have been just better than average.

Bjustad is an old sophomore - 92 birthyear. Curious to see if he heads to Juniors his senior year. I think Jefferson will be good next year if those strong juniors stick around.

Agreed. Another example of where a solid youth program doesn't always translate to a strong HS program is Wayzata, mainly due to, what I believe, many solid players leaving to the private schools. Maybe I'm wrong on that, though.

tartan, mahtomedi, and sta (if certain kids stay) should all have strong squads next year.

tartan, mahtomedi, and sta (if certain kids stay) should all have strong squads next year.

sachishi4 wrote:

BodyShots wrote:

Hoops wrote: So bantams isn't even an indicator then...what a joke...the youth programs is what you look at. Stay out of the discussion about the future.

What Bantam team does HM, CDH, AHA, BSM, etc, etc... play for? You can't use bantams as an indicator for HS hockey in the Metro area.

Flake, St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Woodbury, Tartan, St Louis Park, Wayzata....

The teams I think to watch are EP, HM, CDH, Woodbury, Tartan, Jefferson, Tonka

Yeah hoops actually... Everyone that attends a private school comes from some other school district. That could mean that there are bantam programs that have an insane amount of talent, however none of it is going to be used for that high school, but instead used for some private school. You can't tell what high school is going to be good from bantams. That comes from the coaches and their surroundings. Several kids will quit hockey or leave their former association after bantams. To be honest thats a really weak indicator.

headyhockey wrote:

sachishi4 wrote:

BodyShots wrote: What Bantam team does HM, CDH, AHA, BSM, etc, etc... play for? You can't use bantams as an indicator for HS hockey in the Metro area.

Flake, St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Woodbury, Tartan, St Louis Park, Wayzata....

The teams I think to watch are EP, HM, CDH, Woodbury, Tartan, Jefferson, Tonka

Yeah hoops actually... Everyone that attends a private school comes from some other school district. That could mean that there are bantam programs that have an insane amount of talent, however none of it is going to be used for that high school, but instead used for some private school. You can't tell what high school is going to be good from bantams. That comes from the coaches and their surroundings. Several kids will quit hockey or leave their former association after bantams. To be honest thats a really weak indicator.

So Bantams is a weak indicator?? Wow. Let's see EP had a great Bantam team a yr ago...and I suppose you were stunned they had a good 10th grade class on the varsity?

Hoops wrote:

headyhockey wrote:

sachishi4 wrote: Flake, St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Woodbury, Tartan, St Louis Park, Wayzata....

The teams I think to watch are EP, HM, CDH, Woodbury, Tartan, Jefferson, Tonka

Yeah hoops actually... Everyone that attends a private school comes from some other school district. That could mean that there are bantam programs that have an insane amount of talent, however none of it is going to be used for that high school, but instead used for some private school. You can't tell what high school is going to be good from bantams. That comes from the coaches and their surroundings. Several kids will quit hockey or leave their former association after bantams. To be honest thats a really weak indicator.

So Bantams is a weak indicator?? Wow. Let's see EP had a great Bantam team a yr ago...and I suppose you were stunned they had a good 10th grade class on the varsity?

I'd just like to point out that Breck also had a great bantam A team last year.

headyhockey wrote:

Hoops wrote:

headyhockey wrote: Yeah hoops actually... Everyone that attends a private school comes from some other school district. That could mean that there are bantam programs that have an insane amount of talent, however none of it is going to be used for that high school, but instead used for some private school. You can't tell what high school is going to be good from bantams. That comes from the coaches and their surroundings. Several kids will quit hockey or leave their former association after bantams. To be honest thats a really weak indicator.

So Bantams is a weak indicator?? Wow. Let's see EP had a great Bantam team a yr ago...and I suppose you were stunned they had a good 10th grade class on the varsity?

I'd just like to point out that Breck also had a great bantam A team last year.

Single A does not count

STA will probably win the gold cup next year at Schwans. They graduate no one important and word has it all the kids are coming back. They will have big time senior leaders out for glory next year.


CRASHDANET... maybe you banged your head on the net one to many times. The class AA state runnerup lost to a few clas A teams.

Saywhat?03 wrote:STA will probably win the gold cup next year at Schwans. They graduate no one important and word has it all the kids are coming back. They will have big time senior leaders out for glory next year.


CRASHDANET... maybe you banged your head on the net one to many times. The class AA state runnerup lost to a few clas A teams.

I don't think St. Thomas can play in the the gold division next year because they played in the toilet bowl last year. Bottom two teams can't play in the same one the next year.

I could be wrong, but I am almost 100% sure that you move down a division only if you lose all three games. Therefore, Class AA runnerup Moorhead will have to play silver! Thats weird to say.