The Largest Prep Hockey Message Board Community on the Web
https://www.ushsho.com/forums/
Cory Laylin's kid has been to National Camp twice.HappyHockeyFan wrote:So who can shed some light on this mystery team STMA? Any special players to watch or just good team chemisty? They are one of the few top twenty I didn't see this season.
St Thomas Academy came on strong and quick in the early 2000's, one year Simley was beating them by 6-7 goals and the next they were in the tournament and dominating. At least it seemed that way.DubCHAGuy wrote:Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?
Congrats to the Knights.
That was funny OTown! I think many didn't get it. Thanks for making me laugh this morning. I think Bonnie Blair, Bjorn Daehlie, and Tonya Harding laid the foundation for this small community to think big things! GBO-townClown wrote:I've lived away for a long time. They weren't a power back in my day. Do you think the hockey program picked up after they hosted the Olympics?
that is a private school happy, of course they can turn a corner a lot quicker by recruiting players.... a lot harder to develop your own program with kids from your community.HappyHockeyFan wrote:St Thomas Academy came on strong and quick in the early 2000's, one year Simley was beating them by 6-7 goals and the next they were in the tournament and dominating. At least it seemed that way.DubCHAGuy wrote:Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?
Congrats to the Knights.
https://speedyhedgehog.com/stage-11-tou ... -2018.htmlGoldenBear wrote:That was funny OTown! I think many didn't get it. Thanks for making me laugh this morning. I think Bonnie Blair, Bjorn Daehlie, and Tonya Harding laid the foundation for this small community to think big things! GB
For the most part, STMA is just a senior heavy, experienced group with a good amount of depth. They can roll three lines up front and have two good D pairings, to go with solid goaltending. However, their two leading scorers, Laylin and Flamming, are both sophomores and the most talented players on the roster. Laylin is a small, quick playmaker, while Flamming is more of the physical finisher. Those are the two main players to watch for.O-townClown wrote:Cory Laylin's kid has been to National Camp twice.HappyHockeyFan wrote:So who can shed some light on this mystery team STMA? Any special players to watch or just good team chemisty? They are one of the few top twenty I didn't see this season.
Eden Prairie and Elk River both had a similar rapid rise to prominence around 1990. I graduated from high school around that time frame, and particularly recall going up to ER for a peewee game, wondering why we were playing some hick team way up there. I had my answer shortly after the opening puck drop, as they were very good and very physical.DubCHAGuy wrote:Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?
Congrats to the Knights.
I agree with this. Not to mention Brainerd returns most of their roster that had cracked the top 10 at the end of this year. Duluth Marshall has established itself in the top 10-20 of AA since moving up, and in any other section they'd be a contender year in and year out. Also EGF could be a strong AA team if they ever chose to opt up for the next few years with the #2 ranked Bantam A team.Section 8 guy wrote:Sorry I'm a little late but just stumbled into this thread.
First off, huge congrats to STMA on their section title win last week and best of luck at the Tourney! Go rep Section 8 well!!!
But in regards to all the 218 is gone forever talk.......Wow, talk about an overreaction to one game.
Let's take a look ahead year by year.......
Class of 2019 - Moorhead as Bantams took Tonka to Double OT in state Bantam Championship game. Cloquet, who took Tonka to 3 OTs in the semis, finishes 3rd at State.
2020 - Cloquet and Moorhead were both top 7 or 8 Bantam teams with Moorhead rated 4th and winning two games at state tourney.
Current Bantams - Three of the top 8 teams in the state are from the North in Hermantown, Cloquet and Rapids. Down year for Section 8 teams.
Bantam 1st years - a bit of an off year with no top 10 teams as PWs last year but Moorhead, Roseau, Hermantown and Rapids all rated 11-15 as PWs last year.
Current PeeWees - Hermantown rated #4 at AA level and Moorhead rated #6
Current Squirts - #1 rated Moorhead just played in the championship game of the Squirt International in both the A and B Divisions. Hermantown rated # 2 in the A division.
The 218 will be just fine for the foreseeable future.
And before we get too far ahead of ourselves in permanently moving the Section 8 title to the metro...... The highest rated metro Bantam AA team right now is STMA at #31.
I can't confirm that this first grade STMA class actually has 1,000 kids in it but I do know they have a school entirely dedicated to kindergarten students and they are adding more classrooms to it as we speak. Average HS class size has steadily increased the past several years. I'd say currently it sits around 515 give or take. The HS was built approx 8 years ago and they're adding about a dozen more classrooms to that as well to accommodate the growth. This goes along with a new football stadium and baseball field on campus as well as a new hockey arena next to the old one. All of this should be ready to go by next school year. On paper it's looking like STMA HS hockey will cool off a bit after this season but it's always tough to say for sure and it does make a difference when you draw from 3 grades instead of 2 as this years team has shown us.CommunityBased wrote:On the STMA coming-on conversation. I heard at a different sporting event from an STMA parent that his child's 1st grade class has 1000 kids. I do NOT no the accuracy of that statement but if true or close to true I think we will be seeing a lot of good STMA teams in many sports. It appears Andover is in a similar growth cycle.
That whole I-94 corridor between the Twin Cities and St Cloud is still among the fastest growing parts of the state. You could also add Highway 52 between the Twin Cities and Rochester. So from Rochester to St Cloud is till growing at a good clip.backcheck9 wrote:I can't confirm that this first grade STMA class actually has 1,000 kids in it but I do know they have a school entirely dedicated to kindergarten students and they are adding more classrooms to it as we speak. Average HS class size has steadily increased the past several years. I'd say currently it sits around 515 give or take. The HS was built approx 8 years ago and they're adding about a dozen more classrooms to that as well to accommodate the growth. This goes along with a new football stadium and baseball field on campus as well as a new hockey arena next to the old one. All of this should be ready to go by next school year. On paper it's looking like STMA HS hockey will cool off a bit after this season but it's always tough to say for sure and it does make a difference when you draw from 3 grades instead of 2 as this years team has shown us.CommunityBased wrote:On the STMA coming-on conversation. I heard at a different sporting event from an STMA parent that his child's 1st grade class has 1000 kids. I do NOT no the accuracy of that statement but if true or close to true I think we will be seeing a lot of good STMA teams in many sports. It appears Andover is in a similar growth cycle.
Best of luck Knights!
No offense, but I don’t believe your info on potential conference destinations for STMA is entirely accurate. The Lake doesn’t make sense from a practical perspective, as STMA has little in common with the current members and would be on a geographic island. I’m sure Edina and EP would love driving up to STMA for weeknight games.alcloseshaver wrote:After next school year STMA will have a choice to make between joining the Lake schools or the NWSC. Rogers will most likely be joining the NWSC to be more in line with Elk River and word is they would accept STMA as member also. Would be a nice fit for STMA in all sports.
NWSC will not take Buffalo. If they are a package deal the Lake with only 5 teams would gladly take more schools. NWSC already has two 7 team divisions and could easily add 2 schools. STMA has already moved on from Buffalo in football and would create new rivalries in a new league. Wouldn't leave much room for non-conference games in 8AA hockey though.Stang5280 wrote:No offense, but I don’t believe your info on potential conference destinations for STMA is entirely accurate. The Lake doesn’t make sense from a practical perspective, as STMA has little in common with the current members and would be on a geographic island. I’m sure Edina and EP would love driving up to STMA for weeknight games.alcloseshaver wrote:After next school year STMA will have a choice to make between joining the Lake schools or the NWSC. Rogers will most likely be joining the NWSC to be more in line with Elk River and word is they would accept STMA as member also. Would be a nice fit for STMA in all sports.
The NWSC is a much more logical destination, but the conference is already a sprawling mess with too many teams. Some realignment would almost certainly have to occur before invitations would be extended to STMA and Rogers.
Finally, Buffalo is being left out of both of these scenarios. I can guarantee that neither school is going to join a conference without the other coming along. The two schools are separated by less than 10 miles, are essentially the same size, and have been bitter rivals in most sports for years. STMA and Buffalo are basically a package deal.
Why do you think STMA will cool off after this season? Seems like they've got some great momentum with their first state appearance, talented sophs, and a new arena on the way, not to mention that it's a growing community.backcheck9 wrote: On paper it's looking like STMA HS hockey will cool off a bit after this season but it's always tough to say for sure and it does make a difference when you draw from 3 grades instead of 2 as this years team has shown us.
That makes sense from a practical perspective. Having Centennial in the NW Suburban always seemed odd.armhockey wrote:What I have heard is that Centenial, Irondale and Spring Lake Park are trying to leave the Northwest suburban for the Suburban East due to travel times to the west. Opens up 3 spots for the M8 teams Buffalo, Rogers, STMA. I have also heard Grace may be asked to leave.