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Who's the defenseman to watch this year? I've watched many HS and Elite games this year, Nick Leddy and Nate Schmidt have impressed me the most. Leddy seems to be the complete package. He's one of the best skaters I've seen (forwards and defensmen), with great vision, has the ability to go coast to coast, good size, plays great in the D end. Schmidt doesn't seem to have as much skating/vision, but he's still gets the job done offensively, and has great D skills. Your thoughts? What other D's am I missing, if any?

HSpuckguy wrote:Who's the defenseman to watch this year? I've watched many HS and Elite games this year, Nick Leddy and Nate Schmidt have impressed me the most. Leddy seems to be the complete package. He's one of the best skaters I've seen (forwards and defensmen), with great vision, has the ability to go coast to coast, good size, plays great in the D end. Schmidt doesn't seem to have as much skating/vision, but he's still gets the job done offensively, and has great D skills. Your thoughts? What other D's am I missing, if any?

Gee you named 2...yep that's about it.

Those 2 are both outstanding players but let's look beyond what most here already know.

Unless Schmidt's baseball passion keeps him grounded, I have to believe he will be headed for Fargo next year. What more does the kid have to prove at Cathedral. He'll have school records that few kids will be able to challenge ............. ever.

From what I have read, there appears to be a bunch of whackos in Eden Prairieville. What drives that?

I am a traditional type hockey person. Love to see the kids stay in high school. Leddy is the best D in the state. Should the kid have moved on to NTDP, Des Moines or Major Junior (I believe his rights are owned by Spokane)? From what I have read, probably.

Not the best...but Tony Larson from Blaine and Brett Stern from Centennial are D that will get some looks this year

Neutron can correct me if I'm wrong, but Aaron Ness was the best junior I saw all last year. Fantastic and I bet he'll be even better as a senior. Can't wait to see him bring his show back to St. Paul.

Sparlimb wrote:Neutron can correct me if I'm wrong, but Aaron Ness was the best junior I saw all last year. Fantastic and I bet he'll be even better as a senior. Can't wait to see him bring his show back to St. Paul.

Good one

Sparlimb wrote:Neutron can correct me if I'm wrong, but Aaron Ness was the best junior I saw all last year. Fantastic and I bet he'll be even better as a senior. Can't wait to see him bring his show back to St. Paul.

The Final Five is played in St. Paul. That's a valid point.

But he is a freshman.

Goldy Gopher wrote:

Sparlimb wrote:Neutron can correct me if I'm wrong, but Aaron Ness was the best junior I saw all last year. Fantastic and I bet he'll be even better as a senior. Can't wait to see him bring his show back to St. Paul.

The Final Five is played in St. Paul. That's a valid point.

Who needs to wait until the Final Five! He'll be there on Saturday. I just can't remember who the Rams are playing?

LetsPlayHockey22 wrote:Not the best...but Tony Larson from Blaine and Brett Stern from Centennial are D that will get some looks this year

If paired, Brett Stern and Joe Schmitz could very well be the best pairing in the state this season. Joe is rated a "B" prospect by Central Scouting.

I look for Kyle Kleinendorst (#18) to have a breakout season much like Joe Stejskal did his Junior year. If so this kid could be top 10 in the state from the blueline.

GR has a lot of good defensemen many don't know about. Ironically I start with Sam Rendle, very talented, but not really under the radar unless you don't watch state tourney's. Zach Dick will make a contribution as will Austin Merrit. GR should have 2 very good sets of D to work with and a decent 5th D man.

FREDFLINTSTONE wrote:But he is a freshman.

But plays much older.

Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

elliott70 wrote:Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

Good for Bemidji standards but compared to the rest of the state there average at best

elliott70 wrote:Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

Were the Elite League players? If so, how did they do?

downwithcloquet wrote:

elliott70 wrote:Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

Good for Bemidji standards but compared to the rest of the state there average at best

I will go old school on you, isn't Gary Sargeant a D product from Bemidji?

There is a good D playing for the Dallas Stars that came from a small town in Minnesota.

breakout wrote:

elliott70 wrote:Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

Were the Elite League players? If so, how did they do?

They did not participate.

downwithcloquet wrote:

elliott70 wrote:Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

Good for Bemidji standards but compared to the rest of the state there average at best

They are both juniors but bring experience and a lot of training into the year with them.

Making no claim on best in the state for varsity or junior class. But they will help make Bemidji a strong contender in Section 8.

breakout wrote:

downwithcloquet wrote:

elliott70 wrote:Matt Heitela and Joe Welle in Bemidji will be strong.

Good for Bemidji standards but compared to the rest of the state there average at best

I will go old school on you, isn't Gary Sargeant a D product from Bemidji?

There is a good D playing for the Dallas Stars that came from a small town in Minnesota.

Virginia isn't Bemidji and did Gary play for them in the last 3 years. Ya things change over time

Breakout...I agree that Schmidt will probably be headed for Fargo. Although I would like to see HS kids stay in school, especially now that they can play all year round against good talent with the HS League and Elite league.

From what I understand at EP, there's a few things that happened; 1) Lee Smith isn't a great coach, he doesn't play his good players the way they should be played, and he likes to play 4 lines (I'm not a big fan of 4 lines, but could handle it, if they had four lines), and 2) their are some whacko parents that I believe are misguiding their kids. From what I can tell, the 4 fairly talented kids that left the EP program (Rush, Thompson, Rogge, Clark), either aren't playing much, and/or aren't lighting it up. Good news is the cancer is gone.

Like you, I'm a traditionalist and I think Leddy made the right choice to stay in EP. He's playing at such a high level, I'm not sure going to NTDP, Des Moines, or Spokane would boost his scouting opportunities.

The Exiled One wrote:

LetsPlayHockey22 wrote:Not the best...but Tony Larson from Blaine and Brett Stern from Centennial are D that will get some looks this year

If paired, Brett Stern and Joe Schmitz could very well be the best pairing in the state this season. Joe is rated a "B" prospect by Central Scouting.

Check the list again, Joe is not on it. They made some mistakes on the first list they put out. Joe is a very solid player none the less.

Brenden Baker is one of the most talented defensemen in the state. When it comes to playing in his own zone he very very rarley makes a mistake. He is the most solid defensemen in the state when it comes to playing defensively.

ehshockey wrote:Brenden Baker is one of the most talented defensemen in the state. When it comes to playing in his own zone he very very rarley makes a mistake. He is the most solid defensemen in the state when it comes to playing defensively.

Agreed, obviously he didn't receive the spotlight last year playing alongside Joe Gleason but was very solid all year.

Ryan Weston and Michael Koenig from Roseau will be solid.