Mr. Hockey...Is it unofficially decided too early?

[sherwood]

Just looking for some opinions on what credentials should go into making the decision of Mr. Hockey?

Do you think Casey Middlestadt was (unofficially) decided too early to be a slam dunk Mr. Hockey winner this year? I personally think they don't put enough stalk into player's actual senior season of hockey. Should it be based more off their career of hockey or how they perform in their last season of high school hockey?. I think guys like Ben Meyers (Delano), Ryan Sandelin (Hermantown) and Micah Miller (Grand Rapids) are being left in the dust because of this shoe in people created for Middlestadt being Mr. Hockey before the season even began. Don't get me wrong, Casey is an amazing player. But so is Ben Meyers. Granted they both play in different classes, the several times I have watched Meyers he has proven to be a fair contender of Mr. Hockey with Middlestadt based on talent alone. What does everyone think?

[alcloseshaver]

CM won it the day he decided to return fo his senior year. Also best player on best team with the toughest schedule. Delano nice little A team.

[InYourFace09]

Just looking for some opinions on what credentials should go into making the decision of Mr. Hockey?

Do you think Casey Middlestadt was (unofficially) decided too early to be a slam dunk Mr. Hockey winner this year? I personally think they don't put enough stalk into player's actual senior season of hockey. Should it be based more off their career of hockey or how they perform in their last season of high school hockey?. I think guys like Ben Meyers (Delano), Ryan Sandelin (Hermantown) and Micah Miller (Grand Rapids) are being left in the dust because of this shoe in people created for Middlestadt being Mr. Hockey before the season even began. Don't get me wrong, Casey is an amazing player. But so is Ben Meyers. Granted they both play in different classes, the several times I have watched Meyers he has proven to be a fair contender of Mr. Hockey with Middlestadt based on talent alone. What does everyone think?

Sorry Ben's Meyer's fan club, but dont see your name on the Central Scouting rankings. Having a great year, but not on same level as CM.

[yesiplayedhockey]

Quote

The Mr. Hockey Award is given to the outstanding Sr. HS hockey player in Minnesota; selected by a panel of NHL & college scouts & selected media.

This topic should be locked. We all know who will win this.

[green4]

I mean, I recognize Casey will win, but I agree. I think it's dumb it's decided before the season based on who is projected to be drafted highest practically. Casey is a great player, but he is on pace for 53 points in the regular season, which is less than what he had his junior year, and frankly is kind of low for a senior forward, especially one who is a top 10 pick arguably and a guy who led the ushl in points before coming back. I'm open to more discussion

[sherwood]

Wow didn't mean to get everyone worked up simple topic I threw out there for debate! Sounds like its more so based on how big your name is and how big of a school you play at. They should start naming the Mr. Hockey winner before the season starts since it has nothing to do with the players performance through out the year!

[Clarkkent]

He's a first round draft pick in the NHL how do you think voters will vote? Not even a topic.

[sherwood]

Totally agree with you Green4 I think it should be earned through out the year. Casey is a very special talent and will probably make it to the NHL and and have a great career! The 6/7 times I watched him play this year he hasn't pulled me out of my seat a ton. Now maybe he is conserving energy for a deep play-off run because he was lights out in the post season last year!

[yesiplayedhockey]

All I am saying is based on the definition giving to us by the people handing out the award it's an obvious call

Now if someone wants to give out another award for the most points or most goals in one season then knock yourself out.

Remember last year many "experts" thought CM should win it only to learn it's an award handed out to seniors only

I hope you will at least agree, trying to put up 3,4,5 points game when you're playing Edina, Minnetonka and Wayzata every night is just a little tougher then playing against Hutchinson, Waconia and Litchfield.

Bottom line is the people picking the winner are NHL and College scouts and I'm guessing they know more than we do what makes a Mr. Hockey

[@hockeytweet]

CM = Mr Hockey.

End of discussion. No one has his talent, and when you come back as a senior - that impresses the old school coaches and scouts.

As far as points being lower, consider that he has spent a month playing with 2 sophomores, in order to strengthen and deepen the EP lineup. On the HUB when you look at the points the second line is getting, it has worked. Convincing a star player to sacrifice some stats for the team is a lost art. Kudos to Smith.

Last point: the schedule. If you toss out Hopkins, that is arguably the toughest schedule. And every game, who do you think the opposing coach is trying to shutdown with his best D pair? Mittelstadt.

Every year there is pretty good debate about best player versus player with the best stat line. Not this year...

[elliott70]

CM also has the fact that he will be a Gopher going for him.

[yesiplayedhockey]

Being a gopher commit probably won't hurt but it's been since what? 2012 since a Mr. Hockey winner has gone to U of MN?

Not sure if that's a slam on the U or the fact that kids are committing to colleges now when they're still using an intermediate stick

[GoldyGopher]

CM = Mr Hockey.

End of discussion. No one has his talent, and when you come back as a senior - that impresses the old school coaches and scouts.

As far as points being lower, consider that he has spent a month playing with 2 sophomores, in order to strengthen and deepen the EP lineup. On the HUB when you look at the points the second line is getting, it has worked. Convincing a star player to sacrifice some stats for the team is a lost art. Kudos to Smith.

Last point: the schedule. If you toss out Hopkins, that is arguably the toughest schedule. And every game, who do you think the opposing coach is trying to shutdown with his best D pair? Mittelstadt.

Every year there is pretty good debate about best player versus player with the best stat line. Not this year...

Nailed it.

[InYourFace09]

Totally agree with you Green4 I think it should be earned through out the year. Casey is a very special talent and will probably make it to the NHL and and have a great career! The 6/7 times I watched him play this year he hasn't pulled me out of my seat a ton. Now maybe he is conserving energy for a deep play-off run because he was lights out in the post season last year!

I cant believe Jared Festler or Ben Hanowski didn't win when they put up over 100 pts their Senior seasons. Just a travesty.....

[GoldyGopher]

I will say the point total compared to the last 5 looks like it is going to be way down from where it has been. Not to say he is better or worse than the others that have won, but it's interesting to think about.

Tufte - 78 Points (47 G 31 A)
Jaremko - 68 Points (22 G 46 A)
Peterson - 65 Points (35 G 30 A)
Besse - 76 Points (48 G 28 A)
Kloos - 81 Points (34 G 47 A)

Mittelstadt - (18 games played) 38 Points (13 G 25 A)

[green4]

I will say the point total compared to the last 5 looks like it is going to be way down from where it has been. Not to say he is better or worse than the others that have won, but it's interesting to think about.

Tufte - 78 Points (47 G 31 A)
Jaremko - 68 Points (22 G 46 A)
Peterson - 65 Points (35 G 30 A)
Besse - 76 Points (48 G 28 A)
Kloos - 81 Points (34 G 47 A)

Mittelstadt - (18 games played) 38 Points (13 G 25 A)

That is all I am saying, I think Casey is the best player, but I don't have an issue with talking about Meyers as a guy that could win also. The point total is way down, and we are all saying how great he is, and I know points aren't everything but a little surprising with all the hype.
Don't give me playing with the 2 sophomores garbage, one of them is a gopher commit already. Th narrative changes a bit when you say a top 10 NHL pick playing with another D1 commit on his line.
They have a tough schedule but so does every team in the lake conference so that does not impressive me at all. It's not like it has been wall to wall great teams, they opened the season with CDH, Farmington, Jefferson and Benilde. So if you want to talk tough schedule take out those 4 games, toss out Hopkins and now look at his stats. 24 points in 13 games, the same point per game average as his sophomore year. That's also including a 4 point game against struggling Wayzata.

So yeah, he is great, but for someone who probably won the award before the season, it has not been that convincing to me.

[yesiplayedhockey]

I could be wrong (and someone please correct me if I am) but I think CM NHL draft status has actually improved as the season has gone on.

So guys a heck of a lot smarter then us must have seen something throughout the year other than just scoring goals that they really really like.

Great topic though..

[InYourFace09]

I will say the point total compared to the last 5 looks like it is going to be way down from where it has been. Not to say he is better or worse than the others that have won, but it's interesting to think about.

Tufte - 78 Points (47 G 31 A)
Jaremko - 68 Points (22 G 46 A)
Peterson - 65 Points (35 G 30 A)
Besse - 76 Points (48 G 28 A)
Kloos - 81 Points (34 G 47 A)

Mittelstadt - (18 games played) 38 Points (13 G 25 A)

That is all I am saying, I think Casey is the best player, but I don't have an issue with talking about Meyers as a guy that could win also. The point total is way down, and we are all saying how great he is, and I know points aren't everything but a little surprising with all the hype.
Don't give me playing with the 2 sophomores garbage, one of them is a gopher commit already. Th narrative changes a bit when you say a top 10 NHL pick playing with another D1 commit on his line.
They have a tough schedule but so does every team in the lake conference so that does not impressive me at all. It's not like it has been wall to wall great teams, they opened the season with CDH, Farmington, Jefferson and Benilde. So if you want to talk tough schedule take out those 4 games, toss out Hopkins and now look at his stats. 24 points in 13 games, the same point per game average as his sophomore year. That's also including a 4 point game against struggling Wayzata.

So yeah, he is great, but for someone who probably won the award before the season, it has not been that convincing to me.

The struggling Wayzata that just tied Hill Murray? Looks like he is still leading the lake in points, granted not by as much as everyone was expecting.

[GoldyGopher]

Totally agree with you Green4 I think it should be earned through out the year. Casey is a very special talent and will probably make it to the NHL and and have a great career! The 6/7 times I watched him play this year he hasn't pulled me out of my seat a ton. Now maybe he is conserving energy for a deep play-off run because he was lights out in the post season last year!

I've only seen him play once this year against Centennial at the Schwan cup, but I had a similar feeling as you. He was on the last leg of a 3 games in 3 days deal so there is plenty to be said about that.

Personally I still don't think he has any competition for Mr. Hockey, he's on another level than others being mentioned.

[green4]

I will say the point total compared to the last 5 looks like it is going to be way down from where it has been. Not to say he is better or worse than the others that have won, but it's interesting to think about.

Tufte - 78 Points (47 G 31 A)
Jaremko - 68 Points (22 G 46 A)
Peterson - 65 Points (35 G 30 A)
Besse - 76 Points (48 G 28 A)
Kloos - 81 Points (34 G 47 A)

Mittelstadt - (18 games played) 38 Points (13 G 25 A)

That is all I am saying, I think Casey is the best player, but I don't have an issue with talking about Meyers as a guy that could win also. The point total is way down, and we are all saying how great he is, and I know points aren't everything but a little surprising with all the hype.
Don't give me playing with the 2 sophomores garbage, one of them is a gopher commit already. Th narrative changes a bit when you say a top 10 NHL pick playing with another D1 commit on his line.
They have a tough schedule but so does every team in the lake conference so that does not impressive me at all. It's not like it has been wall to wall great teams, they opened the season with CDH, Farmington, Jefferson and Benilde. So if you want to talk tough schedule take out those 4 games, toss out Hopkins and now look at his stats. 24 points in 13 games, the same point per game average as his sophomore year. That's also including a 4 point game against struggling Wayzata.

So yeah, he is great, but for someone who probably won the award before the season, it has not been that convincing to me.

The struggling Wayzata that just tied Hill Murray? Looks like he is still leading the lake in points, granted not by as much as everyone was expecting.

Yeah, that's exactly the team I'm talking about. I don't consider one tie against a team they have comparable talent to, a reason to say they are not struggling.

[sherwood]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Love the discussion. I am just wondering how many of you have seen Ben Meyers 3+ times this year? I've watched him several and feel confident his talent is in comparison to Middlestatd. You're right, the unfortunate part is that he has a lot weaker schedule than EP. It's unfortunate this goes against him because I truly believe if he were on a Lake Conference team it'd be "Benny's show". I urge that if you haven't seen this guy play a few times go watch him (Holy Family coming up) and you might change your opinion or not be so set on CM. As I have stated above the times I've watched CM this year, I hate to admit it, but he hasn't just blown me away as I predicted he would via the pre-season hype. Also, just a FYI to the guy who said CM got split up from his normal line which is resulting his points being slow to add up...BM also got split up from his top line to deepen his team. Still puttin up points tho!...

[InYourFace09]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Love the discussion. I am just wondering how many of you have seen Ben Meyers 3+ times this year? I've watched him several and feel confident his talent is in comparison to Middlestatd. You're right, the unfortunate part is that he has a lot weaker schedule than EP. It's unfortunate this goes against him because I truly believe if he were on a Lake Conference team it'd be "Benny's show". I urge that if you haven't seen this guy play a few times go watch him (Holy Family coming up) and you might change your opinion or not be so set on CM. As I have stated above the times I've watched CM this year, I hate to admit it, but he hasn't just blown me away as I predicted he would via the pre-season hype. Also, just a FYI to the guy who said CM got split up from his normal line which is resulting his points being slow to add up...BM also got split up from his top line to deepen his team. Still puttin up points tho!...

And that's why you are not ranking players for a living, CM is #5 in North America while Ben Meyers didn't crack the list. Im sure Ben is a fine young player himself, but there is a difference between Casey and anyone else in High School.

Hopefully they put on a better show than the 10-1 defeat last time to Holy Family. If anyone needs to rack up some points, just add your name to the 2nd assist column on a couple goals and that can get the stat sheet stuffed real quickly

Not to mention, Casey was leading the USHL in scoring when he left, has to say something about playing over 30 min each game for EP. He can go 100% all the time in Jrs, not so much with EP and having to log a lot of ice.

[GoldyGopher]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Love the discussion. I am just wondering how many of you have seen Ben Meyers 3+ times this year? I've watched him several and feel confident his talent is in comparison to Middlestatd. You're right, the unfortunate part is that he has a lot weaker schedule than EP. It's unfortunate this goes against him because I truly believe if he were on a Lake Conference team it'd be "Benny's show". I urge that if you haven't seen this guy play a few times go watch him (Holy Family coming up) and you might change your opinion or not be so set on CM. As I have stated above the times I've watched CM this year, I hate to admit it, but he hasn't just blown me away as I predicted he would via the pre-season hype. Also, just a FYI to the guy who said CM got split up from his normal line which is resulting his points being slow to add up...BM also got split up from his top line to deepen his team. Still puttin up points tho!...

CM also isn't getting 3-4 goals a game against teams like Chanhassen, Minneapolis, Roseville and Westonka.

[WarmUpTheBus]

Totally agree with you Green4 I think it should be earned through out the year. Casey is a very special talent and will probably make it to the NHL and and have a great career! The 6/7 times I watched him play this year he hasn't pulled me out of my seat a ton. Now maybe he is conserving energy for a deep play-off run because he was lights out in the post season last year!

I've only seen him play once this year against Centennial at the Schwan cup, but I had a similar feeling as you. He was on the last leg of a 3 games in 3 days deal so there is plenty to be said about that.

Personally I still don't think he has any competition for Mr. Hockey, he's on another level than others being mentioned.

I watched him last night for the first time since the beginning of the season.
He drew extra attention from Tonka every time he was on the ice. He was unselfish to a fault, backchecked like a mad man, won almost every faceoff cleanly and had a shorthanded goal and an assist. I haven't seen every top player in the state but I believe he is the clear favorite.

[Goldy Gopher]

Totally agree with you Green4 I think it should be earned through out the year. Casey is a very special talent and will probably make it to the NHL and and have a great career! The 6/7 times I watched him play this year he hasn't pulled me out of my seat a ton. Now maybe he is conserving energy for a deep play-off run because he was lights out in the post season last year!

I cant believe Jared Festler or Ben Hanowski didn't win when they put up over 100 pts their Senior seasons. Just a travesty.....