Section 7A 2022-23
Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2022 12:17 pm
2022-23 Section 7A Preseason Preview
Hermantown has been the unquestioned king of Section 7A since moving back up North in 2014. The Hawks have won eight of the past nine section titles and last winter they made a mockery of the Section 7A Playoffs when they rolled through the sectional outscoring their 7A foes 30-0 in the process. The Hawks did get hard by early departures but they still are the unquestioned favorite in this section. There are a few 7A teams that believe they are catching up to the pace that Hermantown has set and are confident they could be the ones to finally knock the Hawks off their 7A high horse. However, if previous seasons are any indication it would take a true “Miracle on Ice” moment for that to occur.
Section 7A Preseason Poll (10 teams)
1- Hermantown
2- Hibbing
3- Rock Ridge
4- Duluth Denfeld
5- Proctor
6- Greenway
7- International Falls
8- North Shore
9- Ely
10- Moose Lake
#1 Hermantown- The Hawks were hit hard by graduation and an unusually high early departure list (Zam & Max Plante and Ty Hanson) this year's group will still be very strong as they look to defend their 7A title. Their strength starts in the net as returning Junior goaltender Dane Callaway will provide an area of strength in the net that has been the Achilles heel of past Hermantown teams. Seniors George Peterson & Nolan Baker and Junior Will Esterbrooks return on the blueline to lead a very solid defensive attack. Up front they will have firepower as they are led by a nice trio in Seniors Kade Kohanski, Wyatt Carlson & Matthew Kauppinen along with emerging superstar Junior Dallas Vieau. Also, don't forget the batch of AA Bantams ready to step in led by Super Sophomore River Freeman ready to contribute immediately. Hermantown will be a mighty mountain to conquer for the rest of 7A this winter as they look primed to defend their title.
#2 Hibbing- Keep an eye on Hibbing this winter and for the next few years in 7A as they appear to be a program regaining some momentum and restoring some tradition from its historic past. This year’s Bluejackets return a large Senior core led by Senior Goaltender Brayden Boyer who returns for what will be his third year in net. Up front Seniors Beau Frider, Peyton Taylor, Christian Dickson, Keeghan Fink, A.J. Lehman returns to lead a veteran group. Defensively, Senior Tristan Babich & Junior Christian Emonds return to create a veteran team that will have a ton of varsity experience under their belts. Add in that their A Bantams went to State last winter and this Hibbing program will be one to keep an eye on over the next few years as they will be on the rise in Section 7A.
#3 Rock Ridge- The Wolverines will be in the 2nd year of their co-opt and look to get off to a better start this season then last. I had high hopes for this team last season but they really never got it put together as a late season push ended in an early round upset. They do return leading scorers Seniors Dylan Hedley, Isaac Flatley & Ryan Mannien along with Juniors Kasey Lamppa & Brant Tiedeman all of whom will bring productivity and experience to the lineup. They will need to find some depth on the Blueline behind Junior Sam Troutwine and they will have some goaltenders to choose from with experience in the net. They also will draw from big numbers and should be a key contender in Section 7A.
#4 Duluth Denfeld- The Hunters were hit hard by graduation and lost many familiar faces that helped elevate the program to being a top 10 team and the main contender to the Hawks in 7A. All is not lost this year though as they do return a trio of Seniors Andy Larson, Kaden Postal & Whittaker Heart all who had double digit goals and over 20 points last winter. They will need to find depth and a new goalie but the Hunters have enough left to still be considered a contender in 7A.
#5 Proctor- The Rails had a really nice year last year winning 16 games last year and they do return 11 letter winners from that team. They will be led by Junior Carson Palowich who has double digit goals and over 20 points as a youngster from the point last winter and they could be dangerous as they return top 7A goaltender Junior AJ Reyelts who is coming off an elite league season this fall. The Rails will be pushing to be top 4 seed this winter in 7A.
#6 Greenway- The Raiders will return two of their top scorers and will rely on leadership from Seniors Aden Springer & Carter Cline who both had good junior seasons. They did lose some valuable pieces to graduation and they lost their goaltender but there are some youngsters coming in and Greenway should be very competitive with the middle of the pack in 7A again this winter.
#7 International Falls- The Broncos bring back a ton of experience as they return 14 letter winners including leading scorer Senior Colin Kostiuk who had over 30 points last year along with Seniors Braden Skifstad & Max Dremmel who each had 20 point seasons of their own. They also return a goaltender who shared time last season. There is enough talent and experience returning that this should be a solid Broncos team and will contend for top five seed as well in Section 7A.
#8 North Shore- The Storm will rely on a pair of Juniors to hopefully improve and be competitive this winter. Junior Jake Stadler had double digit goals and Junior goaltender Zach Bentler was the main starter in net they will need both to have big years for the storm to keep up with the rest in 7A.
#9 Ely- The Timberwolves return nearly everyone on the roster including double digit scorers Senior Kole Macho and Junior Drew Marolt which should help them improve on their win total and be more competitive this winter. They do have a question mark in the net which will need to be answered from them to move any higher in 7A.
#10 Moose Lake- The Rebels do return 14 letter winners and should be better than last season's 2 win team. They will rely on Senior Everett Gamst to play mega minutes again on the blue line and hope that a more experienced team will allow them to stay in more games this winter.
Hermantown has been the unquestioned king of Section 7A since moving back up North in 2014. The Hawks have won eight of the past nine section titles and last winter they made a mockery of the Section 7A Playoffs when they rolled through the sectional outscoring their 7A foes 30-0 in the process. The Hawks did get hard by early departures but they still are the unquestioned favorite in this section. There are a few 7A teams that believe they are catching up to the pace that Hermantown has set and are confident they could be the ones to finally knock the Hawks off their 7A high horse. However, if previous seasons are any indication it would take a true “Miracle on Ice” moment for that to occur.
Section 7A Preseason Poll (10 teams)
1- Hermantown
2- Hibbing
3- Rock Ridge
4- Duluth Denfeld
5- Proctor
6- Greenway
7- International Falls
8- North Shore
9- Ely
10- Moose Lake
#1 Hermantown- The Hawks were hit hard by graduation and an unusually high early departure list (Zam & Max Plante and Ty Hanson) this year's group will still be very strong as they look to defend their 7A title. Their strength starts in the net as returning Junior goaltender Dane Callaway will provide an area of strength in the net that has been the Achilles heel of past Hermantown teams. Seniors George Peterson & Nolan Baker and Junior Will Esterbrooks return on the blueline to lead a very solid defensive attack. Up front they will have firepower as they are led by a nice trio in Seniors Kade Kohanski, Wyatt Carlson & Matthew Kauppinen along with emerging superstar Junior Dallas Vieau. Also, don't forget the batch of AA Bantams ready to step in led by Super Sophomore River Freeman ready to contribute immediately. Hermantown will be a mighty mountain to conquer for the rest of 7A this winter as they look primed to defend their title.
#2 Hibbing- Keep an eye on Hibbing this winter and for the next few years in 7A as they appear to be a program regaining some momentum and restoring some tradition from its historic past. This year’s Bluejackets return a large Senior core led by Senior Goaltender Brayden Boyer who returns for what will be his third year in net. Up front Seniors Beau Frider, Peyton Taylor, Christian Dickson, Keeghan Fink, A.J. Lehman returns to lead a veteran group. Defensively, Senior Tristan Babich & Junior Christian Emonds return to create a veteran team that will have a ton of varsity experience under their belts. Add in that their A Bantams went to State last winter and this Hibbing program will be one to keep an eye on over the next few years as they will be on the rise in Section 7A.
#3 Rock Ridge- The Wolverines will be in the 2nd year of their co-opt and look to get off to a better start this season then last. I had high hopes for this team last season but they really never got it put together as a late season push ended in an early round upset. They do return leading scorers Seniors Dylan Hedley, Isaac Flatley & Ryan Mannien along with Juniors Kasey Lamppa & Brant Tiedeman all of whom will bring productivity and experience to the lineup. They will need to find some depth on the Blueline behind Junior Sam Troutwine and they will have some goaltenders to choose from with experience in the net. They also will draw from big numbers and should be a key contender in Section 7A.
#4 Duluth Denfeld- The Hunters were hit hard by graduation and lost many familiar faces that helped elevate the program to being a top 10 team and the main contender to the Hawks in 7A. All is not lost this year though as they do return a trio of Seniors Andy Larson, Kaden Postal & Whittaker Heart all who had double digit goals and over 20 points last winter. They will need to find depth and a new goalie but the Hunters have enough left to still be considered a contender in 7A.
#5 Proctor- The Rails had a really nice year last year winning 16 games last year and they do return 11 letter winners from that team. They will be led by Junior Carson Palowich who has double digit goals and over 20 points as a youngster from the point last winter and they could be dangerous as they return top 7A goaltender Junior AJ Reyelts who is coming off an elite league season this fall. The Rails will be pushing to be top 4 seed this winter in 7A.
#6 Greenway- The Raiders will return two of their top scorers and will rely on leadership from Seniors Aden Springer & Carter Cline who both had good junior seasons. They did lose some valuable pieces to graduation and they lost their goaltender but there are some youngsters coming in and Greenway should be very competitive with the middle of the pack in 7A again this winter.
#7 International Falls- The Broncos bring back a ton of experience as they return 14 letter winners including leading scorer Senior Colin Kostiuk who had over 30 points last year along with Seniors Braden Skifstad & Max Dremmel who each had 20 point seasons of their own. They also return a goaltender who shared time last season. There is enough talent and experience returning that this should be a solid Broncos team and will contend for top five seed as well in Section 7A.
#8 North Shore- The Storm will rely on a pair of Juniors to hopefully improve and be competitive this winter. Junior Jake Stadler had double digit goals and Junior goaltender Zach Bentler was the main starter in net they will need both to have big years for the storm to keep up with the rest in 7A.
#9 Ely- The Timberwolves return nearly everyone on the roster including double digit scorers Senior Kole Macho and Junior Drew Marolt which should help them improve on their win total and be more competitive this winter. They do have a question mark in the net which will need to be answered from them to move any higher in 7A.
#10 Moose Lake- The Rebels do return 14 letter winners and should be better than last season's 2 win team. They will rely on Senior Everett Gamst to play mega minutes again on the blue line and hope that a more experienced team will allow them to stay in more games this winter.
