Section 8A 23-24
Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 5:07 pm
2023-24 Section 8A Preseason Preview
Section 8A, as it has been well noted, has routinely been dominated by the Big Three as since its beginning 30 years ago the Section 8A Champion has either been Warroad, East Grand Forks, or Thief River Falls. Heck for all the attention the 7A to 7AA team opt ups got this past offseason people forget that after 4 failed attempts back in (94,95,96,97) to make it out of 8A even the mighty Roseau Rams got fed up with it and decided it would be better off going through 8AA. This winter looks to be more of the same as both the Warriors and Green Wave look to have outstanding squads that should be Top 5 teams all winter. The Prowlers based on coaching, history and what they bring back should be much improved. Meanwhile, Detroit Lakes will continue their fight to break up the grip the Big Three have had on 8A titles for the last 30 years. Red Lake Falls & Park Rapids look to be best of the rest and many the state will be eyeing the matchup between the top two teams in the section as either one if they were to get through will be a serious threat to win all of Class A.
Section 8A Preseason Poll (10 Teams)
1- East Grand Forks
2- Warroad
3- Thief River Falls
4- Detroit Lakes
5- Red Lake Falls
6- Park Rapids
7- Crookston
8- Lake of the Woods
9- Kittson County Central
10- Bagley/Fosston
1- East Grand Forks- This year’s Senior and Junior class for East Grand Forks won back to back Bantam A State Titles and after two years of having to be second best up in Northwest Minnesota the Greenwave appear ready to breakthrough and be back to State as they have what looks like a very exciting and good team this winter. However, one big potential setback may have happened this offseason as the question of if Senior Brock Schultz will be back is a big one as he is a game changer that this lineup has relied on to score its goals over the years. They will return Seniors Landon Jamieson, Jace Fore, Chase Moe and underclassman Junior Jace Van Eps & Sophomore Cooper Hills who will all be looked upon to build on their double digit point seasons from last winter. They also bring back their top two defenders in Senior Grady Magner & Junior Cole Bies and add in that they will return goaltender Senior Chase Mero who was the starter in net. East Side also brings back outstanding depth and will be bringing in a very good crew of AA Bantams and this is the beginning of a serious run of dominance that we should see from this program for years to come.
2- Warroad- To say it's been a tough offseason in Warroad would be an understatement as the hockey community was hit hard by the tragic passings of two of its own who were very valued members of this tight knit community. The Warriors will be playing with plenty of emotion this winter and will have a very good team for people to rally around. They will be led up front by two of the state’s top forwards in Seniors Carson Pilgrim & Murray Marvin-Cordes who along with emerging Junior Taven James should prove to be another dominant top line for the state to fear. Defensively they will return a lot of experience as they will have Seniors Ryan Lund & Will Hardwick and promising big Sophomore Broden Hontvet back, all of whom saw big minutes last year to build a good D-core around again. They will have a big question to answer in the net and as always with their depth. However, look for Juniors Smiley Hennum & Draydin Johnson from the JV to step in along with a solid group of A Bantams coming in with youngsters Ryan Shaugabay, Sam Hard & Mason Reed ready to help answer those questions and the Warriors shou;d have one more good run before the Greenwave start to really take control of the Northwest.
3- Thief River Falls- The Prowlers are coming off a very disappointing year last winter. However, they have plenty of reason for optimism and should be much improved this year. They played a very young lineup last year and they return 12 of their top 13 scorers from last year and this roster is loaded with toughness and experience. Thief River Falls will have a strong trio to lean on of Seniors in Max Arlt, Braydin Lund up front & Defender Jace Erickson back all who had over 20 points last winter. They also return their starting goaltender Senior Connor Roff who is coming off having a very good fall Elite League. Looking at what the Prowlers have coming back it should give Coach Bergland more than enough to build another contender around and look for a big bounce back year from Thief River Falls this season.
4- Detroit Lakes- The Lakers will look to continue to build their program and challenge the Big Three in 8A but they were hit hard by graduation this offseason. Detroit Lakes does return Senior Cole Deraney, Junior Easton Wahl & dynamite Sophomore Easton Kennedy up front at forward all of whom put up double digits points last winter. They will look for Sophomores Carter Whitworth & Will Cymbaluk to step in to help add to scoring efforts this winter. They also return talented defenseman duo of Juniors Jace Field & Tommy Suckert on the blueline both who had 20 plus points from the backend season and add in Senior Dalton Songstad ,who is transferring in from Moorhead, and the Lakers should have a solid D core. This looks like a solid core for Coach Noah to continue to build around as they build up their program.
5- Red Lake Falls- Eagles should have another fun team to follow this winter as they will be scoring goals in bunches. Up front they return their leading scorer Junior Gavin Girdler is back with 40 plus goals last year along with Senior Blake Breiland who had 20 plus goals of his own last season. They have defender Senior Brock Seeger back with nearly 40 points of his own and add in the return of Senior Ashtin Fredrickson in net who split time as the starting goalie last winter and Red Lake Falls should have the pieces to build another explosive team around.
6- Park Rapids- The Panthers should be a very experienced hockey team this winter and they return a large senior class including 12 of their top 13 leading scorers from a year ago. Up front Seniors Jeron Pinoniemi, Joshua Hillukka, Parker Vinge all had 20 plus points last winter and they also return Junior Kale Ravnaas who was the team’s third leading goal scorer. On Defense Seniors Conner Hanson & Braden Stewart are back with double digit points and their starting goalie is back as Senior Sawyer Torkelson returns with two years of experience in the net. This is a team to keep an eye on as they will look to rack up a bunch of wins.
7- Crookston- The Pirates will look to improve on an up and down season as they did finish last winter on a strong note before falling to Park Rapids in the sections in overtime. They do return their second and third leading scorers from last winter in Senior Carter Trudeau & Junior Ryan Street and they will look to build a new core around those two. They also will be counting on the return of defenseman Junior Riley Benson, who missed last year with an injury, and the development of Sophomore Tate Hamre as they could both provide a spark from the backend. They will need someone to step up in net as well as they graduated the starter from a year ago.
8- Lake of the Woods- The Bears should be in for a much better season this winter after taking their lumps last season. They return a very good scoring duo in Seniors Randy Wood & Jordan Kvernen who both had over 40 points last winter. They will need to see growth in net as goaltending was a struggle last year but they return both starters who are a year older and more experienced and this should be an improved hockey club up the Canadian border.
9- Kittson County Central - The Bobcats graduated their all star forward in Mr Hockey Finalist Tyler Hennen and this will be a big rebuilding year. KCC does bring back youngsters 9th Grader Eli Muir & Sophomore Gavin Johnson who were the team’s 4th and 5th leading scorers from a year ago. They will also rely heavily on returning starting goalie Junior Jameson Turner as they look to find a new way to compete after the loss of their top end scoring.
10- Bagely/Fosston- The Flyers are in store for a huge rebuilding year after having one of the best seasons in school history last winter. Gone are the 8 leading scorers, the starting goalie, and Head Coach from that team. They will look to build around Senior Connor Nelson who is the teams leading returning scorer with 8 points and It will be a year to gain experience and try to get a bunch of new faces adjusted to varsity hockey.
Section 8A, as it has been well noted, has routinely been dominated by the Big Three as since its beginning 30 years ago the Section 8A Champion has either been Warroad, East Grand Forks, or Thief River Falls. Heck for all the attention the 7A to 7AA team opt ups got this past offseason people forget that after 4 failed attempts back in (94,95,96,97) to make it out of 8A even the mighty Roseau Rams got fed up with it and decided it would be better off going through 8AA. This winter looks to be more of the same as both the Warriors and Green Wave look to have outstanding squads that should be Top 5 teams all winter. The Prowlers based on coaching, history and what they bring back should be much improved. Meanwhile, Detroit Lakes will continue their fight to break up the grip the Big Three have had on 8A titles for the last 30 years. Red Lake Falls & Park Rapids look to be best of the rest and many the state will be eyeing the matchup between the top two teams in the section as either one if they were to get through will be a serious threat to win all of Class A.
Section 8A Preseason Poll (10 Teams)
1- East Grand Forks
2- Warroad
3- Thief River Falls
4- Detroit Lakes
5- Red Lake Falls
6- Park Rapids
7- Crookston
8- Lake of the Woods
9- Kittson County Central
10- Bagley/Fosston
1- East Grand Forks- This year’s Senior and Junior class for East Grand Forks won back to back Bantam A State Titles and after two years of having to be second best up in Northwest Minnesota the Greenwave appear ready to breakthrough and be back to State as they have what looks like a very exciting and good team this winter. However, one big potential setback may have happened this offseason as the question of if Senior Brock Schultz will be back is a big one as he is a game changer that this lineup has relied on to score its goals over the years. They will return Seniors Landon Jamieson, Jace Fore, Chase Moe and underclassman Junior Jace Van Eps & Sophomore Cooper Hills who will all be looked upon to build on their double digit point seasons from last winter. They also bring back their top two defenders in Senior Grady Magner & Junior Cole Bies and add in that they will return goaltender Senior Chase Mero who was the starter in net. East Side also brings back outstanding depth and will be bringing in a very good crew of AA Bantams and this is the beginning of a serious run of dominance that we should see from this program for years to come.
2- Warroad- To say it's been a tough offseason in Warroad would be an understatement as the hockey community was hit hard by the tragic passings of two of its own who were very valued members of this tight knit community. The Warriors will be playing with plenty of emotion this winter and will have a very good team for people to rally around. They will be led up front by two of the state’s top forwards in Seniors Carson Pilgrim & Murray Marvin-Cordes who along with emerging Junior Taven James should prove to be another dominant top line for the state to fear. Defensively they will return a lot of experience as they will have Seniors Ryan Lund & Will Hardwick and promising big Sophomore Broden Hontvet back, all of whom saw big minutes last year to build a good D-core around again. They will have a big question to answer in the net and as always with their depth. However, look for Juniors Smiley Hennum & Draydin Johnson from the JV to step in along with a solid group of A Bantams coming in with youngsters Ryan Shaugabay, Sam Hard & Mason Reed ready to help answer those questions and the Warriors shou;d have one more good run before the Greenwave start to really take control of the Northwest.
3- Thief River Falls- The Prowlers are coming off a very disappointing year last winter. However, they have plenty of reason for optimism and should be much improved this year. They played a very young lineup last year and they return 12 of their top 13 scorers from last year and this roster is loaded with toughness and experience. Thief River Falls will have a strong trio to lean on of Seniors in Max Arlt, Braydin Lund up front & Defender Jace Erickson back all who had over 20 points last winter. They also return their starting goaltender Senior Connor Roff who is coming off having a very good fall Elite League. Looking at what the Prowlers have coming back it should give Coach Bergland more than enough to build another contender around and look for a big bounce back year from Thief River Falls this season.
4- Detroit Lakes- The Lakers will look to continue to build their program and challenge the Big Three in 8A but they were hit hard by graduation this offseason. Detroit Lakes does return Senior Cole Deraney, Junior Easton Wahl & dynamite Sophomore Easton Kennedy up front at forward all of whom put up double digits points last winter. They will look for Sophomores Carter Whitworth & Will Cymbaluk to step in to help add to scoring efforts this winter. They also return talented defenseman duo of Juniors Jace Field & Tommy Suckert on the blueline both who had 20 plus points from the backend season and add in Senior Dalton Songstad ,who is transferring in from Moorhead, and the Lakers should have a solid D core. This looks like a solid core for Coach Noah to continue to build around as they build up their program.
5- Red Lake Falls- Eagles should have another fun team to follow this winter as they will be scoring goals in bunches. Up front they return their leading scorer Junior Gavin Girdler is back with 40 plus goals last year along with Senior Blake Breiland who had 20 plus goals of his own last season. They have defender Senior Brock Seeger back with nearly 40 points of his own and add in the return of Senior Ashtin Fredrickson in net who split time as the starting goalie last winter and Red Lake Falls should have the pieces to build another explosive team around.
6- Park Rapids- The Panthers should be a very experienced hockey team this winter and they return a large senior class including 12 of their top 13 leading scorers from a year ago. Up front Seniors Jeron Pinoniemi, Joshua Hillukka, Parker Vinge all had 20 plus points last winter and they also return Junior Kale Ravnaas who was the team’s third leading goal scorer. On Defense Seniors Conner Hanson & Braden Stewart are back with double digit points and their starting goalie is back as Senior Sawyer Torkelson returns with two years of experience in the net. This is a team to keep an eye on as they will look to rack up a bunch of wins.
7- Crookston- The Pirates will look to improve on an up and down season as they did finish last winter on a strong note before falling to Park Rapids in the sections in overtime. They do return their second and third leading scorers from last winter in Senior Carter Trudeau & Junior Ryan Street and they will look to build a new core around those two. They also will be counting on the return of defenseman Junior Riley Benson, who missed last year with an injury, and the development of Sophomore Tate Hamre as they could both provide a spark from the backend. They will need someone to step up in net as well as they graduated the starter from a year ago.
8- Lake of the Woods- The Bears should be in for a much better season this winter after taking their lumps last season. They return a very good scoring duo in Seniors Randy Wood & Jordan Kvernen who both had over 40 points last winter. They will need to see growth in net as goaltending was a struggle last year but they return both starters who are a year older and more experienced and this should be an improved hockey club up the Canadian border.
9- Kittson County Central - The Bobcats graduated their all star forward in Mr Hockey Finalist Tyler Hennen and this will be a big rebuilding year. KCC does bring back youngsters 9th Grader Eli Muir & Sophomore Gavin Johnson who were the team’s 4th and 5th leading scorers from a year ago. They will also rely heavily on returning starting goalie Junior Jameson Turner as they look to find a new way to compete after the loss of their top end scoring.
10- Bagely/Fosston- The Flyers are in store for a huge rebuilding year after having one of the best seasons in school history last winter. Gone are the 8 leading scorers, the starting goalie, and Head Coach from that team. They will look to build around Senior Connor Nelson who is the teams leading returning scorer with 8 points and It will be a year to gain experience and try to get a bunch of new faces adjusted to varsity hockey.
