MHM 2018 Oct-digital

YOUTH HOCKEY
YOUTH HOCKEY HUB:
RINK VISION
YOUTH HOCKEY HUB BREAKS DOWN THE TEAMS AND PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018-19
YOUTH HOCKEY HUB
STARS OF THE NORTH
Teams to watch
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Hermantown Squirt A
Rarely does a team at the Squirt level enter a
season with proven talent that has competed on
an international stage. This year, the Hawks will
feature two of those talents, with Brick Invitational
standouts Victor Plante and A.J. Francisco. With
Plante powering the Hawks’ attack and Francisco
taking care of the back end, the Hawks will be a
strong-skating team that can move the puck.
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Woodbury Peewee AA
Yes, the defending Peewee AA state champions
lose offensive firepower as players make the jump
to the Bantam level. Yes, the Predators lose one
member of the one-two goaltending punch in
Bantam Elite League Minor Division netminder Jack
Hodgins. Doesn’t matter.
The Predators return one of the deepest
defensive cores in the state, anchored by last year’s
starting tandem Tanner Henricks and Will Skahan.
Joining Henricks and Skahan this season will be
defender Logan Hensler, rock-solid goaltender
Andrew Lane, and speedy forward Lucas Mann.
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Stillwater 12UA
The team that went 39-0-1 two years ago as
a 10UA is still intact, and with the growing year
out of the way, the Ponies are primed for another
dominant season. The 12UB Ponies won the state
title last season with a record of 40-4-2. Leading
scorer Brooke Nelson played her way into 12UB
State Tournament Most Valuable Player honors,
while Josie St. Martin led the Girls Major Division at
this year’s Peewee Challenge with four goals and
eight total points.
Players to Watch
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Max Plante, Hermantown Peewee AA
Teamed with his brother (and Youth Hockey
Hub Wiz Wyatt Award-Winner) Zam, Plante lit up
opposing defenses last season for the state runnerup
Hawks. In the summer of 2017, playing against
the best Squirt Major competition on the continent,
Plante led the North American Hockey Showcase in
scoring with 13 goals and 27 points for the United
States runner-up Great Plains squad.
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Alexa Niccum, Orono-Westonka 12UA
The Maple Plain native tallied five goals in this
year’s Peewee Challenge, cementing herself as
one of the top skaters in the state for the 12UA age
group. Niccum’s performance was good enough to
lead the Girls Minor Division in both goals and total
points, despite playing in just four of five possible
games.
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Gavin McNeil, Apple Valley/Burnsville Squirt A
Another North American Hockey Showcase
standout, McNeil finished second in overall scoring
at this summer’s version of The Show. McNeil, who’s
skating and nose for the net allows him to routinely
lead three-on-three tournaments in scoring, totaled
10 goals and 18 points for Great Plains last June.
Highlighting McNeil’s play in The Show was a threegoal,
seven-point performance in a 10-2 win over
Team North America.
Joey Pierce, Hermantown
Legends grow more rapidly in the northland, especially when it comes to
hockey. Pierce is a curious case, a defenseman who played a season of varsity
hockey for Ely as an eighth-grader before moving to Hermantown and playing
for the Hawks’ Bantam AA team, keeping with the Hawks’ tradition of having
ninth-graders play Bantams as opposed to varsity hockey right away. As an
eighth-grader skating for the Timberwolves, Pierce finished second on the team
in scoring with 14 goals and 34 points. As a member of a State Tournament
participant Bantam AA squad, Pierce impressed again with his athleticism and
strength on the blue line.
Genevieve Hendrickson, Warroad
On a team that returns an incredible amount of scoring, the sophomore
forward could be the crowned jewel of the Warriors.
As a freshman, Hendrickson led the state in assists during the regular season
with 49 and added another five helpers as the Warriors took second at the Class
A State Tournament, adding to her sparkling resume that included 13 assists and
17 points as an eighth-grader.
With career totals of 67 assists and 87 points, Hendrickson should eclipse the
career 100-point mark very early in the 2018-2019 season.
Cameron Lantz, Greenway
As a defenseman, Lantz’s seven goals and 22 points are modest totals. But
when one of your seven goals forces overtime against longtime Section 7A rival
Hermantown in the section finals, you’ve etched yourself in Minnesota High
School hockey lore - at least until you help your team past that final hurdle at
Amsoil Arena. Lantz scored with one second remaining in regulation during last
year’s Section 7A final for the Raiders, sending the crowd (and press box) into
a frenzied celebration heavy on wide-eyes and what-the-hell-did-we-just-see
expressions. Lanz and the Raiders appear primed for another deep postseason
run, returning several key pieces from last season’s team.
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