White Bear Lake 

2016-2017 Record: 14-8-4

After tripping over Tartan 1-0 in the first round of the Section 4AA playoffs, the Bears have had more time than most teams on this list to hash out what happened. 
Fortunately, 16 players return from a team that showed a great deal of promise last season, including one of the highest-scoring forward trios in the state. 

Senior Chase Hamstad (15-27-42) leads the three-headed monster for White Bear Lake, with fellow seniors Max Jennrich (21-15-36) and Austin Carroll (9-23-32) balancing the Bears’ scoring attack.

Despite the optimism up front, questions remain on the Bears’ defensive side, with the replacement of two-year starting goaltender Bob Parenteau chief among them. 

Goaltender Tyler Steffens, forward Billy Rose and defenseman Owen Gallatin were standouts on last season’s Bantam AA state championship team, and should added depth immediately to the Bears’ lineup. Gallatin recently committed to Minnesota-Duluth.