Player: Shane LaVelle
League: Bantam Elite
Team: Bruins (9 goals, 5 assists)
Previous Team: Chaska Chan Bantam AA
Future Team: Chaska HS
Scouts Say: "Makes plays with his feet and his hands...stands out on every shift."

In April of 2013, Eden Prairie Bantam Casey Mittelstadt was not chosen to the District 6 Reebok High Performance HP team for the 1998 birth year players. It was shocking to many hockey insiders, the first year Bantam recorded over 60 points in 40 games as a first year skater for the Eagles. Since that fateful day, Mittelstadt has been a wrecking ball through the Minnesota hockey scene. Winning Bantam Player of the year in 2014 and High School Player of the year in 2016. During his interview last March after being named POTY, Mittelstadt proudly admitted being cut was a good thing for him and served as one of his motivations moving forward.

Last Spring, another top first year Bantam, Shane LaVelle faced a similar fate. After a strong Bantam season, LaVelle was left off the District 6 team in favor of more mature and bigger named players from bigger named programs. From there, LaVelle went to work. Putting in extra time on and off the ice with his skating, stick handling and shot. "Not making the D6 team in the HP process was big motivation to me to just keep focused on working harder and getting better each day," said LaVelle, "one thing I have improved upon is my stick handling and shooting. I have focused on this in my daily training...it has really helped me make better plays."

Fast forward to August in the Bantam Elite League, LaVelle had a goal and two assists in his first game and eight points in four games. The points were only a part of the story, his speed, energy and hands told the rest.

In his first eight games of the Bantam Elite League, LaVelle has caught the eye of several division one teams and USHL scouts notching 14 points in seven games played. "Playing with the best Bantam players in the state is a good fit for my game because of the speed and physical style that many of the players play makes for great competition," said the future Chaska Hawk. "So many of the players can make plays which really makes the teamwork here so much fun."

Asked about the pressure of playing in front of so many scouts, "I love to play even if there was no one in the stands," said LaVelle. "My goals are to be the best I can be at my current level, so I can get to the next level. So yes, I know playing well in front of scouts will help me achieve these goals...having scouts in the rink makes the intensity of the games pretty high."

Over the past three years, Shane attended Breakaway Academy in Chaska where he helped hone his skills. "Shane put in the time here at Breakaway to develop his skills..his hard work is really starting to pay off," said Director of Hockey at Breakaway Andy Brink. "Shane was really fun to coach and train the last three years here at the school."