For the past four years YHH has chosen a Bantam Player of the year. The rules, unlike the Wiz Wyatt award, are simple...who was the best player we saw. Who had the biggest impact when they hit the ice.

There were a lot of great teams that produced multiple choices from one team. White Bear Lake had Cam Berg, Owen Gallatin and Billy Rose. Their District 2 rival Stillwater had Noah Tussey and Charlie Strobel. So many great teams and so many great players, it was difficult to choose five this year. 

At the completion of our award ceremony later in the Spring, YHH will announce its top 50 Bantams.

Player: Jake Braccini
Team: Buffalo
Position: Forward
Birth Year: 2001
Grade: 9th
Parents: Bryan and Teresa

Every year at some level there is a player who most haven't heard of and they burst onto the scene. I call them "texploders"  because after this player beats their team with a big game, my text messages explode.

This year's texploder is Jake Braccini from Buffalo. Jake was a beast at the end of last season in Region playoffs in St. Cloud and again in the Bantam Elite League last Summer. So it came as no surprise that he was having a big year. Lined up with his twin brother Tyler, the Bison ran roughshod over the entire state beating countless top teams all year long. 

Jake had a tremendous year and is very deserving of this award - one scout who was in Moorhead to see the Bison beat Andover, Moorhead and Grand Forks told YHH, "he's a highlight reel kinda player...it seemed every time he hit the ice something spectacular happened." 

Player: Owen Gallatin
Team: White Bear Lake
Position: Defense
Birth Year: 2002
Grade: 8th
Parents: Dan and Tonya

I first saw Owen Gallatin play in the Summer of 2012. He was an ultra confident defender from Forest Lake. You know, the type of guy who dangerously dangles on the blue-line with little to no back-side help - something all Squirts should be trying by the way.  He saw the ice really well for a defenseman his age and was very elusive when he got it. The only thing difference five years later, Gallatin now plays for the Bantam East Region champion White Bear Lake Bears.

The Bears had a great run this year, winning their home preview tourney in October, the Eden Prairie tournament in November and the Moose Goheen in late January. What makes him different from other skilled defenders is his knowledge of when to push the pace and when not to. 

As players mature like Gallatin, it is fun to watch them take their skill and apply it to help their team win, versus just scoring goals for the stat sheet.

Player: Jackson Kunz
Team: Grand Forks Aviators
Position: Forward
Birth Year: 2002
Grade: 8th
Parents: Josh and Angela

It's absurd to think that a player from North Dakota could win the Bantam Player of the Year award, an award with a trophy given to player that is literally shaped in the state of Minnesota. But leaving Jackson Kunz off of this list would be even more absurd. He played more than half of his games against Minnesota teams and was the catalyst for the Aviators winning the Edina and Grand Rapids' tournaments and taking second in the Blue Ox and Eden Prairie. 

An eighth grade phenom who has both size and skill to overwhelm opposing defenders had 14 points in 15 games as an under-ager in the MN Bantam Elite League. The Aviators won the North Dakota state title earlier this month and ended the MN regular season as the highest ranked team in our NOW Rankings. 

Player: Zach Michaelis
Team: Elk River
Position: Forward
Birth Year: 2002
Grade: 9th
Parents: Scott and Lynne

We watched a lot of Bantam hockey this year...from October to March, we took in hundreds of games. One thing you could count on every time Zach Micahaelis took the ice was energy and production on every shift. One of the fastest players, coupled with a great compete-level makes Michaelis dangerous every time he hits the ice.

Four years ago, Zach was a Wiz Wyatt finalist as a Squirt - at times he could take over games in district 10. This year, on a bigger stage he was even more impressive than his Squirt days - he was more than just a scorer, he was a complete 200 foot type player.

Player: Noah Tussey
Team: Stillwater
Position: Forward
Birth Year: 2002
Grade: 8th
Parents: David and Laura

Stillwater hockey has had a great season at both the youth boys and girls and high school boys.  Besides their U10A team that dominated play all year, their Bantam AA team was almost as dominant. Losing nine times in 62 games is an impressive accomplishment. 

One of their top players is Noah Tussey. Tussey has all the tools to play at the next level, including speed, balance and and a deception with the puck that hard to defend. Over the course of the 60+ game stretch Tussey went over 100 points, but most important he and his teammates qualified for the state tournament and keep alive the hope of being the first Stillwater boys team to be crowned state champion.

A task not too tall for Tussey and his team as they head to Marshall on their quest this weekend.