Through January 27, the Prior Lake boys' hockey team was 10-9, largely seen as an underachieving squad with talented players who just couldn't put it all together.
The Lakers would right the ship after that date, winning five of their last six regular-season contests. The roll continued in the postseason, as the Lakers battled to victories over Holy Family Catholic, No. 1 seed Eden Prairie, and then Chaska in the Section 2AA finals.
Then the fun began.
Already the team's leading scorer by a wide margin, Alex Bump set the world on fire with a five-goal, six-point performance in the Lakers' 6-0 upset of the Class AA State Tournament's No. 2 seed Cretin-Derham Hall. Chaos ensued, as Bump rocketed into Twitter's "trending topics" and shook hands with the legend himself, John Mayasich.
His state tournament numbers aside (Bump finished with seven goals as the Lakers took fourth place), Bump racked up 48 goals and 83 total points in his senior season, with 12 of those goals coming in the Section and State Tournament playoffs.
Also a finalist for the Mr. Hockey Award, Bump has verbally committed to Vermont for his post-prep career.
Prior Lake's Alex Bump netted 12 goals during the Lakers' surprise postseason run to the Class AA State Tournament.
Zam Plante, Hermantown
Player | Year | High School | College Commitment |
---|---|---|---|
Alex Bump | Senior | Prior Lake | Vermont |
Ben Dardis | Senior | Mahtomedi | Uncommitted |
Zam Plante | Junior | Hermantown | Minnesota Duluth |
Sam Rinzel | Junior | Chaska | Minnesota |
Max Strand | Senior | Roseau | Vermont |
Max Strand, Roseau
Two-time winner Casey Mittelstadt in 2017
Year | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
2016 | Casey Mittelstadt | Eden Prairie |
2017 | Casey Mittelstadt | Eden Prairie |
2018 | Sammy Walker | Edina |
2019 | Bryce Brodzinski | Blaine |
2020 | Matt Gleason | Cretin-Derham Hall |
2021 | Kyle Kukkonen | Maple Grove |