Player: Hagen Burrows
Team: Minnetonka
Year: Senior
College commitment: Denver 

Now in his third season with the Minnetonka varsity program after a standout year with the Skippers’ Bantam AA team, Burrows is a primary distributor for arguably one of the most talented boys’ high school hockey teams in recent memory.

The Denver commit has 18 goals and 52 points this season, his second 50-point campaign in as many years with the Skippers.

Before the high school season, Burrows averaged nearly a point per game with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers and was ranked No. 64 among North American skaters according to NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings.

Player: Javon Moore
Team: Minnetonka
Year: Senior
College commitment: Minnesota 

The second Skipper to make this year’s list of finalists along with Burrows, Moore has blossomed into one of the top players in North America over the last calendar year. Like Burrows, Moore is in the midst of his third season with the Minnetonka varsity and has set career highs in goals (20) and points (45). He is also on pace to set a career-high in assists, currently sitting one point behind his previous high of 26.

For his career, Moore has 47 goals and 118 points. He was ranked No. 47 among North American skaters according to NHL Central Scouting and is committed to Minnesota. The USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede is likely Moore’s next stop after the high school season.. 

Player: Jackson Nevers
Team: Edina
Year: Senior
College commitment: Minnesota 

A relentless force at both ends of the ice, Nevers is the second hockey player in his family to be counted among the state’s finalists for an elite award. Older brother Mason was a finalist for Mr. Hockey in 2019.

Over his four years in the Edina varsity lineup, Nevers has grown from a hard-charging rookie to a seasoned veteran, and is currently in second stint as captain of the Hornets. His total of 40 points this season (14 goals, 26 assists) matches his career-high from the 2022-2023 campaign, and he surpassed 100 career points earlier this season.

Nevers is committed to Minnesota. His junior hockey rights are currently with the Waterloo Black Hawks.

Player: Carson Pilgrim
Team: Warroad
Year: Senior
College commitment: UND 

Could Pilgrim become the second player from the hockey hotbed of Warroad to earn the state’s coveted Youth Hockey Hub Player of the Year Award?

Former linemate Jayson Shaugabay has moved on to the junior ranks after last season’s assault on the rest of Class A, where the pair burned out scoreboard lights en route to a 52-goal, 92-point season for Pilgrim. Pilgrim has 25 goals and 51 points this year and has taken on a more prominent leadership role after Shaugabay’s departure.

Like the great ones, Pilgrim has a knack for showing up in big moments and is on the cusp of surpassing the 100-goal mark for his career in the next few games. 

According to NHL Central Scouting, Pilgrim is committed to North Dakota and was ranked No. 137 among North American skaters.

Player: Nolan Roed
Team: White Bear Lake
Year: Senior
College commitment: St. Cloud 

Dad Peter and older brother Lleyton may have the upper hand on Nolan for the moment - being a No. 38 overall NHL Draft selection and an imminent coveted college free agent tend to do that - but Nolan has blazed his own trail this season.

Roed’s puck skills and ability to find open ice are obvious hallmarks of his game, and those traits have helped him score 23 goals and add 20 assists this season for the Bears. Throughout his career with the White Bear Lake varsity, Roed has totaled 66 goals and 138 points, an average of 1.82 points per game.

Central Scouting has the St. Cloud State commit Roed pegged at No. 142 among North American skaters.

Player: Gavin Uhlenkamp
Team: Chanhassen
Year: Senior
College commitment: Wisconsin

It’s been four years since Uhlenkamp took the ice for the Chanhassen varsity, and in those four seasons, both the program and the player have grown to new heights.

The Stormhawks finished 8-11 in Uhlenkamp’s first season, with Uhlenkamp himself registering three goals and 12 points as a freshman. Since then, the Stormhawks have become one of the state’s top hockey programs, albeit stuck in Section 2AA with juggernaut Minnetonka, and Uhlenkamp has morphed into a poised, puck-dangling maestro who seems to find the teammate nobody’s covering on offense.

Uhlenkamp has set career-highs in goals, assists, and points this season, scoring 18 times to go along with 30 helpers. Uhlenkamp is one assist away from 80 for his career and is committed to Wisconsin.

Player: Noah Urness
Team: Roseau
Year: Senior
College commitment: St. Cloud

The second northern skater to make the list of finalists is Urness, the heart and soul, blood and guts of this season’s Roseau squad.

After a solid but unspectacular freshman season with six goals and 18 points, Urness exploded as a sophomore for 59 points, then entered the stratosphere with 45 goals and 41 assists as a junior. To date, Urness has the best career numbers of any player on this list, totaling 114 goals and 239 points in 100 games played.

The 5-foot-10 Urness is just as comfortable on the penalty kill as he is scoring goals, and off the ice, he is as polished as a high school senior can be. He is committed to St. Cloud State.