Player: Layla Hemp
Team: Minnetonka
Year: Senior
College commitment: Minnesota

Layla Hemp is one of the top netminders in the entire country. The Minnetonka senior has been to four straight state tournaments with the Skippers and has also represented Team USA on the international stage at the U18 Women’s World Championships. 

Hemp was on the roster for Minnetonka’s varsity team as just a freshman, but her career really started to take off during her sophomore season. Since that time, Hemp has been the backbone of a Skippers team that has consistently been a top squad in the state. She is in the midst of her best year yet as a senior by allowing, on average, less than one goal a game and having over a .950 save percentage. 

The University of Minnesota commit has competed with Team USA twice over the past few years, earning a bronze medal in 2023 and a gold medal as the starting goaltender on the roster in 2024. Hemp and the Skippers will look to return to the state tournament in 2025 as the No. 1 team in the Class AA rankings.

Player: Mackenzie Jones
Team: Andover
Year: Senior
College commitment: Wisconsin 

Jones is the sole defender up for YHH’s GHS Player of the Year award in 2024-2025 and the only athlete this season who is a repeat nominee for the title. 

The senior captain of the Huskies has had quite a decorated career at Andover over the past four seasons, considering that she has made it to the state tournament in each and every one of her years on varsity so far. As a freshman, she helped propel the team to a perfect 30-0 record and a Class AA state title.

In her sophomore season, Andover was the Class AA runner-up to Gentry Academy. Jones then led the Huskies in goals (18), assists (29) and total points (47) as a junior and returned to the state tournament. Now in her senior season, Andover sits as the No. 1-seed in Section 7AA and looks to return to the Xcel Energy Center yet again in 2025. 

Over her four years at Andover, Jones racked up more than 125 points in just over 115 career games played as a defender. She’ll be taking her talents to the University of Wisconsin in the fall. 

Player: Teagan Kulenkamp
Team: Centennial/Spring Lake Park
Year: Senior
College commitment: St. Thomas 

Teagan Kulenkamp has helped Centennial/Spring Lake Park become a top team in Class AA in her final season of high school hockey. The Cougars currently boast a 24-2 overall record and the senior forward leads the squad in assists (38) and total points (64) in 2024-25 and is tied for the team lead in goals (26). 

Throughout her four-year varsity career, Kulenkamp has acquired over 135 points in just over 110 contests. During that time, she led Centennial/Spring Lake Park to the Class 5AA section finals in both 2022 and 2024 and an eventual state tournament appearance in 2023 during her junior season. 

Kulenkamp has the most points out of all the YHH GHS Player of the Year finalists (64), the most game-winning goals (8), and is scoring the most points-per game (2.64). Kulenkamp is committed to play Division I hockey at the University of St. Thomas. 

Player: Zoe Lopez
Team: Orono
Year: Senior
College commitment: Minnesota State

Out of all the YHH GHS Player of the Year finalists, Zoe Lopez is the most prolific goal-scorer of the bunch. The senior forward has 31 goals so far in 2024-25 and 48 (and counting) total points for the No. 2-ranked team in Class A. 

Lopez made the jump up to the Orono varsity squad as just an eighth grader and has since then registered over 200 total points. In her first season with the Spartans, the team was just an overtime loss away from a state tournament appearance. Since then, Orono has made three-straight trips to the Class A state tournament and has picked up two third-place finishes (2022 and 2024) and one runner-up finish to Warroad (2023). 

In the coming weeks, Lopez will look to break her personal season high of the 53 points she scored during her freshman season as she currently sits at 48 in the midst of section competition while the Spartans hope to earn a bid back to state with plans to try and win the school’s first-ever title in girls hockey. Lopez is committed to play at Minnesota State this fall. 

Player: Sophie Stramel
Team: Rosemount
Year: Senior
College commitment: Minnesota State

Rosemount’s Sophie Stramel leads the Irish both on and off the ice. The senior captain is currently in her fifth season of varsity hockey and just recently hit the 200 career point mark in just over 130 career contests. 

Stramel joined the high school team as an eighth grader and immediately made an impact by posting over a point-per game that season. As a freshman, the Irish made it all the way to Section 3AA championship match and Stramel earned 55 points that year and led the squad in assists (38). Later on, the forward helped push the Irish to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024 as just the 2-seed and 4-seed in their section.

The Minnesota State commit excels on the powerplay, where she has the most power-play points this season (18) out of all the YHH GHS Player of the Year finalists. She also has the most penalty minutes (38) as well to round out her strong, gritty style of play. The Irish now have the 1-seed in Section 3AA in 2025 and will look to return to the Xcel Energy Center for its third-straight state tournament appearance.