There are several signs in Minnesota that fall has arrived. 

The State Fair's fireworks send my dogs into a panicked frenzy for 11 straight nights.

School buses begin to clog the residential streets around my house, moving like yellow dinosaurs while impatient Honda Civics buzz past their outstretched stop signs.

Target moves my preferred pen brands to the back of the store with glitter glue, composition books, and the rest of the school supplies.

My neighbor stops mowing his lawn at 7:04 A.M. 

And every year, hockey people feverishly hammer the refresh button on their browsers, hoping for a new set of names under the Shattuck-St. Mary's Athletics submenu and the Hockey Center of Excellence sub-submenu. 

Ahead of the 2025-2026 season, nine Minnesota youth hockey products have joined national powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary's and the Sabres' U14 team. Among those nine players are six forwards, two defensemen, and a goaltender. The number of players suiting up for the Sabres has nearly doubled from last season, when five Minnesotans meandered to the school that counts Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews as past players. 

Below are the nine players who will play for SSM this season, with brief bios on each. 

Renner Andersen 

As technically sound as a goalie in this age group can be, Andersen played last season for the Osseo-Maple Grove Bantam A team, continuing the trend of single-A Bantams finding their way to Faribault. Bo Skelton and Ben Sorensen, both of Minnetonka, made the jump to SSM from the Skippers' Bantam A squad. 

Andersen helped the Leafbirds to a record of 39-14-5 last season, and posted a save percentage of .900 or better in three of the team's five tournaments, according to GameSheet. 

Fun fact: the NHL goaltender that Andersen patterns his game after is Scott Wedgewood. 

Carter Crowley

Crowley helped Minnetonka's Peewee AA team to a 39-6 record en route to a state championship last season. Crowley scored a goal and assisted on six others to finish fourth among all skaters during the Skippers' run to the state title last March in Moorhead. 

Playing in Minnesota Hockey's Fall Tier I League, Crowley totaled 19 goals and 41 points, then added seven more points during a six-game run with the 13O Lakers at the USA Hockey National Tournament. 

Brayden Dean 

Months after Crowley's Skippers edged Dean's Osseo-Maple Grove Leafbirds in overtime of the Peewee AA state championship game, the two will join forces in Faribault. 

Dean led the Leafbirds in scoring during the state tournament with six points and was a primary catalyst for a squad that went 50-8-1 during the 2024-2025 season. At the beginning of last season, Dean earned Most Valuable Player honors at the Big Pumpkin Invitational, totaling 11 points for the champion Leafbirds. According to GameSheet, Dean totaled 93 goals and 157 points during the 2024-2025 season.

A three-sport athlete, Dean was named YHH's 2025 Wiz Wyatt Award winner. 

Jack Keiser 

The lone 2012-born player on this year's U14 Sabres roster, Keiser has been a known commodity for the last three seasons. Last year, Keiser helped Woodbury Peewee AA to a third-place finish at the state tournament, leading the Predators in scoring with four points in three games. 

This spring, Keiser finished second among all skaters with 20 points in eight games in the Kings of Spring U14 tournament. New SSM teammate Jackson Liao led all skaters in the event with 21 points. 

Owen Moulton 

A slippery skater and smooth puck handler, Moulton amassed 55 goals and 122 points in 58 games last season for Shakopee's Bantam AA team. The 122 points nearly double his total from the 2023-2024 season, in which Moulton scored 23 goals and recorded 73 points in 45 games for the Sabres' Bantam A team. During Minnesota Hockey Fall Tier I League play, Moulton led all skaters with 31 goals and 65 points in 23 games. 

To put a bow on the 2024-2025 season, Moulton led the 13O Lakers to the USA Hockey National Tournament, tying for third overall in scoring with seven goals and 12 points in six games. 

Blake Schmitt 

Listed at 6-foot-1, Schmitt should occupy the net-front presence role for the Sabres, using his frame to block opposing goaltenders and tip pucks. Schmitt played last season for the Shakopee Bantam AA's, racking up 34 goals and 60 points in 53 games for the Sabres. Like Moulton and fellow Sabre Joey Stewart, Schmitt played a key role on the Minnesota Lakers 13O team that made a run during this spring's national tournament. 

Rylen Schneider 

A fantastic skater with outstanding passing skills, Schneider carries on the peculiar tradition of quality golfers making their way to the SSM campus. Since 2020, three Sabres - Mikey Berchild, Ben Soresnon, and now, Schneider - have been named Champion Golfer of the Year by Heiberg Athletics (a hockey and golf training program based in the west metro). 

Schneider helped Edina to a record of 38-16-3 last season, and was a member of the Minnesota Lakers 13O team as well. 

Joey Stewart 

Rounding out the trio of Shakopee Sabres, Stewart joins Moulton and Schmitt in migrating an hour south on I-35. Like Moulton and Schmitt, Stewart performed well at the 13O National Tournament this spring and finished second behind Moulton in scoring for the Sabres last season, with 33 goals and 73 points. Stewart managed those totals even after missing around a dozen games last season due to injury. 

James Tucker 

The son of former Minnesota Golden Gopher basketball great and NBA player Trent Tucker makes his way to the Sabres from Eden Prairie's Bantam AA team. 

Tucker's defense helped the Eagles to a fourth-place finish at the Bantam AA State Tournament, and he was (yes, another one) a member of the 13O Minnesota Lakers.