Bantam AA 

Dean Stevens + Colton Nash, Minnetonka 

A person could assume that Stevens and Nash are on today’s list of top performers based on their offensive output, but that person would be wrong, because I am not even going to mention goals or assists here. 

Multiple times in the Skippers’ win over Woodbury in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal win, Stevens and Nash worked themselves to exhaustion by doing all the little things hockey fans have come to love from third-line grinders - they backchecked, they cleared pucks, they supported their defenders in the defensive zone. 

One instance that stands out: watching Dean Stevens skate as hard as he could to the bench for a shift change. Too often, players seem to amble to the bench the way an old man with gout shuffles around a golf course on a hot summer day. Stevens’ willingness to empty the tank for something as simple as a line change is commendable. 

The duo combining for four goals in Minnetonka's 8-1 semifinal win over East Grand Forks doesn't hurt either. 

Parker Goerlitz, Woodbury 

As time wound down in the Predators’ loss to Minnetonka, the telltale signs of a team out of gas (and hope) began to show. Shoulders slump. Passes get picked off. Players hold water bottles but don’t actually drink from them. 

Not Goerlitz. 

After scoring a highlight-reel goal in the third period to stop a running clock and make the score 6-2 in favor of Minnetonka, Goerlitz drew a penalty moments later after forcing his way into the Skipper zone and being hauled down. 

Rocco Paine, Duluth East 

I’ve said it in front of microphones, my parents, and my dogs, but hockey in Minnesota is better when Duluth East is good. It just is. 

Paine earned Player of the Game honors in the Hounds’ consolation win over Rogers, scoring two goals and playing a heavy game as a forward the way a good Hound should. Paine is one of four captains on the Duluth East Bantam AA team - Paine, Aris Shervey, Isaac Licari, and Sam Brandenburg - and all four players seem to carry themselves as if they are well aware of what that letter means. 

Furthermore, they understand what it means to wear that letter as a Hound.  

Carson Lee, West Fargo 

Lee started his tournament run with a 29-save performance in a 6-2 loss to Andover, but has rebounded nicely with 26 saves in Friday night’s 4-1 win over Farmington and a 16-save shutout on Saturday in a 6-0 victory over Buffalo. 

Let’s face it - nobody likes being in the consolation bracket. But for Lee to lock in and post the numbers that he has (2.33 GAA and a .910 SV%) even after falling into that side of the tourney indicates a double-dose of grit. 

Avery Cantleberry, Bismarck 

Another goaltender from the Flickertail State rounds out our five Bantam AA players for Saturday. Like West Fargo’s Carson Lee, Cantleberry’s Capitals aren’t exactly where they wanted to be, in the consolation bracket after being trounced 8-0 by Woodbury. 

But Cantleberry’s 24 saves (including two in a shootout) during Friday morning’s win over Hermantown and his 23 saves in a 4-2 victory over Mahtomedi prove that Bismarck can hang with some of Minnesota’s best. Those experiences should pay massive dividends down the road.

Bantam A 

Sam Arden, Minnetonka 

It feels almost unfair to choose a pre-tournament “Player to Watch” as a top performer, but Arden dictates everything from the blueline. His physicality, puck movement, and positioning are all top-tier, and he would likely be on a Bantam AA squad at a good deal of smaller or shallower associations. 

Be that as it may, Arden is a clear leader of his Bantam A Skippers, and his play in the team’s semifinal win over Woodbury could be used as a fundamentals training video for young defensemen. 

Lincoln Wahlstrand, White Bear Lake 

Not the biggest player on the ice, but Wahlstrand’s compete level never tapered as the Bears eked out a win over Stillwater to earn a championship date with Minnetonka. 

Wahlstrand’s goal best illustrates the assessment. He caught a puck in the slot but couldn’t get a shot off, with a Pony defender playing him tough in front of the net. Undeterred, Wahlstrand buried his second chance, a pure effort play that tied the game at 2-2 late in the second in the eventual 4-2 victory. 

Brody Suda + Luke Heidt + Wyatt Schrank, North Stars 

Since a tournament-opening 5-0 loss to Minnetonka, the trio has been on a tear for the Grafton-based North Stars. Suda, Heidt, and Schrank have combined for 11 of the team’s 12 goals and have totaled eight assists. Of the 11 goals, only two have been unassisted, with each wheel of the tricycle chipping in on nine tallies. 

Callan Kranz, Woodbury 

Despite losing a heartbreaker 6-5 against Minnetonka in Saturday night’s semifinal, Kranz’s hustle and effort were on full display. The defenseman scored his first goal of the tournament, and also earned an assist on a play where he sprinted the length of the ice and got off a shot that turned into a perfect rebound.