In the NHL 2013 draft only one Shattuck-St. Mary’s player, goalie Anthony Brodeur (5’10” 177lbs), was taken in the first seven rounds.  He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils.  Brodeur played in 117 games for the Sabres over the last four years posting an 88-16-3 record while giving up an average of two goals a game.  Brodeur had a save percentage of over 90% playing Tier I AAA hockey from Bantam to midgets in his four years at Shattuck.  His Sabre teams made the USA National championship game twice in those four years winning once.   Brodeur’s home is Essex Fells NJ, not quite a stone’s throw from Manhattan.

Unfortunately, in the past few years, Shattuck could not keep their players.  A number of Shattuck players moved on after spending a year or so at Shattuck.  They showed up again in this year’s NHL draft. In moving, the players passed the credit to other programs.

So we nod good-by to Shattuck until next year and say hello to the new honoree, Bloomington.  The 2013 NHL draft should awaken memories of parents whose teams played in the Bloomington Midwest Regional Hockey tourney at BIG between Christmas 2007 and New Year’s Eve.

Ian McCoshen (6’2” 205lbs) was drafted first in the second round by Florida.  McCoshen played youth hockey for the Wisconsin Fire, played at Shattuck for a year, and played three years for the Waterloo Black Hawks scoring 70 pts (19 goals) as a defenseman.  He played his first season for the Black Hawks as a 15 year old.  Two years before joining Waterloo, he played for the Fire’s bantam team in the 2007 Bloomington tourney.  McCoshen is from Hudson WI.

One of McCoshen’s Fire teammates was Taylor Cammaratta (5’7” 156lbs).  Cammaratta played for Shattuck’s U16 team in 2010-2011 and was drafted in May 2011 by the Waterloo Blackhawks shortly before turning 16.  He rejoined McCoshen at Waterloo and was selected by the New York Islanders with their #15 pick in the third round (#76 overall).  Cammaratta played youth hockey for the Wisconsin Fire, but did not play at the 2007 Bloomington tourney.

Another Minnesota connected player drafted in the first seven rounds was Gage Ausmus (6’0” 211lbs) defenseman.  Ausmus has played the last two years for the USA U18 team.  He was elected by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round with the Sharks’ #30 pick (#151 overall) and he did not play in the Bloomington tourney.

Hudson Fasching (6’1” 213lbs) did play in the Bloomington tourney.  He was drafted this year by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round with the #27 pick (#118 overall).  Fasching played hockey for Apple Valley as a peewee (2007-2008) and as a bantam (2008-2009).  He played two years for the Eagles Varsity playing in the Class AA state tourney as a freshman.  Fasching spent the last two years in Ann Arbor MI playing for the U18 team as part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

Six Minnesota high school players were taken in the first seven rounds this year.  The highest drafted Minnesota High School player was Connor Hurley (6’1” 172lbs).  Buffalo used their #8 pick in the second round (#38 overall) to pick Hurley.  Hurley was the fourth player taken by Buffalo in this year’s draft.  Hurley played youth hockey in the Eagan Association, spent a year at Shattuck playing on the Sabre’s bantam Tier I team (scoring 59 pts) and spent the last two years leading Edina High School team in scoring with 91 points (total) and 37 goals.  The Hornets won the Class AA title last March.

Thomas Vannelli (6’2″ 165lbs) was selected by the St. Louis Blues with their #17 pick in the second round (#47 overall).  Vannelli played youth hockey for Chaska.  Vannelli, a defense man, for Minnetonka’s varsity team for the past two year appeared in 55 games scoring 60 pts (17 goals).

Both Vannelli and Hurley played in the Bloomington tourney in 2007.
Two Minnesota High School players were selected in the fifth round, Teemu Kivihalme (5’11” 161lbs) and Grant Beese (5’9” 177lbs).  Kivihalme was selected #19 (#140 overall) and Beese was selected #26 (# 147 overall).  Kivihalme amassed 73 points (20 goals) playing defense for the Blaze for the last three years.  He will be a senior next year.  The Blaze skipped the Bloomington tourney in 2007.

Beese’s feat of five goals in Benilde-St. Magaret’s 5-1 win over Hill-Murray in the 2012 Class AA State Championship game will become one of those much talked about hockey stories over the years.  Beese played youth hockey for Wayzata and after one year playing bantam A for the Trojans, Beese joined the Benilde varsity.  In four seasons and 100 regular season games, Beese scored 238 pts (108 goals).

The fifth player, Grand Rapids high schooler, Avery Peterson (6’2” 194lbs), will be a senior next year for the Thunderhawks.  Peterson was selected #16 in the sixth round by the Wild.  He led Grand Rapids in scoring the past two years scoring 122 (44 goals) in three seasons of play.  His Grand Rapids peewee team did not play at Bloomington.

The sixth selectee from Minnesota High Schools in the first seven rounds was Jacob Jackson (5’11” 182lbs) from Tartan High School.  He was selected with the San Jose Sharks’ #20 pick in the seventh round (#201 overall) and was a surprise to most fans, but not Tartan fans.  He has lead the Titans in scoring for the past three years posting 124 pts (68 goals) in three seasons.  He is a senior next year.  His selection should hearten young hockey players.  It simply says if you can play hockey, the scouts will find you.  But Jackson’s selection may have been a surprise to most but not at YHH.

It was his selection that triggered Bloomington Jefferson/Kennedy getting the honors.  YHH attended the 2007 tourney to see two players, a peewee player named Hudson Fasching and a Fire Bantam A player named Ian McCoshan, only to end up watching Fasching and Jackson play each other in pool play; Apple Valley won.  But the Tartan team stood out.

Eagan and Connor Hurley were there but were beaten out by Jefferson led by Mario Bianchi (now a Minnesota Magician in the NAHL).  Chaska led by Tommy Vannelli stormed through their pool beating Minnetonka to set up a show down between Vannelli’s Chaska team and Fasching’s Apple Valley team.  Chaska won a come from behind overtime victory to take the peewee A championship that year.

For the fans who attended, now you know.  In 2007 you were watching five future NHL draftees in that tourney.  That is why Jefferson and Kennedy get the honors this year.  But it does not end there.  YHH suspects there will be some 2014 draftees next year who played in that tourney.

Who knows, maybe Bloomington will repeat.