A few years ago, YHH staff began naming the top peewee A players of the season just after the state tourneys ended.  The lists were modest in length, but last year we expanded the list to the top 50 peewee A players in the state.

At that time, we were able to see a high percentage of the association teams playing peewee A hockey.  This year, with the peewee A level split into AA/A the number of teams playing “A” level have increased from a 102 teams to 122 teams.

Minnesota Hockey does not distinguish AA teams from A teams during the regular season.  This list does not either.  Of the 122 AA/A level teams, all the teams from D2 (peewee A league), D3 (peewee A league), Districts 4/5 (peewee A Gold and Silver), District 6 (peewee AA and A leagues), District 8 (peewee A league), District 9 (peewee A league except for Winona), and District 10 (peewee AA and A leagues) were watched at least once.  Most were watched 2 to 3 times.  In District 11 peewee AA/A, Hermantown A, Denfeld A, and Duluth East A teams were missed.  In District 12, Eveleth-Mesabi East A, Hibbing AA and Greenway A were missed.  YHH watched Moorhead AA, Alexandria A, Little Falls A, and Brainerd AA/A in District 15; but missed Moorhead A, Northern Lakes, Park Rapids, and Fergus Falls.  Only Crookston A and Warroad A in District 16 was missed.

To those kids on those teams missed, YHH extends an apology.  To the kids whose teams we did watch, as YHH has said in the past, this evaluation is good for this month only.  Although YHH is proud to point out that past kids selected have done well (Grant Besse and Dan Labosky for example), they are not the only kids who had great high school seasons last year.  To the kids we did select, remember you are developing as a hockey player; the real chase for your hockey dreams will start in about one year.  Or so the NCAA scouts say.

Finally to all the kids playing hockey, YHH hopes it has been fun year for you.  It can be hard at times to get out of bed early on a Saturday and go “to hockey” or to crawl into bed after a late evening game, but if it is fun for you, then it becomes an easier and easier thing to do.

The Top 50 list is broken down into five posts to be released over the coming week or so.  The first four posts will list 12 or 13 players each.  The fifth post will be YHH top peewee AA/A player of the year.

1. #21 Jack Lagerstorm/Edina AA-No team can have an unbeaten season without stability in some players on their team.  The Edina AA team went unbeaten this season and Jack gave his team that stability.  Jack is a bigger player with good physical strength, a nice quick shot, and the ability to move an opponent off the puck and turn the flow of the game.  He played solid at defense and forward, scored or assisted on goals when needed, and played a “heady” game.

2. #17 Justin Paschke/MAML AA-Better known this year as the “kid with the white gloves”, Justin is just an all-around hockey player.  He has a knack for scoring, he can set up a teammate on a rush, he plays defense consistently back checking from his center/forward position.  He saw the ice every other shift for most of the season for the short bench Moose team and often ended up playing against their opponent’s best.  Playing against the other teams best, he managed to exceed the century mark in scoring in 37 games.
3. #11 Brad Amundson/St. Cloud AA-Brad is a nice size center/forward for St. Cloud that is a smooth skater and a nice puck handler.  He is great at setting up the play or rushing the goalie.  His line scored six of the eight goals in St. Cloud’s 8-1 over MAML to advance to the South Regional.  Brad had a hat trick in that game and added two assists.  He went on to score 5 more goals (plus six assists) in the South Regional to lead St. Cloud AA to the State AA tourney.

4. #19 Devon Jink/Northfield A-Devon is another goal scorer.  Playing forward or center, Devon was the spark that ignited the Raiders offense.  In the District 9 playoffs played at Red Wing, Devon was involved 8 out of the 16 goals the Raiders’ scored.  Devon is a steady clever performer with a “feisty” kind of attitude when on the ice for the Raiders.

5.  #12 Soren Frakie/Blaine AA-One of the better played games of the peewee AA/A season was a late season match between Sibley A and the Bengals in pool play at Armstrong’s New Hope tourney.

The Bengals won that game because Soren’s stong play and went on to take D10’s #2 seed to the West Regional, but couldn’t beat Moorhead, losing twice to the Spuds to end their season.  Frakie has good size and uses his body well to position for the shot or the pass.  He has a great shot, skates well, and is one of the most improved players over the 2012-2013 season.

6. #7 Chase Foley/Sibley-Sometimes a player starts the season at one position and ends up playing another.  When they are good at both positions, you wonder why the change?

YHH first saw Chase playing a tough defense in Spring Lake Park’s tourney in early November.  His defensive play was instrumental in the Warriors winning the tourney.  By the end of the year, Chase had been moved up to a forward and in a key district playoff game against Inver Grove Heights scored three goals when the team needed them and help drive the Sibley team to the East Regional tourney.  Chase is a good skater and a good stick handler.  He is aggressive at defense or at forward and plays smart hockey.

7. #10 Tyler Madden/Edina AA-Tyler made YHH’s top 50 peewees last year; but that is no guarantee that he would make it this year.  Early in the season, Tyler struggled a little.  He had gotten bigger and seemed to have lost some of his quickness.  As the season progressed, he progressed and not only played as well offensively as he did last year, but added maturity at defense in his play.  Always a goal scorer especially in 1-on-1 situations, he has become a better defensive player and better at setting a team mate up.  He played a lot like Dan Labosky (also an Edina peewee A) did as peewee.  Labosky was a finalist for Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey award this year getting 51 assists for the season.

8. #6 Jaden Axelrod/Hastings AA-Some kids are borne scorers.  How much talent they have at hockey seems almost secondary.  Jaden is a scorer; maybe YHH should keep that a secret.

We first noticed Jaden at the Burnsville Tournament at Thanksgiving.  It was easy.  Take a picture of the Raiders scoring and there is Jason.  Jason is a good sized kid, a good skater, not afraid to play defense, but always willing to find a way to put the puck in the net.  The Raiders made it to the South Regional this year and beat River Lakes 3-2 to advance in the loser bracket.  Jaden had a hat trick in that game.

9. #7 Gabby Billings/Rogers-YHH first noticed Gabby in the Orono tourney in early December.  Her consistent play at forward and the pressure she brought to the defense helped the Royals make the championship round of that tourney.  But it is her play in the D10 playoffs that caught everyone’s attention.  YHH was following Elk River and thought the Elks were playing great hockey and prepared to make a state tourney run when they lost to the #8 seeded Royals 3-1 in the opening round of the D10 playoffs. Gabby got the hat trick in that game and subsequently led the Royals to a South Regional seed, something that nobody expected.  She has good size, is a good skater, and has a quick shot.  Gabby will probably being playing in a state high school tourney next year.

10. #5 Noah Bawek/Austin (Goalie)-YHH loves a good tourney and this year Faribault had a good peewee A tourney with interesting and well matched teams.  Austin entered and drew Hopkins out of District 3.  To the casual observer, that is not an interesting game.  To the Austin’s goalie Noah Bawek, a fan’s opinion didn’t matter.  You could see in the warm-ups and in the dead time during the game, Noah was focused, “like a lazer”as Tom Cruise once said.  He stopped 51 of Hopkins 57 shots and kept Austin in the game until late in the third period against a good team.  The Packer’s lost 6-4.  Austin had one of their best years last season and Noah was one of the reasons.  You have to like a goalie that comes to play the game.

11. #17 Andy Kromer/Edina A-Andy simply has a lot of talent at hockey.  A bigger center/forward who can drop back to play defense when needed, Andy was a big reason why the Edina A team made a run for the State Peewee A Championship.  He has a great shot and offensive awareness that helps set the play in the Hornets offensive zone; but it is his explosiveness that catches the eye.  At times you barely notice him on the ice and suddenly he explodes into a goal scoring playing and you seeing Andy waving the stick with the puck in the net.

12. #10 Aaron Grounds/Lakeville South AA-If you want a player with quickness and speed, Aaron Grounds is the player to pick.  A bigger, strong skating center/forward, Grounds led the Cougars in their run for a state tourney entry only to be upended by a hard charging Minnetonka team in the East Regional game for the #2 seed to the state.  Aaron is a smooth skater with a powerful quick shot.  He plays like a cobra on the ice in the opponents’ zone, striking so fast with his shot that you have a hard time following his play.

13. #16 Rhett Pitlick/Wayzata-Rhett is the epidemy of what is the best of Minnesota Hockey, giving kids a chance to learn while growing in the sport.  Rhett comes from a hockey family, but he hit the ice this year as an undersized first year peewee playing center for the Wayzata AA team.  He has all of what YHH calls the “inner talent skills” (body control, puck handling, skating, good shot) but he was easily over powered by the reach, size and strength of the bigger opponents he faced in November.  But not in February; at the West Regional tourney and at the Peewee AA state tourney, Rhett was “slicing and dicing his way through the opposition as he led the Trojans to a second place finish in the state.  It was fun to see him develop over the season.