This corner of YHH has watched peewee AA/A teams play from the Big Pumpkin in late October to the state tourneys in March.  Here, the 2013-2014 season was defined by the Edina AA team for the second year in a row.  Early in the season, the Hornets' overall team play and skill made them the best team in the state.  Mid-season, Edina's play extended to being the best in the USA when they beat top USA hockey based Tier I teams.  Their winning the state tourney convincingly at the end of the year made them the best team in Minnesota and the USA at the end of the season.

Only a few Minnesota AA teams (Sibley, Rochester Red, Minnetonka, Chaska/Chanhassen, and Osseo/Maple Grove) and one or two A teams (Alexandria and Armstrong) could play competitively with the Hornets at the end of the season.  Those few AA teams improved during the season and closed the gap with Edina AA coming close to matching the Hornets' depth at the end of the season.  But they could not match the Hornets' top line led by Grant Sillanoff.

On the Peewee A side, the trend was to more competitive teams and led by more stronger peewee A teams.  Most of the peewee AA and peewee A teams played each other during the season and sans Edina AA and a few of the Hornets closer competitors, those teams competed equally.  Just check the scores in District 8 regular season play.

Associations, like Worthington in the south and Two Harbors in the north, that previously opted to place their teams at the B level this year were playing A level.  Some associations, like Austin, opted to play B level.  The AA/A approach has created or confirmed the distribution of competitve hockey is the classic "bell curve".  A few dominant teams in the top 5-10%, a few weaker teams in the bottom, and the bulk in the middle.

This corner of YHH choses the top 50 based on how the players watched are playing that night and tries to watch each team more than once.  

One can argue that an average player on teams in the top 5-10% if placed on a weaker or middle team, would be stars.  This corner of YHH would agree that if an Edina or Minnetonka player moved to Two Harbors, he would likely end up on this list.  This corner of YHH goes only go by the number on the player's back and he would likely stand out on the ice for the Agates.

With almost twice as many associations fielding peewee A teams than AA teams and the improved play at the peewee A level overall this year, more Top 50 players are coming from peewee A teams.  It makes sense, kids on peewee A teams outnumber kids on peewee AA teams about two to one and the better players on the peewee teams have more opportunities to develop their skills and stand out.

Gleason plays more as a forward than a wing or center on Highland Central's team.  He led that team to the Peewee A State Tourney championship.  After struggling in November (particularly after getting beat by Osseo/Maple Grove and Trevor Janicke 7-2 in late November), the Caps strung together playing in three straight tourney championships (winning Hopkins Thanksgiving tourney, losing to Hermantown 6-4 at Hermantown, and winning Eveleth's John Mariucci Tourney).  In post season they won District 2's peewee A playoffs, the North Regional title, and the Peewee A State Championship.

Gleason is another player that really improved over the season.  He was a good player early in the season, but really improved on his passing and overall game awareness.  His play at forward was key to the Caps string of titles.  He has good skills that includes a good quick shot, but it is his passing ability that set up linemates more then once for key goals during a game that impresses.  He and his line was fun to watch over this past season. 

McFadden is one of the bigger players this season playing peewee A hockey.  He made the Top 50 last season and has matured this year.  He has all the skills, good skater, plays physical when needed, and a great shot.  One of the best players on a breakaway that is likely to score.  He led a good Sibley team to the Peewee AA State Tourney Semifinals losing to a tough defensive Rochester Red team in the semifinals.

Unlike most players on this list, he plays a different game and as a result covers most of the center ice net to net.  That "different game" is hard to explain.  McFadden seems to be constantly just out of the play, but then attacks and usually succeeds in doing something positive with the puck.  At Thief River Falls, a long time hockey coach watched McFadden play and commented "his style of play is like Mario Lemieux".  Lemieux is a hall of famer that played in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penquins.  That was quite a complement. 

Bach's Chaska team had a good season.  The Hawks were the only team to beat Edina  AA in the USA last season handing the Hornets a 3-2 defeat in the semifinals of the Eden Prairie Thanksgiving Tourney.  Chaska/Chanhassen went on to finish third in District 6 behind Edina AA and Minnetonka, draw a high seed to the East Regional only to be upended by Osseo/Maple Grove and Rochester Red (both state semifinalists).  Bach was one of the good reasons why Chaska had success, but his selection is less about his stats and more about his skills at goaltending.

Basically he played consistantly on the edge of the crease.  In almost every game situation, he would be there, on the outside edge making the stop or altering the attack.  And he did it holding an upright position.  In the picture below, Bach is making a leg save on a shot from inside his center blue line from a position at least a foot out of the top of the crease.  He does not shrink back into the net and give the shooters corners or edges to shoot at.

Some players don't stand out in practices and some do.  Zach Anderson stands out in a practice demonstrating his skating and stick handling abilities.  He was instrumental in Eastview's season and it was a good season.  In mid-January, the Lightning pushed Rochester Red (the 2014 Peewee AA State Tourney runner-ups) in the championship round of the Rechester Tourney before losing 7-2.  In late January, the Lightning had Cloquet down 4-1 before losing.  The Lightning made the Regionals and opened against #1 seeded Edina AA in the South Regional in St. Cloud.

They had a bad day and they ran into Grant Sillanoff.  Sillanoff scored twice in the first two minutes and the Hornets went on to score 10 first period goals and win 15-2.  The next day the Lightning lost 5-1 to Andover to end their season.  Anderson was a constant threat on the ice.  His play was the mainstay of the team, weither they lost big or won.  

Beers played on Luverne's 2012-2013 team that made the state tourney.  He was an average size player in 2012-2013, but had good enough talents to be considered for a top 50 selection.  This year, he just grew and exploded on the youth hockey scene in Southern Minnesota.  A talented player, fast skater, and a great shot, Beers has great promise.  As one coach commented to YHH, "he should be playing bantam A".

Spring Lake Park hosts an eight team peewee AA/A tourney in mid-November every year and has consistantly drawn a good field.  This past season, the Panther's showed up at Fogerty with a veteran peewee A team and won the tourney.  They went on to win D10's regular season title, playoff title, and the West Regional title ending up with being ranked #1 among peewee A teams in the state at the end of regular season.

Creighton McMahon played forward for the Panthers last season.  He was part of a neat passing line that was key to their offense, but it was his play on the power play and the penalty kill that was noticable.  A good skater with inner skills that allowed him to manuver around bigger players, McMahon would often make a key clearing pass or score from an odd angle.  

What Edina High School opponents don't need to hear is that there is another Malmquist in the pipeline.  With Dylan being a senior next year, Garrett (YHH still remembers how hard he worked in the high performance selects last summer) on junior varsity last season, and Liam in the pipeline, the Malmquist name will be on the back of the high school jerseys for some years.

Liam has gotten stronger, especially over this past season.  In November, he was always a stubborn player when it came to holding on to the puck.  In March, he is not only stubborn but stronger.  He plays on the same line as Grant Sillanoff and  often when a Sillanoff shot hits the back of the net, Malmquist's name is written in the scoresheet as giving the assist.  He a goal scorer in his own right, a great skater, and he looks and plays on ice like a fun player to have on your team.

Cloquet's Association always seems to produce hockey players in threes and twos (the Michauds, Klatts, and Kuhlmans).  Their team this year had the Langenbrunners and Cade Bender.  Cade has to be related to Koby Bender, a high performance select player the past two summers that played for the varsity this past season.  So more twos are coming.

Cade Bender played forward for the Lumberjackets this year that won D11's regular season title and won a North Regional seed before losing to Rochester Red in the opening game of the state tourney.  Bender moved between the top Lumberjack lines and was a playmaker often setting up a teammate or an opportunists often scoring on a follow-up.  Good size, Bender is just a tough player in the offensive zone. 

A good team has depth.  That makes it hard for a player to stand out.  Rochester Red had depth last season and Schineider stood out.  In November, Rochester Red had a good Eden Prairie Thanksgiving Tourney winning the consolation title in the first month of the season.  They played consistent hockey over the season playing an independent schedule and ended their tourney season winning the Cloquet Barn Burner.  They were seeded into the East Regional and won the East's #2 seed to the state tourney.

They won their opening state tourney game beating Cloquet 5-4 and beat Sibley 3-1 with an outstanding defensive game in part due to Schneider's play at center.  He is a strong offensive player that would score.  He has a good shot from all angles.  But he is a great back checker as shown in the picture below.    

At the start of the season, Mahtomedi was a favorite to win the state title.  They had a good team, despite losing to Prior Lake A early in the season and struggling at times in District 2 play, the Zephyrs made it to the district playoff finals, North Regional finals and the State Tourney championship game only to lose to Highland each time.  Part of the Zephyrs' ability to rebound is in the play of their stubborne defense and outstanding penalty kill led in part by Dulak.

Dulak is another tough forward along the boards or behind the net, but he also has great antcipation moving to where the opponent is going and turning the play.  Offensively he has a quick shot and can really hit the corners with a one-timer off a pass as shown in the picture. 

This season seemed to be the year for the girl goalie in Minnesota peewee AA/A hockey.  Olivia Bizal was the only goalie on the Hopkins peewee A team and she had an outstanding season.  The Royals and Bizal struggled early in the year but turned a corner in early January after losing big a second time to the Minneapolis Storm 7-0 in District 3 play.  After that game, their defense settled down and the Royals started to rack up wins and ended up posting a winning record in District 3 play.

At the D3 playoffs, Hopkins behind Bizal, swept the tourney beating Mound/Westonka 4-0, Armstrong 3-2, and Orono 3-1 in the championship game turning the Royals into contenders for the State Tourney.  At the South Regional, Bizal led Hopkins to a 6-1 win over New Ulm/Sleey Eye, lost to Armstrong 5-1, rebounded to a 5-1 win over Hutchinson and a 3-1 win over Luverne, before losing to Sartell in the final elimination game 5-0.  In those five games, Bizal faced 160 shots on goal (66 of the shots were good scoring chances for the Royals' opponents).

Bizal is a goalie that likes to play the game and often challanges an opponents' attack rather then sit back and wait.  She has good technical skills and will only improve.  

Landon Strong is a bigger player with nice skating skills, a good shot, and the ability to handle the puck in a crowd.  NUSE had a good season and was part of a contigent of District 4/5 teams (Hutchinson, Luverne, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids) that surprised people in the South Regional played in St. Cloud at the end of the season with their overall play.  Sartell won the final elimination game and advanced to the state tourney.

Strong is a good all-around player.  He often falls back to play defense.  As a forward on the NUSE team, he attacts a lot of attention from the opposition on the ice and usually is putting the puck on the net or setting a teammate up.