The Upper Midwest High School Elite League has gone through their tryouts and teams have selected their rosters for the 2014 season.  Six select teams will compete in the league along with Shattuck’s Prep Team and Team Wisconsin.  The regular season this year goes from September 6 to October 9.  Playoffs are scheduled for the weekend of October 24.

A week later, November 1 this year, the top players from the league form two teams (usually called Minnesota White and Minnesota Red) and play in the CCM IIT tourney usually held in New Hope.  Last season, CCM IIT tourney field included the Edge School (Canada), Massachusetts, Northwoods Academy (New York), Hill Academy, Shattuck Preps, and Michigan U18 team besides the two Minnesota teams.

This is the first of a series of posts previewing the six teams.  The first team up is Team Southeast or TCF Bank.  The players on this team are mostly drawn from the southeastern part of the Twin Cities.  This year’s Bankers are veteran team with 15 senior-to-be on the roster.  Three junior-to-be and two sophomore-to-be complete the roster.

TCF Bank (Team Southeast)    

TCF Bank always seems to draw the top offensive set of forwards in the Elite League each year.  This year is no different.  And no matter which way one looks at these nine forwards at any game time, there will be no #1, #2, or #3 line.  There will be better, best and super.  As the cynic would say, this team has an amazing lack of weakness at forward.

To start with, there are the Poehlings.  Brother Jack, Nick, and Ryan skated on Lakeville North’s Class AA runner-up team last season.  Their line scored 45 goals in 25 games skating in the tough South Suburban Conference.  They all return this fall to play for the Panther’s Varsity.  Lakeville South’s #1 scorer, Nick Swaney (44 points/11 goals in 24 games) returns from playing on the USA Hockey U18 select team in a mid-August European tourney, to play on the TCF Bank team.

Lucas Gillett, Rosemount’s #1 scorer (39 points/17 goals), is also on the team along with Cretin Derham Hall’s #1 scorer last season Nick Ries (45 points/24 goals in 25 games), and East Ridge’s #1 scorer Derek Hammer (29 points/13 goals).  Michael Graham, Eden Prairie’s #3 scorer last year (and likely the Eagles #1 scorer this year) and Peter Tufto, St. Thomas Academy’s #3 scorer last year (and the Cadets’ likely #1 scorer in the 2014-2015) are also on the team.

The final three forwards on the TCF Bank team are Will Duda/Benilde-St. Margaret, Parker Mismash/Edina, and Casey Middlestadt/Eden Prairie.  Duda has struggled the last two seasons because of injuries and should be one of the Red Knights’ offensive leaders this season; Mismash played for Edina’s Class AA Championship team last March; and Middlestadt played for the Eden Prairie bantams last season.  Middlestadt is the YHH Bantam Player for the 2013-2014 season and will be reunited with Michael Graham (both played for the Eden Prairie Association’s peewee A 2012 State Tourney team) on this team.

At defense, goaltender Ryan Edquist/Lakeville North returns from playing on USA Hockey’s U17 select team in the Five Nations Tourney played in mid-August in Germany.  Edquist played last season for the Shattuck U16 team and will join the Lakeville North varsity as the Panthers make a run for the 2015 Class AA title.  Burnsville’s senior-to-be starting goalie from last season, Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (18-6-1 record giving up 1.9 goals a game while stopping 92% of the shots on net), is the other TCF Bank goalie.  Both goalies are solid.

Two more Lakeville North players are in the Bankers’ defensive core, Jack McNeely and Jack Sadek.  McNeely has played the last three seasons for the Panthers and has committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the 2015-2016 season.  Sadek will be in his third season with Lakeville North this year.  He was drafted by the Omaha Lancers in the 2014 USHL draft.  Both McNeely and Sadek are tough physical players and both can score.

A third defenseman, Jack Ahcan/Burnsville, can score.  Ahcan played the last two seasons for the Blaze posting 38 points/7 goals in 49 regular season games.  He has been drafted by USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.  Brady Schoo/Eden Prairie, Colin Gallagher/Henry Sibley, and Jacob Olson/Hill-Murray complete the TCF defensive corps.  Schoo has played two years for the Eagles varsity; Gallagher has been drafted by the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers and is on the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks protected list; and Olson (6’3” 210lbs) has played on USA Hockey’s U17 select team last season and will be returning from playing on USA Hockey’s U18 select team in the Hlinka Memorial Tourney this August.

The UMHSWEL can be a grind with 21 regular season games scheduled over the seven weekends that include trips to Stevens Point WI, Grand Rapids MN, Moorhead MN, Onolaska WI, Shattuck in Faribault MN, Duluth MN, and Eau Claire WI.  The highlight of the season is the third weekend (Sept 19-21) when the teams play each other at the NAHL Showcase in Blaine MN.       

2014 TCF Bank (Team Southwest) Roster