Jack Nei was one of the most productive players in the tourney. He finished with 15 points, easily winning the Pound for Pound best player Award. Nei has great hands and some of the best hockey sense you will find anywhere. On the flip side of the size equation, Jackson Fields, built like a Mack truck had six goals for Detroit Lakes and impressed with his great hands and finesse for a player of his size. Blake Blattner had an amazing nine goals on the weekend including two Hatties for the Stars. Blattner showed great ability with the puck and had a great nose for the net...leading his team both on and off the ice.

Christian Miller also had a Hatty for Greenway. The big puck rushing defender is quickly making a name for himself. The son of 1987 Mr. Hockey winner Kris Miller, showed great skill and a powerful shot. Apple Valley's Jack Novak is a first year PeeWee who is an athletic phenomenon. He has great hands and uncanny vision. Novak is both a scorer and setup man which makes him very hard to defend. The lone Goalie on the ATT is Carson Limesand. Limesand faced 52 shots in the Final and made several memorable saves all weekend. His biggest save came in the Final at the buzzer. He will most be remembered for stopping four shooters in a three man shootout after being penalized for leaving the crease early on an attempt by Warroad's Owen Meeker. Speaking of Warroad, no list would be complete without 2013 Wiz Wyatt Award Winner Grant Slukynsky. Grant finished the Founder's Cup with 13 points including two Hatties. Slukynsky beat Limesand with a 70 foot slap shot that would still be traveling had it not hit the nylon on the net in Virginia.

The final two players to make the list were less productive on the score sheet but so impressive we couldn't keep them out. Brody Lucas had 6 points (five fewer than his teammate Brandon Swenson who was also amazing) on the weekend, but his skill and effort were off the charts. Lucas darted between defenders all weekend making plays both with and without the puck. Elliot Van Orsdel had only four points on the weekend, but his play with and without the puck was amazing all weekend. Possessing great hands and vision Van Orsdel is no John Mayasich, but given time his upside is very high.

Honorable Mention: Ben Jenson - Alexandria, Caleb Strong - Alexandria, Jared Wright - Apple Valley, Brandon Swenson - Mankato, Charlie Erickson - Duluth East, Jack Harvey - North Branch, Marco Troje - Park Cottage Grove, Luke Strub - Virginia, Christian Galatz - Hibbing and Ben Troumbly - Greenway.

The Real MVPs: by all accounts, the Founder's Cup was a huge success this past weekend in Hibbing. YHH would like to extend a huge thanks to the following people:

Hano: Ryan "Hano" Hanegmon and all of the volunteers, refs and arena attendants from Hibbing, Virginia and Greenway for helping put on a tournament held in 4 four cities separated by 50 miles. An amazing accomplishment considering he was flung into the job at the last minute.

Tom and Tracy Baldrica: Tom and Tracy hosted the YHH Tourney staff at their home in Virginia for three nights as we organized, inputted data, and wrote about the event. 

Tourney Crew: Tom Kuppich, Todd Hauch, and Kurt Rolling played a huge role in making the event a success. Todd and Tom ran the show in Coleraine on Friday and Saturday like pros and Kurt kept the entire operation in sync from Hibbing and Virginia. Their hard work and passion for youth hockey is so much fun to see.

Broadcast Crew: we broadcasted 15 games this past weekend...Tom Baldrica lead the charge doing play by play for 10 games including the three amazing Championship games from Hibbing. His capable nephew Carsten Rolling ran the production behind the scenes including all set up, take down and camera operation. Both were really fun to work with all weekend long.