This is the fourth year that YHH has posted the Top 50 and for those YHH readers, players picked in 2012 have shown up playing high school hockey this year.  A good number played in the state tourney this year.  Other Top 50 players have left this year to play junior hockey in the USHL and NAHL.   A number have committed to play college hockey in two or three years.  But each year, we point out that being picked a Top 50 player is no guarantee of future success.  Being picked a Top 50 is an indication that a player has done well as a peewee this past season.

This post covers players 1-13.  The players have been placed randomly on the list.  Being listed first does not mean anything more or less than being listed #50.  The second post will cover 14-25, the third post will list 26-38, the fourth post covers 39-50, and the fifth post will name the best of the 50 players listed.  In the past 10 years, the skill level and talent of the average peewee player in Minnesota has improved tremendously.  Ten years ago, it was not uncommon to see players still struggling with basic skills to play at the peewee A level.  Today, peewee AA/A players have mastered the basics and are playing hockey at a much higher skill level.

1. #10 Chaska/Chanhassen AA-Bobby Brink: A strong center for the Storm Hawks all season.  YHH saw Brink play their opening game against Edina in late October, saw the Hawks play a number of times during the season, and saw the Hawks lose a tough game in the state semifinals to the Minneapolis Storm last Sunday.  Throughout the season, Brink has been a constant player that produced for the Storm Hawks.  A good sized player, he will beat his opponent’s defense in more than one way, work hard to set up a Chaska score, and back check.  A clever shooter, Brink is just a good all-around player.

2.  #9 Mound/Westonka-Adam Nobs: Nobs was a talented player for the White Hawks this season.  A better than average sized player, Nobs is a scorer and a play maker on the ice.  In early December, he led his team to the championship game of the Spring Lake Park tourney scoring two hat tricks.  A center, he has a quick accurate shot, fore checks, and skates, but Nobs really reads the defense well when leading the rush into an opponents’ zone.

3.  #3 Alexandria-Caleb Strong: Strong returns to this list this year a stronger player.  A 2014 YHH pick, Strong was a player maker on Alexandria’s top line last season.  This past season, Caleb was the Cardinal’s playmaker on Alex’s top line again only he led the line and showed more patience.  A good skater, stick handler, and shooter last season, he has improved on those skills.  But this season he has developed a heads up style of play.  On the ice, his mind seems to be working two seconds ahead of the play which makes him a dangerous player with the puck on his stick.  Strong is an improved player and a high potential Top 50 pick this season.     

4.  #3 Edina AA-Mark Overman: Overman is a good sized center for the Hornets and showed he could make the tough play in key games.  A thunderous shot, Overman knows how to play the body in a crowd and get that shot on goal.  He has good passing skills, positions his body well in races for the puck, and is a good fore checker.  With his size and skills, Overman should do well playing hockey at the next level.

5. #19 Rum River Stars-Dayne Mann: Mann is a lanky built defenseman for the Bluejackets that just plays a disciplined solid defense.  But what is great about his defensive play is that he adjusts especially on the breakout, to how his team is playing and the game situation.  In doing so, he always keeps himself in position and often makes the right play.  Mann is quick to the puck, skates well, passes well, has a good shot, but it is his quick decision making that sets him apart.  Mann is a defensively oriented defenseman.

6.  #31 Prior Lakes-Carson Stokes: A goalie, Carson Stokes led Prior Lake to a championship season.  It was a tough regular season for Prior Lake.  The Lakers were barely playing .500 hockey at the start of February and it look to be a short post season for the Lakers when Prior Lake drew Elk River and Edina in their East Regional bracket.  But the Lakers upset Edina to make it to the East Regional championship game only to lose Chaska and have to comeback to beat Elk River for the #2 seed to state.  At state, Stokes played solidly in the semifinals against St. Cloud and again had a solid game against Minneapolis in the championship game.  Stokes has good size and plays the position well.  He will hold his position and fight to keep aggressive opponents from punching the puck through him into the net.  Stokes is a good goalie and one of the reasons Prior Lake won state.

7.  #8 Greenway-Ben Troumbley: Troumbley returns to this list from last year and remains one of the top peewee A/AA players in the state.  And he has improved.  Last year, he used his considerable skills to attack the opponent’s goal.  This year, Troumbley plays a much better game of hockey because he is more aware of game situations.  His combination of skills and game awareness leads him to a level of play where he is beginning to create offense for Greenway out of different game situations.  Another nice player to watch play the game.   

8.  #11 Sibley-Henry Rieff: Rieff is a good size forward that plays well in the corners, especially in the offensive zone.  Moved to center this season to carry the offensive load because of team injuries, Rieff improved over the season and developed better use of his size and stick handling to often beat the defense.  He carried the offensive play for Sibley and kept the Warriors competitive as a tough season was ending.  

9. #3 Minnapolis Storm-Mackie Zabinski: Zabinski is a player.  From the stands, one can see he loves to play the game.  Combine that with a strong physical presence on the ice and you have a player that made life difficult for the Storm opponents.  Zabinski led a talented Storm team to the combined D3/D6 peewee AA league title posting a 15-1-4 record, but was injured in regional play and did not play in the state tourney.  Zabinski can skate and constantly covers the ice on each shift.  He has a powerful shot, is tough in the corners, and back checks fiercely.  He is just a good hockey player.

10. #12 Jefferson-Grayson Hight: Jefferson was a pleasant surprise this year, making the state tourney by beating Stillwater 4-2 and Wayzata 4-3 in the West Regional.  Hight is one reason for the Jags good play.  Hight is a good sized center that plays a steady game and often drops back to play defense on the power play.  Hight has a good shot and skates well, but it is Hight’s continued movement on the ice makes him a goal scorer and a point getter.  He has a good shot and a knack to be on the puck around an opponent’s goal.  He is a good aggressive player that never gives up on the play and has size and skills and lots of potential.

11. #19 Park Cottage Grove-Joe Paladichuk: An all-round player on the ice that moves well with the puck flow.  He was instrumental in the Wolfpack having one of their best seasons in years posting a 27 wins.  Park Cottage Grove came close to making the state tourney losing the South Region's #2 seed losing to Farmington for the second time in the regional.  PaLodichuk plays good hockey.  He positions himself well on the play by adapting his position based on the flow of the puck.  Paladichuk has an amazingly fast burst of speed.  He is a playmaker and has good size.  He can shot and score, but his ability to find the open player on offense and get them the puck is outstanding.  Great player to watch play hockey.

12.  #20 Duluth East-Vinny Pitoscia: A defenseman that plays a physical defensive game, Pitoscia is a good sized player that knows how to play defense and use his physical size.  The Greyhounds needed good defense to get to state.  They won three straight North Region seeds by a single goal beating Roseau, Brainerd, and Moorhead by the identical score of 3-2.  The wins put Duluth East over .500 for the season.  Pitoscia has an aggressive explosiveness that he holds in reserve and then when the situation calls he accelerates into the play usually separating the opponents’ forward from the puck.  Ptioscia can handles the rush well usually driving the rusher into the boards and he can dominate play in front of the Hounds net with his size and quickness. 

13. #15 St. Cloud-Nate Warner: A good sized center that works to free himself to trigger a St. Cloud rush.  In the South Regional, Warner scored 9 points/4 goals in leading a Huskies three game sweep to the state.  At state, Warner duplicated that feat scoring 9 points again (7 goals).  Warner has a deceptive quick shot and is very competitive once inside the slot area in front of the opponents net.  He will only get better.