14. #17 Warroad-Grant Slukynsky: Slukynsky skated peewee A for the Warriors last season and had a good season.  Warroad made it to the West Regional last year and lost in the game for the #2 seed to the state tourney.  Slukynsky is a good size, skilled, offensive oriented center that often starts a rush by playing the body well in congested quarters.  If given room in center ice, he will carry the puck on the attack and given the opportunity will drive the net.  Once on the attack, Slukynsky has a quick hard accurate shot and is a goal scorer and is a Top 50 pick this year. 

15. #11 Minneapolis-Will Mortenson: Mortenson is a deceptive player for the Storm.  On the ice, he seems to hide among the players.  Then he explodes with an attack on the opponent’s goal.  He is a fast skater that knows how to use his body to beat the defense and get off a shot.  Will is a player that had to “pick up the slack”.  When the Storm lost Mackie Zabinski in the South Regional semifinals, Mortenson and his line became the offensive focus for the Storm.  The Storm struggled in the Regional championship game losing to St. Cloud in overtime 2-1, but came back to beat Eden Prairie 6-2 to get the South’s #2 seed to state.  In the seven games the Storm played after losing Zabinski, Minneapolis scored 19 goals.  Mortenson scored 7 of those 19 goals.    

16. #17 Eveleth/Mesabi East-Trentin Pocrnich: Some players just have the knack for scoring.  Pocrnich is one of those players.  He has the skills, skating, shooting, and passing; but he has that instinct to score.  And it shows.  EME’s peewee teams have struggled over the past years barely winning five games in a season.  This year, with Porcrnich leading the way, the Golden Bears won 27 games and played well above .500 hockey.   The Golden Bears almost made it to state losing in a strong North Regional to Warroad and Alexandria, both teams that went on to play in the peewee A state tourney semifinals. 

17. #3 Prior Lake-Sam Emmerich: Emmerich was a solid defenseman from the start of the season for the Lakers that really developed well over the season.  He became stronger physically as the year progressed.  Always a steady defender that positioned well stopping the opponents’ rushes, Emmerich became more aggressive as the season progressed choosing his spots to rush the puck better.  Emmerich made that type of play when he stepped up and turned a 2-1 deficit in the peewee AA championship game into a 2-2 tie by intercepting a Minneapolis Storm pass in the neutral zone and rushing the Storm net scoring on a high hard shot from the left faceoff.  He went on to play a great third period and was one of the keys to #16 ranked Prior Lake upsetting the #1 ranked Storm in the championship game.   

18. #16 Orono-Lucas Jorgenson: Jorgenson played defense for the Orono team that had a great season.  The Spartans won the top seed to the District 3’s peewee A playoff, won the District 3 playoffs, won the South Regional playoffs, and won Consolation Title at state after losing a barnburner to St. Paul in the opening round.  The YHH #1 ranked peewee A team in the state, Orono had a 32 game unbeaten streak snapped by that 6-5 loss to the Capitals.  Jorgenson is a good sized defense man that plays a solid defense and looks for opportunities to score.  In their loss to St. Paul, Jorgenson took a rebounding puck late in the first period and attacked the Caps’ net scoring the tying goal.  A good skater skates with purpose on the ice, Jorgenson was a Top 50 player this past season.    

19. #16 Rosemount-Mitch Kohner: Kohner was a tough forward for the Irish’s opponents to contend with last season.  A better than average size player, Kohner is a strong smooth skater that constantly moves to the puck.  He can beat the defense on the rush often taking what the defense gives by either moving to outside or stepping inside to ride the defense out of position and attack the net.  He has a hard shot and hangs with the puck low on the rushes.  On a good Rosemount team that had some great wins, Kohner was an outstanding player.    

20. #15 Detroit Lakes-Jackson Fields: Halfway through the North Regional opening game between Detroit Lakes and Thief River Falls, the game was knotted 1-1 and a group of Detroit Lakes fans start chanting “Give it to Jackson”.  By then most fans at the arena have picked out Lakers’ Jackson Fields on the ice.  He was easly noticed with a big physical presence playing defense.  And he has a hard shot.  By then most fans can see that he knows the basics of hockey and just through great athleticism overwhelms the Detroit Lakes opponents on the ice.  Jackson plays well enough this year to be a Top 50 pick and if he continues to develop, he will be a fun player to watch playing hockey for the Lakers’ varsity.    

21. #15 Armstrong-Joe Campion: Armstrong made it to state a year ago and the Spartans had a good season this year.  Joe Campion played both seasons.  The Spartans finished fourth in District 3’s regular season this year and had a good season finishing 29-17-4.  In one January week, Armstrong played 11 games and posted a 7-2-2 record finishing second in the One Hockey tourney at the Super Rink losing to the Winnipeg Twins 2-0 in the championship game.  In the District 3 playoffs in February, they were edged by Orono (in three overtimes) in the District 3 playoff semifinals and beaten by Wayzata A (in two overtimes) in a single elimination game with a regional seed at stake after beating the Trojans in their opening playoff game in three overtimes.  A tough team, the Spartans had size, balanced scoring and four players with the same last name, Campion.  Joe is good sized strong player that can skate and shoot.  He is a tough player around the opponent’s crease and should do well playing bantams.     

22. #2 Woodbury-Quinn Krueger: A strong, good size forward, Krueger has a good shot, skates well, and can stick handle in a crowd.  Krueger improved over the season and developed an ability to play the puck well in the opponents’ zone.  He used his size and strength, but did not overplay position around the opponents’ net.  He held back creating space between him and the puck giving himself room to react to the play and the opportunity to score.     

23. #14 St. Cloud-Gabbie Rud: Rud skated wing to St. Cloud’s Nate Warner center and the two combined with Luke Johnson to form the Huskies top line.  Rud was a “wing man” to Warner on the ice often moving into a corner to dig the puck out and pass to a breaking Warner.  But it is what she did next that impresses.  She followed the pass and seemed to always anticipate where the play was going.  It is that knack for adjusting coming out of the corner after the pass to move where she can do the most damage to the opponents’ defense that makes her a top peewee this season.  And it is not just coming out of the corner that she shows that ability to anticipate the play.  Often she would trail Warner crossing the opponents’ blue line looking to play off Warner’s moves either picking up a loose puck or charging the net for a rebound like an air force pilot flying wing man.  Gabbie is a good sized player that skates well, has a good shot, good stick handling, but it is her knack for anticipating the play that really makes her a Top 50 this season.   

24. #10 Cloquet-Jacob Huhta: The Lumberjackets just got stronger as the season progressed.  In their opening game played at home against Stillwater, none of the Cloquet forwards impressed, but late in the season and especially in the state tourney, their forwards were impressive.  Huhta was one of the most impressive.  He is a good sized player with a strong physical presence on the ice.  At different points in the play, he takes off with a strong burst of speed that makes him a difficult player for the defense to handle.  He uses his body well and plays smart often drawing defense to commit and then make a move.  A good playmaker, Huhta skates well, follows the play keeping his position, and is attentive to what is happening on the ice. 

25.  #12 Edina AA-Cole Cavanagh: Edina’s AA/A teams always have good players and it is often tough to pick one out of the 34 Hornets skating on those two teams.  For Hornets fans, here is a tease.  There are five Hornets picked this year and it was a difficult to pick those five out of the 34 players.  One that stood out was Cole Cavanagh.  Cavanagh steadily improved at forward over the season and also matured in his play.  He scored goals, but it was his dedicated play around the opponents’ net that made him standout.  Cavanagh just did not give up on the puck and often turned a Hornet rebound into another scoring opportunity.  A good sized player, good skater, and a good passer, Cavanagh brought strength and dedication to this year’s Hornets.