The 10th annual installment of Hockey Day Minnesota kicks off with two high school teams looking to turn their seasons around.

The 10 a.m. game pits Duluth Denfeld against Eveleth-Gilbert - teams who have recently struggled to reliably find the win column but have no shortage of talent, effort and heart.

Denfeld lost a significant number of core players last year, leaving this year’s squad in a mindset of rebuilding.

Winger Kadin Ferguson is one of the players who has stepped up his production, earning the nickname “Energizer Bunny” for playing with a nearly worrying abundance of speed and ferocity.

Coach Kevin Smalley makes the most of this, employing him on both the Hunters’ power play and penalty-killing units. The senior leads the team in goals and assists, despite wearing the stiff shot-altering brace that protects a still-broken hand, injured earlier in the season.

Hunters goaltender River Alander is a promising college prospect, showing composure and athleticism between the pipes and a desire to cultivate youth hockey as a way to give back.

“ […] Skating with the younger players, mites and squirts, who are just starting off and rink ratting with them is a blast,” Alander said. “Seeing those kids get excited to skate with me […] is a feeling I could never get by just playing hockey, it comes from being able to share the love of the game with a younger generation, give back and pay it forward.”

Read more at Wild.com