Minnesota Duluth defenseman Scott Perunovich (Hibbing, Minn.). Let's Play Hockey photo by Mike Thill
The list of standout Minnesota natives in college hockey is long and illustrious. The 1950s had John Mayasich. The 1960s had Doug Woog and Tim Sheehy. The 1970s had Doug Palazzari, Craig Norwich, Reed Larson and Mark Johnson. The 1980s had Neal & Aaron Broten, Tom Kurvers, Pat Micheletti and Robb Stauber. The 1990s had Chris Marinucci, Matt Cullen, Brian Bonin, Mike Crowley and Jason Blake. The 2000s had Jordan Leopold, Marty Sertich, Zach Parise and Keith Ballard. And the 2010s have had Chase Polacek, Jack Connolly, Mike Reilly and Alex Lyon.
The list of women’s hockey players is no less impressive, from pioneers like Laura Halldorson and Jeanine Sobek, to early NCAA stars like Courtney Kennedy, Ronda Curtin, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell, to the recent exploits of Hannah Brandt, Sydney Rossman, Sidney Morin and Sydney Baldwin.
Those Minnesotans – and many others – have had a significant impact on the national stage. There have been a great many All-Americans, nine winners of the Hobey Baker Award, and one winner of both the Mike Richter Award and Patty Kazmaier Award. Team accomplishments are no less impressive. In fact, since 2000, all but one men’s and women’s national championship team has had a Minnesota native on its roster. Only the 2014-15 Providence College men’s team was devoid of Minnesotans.
This season, over 350 Minnesota natives are playing men’s and women’s Division I college hockey. That total represents 14 percent of all Division I players and 22 percent of all Americans in D-I. Returning to college hockey this season are a host of accomplished Minnesotans, including a Hobey Baker finalist, two Mike Richter Award semifinalists and a trio of All-Americans.
But who among those are the best? What players from the State of Hockey will shine brightest on the college hockey stage this season? That’s what we set out to predict. Chosen by members of Let’s Play Hockey and based on previous season performances and expected roles in 2018-19, we present the inaugural Team Minnesota.
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | 2017-18 TOTALS | HOMETOWN | HIGH SCHOOL | NHL RIGHTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | Jake Jaremko | Minnesota State | So. | 14-24--39, 40 gp | Nowthen | Elk River | Free Agent |
F | Ryan Poehling | St. Cloud State | Jr. | 14-17--31, 36 gp | Lakeville | Lakeville North | Montreal (2017 round 1, #25 overall) |
F | Odeen Tufto | Quinnipiac | So. | 9-32--41, 38 gp | Chaska | St. Thomas Academy | Free Agent |
D | Scott Perunovich | Minnesota Duluth | So. | 11-25--36, 42 gp | Hibbing | Hibbing-Chisholm | St. Louis (2018 round 2, #45 overall) |
D | Jimmy Schuldt | St. Cloud State | Sr. | 10-28--38, 40 gp | Minnetonka | Minnetonka | Free Agent |
G | Jake Kielly | Clarkson | Jr. | 1.82, .929 | Eden Prairie | Eden Prairie | Free Agent |
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | 2017-18 TOTALS | HOMETOWN | HIGH SCHOOL | NHL RIGHTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | Mason Bergh | Colorado College | Sr. | 18-22--40, 37 gp | Eden Prairie | Eden Prairie | Free Agent |
F | Rem Pitlick | Minnesota | Jr. | 12-19--31, 38 gp | Plymouth | Shattuck-St. Mary’s | Nashville (2016 round 3, #76 overall) |
F | Riley Tufte | Minnesota Duluth | Jr. | 16-13--28, 42 gp | Coon Rapids | Blaine | Dallas (2016 round 1, #25 overall) |
D | Phil Beaulieu | Northern Michigan | Jr. | 11-31--42, 43 gp | Duluth | Duluth East | Free Agent |
D | Colton Poolman | North Dakota | Jr. | 7-22--29, 40 gp | East Grand Forks | East Grand Forks | Free Agent |
G | Hunter Shepard | Minnesota Duluth | Jr. | 1.91, .925 | Cohasset | Grand Rapids | Free Agent |
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | 2017-18 TOTALS | HOMETOWN | HIGH SCHOOL | NHL RIGHTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | Max Johnson | Bowling Green | So. | 13-17--30, 41 gp | Lakeville | Lakeville North | Free Agent |
F | Peter Krieger | Minnesota Duluth | Sr. | 11-19--30, 44 gp | Oakdale | St. Thomas Academy | Free Agent |
F | Tyler Sheehy | Minnesota | Sr. | 12-13--25, 36 gp | Burnsville | Burnsville | Free Agent |
D | Mikey Anderson | Minnesota Duluth | So. | 5-18--23, 39 gp | Roseville | Hill-Murray | Los Angeles (2017 round 4, #103 overall) |
D | Ian Scheid | Minnesota State | Sr. | 9-17--26, 40 gp | Coon Rapids | Blaine | Free Agent |
G | Jake Oettinger | Boston University | Jr. | 2.45, .915 | Lakeville | Lakeville North | Dallas (2017 round 1, #26 overall) |
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | HOMETOWN |
---|---|---|---|---|
F | Jack Becker | Michigan | So. | Mahtomedi |
F | Easton Brodzinski | St. Cloud State | So. | Blaine |
F | Jay Dickman | Bemidji State | Sr. | Shoreview |
F | Jake Jackson | Michigan Tech | Sr. | Maplewood |
F | Blake Lizotte | St. Cloud State | So. | Lindstrom |
F | Reggie Lutz | Minnesota State | So. | Elk River |
F | Dylan Malmquist | Notre Dame | Sr. | Edina |
F | Westin Michaud | Colorado College | Sr. | Esko |
F | Grant Mismash | North Dakota | So. | Edina |
F | Scott Reedy | Minnesota | So. | Prior Lake |
F | Matt Serratore | Air Force | Sr. | Bemidji |
F | Steven Spinner | Omaha | Sr. | Eden Prairie |
F | Nick Swaney | Minnesota Duluth | So. | Lakeville |
F | Christiano Versich | Colorado College | So. | St. Paul |
D | Ryan Black | Northern Michigan | Sr. | Stillwater |
D | Wyatt Ege | Ohio State | Jr. | Elk River |
D | Matt Hellickson | Notre Dame | So. | Rogers |
D | Benton Maass | New Hampshire | So. | Elk River |
D | Chris Pohlkamp | Bowling Green | Sr. | Baxter |
D | Dylan Samberg | Minnesota Duluth | So. | Hermantown |
D | Hayden Shaw | North Dakota | Sr. | Woodbury |
D | Nick Wolff | Minnesota Duluth | Jr. | Eagan |
G | Zach Driscoll | Bemidji State | So. | Apple Valley |
G | Ryan Edquist | Boston College | Jr. | Lakeville |
G | Darion Hanson | Union | So. | East Bethel |
G | Peter Thome | North Dakota | So. | Minneapolis |
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | 2017-18 TOTALS | HOMETOWN | HIGH SCHOOL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | Kelly Pannek | Minnesota | Sr. | 19-43--62, 39 gp* | Plymouth | Benilde-St. Margaret's |
F | Natalie Snodgrass | Connecticut | So. | 21-17--38, 38 gp | Eagan | Eastview |
F | Grace Zumwinkle | Minnesota | So. | 17-21--38, 38 gp | Excelsior | Breck |
D | Mak Langei | Bemidji State | So. | 4-14--18, 38 gp | East Grand Forks | Shattuck-St. Mary’s |
D | Mekenzie Steffen | Wisconsin | Jr. | 3-14--17, 38 gp | Centerville | Hill-Murray |
G | Maddie Rooney | Minnesota Duluth | Jr. | 1.65, .942* | Andover | Andover |
* 2016-17 totals as players missed 2017-18 to play for the U.S. Olympic Team
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | 2017-18 TOTALS | HOMETOWN | HIGH SCHOOL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | Carly Bullock | Princeton | Jr. | 24-8--32, 32 gp | Eden Prairie | Blake |
F | Presley Norby | Wisconsin | Jr. | 10-19--29, 36 gp | Minnetonka | Minnetonka |
F | Nicole Schammel | Minnesota | Sr. | 17-15--32, 38 gp | Red Wing | Red Wing |
D | Patti Marshall | Minnesota | Jr. | 2-15--17, 38 gp | Thief River Falls | Shattuck-St. Mary’s |
D | Grace Bizal | Boston College | Sr. | 3-11--14, 36 gp | Minnetonka | Hopkins |
G | Emma Polusny | St. Cloud State | So. | 2.20, .934 | Mound | Mound Westonka |
POSITION | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | HOMETOWN |
---|---|---|---|---|
F | Emily Bergland | Bemidji State | Sr. | Thief River Falls |
F | Charly Dahlquist | Ohio State | Sr. | Eden Prairie |
F | Cheyenne Harris | Union | Jr. | Minneapolis |
F | Natalie Heising | Penn State | So. | Maple Grove |
F | Karlie Lund | Princeton | Sr. | Eden Prairie |
F | Haley Mack | Bemidji State | Jr. | East Grand Forks |
F | Brooke Madsen | Penn State | Jr. | Eagan |
F | Naomi Rogge | Minnesota Duluth | So. | Eden Prairie |
F | Sophia Shaver | Wisconsin | Sr. | Wayzata |
F | Taylor Wente | Minnesota | So. | Maple Grove |
D | Grace Bowlby | Wisconsin | So. | Edina |
D | Emily Brown | Minnesota | So. | Blaine |
D | Kelsey Crow | Penn State | Sr. | Minnetonka |
D | Paige Sorensen | Merrimack | Sr. | Plymouth |
G | Lauren Bench | Bemidji State | So. | Eagan |
G | Chloe Crosby | Minnesota State | Jr. | Lakeville |
G | Coco Francis | Union | So. | Maple Grove |
Tag(s): State Of Hockey News College