High School Players/Teams Observations

[brookyone]

The current / updated Minnesota girls high school hockey rankings in both 2A & 1A...


CLASS 2A

1. South St. Paul

2. Eden Prairie

3. North St. Paul

4. Wayzata

5. Stillwater

6. Blaine

7. Roseville

8. Elk River

9. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton

10. Centennial

Others receiving votes: Anoka, Wright County, Cretin-Derham Hall, Burnsville and Hill-Murray.

CLASS 1A

1. Warroad

2. Hibbing/Chisholm

3. Benilde-St. Margaret's

4. Holy Angels

5. Blake

6. Farmington

7. St. Louis Park

8. New Prague

9. Totino-Grace

10. Fergus Falls

Others receiving votes: Crookston, Mahtomedi, Andover, Roseau and Hutchinson

[brookyone]

For those following the exploits of the future Mavericks...


http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/high_school/10641792.htm

[brookyone]

With the recent temps. at least they won't have to worry about soft ice. Scroll down for the associated picture in the PDF format.

http://www.twincities.com/multimedia/twincities/Fronts/SPT1.PDF

And the story...


http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/10664372.htm

[brookyone]

I imagine the girls had strong motivation to keep the feet movin' in this one...


http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/sports/10668491.htm

...and from the Strib:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/526/5191170.html

A picture of the game in progress (please scroll down for picture).

http://www.twincities.com/multimedia/twincities/Fronts/SPT1.PDF

[brookyone]

Update of Minnesota girls HS hockey scoring stats, as of 1/19/05...

http://startribune.sportshuddle.com/FanPages/Sports/IceHockey/Common/Leaders.asp?setTeamType=17&setAffiliate=MST&setSeason=%7B199A4812-91F8-48F2-8F49-D88B402D6B79%7D&selLeaderArea=All&selLeaderType=Scoring

[brookyone]

Krissy's mark is surpassed by SSP forward Maggie Fisher. I wish they noted the numbers per a "in games played" comparison as well. I assume, but don't know for sure that Fisher has played varsity since being a 7th grader and this is a six season points total. I suspect it was not as common a practice to bring up 7th graders to varsity as it's becoming these days.


http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/high_school/10677780.htm

[hockeytalk]

Not only did they probably not bring up 7th graders, the players on the lines with Krissy, probably weren't as strong as the players you would find today.

[ARM]

I think Krissy's numbers are from her junior and senior seasons alone. Up until then, she played with the boys. To be fair to Fisher's accomplishments, she has better teammates, but she also plays against tougher competition than those like Wendell, Darwitz, and the Curtins.

[GWH Fan]

This is probably the wrong place, but...
I feel, like in all sports, talent in women’s hockey is increasing. It's a no brainer to say that this is do to more girls enter the sport at younger and younger ages. I get the feeling that we are now at the tip of a wave of talent that is about to wash over women’s hockey. Having watched women’s hockey games as early as 96 it seems to me that even great high school and post high school players at that time would be eclipsed by even the mediocre of the current crop of high school players. It seems to me that this level of talent increase could only be described as explosive. I think that this is evident in that there are now players who as freshman contributed to the D1 programs they entered, and over the years have worked hard and grown as players improving their skills and seen their play time and team roll reduced, not because they are bad player, but because the young are so much better. Is it conceivable that teams in the near future will see most of their contribution from star freshman and sophomores? How will this affect team dynamics? Are the current crop of high school players and teams experiencing this? Are they ready for this?

[hockeytalk]

GWH Fan, I think you should start a new thread with your last post. That is a good subject.

[sec12fan]

Is it conceivable that teams in the near future will see most of their contribution from star freshman and sophomores? How will this affect team dynamics? Are the current crop of high school players and teams experiencing this? Are they ready for this?

I agree with your post and then answer this question with a resounding NO!! There will always be that exceptional player (Darwitz, Wendell come to mind) who are superstars . . . and beyond their competition. But even now, the Freshman that are contributing will mature as players - most start with a very pure, raw talent with a mind for the game - as they truly begin to understand the game they get even better. They seem to see situations better, they become leaders . . . I'm thinking of Maria Rooth, Erika Holst - players with much natural talent who became what I would call true Hockey Players in their Senior season at UMD.

I wait anxiously for those first games in October to see the new Freshman - and there are always one or two that are stars in the making - but not dominate forces from the get go. Even the best HS players need to adjust to the speed and toughness of D1 hockey - the week in and week out of a different level of competition.

[ARM]

I'm not sure that Holst and Rooth are good examples. They came to UMD with national team experience, and were immediately in the top quarter of all D-I players in the country as frosh. I think someone like Guest, or even Vasichek, are better examples of players whose impact increased greatly as juniors/seniors.

[sec12fan]

I see your point ARM. But, playing for team Sweden is not playing for team USA or Canada.

[brookyone]

Is it conceivable that teams in the near future will see most of their contribution from star freshman and sophomores? How will this affect team dynamics? Are the current crop of high school players and teams experiencing this? Are they ready for this?
I believe it's not only conceivable but in fact is occurring at this time in girls high school hockey. I watch a few local HS teams fairly regularly (the last two seasons) and in my opinion each of those teams has 7th, 8th & 9th graders that are clearly better players than many of their teams juniors & seniors...if that's what you're getting at. My suspicion is these are not isolated occurrences. As these players progress through their HS careers & more young girls take up the sport I think it's possible at some point there will be something of a plateau reached, save your occasional superstar(s). I think that'll be awhile though myself.

I should add that I here some talk within HS ranks that moving those 7th / 8th graders up to varsity isn't a very popular practice with some. I suppose youth coaches may object and maybe some parents of upperclassmen.

[brookyone]

Here's the current rankings for Minnesota girls HS hockey...

(first place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 2A

• 1. South St. Paul (6), 2. Eden Prairie, 3. Wayzata, 4. Stillwater, 5. North St. Paul, 6. Centennial, 7. Roseville, 8. Blaine, 9. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 10. Elk River. Others receiving votes--Anoka, Hill-Murray, Wright County, Burnsville and Cretin-Derham Hall

CLASS 1A

• 1. Hibbing/Chisholm (4), 2. Warroad (2), 3. Benilde-St. Margaret's (1), 4. Holy Angels, 5. Blake, 6. Farmington, 7. St. Louis Park, 8. New Prague, 9. Totino-Grace, 10. Fergus Falls. Others receiving votes--Crookston, Mahtomedi, Simley, Andover and Roseau

* In class 2A, #4 Stillwater beat #3 Wayzata H2H (1-0)
(Had to slip this in) :)

[Travelingman]

Just a quick note to plug some of the Eastern teams. I wanted to jump on and post this last week, but I have been on the road for the past few days and haven't had a chance. I went to a great prep school hockey game last week between Nobles and Berkshire. Nobles won 1-0 with the goal coming late in the third. The game could have gone either way or ended in a tie. Both goalies were great. Had to be one of the fastest, well executed games I have ever seen at that level. In fact, I have been to a few college games that have not been at that speed or skill level. There were several players playing that will be freshman on college teams next year. I can say with confidence that they will be contributing to their respective teams as freshman. Very impressive.

[brookyone]

Minnesota HS girls hockey scoring leaders as of 1/26/05. Most teams have just two or three games remaining before section play begins.


http://startribune.sportshuddle.com/FanPages/Sports/IceHockey/Common/Leaders.asp?setTeamType=17&setAffiliate=MST&setSeason=%7B199A4812-91F8-48F2-8F49-D88B402D6B79%7D&selLeaderArea=All&selLeaderType=Scoring

[hockeylover11]

Just a quick note to plug some of the Eastern teams. I wanted to jump on and post this last week, but I have been on the road for the past few days and haven't had a chance. I went to a great prep school hockey game last week between Nobles and Berkshire. Nobles won 1-0 with the goal coming late in the third. The game could have gone either way or ended in a tie. Both goalies were great. Had to be one of the fastest, well executed games I have ever seen at that level. In fact, I have been to a few college games that have not been at that speed or skill level. There were several players playing that will be freshman on college teams next year. I can say with confidence that they will be contributing to their respective teams as freshman. Very impressive.




Who were some good players in the Nobles vs Berkshire team? Was there a lot of potential out on the ice or was it a one girl recking crew?

[hockeytalk]

Who were some good players in the Nobles vs Berkshire team? Was there a lot of potential out on the ice or was it a one girl recking crew?


And who would you be referring to as the one girl "wrecking" crew?

[brookyone]

Current rankings in Minnesota girls HS hockey as of 1/27/05:

(first place votes in parentheses):

CLASS 2A

• 1. South St. Paul (6), 2. Eden Prairie, 3. Stillwater, 4. Wayzata, 5. North St. Paul, 6. Roseville, 7. Blaine, 8. Centennial, 9. Elk River, 10. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton. Others receiving votes--Cretin-Derham Hall, Hill-Murray, Wright County, Anoka and Burnsville.

CLASS 1A

• 1. Warroad (4), 2. Hibbing/Chisholm (2), 3. Benilde-St. Margaret's, 4. Holy Angels, 5. Blake, 6. Farmington, 7. St. Louis Park, 8. New Prague, 9. Totino-Grace, 10. Fergus Falls. Others receiving votes--Crookston, Simley, Andover, Mahtomedi and New Ulm.

I'm just today reading rumors of #1 ranked Warroad in 1A DQ'ing four players for the remainder of the season due to some off ice "mischief." Very unfortunate in the midst of such a fine season with a fair chance at a state title.