Best Returning Forwards- Big South Conference

We are back today with the best returning forwards in the Big South conference. The Big South conference contains New Ulm, Windom, Waseca, Minnesota River, Redwood Valley, Luverne, Marshall, Worthington, Fairmont. This conference has some very solid returning forwards, and a couple that are in our Prep Hockey class rankings! In this article, we take a look at the top returning forwards in this conference, and there are four players that I think are worthy of recognition of the best returning. Let us break it down below highlighting the players and saying why they are the best.

1. Jake Toll Jake Toll 6'3" | Defense Rosemount | 2023 State MN | 5’10 Forward | Class of 2023 | Waseca High School

Jake Toll Jake Toll 6'3" | Defense Rosemount | 2023 State MN had about a productive of a season as possible for a sophomore, that is why he is ranked as our #19 player in the class of 2023 rankings. He is also our top returning forward in the Big South conference and he is definitely one to watch this upcoming season. Last season he had an astonishing 2.85 points per game- scoring 31 goals and 26 assists in just 20 games; an absolute crazy feat for a young player in any conference of the state. Kyle also got drafted to the USHL by the Des Moines Buccaneers this year; only the best underclassmen in the state get drafted by the USHL. This is a player that I can see moving into the top 10 range of his class when said and done. Once in a generation talent that Waseca is very fortunate to have. We will see if he can improve on such an impressive sophomore year.

2. Caden Morgan Caden Morgan 6'1" | Defense Edina | 2023 State MN  | 6’0 Forward | Class of 2023 | Luverne High School

Caden Morgan Caden Morgan 6'1" | Defense Edina | 2023 State MN is ranked at the 22nd player in his class, and is just behind Ahlschlahger in that and also these rankings. Behrend finished the year with more goals (32), but less assists (15). Behrend is the best scorer in the conference coming back, and he had these solid stats as just a sophomore as well. Behrend needs to prove he is a difference maker on his team against teams of lower skill in the Big South conference. He is really good scorer, but he needs to stand out more this season to stay at his rank in the 2023 class, or players in harder conferences might pass him up. Behrend averaged 2.35 points per game, and more than half of those were goals. I would love to see him diversify his playmaking and getting more assists next year would really be impressive with how much he scores. Very solid player and looking forward to see if he can continuing to get better and better to have a statement junior year. 

3.  Jacob Thomas Jacob Thomas 5'11" | Defense Detroit Lakes | 2023 State MN  | 5’9 Forward | Class of 2023 | Windom High School

Jacob Thomas Jacob Thomas 5'11" | Defense Detroit Lakes | 2023 State MN is the best playmaking forward in this conference; there is no doubt about that. He finished with 25 assists and 13 goals in 19 games. Brady dished out an assist every game last year, and then some. I am a very big fan of playmakers that can still put the puck in the net at a decent level; if he can improve his scoring even further… watch out. Espenson makes it 3 players in the top 30 of the class of 2023 rankings, and Espenson is ranked 26th. Look for Espenson to keep improving on his solid sophomore season. 

4. Braxten Hoffmann | 6’0 Forward | Class of 2022 | New Ulm High School

Hoffmann comes in as the 4th best forward returning forward in the big south conference; but that can not be said lightly- the gap is very close. Hoffman has had a very solid 3 year career at New Ulm, and he is definitely the most experienced player coming back to the conference. He is very close to being ranked in the class of 2022 rankings, and most likely will when the new ones are out. Hoffmann finished with pretty similar stats last year as the other guys, but he had more of balanced statline last year with 16 goals and 23 assists. Braxten is currently playing in the NA3HL, and that should really help him for his senior season. I think Braxten has a good chance to finish a top of this conference in points this year. We will see what happens, but he is my pick to do so as of now.