Top Returning Defenseman- Lake Superior

We are back for another conference preseason preview; where we highlight the top returning players at each position and also preview the best teams in the said conference. The conference this week will be the Lake Superior. The  Lake Superior teams are Hermantown, Grand Rapids, Cloquet, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth Marshall, Proctor. This is a pretty top-heavy conference this year with Hermantown, Duluth Denfeld, and Grand Rapids. Today we are covering the three defensemen that are worthy of recognition in this conference for their returns. This conference has one of the best defensemen in the state as we will lay out in this article. Let us begin!

1.  Tanner Luedtke Tanner Luedtke 6'0" | Forward Lakeville South | 2023 State MN | 5’9 Defenseman | Class of 2023 | Hermantown

Hanson is for sure the top defenseman in this conference, as he is amongst the top in the state. Hanson is currently ranked as the number 4 player in the class of 2023 player rankings, and is the top defenseman in the state for his class. Hanson was a phenom in his sophomore season, as he finished with 9 goals and 20 assists for 29 points. He played in 20 games last year for Hermantown, so he averaged an assist every single game, and also averaged a goal almost every other game. Hanson is currently a UMD commit and just made his commitment this past summer. He joins his teammate in Sam Rinzel Sam Rinzel 6'4" | Defense Chaska | 2023 State MN joining the bulldogs’ recruiting class. Hanson is a player to watch this season as this also might be his last year in high school, he is currently in the high school elite league with team Kowalskis. Must see talent this year up north for the hawks in Plante and Hanson.

2.  Beau Janzig Beau Janzig 6'2" | Defense Hermantown | 2022 State MN | 6’2 Defenseman | Class of 2022 | Hermantown

Janzig is for sure the second best defenseman returning to the conference. It is insane that he most likely with be Hanson’s D partner. Janzig is currently pretty underrated in our rankings, as he is ranked 38th overall for the class of 2022, and is ranked as the 12th best defenseman. Janzig finished the year last year with 24 points in 20 games. In those 20 games he had 7 goals and 17 assists. Janzig is a top tier playmaker and a pretty high level scorer as well. Hermantown doesn’t play the best competition so that is the only negative for him in his future. He is for sure doing the best with the teams on his schedule, and we would love to see him on the big stage this year when Hermantown most likely goes on their state run. This team is stacked this year and Janzig just adds to that.

3. Easton Young | 5’10 Defensman | Class of 2022 | Grand Rapids

We have Eatson Young as the third best returning defenseman to the Lake Superior Conference. Young is currently unranked on our site, but after a solid junior season, he has a chance at getting ranked this winter. Young played in 16 games last year, and tallied 17 points; basically averaging 1 point per game. Grand Rapids plays against a really high quality of opponents, and Young really proved himself in those games getting points. He tallied a point against Wayzata, two against Hermantown, three against Roseau, and then one against Moorhead. With an easier of a schedule Young would’ve had more points for sure.. that is something important to note. Young is the most important player returning player to Grand Rapids this year.