Early Season Breakout Players- Defenseman

Yesterday we made an article about the breakout forwards in the state, today we are back with the breakout defenseman. This exclusive subscriber-only content will be produced at a higher clip over the rest of the season. Thanks to all of our subscribers, we will be dedicating a ton of time to this site going forward.

1. Easton Young | 5’11 Senior Defenseman | Grand Rapids

Easton Young was on our list of players to watch this year, and he has definitely lived up to that. Last season Young had 17 points in 16 games, but this year he already has 16 points in 10 games. Young is a really good playmaker that can put the puck in the net when needed as well. We didn’t have Easton Young ranked after last season, but after the start, he is having right now- he is for sure making the next update. If Easton keeps producing at this rate, he could get noticed and might pick up and offer or go to juniors. Right now he is our breakout defender of the year, an early candidate.

2. Cooper Kantola | 6’4 Senior Defenseman | Mound Westonka

Kantola wasn’t on our radar all of last year, but he put himself on the radar with the senior season he is having. Kantola has only played 8 games thus far and has 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points. Last year in his junior year he had 9 points. He has almost doubled that in half of the games. Kantola is having a huge season and especially scoring. 6 goals for a defenseman in 8 games is really impressive. At 6’4 he is a defender with a big frame that does a lot on both ends. Kantola is setting himself up for a huge breakout year. This is just the start for him. We are officially on Kantola watch the rest of the year.

3. Jack Kritzeck | 6’0 Senior Defenseman | Mora/Milaca 

Kritzeck has been having a solid career so far at Mora/Milaca as he has totaled 20 plus points in his 3 completed seasons. This year it looks like Kritzeck is on pace to hit the 40 point range which would be a huge breakout senior year for him. So far this year in 7 games played he has 2 goals and 12 assists for 14 points. He is averaging 2 points per game and has a point in each of his 7 games played. Kritzeck should easily hit over 100 career points soon. With a good end of the season, I can see Kritzeck possibly playing in the NAHL and trying his best to get a D1 offer while there.