Class of 2023 Stock Risers- Defenseman

This article is the last coverage of the class of 2023 rankings, then we move to producing the class of 2024 rankings and breaking those down. In this article, we highlight a couple of players that have improved their stock over the past year.

Shae Gavin Shae Gavin 6'0" | Defense Mankato East | 2023 State MN | 6’0 Defenseman | Mankato East | #32 Overall ’23

We had Gavin as our #42 overall player last season, and we bumped him up ten spots to #32 overall. Gavin is a very good two-way defender and last year he finished with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points in 19 games played. Gavin took the ten spot jump because of the start he is having to the season so far. Gavin has 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 15 total games. It is a very good season he is having this year, with a great career for Gavin. Would like to see him in the high school elite league going into his senior season.

 Joe Schiller | 5’11 Defenseman | Moorhead #52 | Overall ’23

Joe Schiller is one of the biggest risers in these rankings, as he was unranked in our rankings released last year. Schiller is a high-level defensive defenseman that has been recently picking up some point-scoring. Last season for his sophomore year, Schiller had 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points in 22 games played. Schiller got an invite from the prestigious high school elite league and had a pretty solid stint there. This season Schiller has 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points. The next step for Schiller would be some more scoring from the point. Definitely deserves to be ranked where he is.

Karson Raymond | 6’1 Defenseman | St. Michael Albertville | #55 Overall ’23

Karson Raymond has been having a huge junior season so far for the Knights. In just 15 games played, Raymond has 14 goals and 8 assists for 22 points. He is up there for being one of the top-scoring defenders in the state. Raymond went from having one goal in his Sophomore season last year to moving that up to 14 this year. Prep Hockey added Raymond to our recent player rankings mainly because of his huge jump in production from the two seasons. If he continues scoring at this rate, he has a good chance to hop up even more in ou rankings update. Raymond is averaging 1.46 points per game as a defender- very impressive stuff.