Prep Hockey All Junior Honorable Mention
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At last after picking the 2022 Prep Hockey All Junior 1st-3rd teams, it’s now time to finish this series with Honorable Mentions. Most of these players could’ve easily been on the 2nd or 3rd teams, but the amount of depth…
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Continue ReadingAt last after picking the 2022 Prep Hockey All Junior 1st-3rd teams, it’s now time to finish this series with Honorable Mentions. Most of these players could’ve easily been on the 2nd or 3rd teams, but the amount of depth in this class is impressive and made it challenging to pick these teams. As always, we included 3 forwards, 3 defensemen and 1 goaltender for the All Junior Honorable Mention team. Without further delay, lets meet the players!
Forward – Ryan Koering Ryan Koering 6'0" | Defense Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN | Moorhead
For the second year in a row, Ryan Koering Ryan Koering 6'0" | Defense Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN tied for the lead in points on Moorhead. In his sophomore season last year, he tied Max Dronen in points with 24 and tied Mr. Hockey finalist Gavin Lindberg Gavin Lindberg 6'0" | Forward Moorhead | 2022 MN this year with 69. Bentz was a big reason why the Spuds made their 4th Class AA state tournament in a row. They weren’t able to get past the quarterfinals this year as they fell to the eventual champion Andover and lost in the consolation championship to Edina in overtime as well. Bentz had 5 points throughout the tournament in three games. Next season, Bentz and Moorhead could be even deeper and stronger with many returners and skilled players coming up from the bantam ranks. In the “Way Too Early 2022-2023 Mr. Hockey Finalist” predictions by Minnesota Hockey Hub, Bentz was included on that list.
Forward – Sam Ranallo Sam Ranallo 5'10" | Forward Rogers | 2023 State MN | Rogers
Sam Ranallo Sam Ranallo 5'10" | Forward Rogers | 2023 State MN was a star on Rogers this season, leading the team in points with 62. Ranallo and the Royals came so close to that state tournament berth, but ultimately fell to eventual state runner-ups Maple Grove in the section championship game. Ranallo’s most defining game of the season came vs Minnetonka where he tallied 3 goals and 2 assists in a statement 5-4 victory early in the season. Along with Bentz, Ranallo is also projected to be a Mr. Hockey finalist if he sticks around. Rogers will have another strong squad with both Ranallo and Cheslock returning next season.
Forward – Matt Filippi | Little Falls
Cooper Conway Cooper Conway 6'0" | Forward Andover | 2023 State MN is anther strong forward in this potent Class of 2023 who had an amazing season with Little Falls. If you remember, Filippi jumped onto the scene last season as the Flyers made the Class A state tournament in Coach Tony Couture’s last season behind the bench after a long tenure. For a matter of fact, he started playing on the Flyers varsity team as an 8th-grader. Filippi had a whopping 75 points this season, which was tied for the team lead along with Hayden Johnson Hayden Johnson 6'0" | Forward Little Falls | 2022 State MN . Unfortuanely for Little Falls, they had a great regular season, but fell to the eventual section champion Monticello 4-3 in the 5A semifinals. Little Falls will lose and keep some players going into next season and Filippi will play a vital leadership role in his senior year.
Defenseman – Tommy Cronin Tommy Cronin 5'10" | Forward St. Thomas Academy | 2023 State MN | Academy of Holy Angels
In our opinion, Tommy Cronin Tommy Cronin 5'10" | Forward St. Thomas Academy | 2023 State MN was a top 10 junior defenseman in the state this season. He accounted for 9 goals and 22 assists, which are pretty good numbers for a defenseman. The Stars gave up 57 goals in 26 games, which is just over 2 goals a game. Bartfield was apart of that solid defensive core on top of providing plenty offensively. The Holy Angels were pretty senior heavy this season, but the return of Bartfield and another junior defenseman Jacob Margarit Jacob Margarit 5'9" | Defense Academy of Holy Angels | 2023 State MN could make this team solid defensively once again next year. In the very tough Section 6AA playoffs, the Stars fell to Blake 5-1 in the quarterfinals, but doesn’t take away from their impressive 21-3-1 regular season.
Defenseman – Erik Comstock | Warroad
Offensively and defensively, Warroad was a very strong team all around. On the back end, they had the solid goaltending of Cam Briere Cam Briere 5'11" | Forward Stillwater | 2023 State MN and the defenseman likes of Carson Reed Carson Reed 6'1" | Defense Warroad | 2022 State MN and Erik Comstock. Comstock collected 4 goals and a whopping 30 assists this season as a Warrior and proved to be very valuable to this team. As a 5’7’’ defenseman, Comstock is not your average defender when it comes to size. But it doesn’t stop him from being a shutdown defender with some giddy up when it comes to playmaking and offensive ability. The Warriors do return quite a few players from this years Class A runner-up team and they will look to get over that hump and capture a state championship.
Goaltender – Robbie Clarkowkski | Edina
When you see Robbie Clarkowkski’s height of 6’6’’ most would assume he’s a basketball player. But not so fast, this kid is the goaltender of Edina and is a good one between the pipes. Clarkowkski finished the season with a GAA of 1.86, SV % of .923 and a whopping 8 shutouts. Pretty impressive numbers considering that Edina has one of the top schedules in the state. When Clarkowkski is on, he is on and is a tough goaltender to beat. The Hornets will once again be in the mix next season and the play of the projected Mr. Hockey finalist will determine their destiny. I’m expecting a big season from the upcoming senior Hornets goaltender.