Class of 2024 Player Rankings: Top 5

After a short Prep Hockey hiatus following the conclusion of the high school hockey season, we have released our updated list of players in the Class of 2024 rankings. The list has increased by 15 people and many players have moved around quite a bit. In this article, we are going to kick off our coverage of the ranking update by going through the new Top 5. The Top 5 consists of four forwards and one defenseman and has a few new faces. As you look through the rankings, you may notice that this class is very forward heavy, with 55 players playing at that position. Now, to kick off our summer coverage of high school hockey here on Prep Hockey, lets meet the new “Top 5” for the Class of 2024.

 

Drew Stewart Drew Stewart 5'7" | Forward Benilde-St. Margaret's | 2024 State MN | Forward | Benilde-St. Margaret’s

With many changes occurring in the top ten, Drew Stewart Drew Stewart 5'7" | Forward Benilde-St. Margaret's | 2024 State MN is one player that retained his spot at #1. Stewart played for a Red Knight team that was loaded with sophomores this season, and they are bound to be very good in the next couple years. Stewart had 39 points in the 2021-’22 season, which was third on this Benilde team that had a mix of veterans and younger talent. Stewart also only took six penalty minutes in 25 games played, which defiantly shows that he stays discipline and focuses on making plays out on the ice. Stewart will be one of the more experienced Red Knights this upcoming season, as he already has two years under his belt going into his junior campaign.

Will Skahan Will Skahan 6'3" | Defense St. Thomas Academy | 2024 State MN | Defense | St. Thomas Academy

Out of 75 players in our Class of 2024 rankings, there are only nine defensemen on the entire list. To put that into perspective even more, there is one more goalie on our list than defensemen. However, Will Skahan Will Skahan 6'3" | Defense St. Thomas Academy | 2024 State MN has proven to be a top player in this class as a defender. After leaving the Shattuck-St. Mary’s program, Skahan enrolled at St. Thomas Academy last year for his sophomore season of hockey. As a Cadet, Skahan showed off his two-way style of play, playing shutdown defense and providing plenty of offense as well. He had 11 goals and 11 assists, which are numbers you don’t see too often from a sophomore defender playing top teams at St. Thomas. Skahan’s future with the Cadets could be limited though as Elite Prospects lists him as a player for the NTDP U17 team, but we shall see what he decides to do for this upcoming season.

Noah Urness Noah Urness 5'9" | Forward Roseau | 2024 State MN | Forward | Roseau

Noah Urness Noah Urness 5'9" | Forward Roseau | 2024 State MN is another player from this class that played high school hockey as a freshman. In his initial season as a ninth-grader, Urness was pretty productive with a point tally of 18 in 21 games. After getting that experience in the shortened 2020-’21 season, Urness totally broke out as the second point-getter on the team as a sophomore. Urness had 24 goals and 35 assists on a Roseau team that was already solid in the scoring department. With the Rams being such a senior heavy team, things will get a little tougher for Unress this upcoming season. We know that he has the skillset to help carry a team, but will his supporting cast be enough? It will be fun to see what else Noah Urness Noah Urness 5'9" | Forward Roseau | 2024 State MN can do in his junior year.

Teddy Townsend Teddy Townsend 5'10" | Forward Eden Prairie | 2024 State MN | Forward | Eden Prairie 

With the departure of longtime Eden Prairie Head Coach Lee Smith, a new era of Eagle hockey will begin this season. Former Jefferson Head Coach Mike Terwilliger will be taking over the reins, and will have a nice, solid core to work with. They will be pretty young once again, but upcoming junior, Teddy Townsend Teddy Townsend 5'10" | Forward Eden Prairie | 2024 State MN , is a player that doesn’t play like he’s young. Townsend notched 38 points last season and helped drive Eden Prairie to the hot start they got on. After the news of Smith stepping down, the wheels did end up burning out for the Eagles. However, with a skilled player like Townsend returning, I don’t think this team is too far off from making a deep run for St. Paul once again. According to Elite Prospects, Townsend has already been named as one of the captains for the upcoming season.

Harper Searles Harper Searles 5'9" | Forward Centennial | 2024 State MN | Forward | Centennial 

Coming off a freshman season with 11 points in only 10 games played, Harper Searles Harper Searles 5'9" | Forward Centennial | 2024 State MN burst onto the scene this year with 47 points. His point total was third on a Centennial team that was fairly young, that did pretty well against the top crop of high school hockey. Despite falling to them in the section tournament, the Cougars beat Maple Grove fairly convincingly early in the season. They also hung decently tough with the Class AA state champion, Andover, in their two meetings of the season. With a dynamic player like Searles returning and a big boat of upcoming seniors coming back, this Centennial team could be under the radar. Finally, in our initial Class of 2024 rankings, Searles wasn’t nearly as high, but he showed us that he has what it takes. That is why he is at #5 to cap off the Prep Hockey “Top 5” for this class.