Take a Guess at the Best: Assists
In my third continuous series here at Prep Hockey, I will be taking a gander at who the top five athletes will be in each major statistical category for the 2023-2024 season. Statistics, film, and potential will all be used…
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Continue ReadingIn my third continuous series here at Prep Hockey, I will be taking a gander at who the top five athletes will be in each major statistical category for the 2023-2024 season. Statistics, film, and potential will all be used to make my best educated guesses, and five athletes will be featured in today’s article. For this installment, I’ll be looking at the assist category, and the best supporting skaters this state has to offer. Let’s take a look.
Number One: Henry Lechner, Academy of Holy Angels
A statewide leader in assists from Class 2A would be uncanny considering the amount of small school superstars that await in the crosshairs, but if anyone can pull this off, it’s Henry Lechner and the Academy of Holy Angels. In 2022-2023, the underclassman had 44 assists to go with 31 goals, giving him a 75 point total that is practically unheard of out of 2A sophomores. Heading into his junior year as a Star, Lechner will undoubtedly be a better hockey player than he was last year, and will make his team’s offense one of the scarier ones in the Tri-Metro. This team is young, and their offensive production should continue to trend upward as they grow together as a team, both literally and figuratively. Cole Cheeseman, Lincoln Ayers Assad, and Gabe Perron were all freshman who saw significant playing time this last season, and the three will enter their sophomore years with well over 100 points between them already. This young team, when paired with an established upperclassmen like Lechner, should shine in 2023-2024, and I have a feeling the assist king will be donning a Stars uniform when the season is all said and done.
Number Two: Patrick Kroski Patrick Kroski 6'1" | Forward Luverne | 2024 State MN , Luverne
Luverne’s impressive 21-8-1 season combined with postseason success wouldn’t have been possible without Patrick Kroski Patrick Kroski 6'1" | Forward Luverne | 2024 State MN , who played a big role in helping his team’s offense average an impressive 5.20 goals per game in 2022-2023. During this season, Kroski was the top scorer, and the majority of his 68 points came in the form of assists. An All-Conference selection in the Big South, Kroski’s past first mentality as a forward was big for his team’s success, as he let senior Brock Behrend take the brunt of the shots, and in turn, score most of the goals. However, Behrend is gone, leaving Kroski as the next man up to facilitate scoring for his squad. Fortunately, he will be far from alone. Luverne is returning a handful of their starters, including All-Conference nominee Owen Sudenga Owen Sudenga Forward Luverne | 2024 State MN , whose 18 goals and 33 assists in 2022-2023 reveal a similar play-style to his other primarily passing teammate. One of these two skaters will need to step up and be the main goal scorer this coming winter, and considering Kroski’s familiarity with controlling and dishing out the puck, my guess is he remains the puck slinging supporter that brought his team to the state tournament last year.
Number Three: Gavin Girdler, Red Lake Falls
An 87 point showcase with a healthy blend of goals and assists is crazy for any hockey player, and Gavin Girdler did it as a sophomore. Skating stride for stride with his older brother, Evan, the two both scored exactly 87 points in 2022-2023. Go figure. The younger Girdler brother, Gavin, already has multiple memorable games and signature performances after only two years with the Red Lake Falls program. If you want an example of how this guy bends the hockey world to his will, look no further than his team’s late season contest against Thief River Falls. In a series that has reportedly dated back to the 1950’s, it is widely believed that Red Lake Falls has never won against their “rival”, if one could even call them that in a series so one sided. However, the Eagles had never had the Girdler brothers on their side, and after a hat trick from the younger Gavin, they escaped victorious for the first time in nearly 75 years. Historic bouts and performances go hand in hand with the Girdler brothers, and although older brother Evan won’t be with the team in 2023-2024 due to graduation, he is leaving the program in good hands with his younger bro.
Number Four: Harper Searles, Centennial
The top assisting skater in the Class of 2024, Harper Searles capped off an incredible 2022-2023 season with 67 points and a staggering 47 assists, good for seventh place in the state. With everyone above him on the list now graduated, many people might think Searles will take the assist crown this coming winter, but there is one red flag that is sailing high. Centennial has graduated all of their double digit goal scorers, save for Searles. That means that he won’t have many skaters out there that match his level of varsity experience and expertise. Odds are, this will ding his assists for at least a little bit to start out the season, but I believe that Searles will get his line in order and begin to mesh more with them as the year goes on. This guy can sure play hockey, and regardless of who is staying and who is leaving on the Cougars, I bet Searles still has himself a big time senior year.
Number Five: Carson Pilgrim Carson Pilgrim 5'9" | Forward Warroad | 2024 State MN , Warroad
There isn’t much to say about this guy that hasn’t already been said, and the fact that I’ve already written about him a handful of times in my brief tenure at Prep Hockey should show you just how dominant he is. I got Carson Pilgrim Carson Pilgrim 5'9" | Forward Warroad | 2024 State MN at fifth place for statewide assists in 2023-2024, and the reasoning is simpler than one might expect. Long story short, I bet Pilgrim gets double teamed to start out next season. Considering he scored 52 goals and had 40 assists in 2022-2023 alone, defenders will likely overcommit on the phenom, pressuring his forehand side in order to force a pass out of the star shooter. However, this is where I think Pilgrim will shine, as he has been shown to be dang near uncontainable during his time in a Warrior jersey. While he’s getting double teamed, I speculate he’ll make someone else on his squad the top goal scorer, and then teams will realize they can’t double this guy without getting punished for it. After that, Pilgrim should settle into a more balanced role, at least by his sky high standards.