Take a Guess at the Best: Goals
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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. To start, I thought I would go with the most universally recognized term in hockey and most sports in general: The goal.
Number One: Carson Pilgrim Carson Pilgrim 5'9" | Forward Warroad | 2024 State MN , Warroad
Anyone who’s on this list playing against state tournament contenders is seriously one heck of an athlete. By no fault of their own, many top goal scorers in the state play on smaller schools, allowing them to utilize their incredible abilities against widely varying competition. However, Carson Pilgrim Carson Pilgrim 5'9" | Forward Warroad | 2024 State MN has been excelling against tough schedules all his career, and last season was no exception. During a year where he played against Class 2A and 1A schools alike, Pilgrim still managed to rack up 52 goals, good enough to tie him for second in the state. A quick search of the guy on Twitter brings up a bunch of highlights, many from the state tournament. Pilgrim’s scoring ability is on full display in these clips, and his shot always seems to thread through the small spaces a goaltender isn’t occupying. Even better, his stick skills and feints usually put the goalie in a less than ideal position, making it even easier for Pilgrim to score. A North Dakota Fighting Hawks commit, he will have one more year in a Warriors jersey, and it should be a fun one to watch.
Number Two: Wyatt Farrell Wyatt Farrell 5'7" | Forward La Crescent | 2024 State MN , La Crescent-Hokah
This guy is a bit more of a mystery than some of the other athletes on this list, and I had a tougher time finding film. As I sifted through my sources and sites, I finally found an example of a Wyatt Farrell Wyatt Farrell 5'7" | Forward La Crescent | 2024 State MN goal, and it did not disappoint. On the penalty and streaking towards the net unguarded, Farrell ripped a shot that was deflected off the end boards. However, the puck rocketed right back towards him, and using his absurd reflexes, Farrell slashed the puck out of mid air and into the net, earning a collective gasp from the crowd. This clip alone was enough to sell me on Farrell’s greatness, but his stats are an even better indicator of this guy’s game. In 26 contests for La Crescent-Hokah, Farrell scored 52 goals. Yep, you read that right. He averaged two goals a game, in a full varsity season in arguably the best state in the country for prep hockey. These absolutely crazy feats, paired with the fact he’s been scoring on varsity since his eight grade year, all point to the fact that Farrell should keep piling on to his already historic career as a Lancer once his senior season gets going.
Number Three: Noah Urness, Roseau
The third ranked player in our class of 2024 rankings and a top five finisher in the state for goals scored as a junior, Noah Urness‘ resume is already jam packed with accolades, and he’s only set to get better as he gets ready to enter his senior season. He’s already surpassed the 100 point mark with ease after just two seasons on varsity, and the 45 goals he scored this last season was enough to propel himself into the statewide conversation of the best class of 2024 players. Arguably even better than his goals were the 41 assists he accumulated through his consistent ability to make the right read when his team is on the attack. Urness has got the stick skills, the scoring ability, the selflessness, and everything else needed to be a superstar athlete in the state of hockey. The 5-foot-10, 160 pound forward was drafted by the USHL Phantoms in the 6th round, but the fact that this guy doesn’t have a collegiate commitment yet shocks me. If he plays like he has the last two seasons though, I have a feeling college coaches won’t be able to ignore this kid any longer.
Number Four: Kamden Kaiser Kamden Kaiser 6'0" | Forward Northfield | 2024 State MN , Northfield
The superstar dual sport athlete out of Northfield, Kamden Kaiser Kamden Kaiser 6'0" | Forward Northfield | 2024 State MN is a do-it-all athlete on both the ice and the gridiron, and I would be hard pressed to try to say which sport he is better at. For now though, I’m here to talk hockey, and this kid gives me plenty to talk about. Kaiser scored a whopping 40 goals in 2022-2023, 15 more than the next guy on his team. He is always crashing the net and pressing forward on shot opportunities, and this pressure he injects into an opposing defense has two positive effects for his own squad. For one, it grants Northfield plenty of second chance opportunities off deflected shots, and two, it keeps them in their opponent’s zone for long stretches of time, making line changes hard for tired defenders and allowing the Raider attack to control the puck and fire away shot after shot. This offensive pressure by Kaiser and company was a big reason why his team went 23-7 with an average of 5.17 goals scored per game. The Raiders are returning all of their top five scorers from 2022-2023, and if they can mesh as well as they did last season, I bet Northfield heads back to the state tournament for a second consecutive year.
Number Five: Cooper Simpson, Shakopee
The first and only Class of 2025 member on this list, Cooper Simpson had an unbelievable sophomore season for Shakopee, one that earned him an invite to the USA National Team developmental program, an honor only 45 skaters in the country can say they received. The fact that he was both an underclassmen and the only athlete on this list to face primarily Class 2A competition speaks for itself, and the 37 goals he scored in 2022-2023 was good for 16th place in the state. Although he didn’t crack the top 15 last year, a good deal of the high scoring athletes above him have graduated, and Simpson is entering his junior year, one that will likely be big for his development. The 6 foot, 170 pound lefty clearly has a bright hockey future ahead of him, and thanks to his stellar performance so far, I have him slotted at the fifth spot for goals scored this coming season.