The Three Key Door for Minnetonka
Every team in the state, whether it is a defending state champion or a struggling squad, starts their season out with a door that stands between them and success. Nonetheless, every team is just as capable of unlocking their potential…
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Continue ReadingEvery team in the state, whether it is a defending state champion or a struggling squad, starts their season out with a door that stands between them and success. Nonetheless, every team is just as capable of unlocking their potential through an interwoven combination of skill, strategy, leadership, and coaching. In this new series kicking up here for Prep Hockey, I will be taking a look at the three keys each and every team in the state needs to open up the door that stands between them and a great year by their unique standards. For today’s team, the defending state champion Minnetonka gets their name back in the spotlight.
Key #1: Send off the Class of 2024 in Style
Minnetonka already did this last season with a stellar trio of junior forwards leading the Skippers to a state title, and it will need to happen again this year if they want another trophy. Now all in their final collective year of hockey, it will be up to Hagen Burrows Hagen Burrows 6'1" | Forward Minnetonka | 2024 State MN , Gavin Garry Gavin Garry 6'0" | Forward Minnetonka | 2024 State MN , and Javon Moore Javon Moore 6'2" | Forward Minnetonka | 2024 State MN to lead the charge for the Skipper attack. Burrows led the three in scoring, and his 6-foot-2, 165 pound frame granted him the necessary quickness and length needed to score 50 points in a season. Garry is less limber than his aforementioned teammate, but also more solid at 185 pounds. His former experience as a defenseman translated nicely into the attack, and his 20 goals paired with 25 assists were good for second in scoring on his team. Rounding out the big three is Moore, a Gopher commit that is always looking for the open lane to dish the puck into. His 10 goals and 27 assists may have been third on the team, but his motor and energy on the ice are second to none. These top three scorers for Minnetonka last year will all be returning for their senior campaigns, and thanks to the chemistry they built on the ice last year, I bet they somehow put up even better numbers in 2023-2024.
Key #2: Hunter Bauer Steps Up
Kaizer Nelson was a Skipper that made waves in the prep hockey hemisphere last year. The senior was in the top three across the state for goalies in both Wins (24), and Goals Against Average (1.21), not to mention his 11th ranked .929 save percentage that was hard fought for against some of the best Class AA teams in the state. Nelson graduated as one of the best the Skippers ever had in the net, and his replacement has the gargantuan task of filling a big missing piece from the 2022-2023 state title team. As it stands now, this task will likely fall into the glove hand of Hunter Bauer, a rising senior with minimal varsity experience. The guy did mostly mop up work in lower stake games last season, but in the few chances he got to shine, Bauer was excellent. He started five games and won five games, but what stuck out to me the most were the three shutouts he posted during this stretch. As a backup appearing sporadically through the season, this guy was still blanking teams over half the time! On top of this, his .973 save percentage and razor thin 0.40 goals allowed per game were also amazing feats, and if these numbers are any indicator of how Bauer will fare this coming season, it is safe to say the Skippers have found their replacement.
Key #3: Don’t Overcomplicate Things
To be honest, part of me didn’t want to write the three key series for Minnetonka specifically. At the end of the day, this is clearly a program that knows itself inside and out, and it feels silly as someone on the outside trying to speculate what they ‘could’ be doing different when they are fresh off a state title. The Skippers are clearly privy to winning, and there is a reason for that. Their coaches, trainers, facilities, athletes, and fanbase are all top notch, meaning there is not much that needs to be changed. The program has a long history of winning, and I’m assuming at this point, they operate more on a, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” mentality. As long as this team doesn’t overdo any new changes they implement, the Skippers will be in a good spot to spend another year as one of the nation’s premier high school hockey teams.
What Lies Behind the Door: If Minnetonka can keep their senior core healthy, develop Hunter Bauer into the next big thing between the pipes, and keep their formula for winning intact, there isn’t much they can’t do as a program. After going 29-2 and winning state, the expectation is clear for Skipper skaters and fans alike in 2023-2024. No team has won back-to-back state titles since Hermantown in ’16 and ’17, but Minnetonka is set up to have a very realistic shot at rewriting some record books. At the very least, I expect these guys to make it back to state.