Who was the best H.S. player ever from MN?

Chockey7 · Post by **Chockey7** » Sun Mar 24, 2002 5:33 pm

i disagree with baderisastud, i think that corey carlson is the best high school hockey player, he will probably be in the NHL next year..

petey1321 · Post by **petey1321** » Sun Mar 24, 2002 9:45 pm

Hope you guys are joking. You have to be something above and beyond extraordinary to play in the NHL at the age of 18, especially if you're coming out of high school. I'd be impressed if kids playing high school hockey now were able to play in the NHL before at least 3 years of post-HS hockey (D-1, Major Jrs., Jr. A, etc).

Salb12 · Post by **Salb12** » Sun Mar 24, 2002 10:08 pm

good point petey but even now its rare to see a kid coming straight to a d-1 college and playin regularly. juniors is almost a must step for players to take after highschool... going from highschool right to the pros in hockey is unheard of today

goldy313 · Post by **goldy313** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 4:23 pm

How many of the current Gophers are former USHL kids? What is the advantage of playing JR A? It's NOT added games for development. Adding more games is not helping as much as adding 2 years of growth to kids, no adults. Playing 25 year olds against 20 year olds is the advantage. Would a Bantam or better yet a Pee Wee team win the High School championship? Of course not but yet the same advantage is gained by recruitng 20 year old Freshmen you red shirt a year. No other NCAA sport allows this. This is just another reason to cheer for the Gophers in two weeks. They do it the right way, with college aged kids.

bdabbt75 · Post by **bdabbt75** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 4:44 pm

all other ncaa sports allow this, except there is no amateur development league analogous to Jnr A's. I played football with a 25 year old (played 4 years in the airforce, and good... an NAIA all-american). and if you look at BYU, they 'recruit' their FB players (do mormons go anywhere else?;-) , then send them off on their mormon mission for 2 years, then redshirt them... SI said something along the lines that this years starters had an average age of 24. I'll take a 24 year old OT facing off against a 19yo DT any day. And Chris Weinke of FSU played college FB at what 26, after playing minor league Baseball for 4 years (and all the training that entailed).

petey1321 · Post by **petey1321** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 5:28 pm

If you go by age, just by looking at the rosters (no math done by me, just a ballpark figure), it appears that the Gophers and Michigan are roughly the same. But, yes, those players that are older on Michigan's roster are sophomores and juniors, while the Gophers old guys are seniors. To me this isn't a very big deal. I say the "right way" of doing things is the one that makes you most successful while doing the best that you can for your players' futures. Here's something to consider, for those who frown on kids going to Jr. A before college: Matt Hendricks and Brandon Bochenski played together on that Blaine team a few years ago. Though roughly the same in skill level, Hendricks was more highly touted. So, after HS, Hendricks went to St. Cloud and Bochenski to the USHL. Hendricks saw little ice time and got 12 points. Certainly respectable for a freshman, no question. Bochenski played all the time in Juniors, and this year was a freshman for North Dakota. This year, Hendricks got 39 points in 42 games (.93 pts. per game) and Bochenski got 32 in 36 games (.89 pts. per game). So, these guys followed very different paths to D-1 hockey, but they are both there now, and they both are performing well (and basically, performing about the same). The only difference now is that Bochenski has one more year of eligibility, and hence one more year to develop his skills before perhaps moving on to the minors or the pros. Now you tell me, can anyone really blame a team for not taking kids directly out of high school who may get 12 points in a year when they can take them after a year of Juniors and they might be capable of 39 points? Make no mistake, I think it's too bad that most kids can't go directly to D-1 from high school. But, the reality is that, in many if not most situations, kids who go to Juniors for a year are much better prepared for college hockey than kids who don't. I'll be cheering the Gophers at the Frozen Four, but teams playing with older players won't be the reason. I am much more proud that the team is made up of almost exclusively Minnesotans, and there is nary a Canadian in the bunch. Getting it done with hometown heroes is always something to hope for and admire. Vanek will come next year and change the All-American team, but one kid from Austria on a team makes me happier than 10 Canadians.

NUEagles · Post by **NUEagles** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 6:34 pm

Broten was amazing and Im not taking a single accomplishment from him. But didnt he play with His brothers Paul and Aaron? All 3 played in the NHL.

Salb12 · Post by **Salb12** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 7:56 pm

I know of atleast 3 gophers that played in the ushl.... riddle , potulny , and J. martin played in the ushl and there are prolly more.... but in juniors players develop skills so they can compete more effectivly at the collegic level... also players are more independent therefore preparing them for college and players can mature in this league and once again be more effective in college-- juniors isnt for everyone but i can say it drastically helped out my brother

goldy313 · Post by **goldy313** » Tue Mar 26, 2002 11:38 am

Have any of you seen much JR A hockey? It's really not that great. It fills the void that was created when Division 1 college teams dropped their JV programs. The difference is when you played JV it used up eligibility time where as the JR's don't. My guess is that the ratios of kids playing JR A hockey playing varsity college hockey and that of kids playing JV college hockey making varsity are pretty close. I've lived in Rochester (the only MN city with JR A anymore) for 15 years, JR A leaves alot to be desired. The officiating is horrible, many of the guys reffing these games can't work high school games. The kids don't go to school, a huge problem for those trying to get into college. JR A does have the advantage of helping prop 14 kids get ready for college. Just my opinion, but an educated one based on watching 15 years of JR A hockey, the biggest reason colleges use these kids is their age and size difference. Nothing else.

Dean Younblood · Post by **Dean Younblood** » Tue Mar 26, 2002 6:48 pm

USHL players that now play for the Gophers: Nick Anthony, Matt Demarchi, Matt Koalska, Joey Martin, Grant Potulny, Troy Riddle, Keith Ballard, Jake Fleming, Justin Johnson, Brett Mackinnon, Judd Stevens, and Jerrid Reinholz. And if you look at the age or years of these players you would start to see a big trend of what the Gophers are now beginning to make mandatory, playing in the USHL. But if you don’t play in the on a regular USHL team who do you have to play for? A team that plays games in the USHL. Players from the Gophers who played for USNDT: Barry Tallackson, Travis Weber, Jake Fleming who had to go to Omaha of the USHL after two years with USNDT, Keith Ballard played his junior year with them, Jon Waibel, Jordan Leopold, and Adam Hauser. &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp But I do have to say the Gophers are younger because even though many of these players played in the USHL many of them only played until there senior year in High school. The examples, Troy Riddle, Keith Ballard, and Matt Demarchi.

bdabbt75 · Post by **bdabbt75** » Wed Apr 03, 2002 9:01 am

"Without getting too goo-goo about it, [Zach Parisi is] a coach's dream," Shattuck head coach Tom Ward said. "From my era, the only guy I can really compare him to is Neal Broten." and you learn that marlon brando is a shattuck alum too. (so much for brent musberger being the big man at reunions;-) <a href="http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/ ...

Vanek Fan · Post by **Vanek Fan** » Mon Apr 08, 2002 1:06 pm

I do not know how all of you have not even mentioned John Pohl. He holds numerous high school records in the state of Minnesota. He led the state in scoring in high school, and the entire NCAA in scoring in college. This is a feat that none of your mentioned "best" players did...

petey1321 · Post by **petey1321** » Mon Apr 08, 2002 1:37 pm

Pohl set all those records playing against Class A competition and in the Class A tournament. I'd have liked to have seen guys like Neal Broten and Henry Boucha play in that league in those years (when Red Wing was it, period) and seen how many goals they scored. True, his D-1 stats are great, I won't argue that, but that doesn't make him the best HIGH SCHOOL player ever.

bluesbuddy · Post by **bluesbuddy** » Tue Apr 09, 2002 2:12 am

vanekfan you're too young of a boy to remember the great players. maybe when you get to your upper teens or early twenties you will realize that there was a history of great high school hockey players in minnesota before 1998. bb

JLS 81 · Post by **JLS 81** » Fri Nov 08, 2002 3:08 pm

To date it is Mr. Neal Broton...no question about it.

joe lulic · Post by **joe lulic** » Fri Nov 08, 2002 3:52 pm

Broten was great but the answer is Housley. He was drafted #6 in the first round in 1982 while he was in high school. He stepped out of So St Paul and into the NHL. He spent no time in the minors and scored 66 points as a rookie in the 1982/83 season. I realize that how he did in the NHL shouldnt mean anything but the ink wasnt dry on his high school diploma and he was playing there. I dont know if Broten could have done that or not but we do know that he didnt make an impact in the NHL until he was 3-4 years out of high school.

AWHL BULLS playR · Post by **AWHL BULLS playR** » Sat Nov 09, 2002 12:45 am

The best players ive ever seen was MATT CULLEN and RYAN KRAFT! Thos 2 playrs had it all!

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 10:34 am

while still in high school, at age 17, playing in the canada cup. winning a faceoff from gretzky, scoring on gilles meloche. at age 18, rookie year in nhl playing in the all-star game... no one has or ever will compare to housley...

joe lulic · Post by **joe lulic** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 12:07 pm

hubbaa, I forgot about that other wise I would have put it in my post. He was something to watch. Still is.

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 12:22 pm

his high school team had (top of my head) 6 d-1 players and he made them all as well as every opponent he played against look like little girls. many times his own team would just stand and watch him play, other teams would frequently bet on who would be the first one to check him during a game, i don't think anyone ever won that bet. when he was in 9th grade he was the best one on the team, in 10th grade he was the best in the state, 11th grade he was the best amatuer player in the US, including collegiate players, 12 grade he was better than half of nhl players... had he played forward in high school it would have been awfully scarey to see his stats. his longevity with his being one or the top american born nhl scorers in history and one of the top scoring defensemen in history equals hall of fame. he did things at the age of 17 that players that age can't even dream of. rookie of the year runner up in nhl as 18 yr old. winner was steve larmer (chicago), where are you now steve? third place was another buddy of mine, brian bellow (Mn).

joe lulic · Post by **joe lulic** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 12:40 pm

When he was in the State Tournament, I was able to get really good seats to one of the games, I dont remeber which. Sitting about 50 feet away from us was Scotty Bowman the then head coach and I think GM of the Buffalo Sabres. He was there to watch Housley. I walked passed him between periods out in the concourse and his group, which included Lou Nanne, were talking about PhiL. Bowman said the kid is phenomenal and will go in the first round. I couldnt believe it. Of course, Bowman took him #6 and the rest is history. I dont know of any other high school kid who was so highly thought of by some pretty high test people.

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 12:50 pm

joe, you're right. i remember looking into the stands and seeing the entire Mn. north star team at the game just to watch him... gretzky was asked once in '82 if he had to pay to watch anyone play at that time, who would it be. his answer was housley. he also played football and baseball in high school, although all the national teams he played on took some time away from these, he wasn't your typical player of today who will choose hockey all year round at the expense of their high school experience.

juniorhockey · Post by **juniorhockey** » Wed Nov 27, 2002 6:54 pm

I haven't been around as long to see all the greats... but in my era there aer and were many. One name I haven't seen on the list, i might have missed him, is Toby Peterson. Toby played at Bloomington Jefferson during the string of THREE straight state championships, two of which i believe were undefeated seasons. He was the staring center as a freshmen. His stats were good. If you're going to say names like Spehar, Pohl, and Cullen. Let's not leave out Toby.

mnmoon · Post by **mnmoon** » Thu Nov 28, 2002 9:46 pm

Toby was good, but your facts are a little off. Toby only played three years at Jefferson because he graduated after his junior year. He wasn't on the team that went undefeated, as a matter of fact his freshman year was the only time he was member of a state championship team, that was Crowley's and Bianchi's senior seasons.

FormerEagle · Post by **FormerEagle** » Mon Dec 02, 2002 10:50 pm

No votes for Karl Goerhing? He had an unbelievable high school career, and great college career, and is doing very well in the minors right now. Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub33.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUser ... erEagle</A> at: 12/2/02 10:53:04 pm

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Who was the best H.S. player ever from MN?

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