Meet six high school boys hockey prospects in Minnesota pondering college commitments

Recent Division I college hockey commitments of 2024 Elk River graduate Cooper Anderson (Quinnipiac), Edina junior Sam Peckham (Cornell) and Rogers junior forward Cole Bumgarner (North Dakota) are sure to be followed by at least six top prospects expected to return to their Minnesota high school programs this winter.

In Minnesota, however, or any state that produces a lot of hockey talent, playing for a college program right after high school isn’t always the path taken. Most players stay in a juniors program until they age out at 20, or sooner, and then attend college.

Some Minnesota products have gone on to play in United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League and North American 3 Hockey League.

Decision time looms for these elite puck chasers, who previously made the 2024 Team USA Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster:

Ended his sophomore season at the Xcel Energy Center in the Class 2A state tournament. Season stats featured a 10-7 record, 2.42 goals against and 91% saves. No relation to former Grand Rapids and North Stars netminder Jon Casey.

Playing for the Madison Capitols of the U.S. Hockey League but expected to return and be one of Eden Prairie’s captains. As a sophomore last season, Moe led the Eagles with 23 goals and 40 points.

The defending Class 2A state tournament champs will be waiting on West to rejoin the hockey program once football season ends. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound West quarterbacked Edina on a surprise odyssey to the Class 6A Prep Bowl. He already has received a pair of college football offers from Kent State and Marshall. And he joined Casey and Moe on the 2024 Team U.S.A. Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster.

Also drawing interest from a national perspective are three Under-17 Select Team selections who stood out as last season:

Celski and Vandertop skated at the state tournament in March. In August, the quartet helped the Yanks defeat Slovakia for the gold medal in the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.

The list prospects in Minnesota is certainly deep. This past summer, eight Minnesota prospects were selected to the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s under-17 team.

The NTDP is a two-year residency program for high-performance players located at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. The under-17 team plays in the U.S. Hockey League, the only Tier I junior hockey league in the United States, as well as against select competition in the North American Hockey League and Minnesota Elite League.