New coaches are a theme for area boys high school hockey programs. Dave Snuggerud at Chaska, Noel Rahn at Holy Family Catholic and Jessie Willis at Chanhassen stepped down after the 2020-21 season.
Additionally, Nick Heiberg, had the "co" removed from his head coach role with Southwest Christian/Richfield.
CHASKA
Matt Cooke, who played for the Minnesota Wild late in his career and was a Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh, totaling more than 1,000 games over 16 seasons, is the new leader for the Hawks.
It is the first head coaching job for Cooke, who was an assistant at Orono with former Wild teammate Mark Parrish after his playing days.
Cooke inherits a roster that returns 118 points from a 10-9 record last season including 13-goal scorer Jack Seaverson and junior defenseman Sam Rinzel, a University of Minnesota commit, who tallied 25 points.
Junior goaltender Carter Wishart, who played all but 86 minutes of the last two seasons for Chaska between the pipes, has 25 career wins. He helped the Hawks to a section finals appearance in 2020.
Seniors Bennett Jax (10 goals, 11 assists) and Zach Seltun (17 goals, 22 assists), like Wishart, Rinzel and Seaverson, are third-year varsity members.
"Over the first few weeks we have spent time focusing on implementing basic systems that will allow us all to be on the same page during key times in the game. As we progress, we will continue to add details and variances to our strengths," Cooke said of early-season work.
New systems isn't the only transition happening for Chaska. The addition of Sam Scheetz and Tanner Bruender, who netted 37 and 36 goals, respectively, on the Chaska/Chanhassen Bantam AA team last year, will spark the offense. Adam Kleber on defense and freshman forward Sam Spehar, the son of former Mr. Hockey Dave Spehar, are two other newcomers to watch.
Chaska opened the season with a pair of marquee wins, 4-3 over St. Thomas Academy and 3-1 versus Duluth East, on back-to-back days at Bloomington Ice Garden on Nov. 26-27.
Scheetz's power-play goal with 6:36 remaining in regulation proved to be the winner versus the Cadets. Spehar, Seltun and Seaverson also scored, while Wishart made 31 saves.
Scheetz netted a natural hat trick, twice on the power play, in the victory over the Greyhounds. Rinzel had assists on all three goals. Kai Girard, making his second career start, turned away 18-of-19 shots in the win.
"A successful season for the Chaska Hawks this year will be focused around growth, both individually and collectively as a team. We want to strive to be the best version of ourselves, which will allow us to perform to our ceiling as a team," Cooke said.
SOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN/RICHFIELD
With nine skaters returning from a team that won 11 games, Southwest Christian/Richfield is set to keep the momentum going as the program begins its fifth varsity season.
"The first couple weeks of tryouts and practice have been great! The underclassmen have had to step up as our SWC seniors went on a mission trip for a week and missed our scrimmages up north. New players and younger players held their own in first varsity level action up north. We will rely on our senior leadership and experience this year. We have only had a couple days of practice with our full team, but we are excited to get everyone together and compete and see where we are at," Heiberg said.
Seniors Brody Hardacre and Brady Anderson lead a blueline with four returning skaters including senior Nathan Best and junior Nickolas Azanov. Hardacre has totaled 16 assists in each of his first three seasons with 24 career goals into his senior season.
Junior Caleb Bendell has 20 career goals, having totaled 24 points last season. Seniors Joey Michelizzi (eight goals, 11 assists), Andrew Erhart (nine goals, nine assists) and Truman Haugen (two goals, eight assists) are leading returning scorers upfront.
Sophomore Jared Greiner, who missed half of the season with an injury, is a player Heiberg looks to have a breakout season.
All nine of our seniors will have big roles up and down the line-up with a goalie, three defense and five forwards. Look for Bendell, Greiner, Azanov, and Jannes Kamp to have breakout years. These four players are comfortable with high expectations for themselves and the team this year," the head coach said.
Josh Larson and Kaden Feltmann scored first-period goals in a 3-1 win for Southwest Christian/Richfield in the season opener over Anoka on Nov. 27. It was the first career goal for Feltmann, a sophomore. Bendell also scored just 10 seconds into the third period with senior Isaac Haugen in the nets for his first win of the season.
"At the end of the year we want to look back and know we were a challenging team to play each night and gain the respect of the state as a top class A program. All the while maturing as young men and growing in Christ!" Heiberg said on what a successful season looks like.
CHANHASSEN
If there's one thing Dave Snuggerud taught Sean Bloomfield as a coach -- and there were many -- it was the right way to run a program. Wins are nice, but there is more to high school sports than the end result.
"Since this summer, our key emphasis at Chanhassen has been building a culture of living the right way on and off the ice. These two areas are connected, and the importance of each can’t be stressed enough," Bloomfield, a former co-head coach at Chaska, now the leader in Chanhassen, said. "On the ice the first week of practice, we have implemented our systems and are learning to play hard and think with anticipation off the puck, understanding each position, and being competitive physically and mentally around the puck."
What the Storm found last season was an increased compete level. Even in defeat, Chanhassen skated with their opponents. A line-up that featured 11 underclassmen, including five freshmen.
Junior Joe Parker (five goals, 13 points), sophomore Jake Risch (seven goals, eight assists), junior Tyler Hanson (six goals, six assists), and junior Evan Miller (six goals, seven assists) are top returning scorers for the Storm.
The blueline is intact with senior Joe Gerebi, juniors Col Baker and Mathias Bosch, and sophomores Billy McNeely, Ben Curtis and Owen Buesgens.
"The start has been incredible. Tryout week was played at an extremely high pace and compete level, and both the JV and varsity practices have been dialed in, focused, and competitive. We have an extremely coachable group of kids, many who want to play hockey after high school, and they are receptive in learning how train that way and play as a team," Bloomfield said.
A year after having two seniors on the roster, Chanhassen has four, including two-year captain and third-year varsity member Ryan Nicholson, who tied for second on the team with nine assists last year.
Gerebi, JT Montang and goaltender Sean Gates make up the rest of the senior class.
"We are excited for our leadership group. Ryan Nicholson has continued to grow as a fantastic leader on and off the ice. Joe Gerebi leads a strong blue line that ranges from old to young in age, but has a lot of returning varsity experience, and his presence on and off the ice is noticeable with this group. Evan Miller was named an alternate captain this week as a junior because of his incredible work ethic on and off the ice. He leads by example and his teammates look up to him. I can count on one hand the number of players I’ve coached in the last decade that put as much work and dedication into being a hockey player as he does, and it shows," Bloomfield said.
While Chanhassen showed good compete level last year, the physical maturity playing against boys two-to-three years older showed. An area Bloomfield believes this group has taken another step forward.
"On the ice, our group may be under the radar this season, but in the locker room these players want to win at the highest level. The goal is to win six games after the regular season ends," Bloomfield said. "As a program, we are looking for consistency in building the culture we want to build together, and ultimately the goal is for each athlete to have a great experience that enhances their love for the game."
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC
With 10 of the team's top 11 scorers graduated, Holy Family Catholic will bolster a young roster under the direction of new leadership in former Southwest Christian/Richfield head coach Erik Westrum.
Senior captain Nick Blood, second on the team in goals (seven) and third in points (19), is one of only two top-nine forwards back for the Fire. Junior Parker Osborn chipped in five goals last season as well.
Mark Rahn will serve as the other captain with Abe Melek and Tommy Agerland gaining assistant captain roles.
"Nick has grown tremendously over the past six months from spending time with the Austin Bruins in the NAHL. He will be fun to watch in all areas on the ice and his personal success will fuel our team success. Most importantly he has become a great leader for all of our players on varsity and JV," Westrum said.
Melek, who played in four games last season, looks to make the jump to a top defensive pairing this year.
"Abe is a multi-sport athlete that is coming into his own as a top defensemen that can play in all situations. His ability to read the game and dictate the tempo will be a key component of our defensive core. His leadership will be an important part in bringing our team together throughout the ups and downs," Westrum said.
Though light in varsity experience, an area the Fire should excel at this season is goaltending where Kam Hendrickson and Bennett Reinhard give Holy Family Catholic a 1-2 tandem.
Hendrickson, in his first varsity start, made 38 saves in a 3-2 loss to Blake School on Nov. 27 in the season opener.
"Kam is an athletic goaltender with high end potential and is not afraid to challenge the shooter. Bennett will stay at home, make it look simple and be a rock in between the pipes as well. Depth and consistency at goaltender is a key to a deep run into the season," Westrum said.
Westrum understands transition. He was part of the team that brought hockey to Southwest Christian High School and adopted a co-op with Richfield. Now his challenge is adopting his hockey beliefs into a new group of players in Victoria.
"Our focus has been on having fun and making sure we are enjoying our time together on the ice as a team. It has been great to see all of our players working hard and bonding throughout the first few weeks. The start of the season has been great getting to know our players on a personal level. We have a lot of new players that will be making their varsity hockey debut and it will be great to see!" the coach said.
Blood scored twice in the third period, both goals assisted by Agerland, in the season opener against Blake.
"A successful season is making sure all of our players enjoy coming to the rink everyday and coming closer as a team. The end goal for our team is becoming closer to God through our journey with Jesus Christ. On the ice we will try to surprise some teams in sections and who knows where our talents will take us come March," Westrum said.
MINNETONKA
A roster heavy on seniors, Minnetonka was a goal short of the state tournament last March, falling in overtime to Eden Prairie. While there will be many new faces on the ice for the Skippers, the goal remains the same.
That goal is playing for a Section 2AA championship where the winner has advanced to the state title game five of the last six seasons.
Our focus the first few weeks of practice are getting all of the players into the mindset of playing team hockey at a high-tempo. With our depth, size, and speed, we want to own the puck and constantly be in attack mode," Minnetonka assistant coach Tom Stretar said.
Seniors Wyatt Chartier (seven goals, eight assists) and Nick Baer (four goals, 11 assists) are two players the Skippers will lean on early for leadership. Baer is in his third year on varsity on the blueline.
"His ability to ensure everyone understands their role on this team will be a big factor in determining how far this team plays into March," Stretar said.
Another senior, Jack Rausch, is a forward that took advantage of his role on JV last year and is looking to make an impact in his final year.
"He has worked extremely hard all summer and fall to get to his senior year to be an impact player," Stretar said.
Senior Reed Hanus (four goals, six assists) and Chanhassen sophomore transfer Alex Lunski, a Metro West all-conference selection last season, are two other players to watch.
Minnetonka is also excited about junior goaltender Beau Motzko, the son of University of Minnesota men's hockey coach Bob Motzko. Beau made 33 saves on 35 shots in two varsity appearances last year.
"Beau is expected to log lots of minutes this year. He comes to practice every day with a mindset of getting better," Stretar said.
For Minnetonka, the high school hockey season is defined by three parts within one. The schedule in November and December is always challenging, a way for the Skipper players to understand what it takes to compete against the state’s top AA teams.
"The quicker we can adapt to high paced, team hockey will dictate the successes we can achieve the back half of the season," Stretar said.
The new year brings ono the Lake Conference portion of the schedule with two league games a week. A chance to play the likes of Edina, Eden Prairie and Wayzata in contests that usually go down to the final whistle.
And then's there the post-season where every team's goal is to win their Section and compete for a state title. Minnetonka hopes to be a team in the mix when that time comes.
Minnetonka went 1-1 in the first-ever Tonka Thanksgiving Preview. Roseau scored three times over the final 3:36 to claim a 5-2 win over the Skippers in the opener. Tim Lagerback and Teddy Manlove found the net for Minnetonka.
Five Skippers scored in a 5-1 win over Cloquet-Esko-Carlton on Nov. 27 including freshman Ashton Schultz, Matt Boberg and Gavin Garry with their first varsity tallies. Chartier and Lagerback helped Minnetonka open up a 3-0 lead through one period as well.