Ben Hanowski and Anders Lee news bites from outside Minnesota

Here are what a few online papers out east had to say about two Minnesota high school players that were taken in the NHL draft over the weekend:

Ben Hanowski (Little Falls): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA)

Anders Lee (Edina): Newsday (Long Island, NY)

Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie): USA Today

Articles worth reading about Minnesota players, high school players, and the NHL draft

Here are two articles out today that you may want to read related to the NHL Entry Draft:

Lee's untraditional chase of NHL dream - ESPN.com

High schoolers growing in draft popularity - NHL.com

2009 NHL Draft: Wild pick an Eagle; Predators pick a Hornet

Eden Prairie's Nick Leddy was the first player selected in the 2009-2010 NHL Entry Draft coming out of Minnesota at the high school level. On Friday night, he was selected in the first round as the 16th pick overall by the 'home' team, the Minnesota Wild. Leddy, a defenseman, was Minnesota's 2008-2009 Mr. Hockey and is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota.

Today, with the 41st pick in the second round, the Nashville Predators selected forward Zach Budish from the Edina Hornets. Budish did not play this last year due to an ACL injury that he had suffered during football season. Like Leddy, Budish is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota before pursuing his professional career.

Round 1:

Vancouver Canucks: 22nd pick overall: Jordan Schroeder (C) (St. Thomas Academy '05-'06): Schroeder currently plays for the University of Minnesota. In 35 games this past season, Schroeder scored 13 goals and assisted on 32 others as a freshman.

Round 3:

Pittsburgh Penguins: 63rd pick overall: Ben Hanowski (RW) (Little Falls '08-'09): He is Minnesota's all-time scoring leader and is verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State University.

Florida Panthers: 67th pick overall: Josh Birkholz (RW) (Blake School '07-'08): Played for the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2008-2009. He is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota.

Edmonton Oilers: 71st pick overall: Troy Hesketh (D) (Minnetonka '08-'09): Hesketh, a junior at Minnetonka High School, scored 22 points for the Skippers this past season scoring 7 goals (4 powerplay goals) and assisting on 15 in 28 games. He also collected 42 penalty minutes and had a +23 plus/minus. Hesketh has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin.

Chicago Blackhawks: 89th pick overall: Dan DeLisle (C/LW) (Totino-Grace '08-'09): The 6'4", 222 pound DeLisle is verbally committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Phoenix Coyotes: 91st pick overall: Mike Lee (G) (Roseau '07-'08): Lee decided to fore go his senior season at Roseau and play for Fargo of the USHL. He has verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State University. He will also be on Team USA at the World Junior Championship in December and January of this coming year. There was an article out today about Lee on the ESPN website.

Round 4:

Nashville Predators: 110th pick overall: Nick Oliver (C/LW) (Roseau '08-'09): Oliver has verbally committed to St. Cloud State University.

New Jersey Devils: 114th pick overall: Seth Helgeson (D) (Faribault '06-'07): Helgeson played for the Sioux City Muskateers of the USHL the last two seasons. Helgeson is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota.

Round 5:

Detroit Red Wings: 150th pick overall: Nick Jensen (D) (Rogers '07-'08): Jensen skipped his senior season at Rogers and played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. Jensen is verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State University.

Round 6:

New York Islanders: 152nd pick overall: Anders Lee (C) (Edina '08-'09): Lee, the star center for the Edina hockey team and the star quarterback for the Edina football team, has verbally committed to play for Notre Dame University.

Round 7:

Ottawa Senators: 191st pick overall: Michael Sdao (D): Sdao was born in Minneapolis, MN but played minor hockey in Colorado through his freshman year of high school. As a sophomore, he left Colorado and attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana until he graduated. He has played for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL since '07-'08. He is verbally committed to play at Princeton University.

St. Louis Blues: 202nd pick overall: Max Tardy (C) (Duluth East '08-'09): Tardy has verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The Minnesota Wild selected the following players during the draft:

Round 1: Pick 16: D-Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie HS) - 5'11", 179 lbs, 03/20/91
Round 3: Pick 77: G-Matthew Hackett (Plymouth - OHL) - 6'2", 170 lbs, 03/07/90
Round 4: Pick 103: LW-Kristopher Foucault (Calgary - WHL) - 6'1", 202 lbs, 12/12/90
Round 4: Pick 116: RW-A Fallstrom (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - 6'2", 192 lbs, 09/15/90
Round 6: Pick 161: G-Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer - WHL) - 6'4", 195 lbs, 05/05/90
Round 6: Pick 163: RW/LW-Jere Sallinen (Blues Jr. - Finland Jr.) - 6'0", 183 lbs, 10/26/90
Round 7: Pick 182: LW-Erik Haula (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - 5'11", 170 lbs, 03/23/91
Round 7: Pick 193: C-Anthony Hamburg (Dallas Stars AAA) - 6'1", 185 lbs, 08/30/91

Vizenor hired as new Shakopee boys hockey coach

Jeff Vizenor has been hired as the new boys hockey coach for the Shakopee Sabers.

Vizenor's coaching resume:

Minnesota State University-Mankato women's head coach
University of Wisconsin women's head coach
St. Mary's University (Winona) women's head coach
Mora High School boys head coach
St. Cloud Apollo High School boys head coach

2004 WCHA Coach of the Year
1998-1999 MIAC Coach of the Year at St. Mary's University
1995-1996 Minneota state tournament berth with the Mora Mustangs

Ed Loiselle resigned as head coach in March after 16 seasons with Shakopee.

Hockey Day Minnesota moves north in 2010

Hockey Day Minnesota 2010 will be on January 23 up in the Hermantown/Duluth area.

Games will include:

10:00 AM: Boys: Duluth Marshall vs. Hopkins
1:30 PM: Boys: Hermantown vs. Eden Prairie
4:30 PM: Girls: Duluth Stars vs. Proctor/Hermantown/Duluth Marshall

All games are outdoors outside of the Hermantown Arena.

The coverage on FSN would then move to a Minnesota Wild game at Xcel Energy Center and then to a Minnesota Gophers vs. St. Cloud State game.

Fox 21 of Duluth covered the announcement and had some quick interviews with the coaches of the teams in the event.

The Next Level: 2008-2009 NHL 20-plus goal scorers

It's the slow season when it comes to Minnesota high school hockey. The only burning question coming up soon will be how high Zach Budish (Edina) and Mr. Hockey's Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie) will go in next week's NHL entry draft.

In the coming weeks, I'm going to throw some stats at you from the leagues at the next level starting with the NHL.

120 NHL players made the 20-plus goals club in 2009. Of those 120 players, 22 were born in the United States, six players in Minnesota. New York and Michigan followed Minnesota with four players each and then Wisconsin with three.

1. Zach Parise - New Jersey Devils | 45 goals
Born in Minneapolis, MN on 07/28/1984 | Played for Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep School

2. David Backes - St. Louis Blues | 31 goals
Born in Minneapolis, MN on 05/01/1984 | Played for Spring Lake Park High School

3. Jamie Langenbrunner - New Jersey Devils | 29 goals
Born in Cloquet, MN on 07/24/1975 | Played for Cloquet/Esko/Carlton High School

4. Jason Blake - Toronto Maple Leafs | 25 goals
Born in Moorhead, MN on 09/02/1973 | Played for Moorhead High School

5. Matt Cullen - Carolina Hurricanes | 22 goals
Born in Virginia, MN on 11/02/1976 | Played for Moorhead High School

6. Blake Wheeler - Boston Bruins | 21 goals
Born in Robbinsdale, MN on 08/31/1986 | Played for Breck School
__________________________________________________________

From the 120 players in the 20-plus goals club, I put a list together of the total number of goals by country. Canada, of course, had by far the most players with 20-plus goals in the league in 2009. Canadian-born players made up 42.5% of the 120, or 51 players.

Because the number of goals by the Canadians were so much more than any other country, I am including the number of goals by Canadian provinces as well. Players from 12 different countries made the 20-plus goals club. Of the thirteen provinces and territories in Canada, five did not have a player represented.

Make note that these are players that were born in these countries and provinces and did not necessarily grow up there. These are regular season goals only.

1. Canada - 1415 total goals - 51 players
2. USA - 593 goals - 22 players
3. Ontario (Canada) - 565 goals - 19 players
4. Russia - 308 goals - 9 players
5. Alberta (Canada) - 297 goals - 11 players
6. Sweden - 266 goals - 10 players
7. Czech Republic - 264 goals - 11 players
8. Quebec (Canada) - 163 goals - 6 players
9. Saskatchewan (Canada) - 161 goals - 6 players
10. Finland - 124 goals - 5 players
11. Manitoba (Canada) - 80 goals - 3 players
12. British Columbia (Canada) - 67 goals - 3 players
13. Germany - 59 goals - 2 players
14. Slovakia - 51 goals - 2 players
15. Newfoundland (Canada) - 49 goals - 2 players
16. Ukraine - 46 goals - 2 players
17. Nova Scotia (Canada) - 33 goals - 1 player
18. Kazakhstan - 28 goals - 1 player
19. Slovenia - 27 goals - 1 player
20. Ireland - 25 goals - 1 player

NHL top 10 goal scorers and their birth country:

1. Alex Ovechkin (Born in 1985 - Russia) - Washington Capitals | 56 goals
2. Jeff Carter (1985 - Ontario, Canada) - Philadelphia Flyers | 46 goals
3. Zach Parise (1984 - Minnesota, USA) - New Jersey Devils | 45 goals
4. Ilya Kovalchuk (1983 - Russia) - Atlanta Thrashers | 43 goals
5. Rick Nash (1984 - Ontario, Canada) - Columbus Blue Jackets | 40 goals
6. Eric Staal (1984 - Ontario, Canada) - Carolina Hurricanes | 40 goals
7. Thomas Vanek (1984 - Austria) - Buffalo Sabres | 40 goals
8. Michael Cammalleri (1982 - Ontario, Canada) - Calgary Flames | 39 goals
9. Dany Heatley (1981 - Germany) - Ottawa Senators | 39 goals
10. Patrick Marleau (1979 - Saskatchewan, Canada) - San Jose Sharks | 38 goals
________________________________________________

Of the 120 20-plus goal scorers, here is how many goals were scored by the year the players were born:

1. Players born in 1984 - 425 goals - 14 total players in the 20-plus goals club
- The Top Five:
- 1. Zach Parise - New Jersey Devils | 45 goals
- 2. Thomas Vanek - Buffalo Sabres | 40 goals
- 3. Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets | 40 goals
- 4. Eric Staal - Carolina Hurricanes | 40 goals
- 5. Alexander Semin - Washington Capitals | 34 goals
2. 1985 - 386 goals - 13 players
3. 1980 - 267 goals - 10 players
4. 1982 - 265 goals - 10 players
5. 1987 - 235 goals - 8 players
6. 1976 - 228 goals - 9 players
7. 1983 - 220 goals - 8 players
8. 1979 - 219 goals - 8 players
9. 1981 - 163 goals - 6 players
10. 1972 - 151 goals - 6 players
11. 1988 - 123 goals - 5 players
12. 1978 - 102 goals - 4 players
13. 1986 - 100 goals - 4 players
14. 1973 - 97 goals - 4 players
15. 1975 - 81 goals - 3 players
16. 1977 - 60 goals - 2 players
17. 1974 - 53 goals - 2 players
18. 1970 - 48 goals - 2 players
19. 1968 - 23 goals - 1 player
20. 1990 - 23 goals - 1 player

Ages 19 to 41 are represented in the 20-plus goals club.
Average birth year of the 120 players: 1981
Median birth year of the 120 players: 1979
Mean birth year of the 120 players: 1984
Oldest player with 20+ goals: Mark Recchi (41 years old) - Boston Bruins | 23 goals
Youngest player: Steven Stamkos (19 years old) - Tampa Bay Lightning | 23 goals

Former Mr. Hockey Award Winners | How they fared in '08-'09

Nick Leddy of Eden Prairie was selected as the 25th member of the Mr. Hockey Award this past March. Of the former 24 award winners, 11 are still playing organized hockey.

Here is a quick stats rundown on the former Mr. Hockey award winners who are still playing organized hockey:

2008: Aaron Ness (Roseau) - Defenseman - University of Minnesota
Freshman season: 37 GP, 2 goals, 15 assists, 17 points, 78 shots, -9 +/-, 8 PIM, 1 ppg

2007: Ryan McDonagh (Cretin-Derham Hall) - Defenseman - University of Wisconsin
Sophomore season: 36 GP, 5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points, 65 shots, 59 PIM, 1 ppg, 1 shg

2006: David Fischer (Apple Valley) - Defenseman - University of Minnesota
Junior season: 31 GP, 2 goals, 11 assist, 13 points, 59 shots, +8 +/-, 8 PIM, 1 ppg

2005: Brian Lee (Moorhead) - Defenseman - Binghamton Senators (AHL)
2nd season: 27 GP, 2 goals, 10 assists, 12 points, -2 +/-, 41 PIM

2004: Tom Gorowsky (Centennial) - Forward - University of Wisconsin
Senior season: 36 GP, 12 goals, 18 assists, 30 points, 113 shots, 26 PIM, 4 ppg, 0 shg

2002: Gino Guyer (Greenway) - Center - Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL)
2nd season: 71 GP, 14 goals, 24 assists, 38 points, +5 +/-, 56 PIM, 0 ppg, 3 shg

2001: Marty Sertich (Roseville) - Center - Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
3rd season: 24 GP, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points, +1 +/-, 31 shots, 22 PIM, 4 ppg, 0 shg

2000: Paul Martin (Elk River) - Defenseman - New Jersey Devils (NHL)
4th season: 73 GP, 5 goals, 28 assists, 33 points, +21 +/-, 107 shots, 36 PIM, 2 ppg
7 playoff gams, 0 goals, 4 assists, 4 points, 0 +/-, 9 shots, 2 PIM

1999: Jeff Taffe (Hastings) - Forward - Pittsburgh Penquins (NHL) / Wilkes-Barre (AHL)
NHL: 6th season: 8 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, -4 +/-, 5 shots, 2 PIM
AHL: 7th season: 74 GP, 25 g, 50 assts, 75 pts, +14 +/-, 224 shots, 65 PIM, 7 ppg, 1 shg
AHL Playoffs: 12 GP, 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 pts, +2 +/-, 46 shots, 22 PIM, 2 ppg, 1 shg

1998: Johnny Pohl (Red Wing) - Center - Vastra Frolunda HC Goteborg (SEL)
Swiss-A: 1st season: 22 GP, 3 goals, 22 assists, 25 points, 26 PIM
SEL: 1st season: 12 GP, 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points, 6 PIM
SEL Playoffs: 11 GP, 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points, 8 PIM

1995: Erik Rasmussen (St. Louis Park) - Center - Assat Pori (FNL)
1st season: 31 GP, 1 goal, 8 assists, 9 points, 60 PIM

Welcome home Todd Richards, new Minnesota Wild head coach

The Associated Press is reporting that Todd Richards was hired as the Minnesota Wild's new head coach on Monday.

Richards, 42, an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks this past season, graduated from Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in 1985. As a defenseman, he moved on to play four years for the University of Minnesota after high school. During those four years with the Gophers, Richards also played on the United States National Team in 1987-1988. He then played several years in the AHL, NHL, and the IHL. He last played professionally for Servette Geneve in the Swiss-B League in Europe.

From 2002 through 2006, he was an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). In the 2006-2007, he became the head coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penquins of the AHL where he compiled a 98-49-0 record in two seasons. He took the Penquins to the AHL Calder Cup Finals in 2007-2008 but lost to the Chicago Wolves four games to two.

ECHL Champions: Travis Morin (Osseo), Johann Kroll (Wayzata), & Scott Romfo (Blaine)

Minnesota natives Travis Morin (Osseo), Johann Kroll (Wayzata), Scott Romfo (Blaine) celebrated a league championship, the Kelly Cup, together for their ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) hockey team, the South Carolina Stingrays. The Stingrays are an affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals.

It took a seven game series but the Stingrays prevailed over the Alaska Aces 4-2 on Friday night at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska. Stingrays center Morin scored an assist on the first goal of the final game. The 25-year-old Morin (6'2", 195 lbs) finished as the fourth leading scorer in the ECHL playoffs by scoring four goals and assisting on 18 others in 19 playoff games. He finished third in scoring in the league during the regular season. He scored 26 goals and 62 assists in 71 games. He was the highest scoring Minnesotan in the league.

ECHL rookie defenseman Kroll had one goal and 10 assists in 20 playoff games. He compiled one goal and had 21 assists in 40 games for the Stringrays during the regular season.

Defenseman Romfo assisted on four goals in 21 playoff games. He had scored eight goals and had 22 assists in 63 regular season games.

Both Morin and Kroll were selected to the ECHL All-Star Game for the American Conference. This is the second year in a row that Morin was selected.

Travis Morin was honored as the 2001-2002 Metro Player of the Year by the Minneapolis Star Tribune for Osseo High School during his senior season. He went on to play for the Chicago Steel of the USHL (United States Hockey League) right after his senior high school season's final game. He then played one additional year with the Steel before moving on to Minnesota State University-Mankato. He played all four years for the Mavericks. He has been playing mostly in the ECHL since the late 2006-2007 season with some brief appearances in the AHL (American Hockey League)

Johann Kroll also graduated in 2002 from Wayzata High School. Like Morin, Kroll also spent time, two seasons, in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers from 2002-2004. From the USHL, Kroll enrolled at Ohio State University and spent four years playing for the Buckeyes graduating in 2008. Kroll has been playing back and forth betwen the AHL and ECHL since the fall of 2008.

Scott Romfo played for Blaine High School through 2002. After Blaine, Romfo too played for the USHL, the Tri-City Storm, from 2000-2002. He then went on to play Division I college hockey like his two teammates. He was on the ice for RPI from 2002-2006. He has been with the Stringrays since then.

For the runner-up Alaska Aces, Roseau native Luke Erickson scored five goals, three assists in 21 playoff games. In 68 regular season games, he scored 21 goals, had 34 assists, and compiled 75 penalty minutes. Erickson was on the 1999 Rams Minnesota state championship team and he is still the all-time leader in scoring at Bemidji State University.

Matt Lundin also played for the Aces this season as the backup goaltender. He played in only one full regular season game and played just 13 minutes in one playoff game. Lundin graduated from Apple Valley High School in 2004. He was the winning goaltender for the Sioux Falls Stampede when they were Clark Cup Champions in 2007.

Interns, volunteer writers: FollowThePuck.com wants Y-O-U!

FollowThePuck.com loves Minnesota high school hockey and it is a site that is on the move.

I am looking for as many as 10 to 15 writers from throughout Minnesota to write game stories for this upcoming 2009-2010 hockey season. I am looking for people that have a strong PASSION for high school hockey and plan to attend several games in the area in which they live. You must be willing to attend games that have statewide interest, games of the week, that are playing in your area. You must have a digital camera to upload at least three photos from each game along with your story. I am looking for people in all corners, all Sections, of Minnesota.

The big question. Does it pay? No. I'm sorry. FollowThePuck.com is still in its infancy and is not at the point to pay extra staff. I can offer recognition for your reporting efforts on a sport that we all love, possibly a free media pass to all the hockey events that you attend, a free FollowThePuck.com t-shirt to wear to the events, and other potential perks. You will also be a participant to compile the weekly Class rankings. If you do a good job, there may be paying positions available the following season. Those that do a good job this next season will get first consideration. It will be good experience and a portfolio for your work if you decide to make a career in the media.

As of now, FollowThePuck.com is working on developing a new website, not a blog, in time for the 2009-2010 season. A database is also being developed.

If you are interested, please email me at followsports@gmail.com and let me know what area that you would like to and could cover from November 2009 through March 2010.