Derek Forbort of Duluth East – currently playing with the National Team Development Program – and Blaine High School’s Nick Bjugstad are ranked 10th and 11th to lead the list of Elite League alums. Other current Minnesota high school players on the list include Brock Nelson of Warroad (17th), Max Gardiner of Minnetonka (36th) and Mark Alt of Cretin-Derham Hall (37th).
Zane Gothberg of Thief River Falls is #5 on the North American goaltender list, joined by Jacob Meyers of Benilde-St. Margaret’s at #31.
In addition to Gardiner, Minnetonka High School has two other players on the list, Justin Holl (#54) and Andrew Prochno (#155). Bloomington Jefferson is represented by Caleb Herbert (#100) and Joe Faust (#109).
“All of us at the Elite League are very excited for these young men, and proud of the role we played in their development,” said John Russo, founder and Commissioner of the Elite League. “Our goal is to provide elite players with strong competition that helps them proceed to the next level, and this list is further evidence that we’re meeting our goal.”
In last June’s NHL Entry Draft, 17 Elite League players were selected, including first-round choices Nick Leddy (#16 by the Minnesota Wild) and Jordan Schroeder (#22 by Vancouver). This year’s NHL draft will take place June 25-26 in Los Angeles.
The Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League is a non-profit hockey league designed to provide high-level competition supplementing the regular high school hockey season. For more information, and draft-day updates, visit the league’s website at www.hselitehockey.com.
Upper Midwest High School Elite League Players on NHL Central Scouting Service “Mid-Term Rankings” List of January 11, 2010
| Rank | Name | Position | Team |
| 11 | Derek Forbort | D | USA U-18 |
| 12 | Nick Bjugstad | C | Blaine HS |
| 13 | Emerson Etem | RW | Medicine Hat |
| 17 | Brock Nelson | C | Warroad HS |
| 21 | Tyler Pitlick | C | MSU-Mankato |
| 36 | Max Gardiner | C | Minnetonka HS |
| 37 | Mark Alt | D | Cretin-Derham Hall HS |
| 39 | Joe Basaraba | RW | Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep |
| 54 | Justin Holl | D | Minnetonka HS |
| 73 | Jason Clark | C/LW | Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep |
| 86 | Aaron Harstad | D | Green Bay - USHL |
| 100 | Caleb Herbert | C | Bloomington Jefferson HS |
| 109 | Joe Faust | D | Bloomington Jefferson HS |
| 112 | Christian Isackson | RW | St. Thomas Academy HS |
| 136 | Brett Stern | D | Centennial HS |
| 144 | Max Gaede | RW | Woodbury HS |
| 147 | James Polk | RW | Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep |
| 155 | Andrew Prochno | D | Minnetonka HS |
| 165 | J. P. Lafontaine | C/RW | Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep |
| 185 | Garrett Hendrickson | C | Virginia/MIB HS |
| 199 | Adam Krause | C | Hermantown HS |
| 201 | Ben Marshall | D | Mahtomedi HS |
| Goaltenders | |||
| 5 | Zane Gothberg | G | Thief River Falls HS |
| 31 | Jacob Meyers | G | Benilde-St. Margaret's HS |
