Section 8A Preseason Prediction
| Team | Regular Season Wins in '10-'11 | More or Less Wins in '11-'12 | Section Rank |
| Thief River Falls | 16 | More | 1st |
| Warroad | 17 | Less | 2nd |
| East Grand Forks | 9 | More | 3rd |
| Park Rapids Area | 12 | More | 4th |
| Crookston | 11 | Less | 5th |
| Red Lake Falls | 13 | Less | 6th |
| Detroit Lakes | 15 | Less | 7th |
| Lake of the Woods | 16 | Less | 8th |
| Kittson Central | 5 | More | 9th |
| Bagley/Fosston | 3 | More | 10th |
1. Thief River Falls
F Chris Forney (11) - 17 pts (8g, 9a)F Evan Ose (12) - 15 pts (9g, 6a)
F Riley Soderstrom (12) - 14 pts (8g, 6a)
- The Prowlers do not return any players that scored goals in double-figures last season but, they return eight that had scored at least three.
- Their starting goaltender, Josh Koop, graduated. But, they return two goaltenders, senior Jon Naverud and sophomore Tanner Holmes, that combined for seven wins and a decent save percentage.
- The will need to rebuild their defense as lone senior Andrew Lansing returns.
- I am giving Section 8A defending champion Thief River Falls a slight edge over Warroad and East Grand Forks due to their returning depth.
2. Warroad
G Andy Foster (12) - 16 wins, 2.01 GAA, .916 save percentage F Austin Streiff (12) - 18 pts (11g, 7a)
D Hayden Timm (12) - 17 pts (5g, 12a)
- The Warriors have the third least returning goals in the Section from last season, 35 goals.
- Like Thief River Falls, Warroad needs to rebuild their defense. Hayden Timm and junior Zach Johnston are the only experienced d-men this season.
- Andy Foster will be the best returning goaltender in the Section.
- I lamented about putting Warroad in the second spot because East Grand Forks will be very good this year. Foster is the difference.
3. East Grand Forks
F Cory Mack (12) - 28 pts (11g, 17a)F Zack Lawdermilt (12) - 26 pts (10g, 16a)
F Tommy Hajicek (11) - 26 pts (15g, 11a)
- The Green Wave lost a tough one in the Section 8AA semifinals last season. They lost 3-2 in double-overtime to Warroad.
- East Grand Forks returns four players that scored double-figures in goals last season. The fourth to do so was senior defenseman Tyler Hajicek.
- Skilled junior defenseman Gage Ausmus left way early for the USNTDP. It could be a big loss for the Green Wave.
- Hunter Aubol is back in goal and he had a decent season in '10-'11 with seven wins, a 3.24 GAA, and a .877 save percentage. He shutout Warroad in one game last season.
- I know it may be a stretch but I think Gage Ausmus is the difference between East Grand Forks being ranked 1st or 3rd in this Section to start the season. They still have a great shot at winning the Section but there is a bigger hole on defense this season with Ausmus gone. Only one returning defenseman, Tyler Hajicek, played in all 24 regular season games for the Green Wave. Thief River Falls and Warroad are rebuilding their defenses this season but when you think of those two teams, you think of their strong, aggressive, relentless defenses that wear down their opponents. I'm confident those two teams will rebuild and have that reputation again this season. It will remain to be seen if East Grand Forks can compare well on defense with the top two this season. If they can, they will win the Section.
4. Park Rapids Area
F Sam Coborn (12) - 64 pts (35g, 29a)F Ian Johnson (11) - 44 pts (17g, 27a)
F Levi Erickson (12) - 29 pts (14g, 15a)
- The Panthers will bring back most of their goal production this season, 84%, 86 of 102 goals. Coborn-Johnson-Erickson will be tough to slow down.
- Park Rapids has deep experience on defense. Two of those defensemen were freshmen. The defense improved overall last season. It still needs to be much better in order to compete with the top teams in Section 8A.
- The goaltending will be okay as they are returning the duo of senior Scott Smith (.879 save %) and sophomore Cody Brumbaugh (.894 save %). They faced a lot of shots.
- The defense will be the key to keep the Panthers a top five team in Section 8A.
5. Crookston
F Ryan Edevold (11) - 24 pts (15g, 9a)
G Kollin Erdman (12) - 7 wins, 2.55 GAA, .910 save percentage
F Dylan Klatt (11) - 13 pts (4g, 9a)
- The Pirates only return 42% of their goal production and two defensemen.
- Crookston returns just three seniors.
- Senior Kollin Erdman is returning in goal. He had seven wins, a 2.55 GAA, and a .910 save percentage last season.
- The Pirates are not deep but they should still be a top-five Section 8A team this season.
6. Red Lake Falls
D Garrett Schmitz (12) - 49 pts (30g, 19a)F Dylan Zutz (12) - 48 pts (21g, 27a)
F Joe Berberena (12) - 20 pts (10g, 10a)
7. Detroit Lakes
F Alex Mason (12) - 54 pts (18g, 36a)D Ethan Brekke (12) - 31 pts (9g, 22a)
F Austin Rusness (11) - 11 pts (5g, 6a)
8. Lake of the Woods
F Bryson Jasper (12) - 31 pts (19g, 12a)F Brock Debilzan (12) - 22 pts (11g, 11a)
D Cole Nelson (11) - 15 pts (4g, 15a)
9. Kittson Central
F Nick Kasprowicz (10) - 19 pts (7g, 12a)F Kyle Petersburg (11) - 16 pts (8g, 8a)
F Devon Schuler (12) - 15 pts (6g, 9a)
10. Bagley/Fosston
F Aaron Leintz (11) - 19 pts (15g, 4a)F Sean LaVine (11) - 17 pts (7g, 10a)
F Brenton Bergh (12) - 15 pts (6g, 9a)
