Section 3AA Preseason Prediction
| Team | Regular Season Wins in '10-'11 | More or Less Wins in '11-'12 | Section Rank |
| Eagan | 17 | More | 1st |
| Woodbury | 13 | More | 2nd |
| Apple Valley | 18 | Less | 3rd |
| Eastview | 7 | More | 4th |
| Hastings | 12 | More | 5th |
| Cretin-Derham Hall | 13 | Less | 6th |
| Park (Cottage Grove) | 5 | More | 7th |
| East Ridge | 10 | Less | 8th |
| Rosemount | 6 | Less | 9th |
1. Eagan
F Michael Zajac (12) - 51 pts (23g, 28a)F Will Merchant (12) - 48 pts (28g, 20a)
F Nick Kuchera (12) - 38 pts (10g, 28a)
- Scoring (see above), defense (Wolfe, May, and Peterson), and depth (13 skaters return that played 20 or more games). The Wildcats are rich in all three.
- It will take a historic upset to deny Eagan from going back to the Xcel Energy Center in back-to-back seasons. They are a top three team in the state going into the season.
- The caveat for Eagan will be their GOALTENDING. Tommy Bodeker graduated. Two goaltenders are transferring in to try and help solidify that position, Senior Christian Butler, an apparent transfer from Montana, and freshman Andrew Lindgren, a transfer from Lakeville. Yes, Lindgren is Charlie Lindgren's brother, the outstanding goaltender that led Lakeville North to a fifth place finish at the Class AA state tournament last season.
- If the goaltending is strong and the rest of team stays healthy and intact, Eagan has a legitimate shot at winning their very first state title.
2. Woodbury
F Chase Myers-Beck (12) - 25 pts (12g, 13a)F Blake Kelley (12) - 22 pts (6g, 16a)
F Evan Erickson (12) - 20 pts (14g, 6a)
- The Royals will return 70% of their goal production from last season, four defensemen (Wahlin, Lindberg, Wareham, and Tuneberg) that played 24+ games, and a goaltender in Josh Erickson who has some experience in goals having won five games, a 3.13 GAA, and .912 save percentage.
- Woodbury has the second most returning goal production in the Section. They are returning 51 goals in comparison to Eagan's 105 and Eastview, coming in third, with 47.
- A strong defense and great goaltending can overcome the best offensive teams. Woodbury will need to be better than Eagan at both if they hope to win Section 3AA.
3. Apple Valley
D Derek Smith (12) - 31 pts (6g, 25a)F Tate Erickson (12) - 24 pts (9g, 15a)
F Trent Heuer (12) - 24 pts (9g, 15a)
- It is hard to believe that Hudson Fasching, AJ Michaelson, and Vince Pedrie have all left early for the USHL. Captains, goaltender Aaron Gretz and forward Kris Goodman, have graduated.
- There are no skaters returning for the Eagles that were in double-figures in goals last season.
- The Eagles will look to return 11 experienced players and should still have a pretty good season considering.
- Apple Valley will have four tough defensemen returning.
- The Eagles will need to find more scoring to fill the void that Fasching, Michaelson, and Pedrie left behind plus they will need to find an adequate successor to Gretz in goal.
4. Eastview
F Scott Nelson (12) - 43 pts (22g, 21a)F Ryan McNamara (11) - 12 pts (4g, 8a)
D Jon Plaszcz (12) - 12 pts (2g, 10a)
- Eastview should vastly improve this year due to Scott Nelson's ability to score, senior leadership, and the Lightning's overall depth.
- The Lightning's defense (Plaszcz, Reger, Pavlo, Beattie, Tindell) should be stronger.
- Alex Wohl, senior goaltender, or whoever starts in goal this season, will need to be better than last season. Wohl won two games last year with a 4.18 GAA and a .865 save percentage.
- The Lightning should be a lot better than last season.
5. Hastings
F Nate Flynn (12) - 43 pts (19g, 24a)F Zach Mellick (11) - 23 pts (7g, 16a)
D Tate Sykes (12) - 15 pts (5g, 10a)
- Hastings has NO depth returning but, they do have some skilled players in what they do have. Only eight will return from last year's roster and two are decent goaltenders in seniors Connor Thomas and PJ Piotrowski.
6. Cretin-Derham Hall
D Dominic Nitti (12) - 18 pts (5g, 13a)F Luke Dietsch (12) -14 pts (6g, 8a)
D Michael McMahon (12) - 10 pts (4g, 6a)
7. Park (Cottage Grove)
F Joey Pierre (12) - 19 pts (4g, 15a)F Garrett Mahigan (12) - 13 pts (8g, 5a)
F Cody Newton (12) - 12 pts (5g, 7a)
8. East Ridge
G Andrew McDonough (12) - 7 wins, 2.85 GAA, .897 save percentage F Jack Greeley (11) - 19 pts (11g, 8a)
F Ian Penvose (11) - 15 pts (4g, 11a)
9. Rosemount
F Ryan Anderson (12) - 15 pts (8g, 7a)F Andy Gustafson (12) - 14 pts (2g, 12a)
F Trevor Kolden (12) - 7 pts (4g, 3a)
