Recent Region 14 News
Brings 2020-21 Totals Up to 17 Heading To The Junior League This Fall
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) hosted its 2021 Entry Draft on Wednesday afternoon, where all 29 member organizations participated virtually. During the 17-round event, nine Michigan High School Hockey players past and present were selected. Four of those players were chosen following the conclusion of their senior seasons and four after playing a full season of lower-level junior hockey.
First, to recap the eight players who signed NAHL tender agreements prior to the entry draft:
Leyton Stenman, Cranbrook
Tendered with the Aberdeen Wings
Nick Justice, Livonia Stevenson
Tendered with the El Paso Rhinos
Adam Pietila, Hartland
Tendered with the Bismarck Bobcats
Brenden Heard, Livonia Stevenson
Tendered with the Aberdeen Wings
Austin Salani, Hancock
Tendered with the Austin Bruins
Trevor Davis, Byron Center
Tendered with the Kenai River Brown Bears
Brendan Finn, Lake Orion
Tendered with the Odessa Jackalopes
Dean Loukus, Calumet
Chosen in Supplemental Draft by the Austin Bruins
The first MI-HS alum off the board was Jakob Peterson (Marquette, 2020) who was selected 32nd overall in the second round to the Amarillo Wranglers. He played his junior and senior seasons for the Red Men, totalling 15 goals and 57 points in 56 career games. After graduation, Peterson spent his first season of junior hockey playing for the Drayton Valley Thunder in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
Parker Anderson (U-D Jesuit, 2021) was the first player from the Class of 2021 to be selected, after he joined Peterson in the second round. El Paso doubled up on MI-HS defensemen, adding Anderson along with Stevenson’s Justice to its D corps. Anderson left Meijer AAA to play for the Cubs during his senior season and had a breakout campaign during the team’s run to a Division-III regional championship, with nine goals and 12 points in 17 games.
Hunter Allen (Trenton, 2021) was chosen 20 picks later by Kenai River. He played his sophomore and junior seasons for the Trojans, making back-to-back Division-II Frozen Four runs. Allen scored 28 goals and 64 points in 56 career games before playing for the 18U Oakland Jr. Grizzlies in ‘20-21.
The 2021 Robertson Cup champion Shreveport Mudbugs have been a very popular destination for Michigan players, as the current roster sported four MI-HS alumni. With the 85th overall pick, Shreveport would maintain that pipeline with its selection of forward Logan Gotinsky (Detroit Country Day, 2020). Gotinsky was a four-year letterman for the Yellowjackets, winning back-to-back Division-III state titles in 2018 and 2019.
Max Marquette (U-D Jesuit, 2021) was one of the best players in all of high school hockey last season. He scored 10 goals and 18 points in 17 games for the No. 10-ranked Cubs. The three-year letterman was selected 101st overall by Kenai River in the fourth round, joining two other MI-HS alumni heading to Alaska.
Dylan Gajewski (Woodhaven, 2019) played two full seasons of junior hockey, first with the Powassan VooDoos in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and then in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) with the Willmar WarHawks. On Tuesday, he was chosen in the seventh round by Austin, and after climbing the junior hockey ladder, sets his sights on playing his final year of juniors in the NA.
In his second season of high school hockey, Alec Hamady (Brother Rice, 2021) anchored the Warriors’ offensive attack and helped win the program’s sixth state title. Now after graduating, the right-hand shot forward goes in the eleventh round to Amarillo. Hamady scored 15 goals and 33 points in 43 career games for Brother Rice.
The very next pick, fellow Warrior alum Ryan Murphy (Brother Rice, 2020) was selected by Jamestown with pick number 294. After playing two seasons with Rice, Murphy graduated and played his first season of junior hockey in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) with the Islanders Hockey Club.
Matthew Cole (Saginaw Heritage, 2020) was a top forward in high school hockey his senior season, and after graduation, he played for in-state United State Premier Hockey League-Premier (USPHL-Premier) organization, the Metro Jets. In three seasons with Heritage, Cole scored 47 goals and 134 points in 78 career games. In his first season of junior hockey with the Jets, he produced 47 points in 47 games and was second on the team in scoring. He was chosen in the 12th round on Tuesday by the Jamestown Rebels.
Four seniors selected following graduation, and four more chosen after earning their stripes in another junior league the prior season. There’s lots of ways to ‘get to the next level’ and that can get lost in the shuffle a bit when prospects set their sights on the NAHL as a destination. It may take a stop in the AJHL or NCDC first, or two-or-three stops between the NOJHL and NA3HL and USPHL before finally making the jump. Nonetheless, now that 17 more MI-HS alumni turn their attention to the NAHL, the real work starts. Attending main camps in the fall and earning a roster spot will be the next hurdle to climb if they expect to join the 26 other alumni who played in the league last season.
What are your thoughts on this summer’s North American junior drafts and where do you think some of Michigan’s top prospects could end up? Connect with me on Twitter and Instagram and let’s talk.
Craig Peterson’s comments and opinions are that of his own, and are in no way directly tied to that of the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches’ Association (MHSHCA), its member coaches, or board members. Any questions, comments or concerns regarding his work can be addressed directly to the author of the article.
Becomes third person from Upper Peninsula to earn the honor
On Sunday, the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association (MHSHCA) announced at its virtual year-end meeting that senior forward Dean Loukus (Calumet, 2021) was the 2020-21 recipient of the Mr. Hockey Award. A four-year player for the Copper Kings, Loukus became just the third player from the upper peninsula to receive the award, joining fellow alumni Ben Johnson (Calumet, 2011) and Bob Ranqus (Calumet, 1998).
Loukus led the Copper Kings to an undefeated regular season; a 14-0-1 record was the first time in 20 years that a team in Michigan high school hockey had achieved such a feat. He scored 25 goals and 74 points in 20 games this season, leading the entire state in assists and points.
One of the more dynamic forwards in the game for the last four seasons, Loukus played in 101 career games, scoring 82 goals and 225 points. He finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Calumet history, setting the record for assists in a game (six), assists in a season (49), assists in a career (143) and points in a career (225).
Loukus was one of six players to be named to the 2021 Dream Team, joined by Drake Danou (Brother Rice, 2021), Trevor Davis (Byron Center, 2021), Carson Korte (Rockford, 2021), Andrew Larson (Hartland, 2021) and Leyton Stenman (Cranbrook, 2021).
Members of the MHSHCA nominate and vote for All-State honorees at the end of each season. Once finalized, members vote an additional time from that pool of players to select the Dream Team. After that, members vote one final time to select Mr. Hockey in the state of Michigan.
Three teams crowned to conclude one unforgettable season.
“Just let us practice! Forget about games, I’ll settle for just getting us back on the ice!”
Games were a pipe dream. Showcases? No way. Cross-state road trips? Canceled. Forget about a 25-game schedule, we were scheming to just find ways of playing 12 games!
The season started on November 2nd. Well, kinda. That was at least when teams could start holding tryouts and running practices. On the eve of opening day, with jerseys pressed and hanging in locker stalls, that very season was left hanging in the balance as Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a three-week emergency order that prohibited any indoor athletic activity in the state of Michigan.
Coaches around the state were forced to scramble, adjust, roll with the punches, alter game schedules and prepare their teams for an unknown future. They spoke with seniors whose final seasons hung in the balance. They fielded questions from aggressive parents, ill-equipped with nothing more than speculative answers at best.
“Are we gonna have a season?”
“Should we go play travel?”
“Other teams are playing out-of-state, should I?”
We all weathered the storm. Those three weeks went by and a new order was extended for three more weeks.
Again, coaches scrambled, adjusted, rolled with the punches, altered schedules and prepared for the unknown. Sent seniors away for winter break not knowing if they’d return to a start date for the season. Parents grew more anxious and coaches’ responses became redundant.
“We’re not gonna have a season, are we?”
“This team offered us a spot.”
“There’s a showcase in Dallas…”
We weathered the storm. Another three weeks went by and again, a new order was extended for three more weeks.
Scrambled, adjusted, rolled with punches, altered and prepared.
Weathered the storm. Three more weeks. Extended AGAIN for three more weeks.
It’s now mid-January. Even Buddy the Elf’s optimism was wearing thin at this point. Yet the order was extended again well into February and any last hopes of a winter season were all but lost.
It was like something of an underdog story out of a movie. The clock dramatically counting the final seconds... A fighter beaten down, struggling to get to his feet… When at the last possible second, with their backs up against the ropes, the unthinkable happens. Teens across the state stood up and demanded their voices be heard. A calculated movement “Let Them Play” enveloped social media with thousands of posts, shares and likes from kids all over Michigan, gaining momentum with every retweet. They made their case at the state’s capitol in Lansing responsibly and respectfully with more than 2,000 strong. Dozens more made their formal pleas to the House Oversight Committee.
Then, 84 days after the initial emergency order was put in place, indoor sports were given the green light to return to competition on February 8th, and a 17-game schedule was approved. More than 2,700 high school hockey players across The Mitten State had finally gotten the opportunity they had so patiently waited for.
Against all odds and more than 1,146 games later, the unorthodox 47-day season reached its conclusion on Saturday. A day in which even the most confident people questioned if we’d ever get there.
It began in Division-II, with 14-0-0 Byron Center looking to make history against Brother Rice, hoping to become the first team to go undefeated since the 2000-01 season. A scoreless deadlock into the third period, the two teams finally traded goals just 10 seconds apart from one another. Carson Moilanen struck first for the Warriors but it was short-lived as Mason Breit drew the Bulldogs back to all square in the blink of an eye.
With just six seconds left to go in regulation, it was Rice’s captain Alec Hamady coming through with his eighth goal of the season, ultimately clinching the school’s sixth state title in stunning fashion.
In Division-III, another undefeated squad took its stab at a perfect season, as 14-0-1 Calumet took on Cranbrook in the afternoon game. One of the best forwards in the state squared off against one of the best defenders as the Copper Kings’ Dean Loukus tangled with the Cranes’ Leyton Stenman.
Fueled by a two-goal first period, Cranbrook cruised through the final 34 minutes, earning it 18th state championship in program history and first under the guidance of head coach John LaFontaine.
Just 10 days earlier, the fate of CC’s season rested in the hands of its JV team. With the varsity squad forced into a 10-day self-isolation due to contact tracing, the underclassmen were left to carry the torch in their place. Fast forward through not one, but two victories and a regional championship, the 15 seniors on varsity returned to the lineup to finish the job.
Senior Brennan Sass made it 1-0.
Senior Billy Shields made it 2-0.
Senior Bret Beale made it 3-0.
Then senior Bobby Masters did the rest in net, backstopping the Shamrocks to a 5-1 win over Rockford.
No one thought we'd be here. Even some of our biggest supporters questioned if a season would be possible. We all doubted it at one point or another. I know I did. So congratulations to our three champs, and to thousands of the athletes, coaches, parents and administrators that made this season possible.
Craig Peterson’s comments and opinions are that of his own, and are in no way directly tied to that of the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches’ Association (MHSHCA), its member coaches, or board members. Any questions, comments or concerns regarding his work can be addressed directly to the author of the article.
