Quote Me, Howie

Legendary Andover High boys hockey coach Mark Manney on the defending Class 2A state champion and 2022-23 Preseason No. 3-ranked Huskies, who along with other Minnesota teams begin summer training camp Monday:

“Our summer program has changed a little over the past 13 years. There are so many distractions that it is hard to develop some chemistry like we used to do. The kids are running off to so many junior camps, showcases, pre-draft camps, festivals, and other events that it is rare when we have everyone on the ice together.

But, when we can manage to get them all on the same sheet of ice or in the weight room together, we are trying to increase skill level, develop good habits, find out who our leaders are, get the new guys comfortable with the returning players and staff, and use that knowledge to develop a plan for the season. If we can accomplish these five things, summer camp has been a success.

We like to build our team starting at the blue line. We feel that having great defenders that can move the puck gives us our best chance for success. Over the last three years we have had players like Wyatt Kaiser (UMD), Mitchell Wolfe (BSU), Weston Knox (Air Force) and Kyle Law (D-I baseball) come through our program and we want that trend to continue. It is not uncommon for us to move a productive forward to defense if we think it will help our team.

As for the 2022-23 season, we think we will have a team competitive to reach the section final for the sixth consecutive year and the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year. With so much movement between schools and kids departing for juniors, it is sometimes hard to determine who the top teams will be, but we think we have the pieces to be among that group.  

In Section 7AA, Grand Rapids should be very good again, Duluth East should be much improved and Blaine has its core group returning. Beyond that, Coon Rapids has some high end players returning in Tyler Barsness and Eli Boden and Forest Lake has one of the best sophomores in the state in Malachi McKinnon, who had 52 points as a freshman. We also took note of a couple of very good defensemen from the other northern teams — Joe Stauber of Duluth Marshall and Karson Young of Cloquet-Esko-Carlton. Both look like top end players that could lead their teams to success. So, it should be an exciting season with a lot of teams competing for a section title. 

Despite big losses on the blue line and in net, we have a good returning corps of players and some additions from the JV team that will be able to step right in and contribute. Here are a few:

Forwards

Gavyn Thoreson (Sr) is coming off a 74 point season where he was named all-state, made the Class AA All-Tournament team, and committed to St. Cloud State.

Cayden Casey (Sr) scored 73 points, was named Star-Tribune All-Metro, Class AA All-Tournament,and committed to St. Lawrence University.

Cooper Conway (Sr) was injured most of the year but managed to score 29 points and committed to Colorado College.

Ben Doll (Jr) was also injured for a good chunk of the year but found his feet in the state tournament and played outstanding defensive hockey while chipping in 10 points.

Brooks Cogswell (Jr) showed incredible improvement through the year. He is a really good skaterand has great instincts which may lead us to move him to defense.

Defensemen

Tristen May-Robinson (Sr) is a really good skater that we converted from forward as a 10th-grader. He sees the ice well and jumps in the play when he gets a chance.

Landon Stringfellow (Jr) is a phenomenal skater who got better every day as a sophomore. He will be a Division I commit before the end of this season.

Anthony Pardo (Jr) saw limited action last year but should step right in and play a key role. He will miss the summer due to surgery after being hurt playing baseball.

Quote Me, Howie 2022-23 Preseason Ratings

2A
Maple Grove
Moorhead
Andover
Rogers
Chaska
Lakeville South
Edina
Hill-Murray
Benilde St. Margaret’s
Wayzata

1A
Hermantown
Warroad
Mahtomedi
Delano
East Grand Forks
Alexandria
Little Falls
Northfield
Providence Academy
Orono