Class of 2021 Rankings: Top Stock Risers- Defense

Today we take a look at the senior defenseman that has improved their stock the most from this season. Committed defenseman that won’t get mentioned on this- because their stock was already super high to start the season, are- #3 Luke Mittlestadt Luke Mittlestadt 5'11" | Defense Eden Prairie | 2021 State MN , #5  Henry Nelson Henry Nelson 6'1" | Defense Maple Grove | 2021 State MN , #7  Joey Pierce Joey Pierce 6'0" | Defense Hermantown | 2021 State MN , #8  Mason Langenbrunner Mason Langenbrunner 6'2" | Defense Eden Prairie | 2021 State MN , #11  Jack Peart Jack Peart 5'11" | Defense Grand Rapids | 2021 State MN , #12  Joe Palodichuk Joe Palodichuk 6'0" | Defense Hill Murray | 2021 State MN , #14  Nick Williams Nick Williams 5'8" | Defense Edina | 2021 State MN , and #15  Cal Thomas Cal Thomas 6'0" | Defense Maple Grove | 2021 State MN . Those are all the senior defensemen committed somewhere; the five players that we feature in this article are the closest to playing hockey at the next level in our opinion.    Carson Peters Carson Peters 6'3" | Defense Wayzata | 2021 State MN | 6’3 Defenseman | Wayzata | #26 Overall At 6’3 Carson Peters Carson Peters 6'3" | Defense Wayzata | 2021 State MN has the type of size that is often hard to come by in hockey. He is a very unselfish player that is getting recognition for his passing, height, and defending abilities. Carson played in the NAHL this fall, so obviously, he has been noticed by higher-ups in the hockey world. With 11 assists in 12 games as a defenseman, is pretty impressive. If he wants to become more noticeable, he needs to become more of a scoring threat as he only has one goal this year. Matthew Fleischhacker | 5’6 Defenseman | Hill Murray | #30 Overall Fleischaker also has very similar stats to Peters, as he has 12 assists in 12 games- his height is the difference between the two. He played a very key part in their state title last year, he will also help propel them this year if they end up making state. Very good player that deserves recognition, as I think he is for sure a top ten defenseman in the state. Fleischhaker is committed to Minnesota State- Mankato for baseball as of now. Blake Norris Blake Norris 5'10" | Defense Warroad | 2021 State MN | 5’10 Defensman | Warroad | #36 Overall Blake Norris Blake Norris 5'10" | Defense Warroad | 2021 State MN is one of the top-scoring defensemen in the state- with 7 goals and 15 assists. He is also one of the top defensemen in ’A’. He has really improved his stock so far this year, and maybe even deserves to be higher than 36th overall. Blake looks really appealing at the next level due to his scoring ability from the point.  JD Metz JD Metz 6'1" | Defense Mahtomedi | 2021 State MN | 6’1 Defenseman | Mahtomedi | #45 Overall The 6’1 Defenseman has 14 points in 12 games for the Zephyrs. Metz is deserving of his rank because of his stats, but also the fact that he is a leader of his team. He does a lot that does not get featured on the stat sheet. Stat-wise, he had 20 assists in 20 games his junior year, and this last week he scored two goals on #2 Eden Prairie. Metz is a good player and should get more of a look in the state. Duke Kiffin Duke Kiffin 6'1" | Defense Minnetonka | 2021 State MN | 6’1 Defenseman | Minnetonka | #46 Overall Duke has recently hopped into the rankings with his nice first half of the season. This player can play in juniors for sure with his size and passing ability. I do not see him being one of the guys receiving an offer right out of high school, but definitely can see him going to juniors then picking one up after that. Duke is having a solid senior season and needs to keep it up to keep improving his stock.