Class of 2023- Top Ranked Defenseman
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Prep Hockey just updated our Junior class rankings and featured a ton of players from many different teams across the whole state. In this article, we delve into who is the top five defensemen in this class, and what they…
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Continue ReadingPrep Hockey just updated our Junior class rankings and featured a ton of players from many different teams across the whole state. In this article, we delve into who is the top five defensemen in this class, and what they did to get ranked that high. All of these five forwards featured today are committed to a D1 school and are for sure playing hockey after high school. Let’s get right into it.
#1. Zam Plante Zam Plante 5'9" | Forward Hermantown | 2023 State MN | Chaska | 6’4 Defenseman | #1 Ranked overall ’23 | University of Minnesota commit
Zam Plante Zam Plante 5'9" | Forward Hermantown | 2023 State MN is our number one ranked player in the class of 2023. A big reason for that is that he got ranked as the highest-ranked current MN high school player in the NHL central scouting among North American skaters. NHLCS ranked him 26th, which is high and means he has a good shot at getting his name called in the 2022 NHL draft. Sam has started in high school for Chaska since he was a freshman. Rinzel is a big-bodied defenseman that has a lot of tools- he can skate well, shoot well from the point, and is also very physical. Rinzel has 50 career points in 2.5 years in high school- very solid for a Defenseman. Rinzel has also played in the high school elite league and played in the USHL with Waterloo as well. Rinzel is the best defenseman in the state, he has a good chance to be drafted to the NHL this year.
#2. Tanner Luedtke Tanner Luedtke 6'0" | Forward Lakeville South | 2023 State MN | Hermantown | 5’9 Defenseman| #6 Ranked overall ’23 | University of Minnesota Duluth commit
Tanner Luedtke Tanner Luedtke 6'0" | Forward Lakeville South | 2023 State MN continues the pipeline from Hermantown to UMD, as he joins teammate Sam Rinzel Sam Rinzel 6'4" | Defense Chaska | 2023 State MN there in a couple of years. Hanson puts up a lot of points for a defenseman, as last year he has 29 points in 20 games from the point. In that 20 point season, he had 9 goals and 20 assists. Hanson had a pretty impressive showing this offseason in the high school elite league, as he totaled 17 points in 20 games. This year, Hanson currently has 16 points in 12 games with 6 goals and 10 assists. We had Hanson ranked as the #4 overall player last year in the rankings, and with the update, he moved down two spots to #6. Hanson is a player that Prep Hockey has always been very high on. He has a lot of potential going into college.
#3. Ty Hanson Ty Hanson 5'9" | Defense Hermamtown | 2023 State MN | Moorhead | 6’0 Defenseman | #9 Ranked overall ’23 | University of Nebraska Omaha commit
Coming in as our third-ranked defenseman in the class of 2023, is Ty Hanson Ty Hanson 5'9" | Defense Hermamtown | 2023 State MN from Moorhead. Gramer is a solid playmaker, as he dished out 15 assists in his sophomore season, and has 9 currently in his junior year. Gramer is a really good defensive defenseman as he has a very good body position and can be physical at times. One thing that could propel Gramers’ game to the next level is scoring more from the point. Gramer surprisingly only has 4 goals in his high school career. Gramer joins Ludtke down in Omaha in a couple of seasons. Gramer has been to the elite league twice so far in his high school career.
#4 Ryan Koering | Eden Prairie | 6’3 Defenseman | #12 Ranked overall ’23 | Colorado College commit
Number four in our defenseman rankings, is Ryan Koering from Eden Prairie. Koering is a player that doesn’t fill the stat sheet up that often. In 1.5 years of playing high school hockey, he has 2 goals and 14 assists. Koering does a lot of things off the scoreboard that counts, like winning battles, stopping rushes, and making good passes. Koering was on the Eden Prairie state championship team last season he was one of the mid-level players last year. Now he is one of the top players on his team and has really stepped up into this new role. Koering is still developing as a player and has a long way to go, the top thing for him would be to fill up the state sheet more. If he did that he would make an impact on the game all the more.
#5 Cayden Casey Cayden Casey 6'1" | Forward Andover | 2023 State MN | Cretin Derham Hall | 6’0 Defenesman | #13 Ranked overall ’23 | St. Thomas commit
Our last but not least committed defender is Cayden Casey Cayden Casey 6'1" | Forward Andover | 2023 State MN , we have him ranked as the number #5 defenseman in this class. Jamieson is actually from Hudson, Wisconsin, and decided the MN prep route was the best move for his future. It has paid off so far, as he recently made a commitment to the University of St. Thomas. Jamieson is growing a lot as a player, playing in the tough league that is MN HS hockey. In his sophomore season, Jamieson had 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points and now this year he has 8 assists for 8 points. Like Koering and Gramer, it could really up his impact if he found the back of the net more. Nonetheless, a great player that is a huge get for a new D1 program in St. Thomas.