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Local players chase dreams of USA Hockey camp invitation at High Performance festivals

jason feldman, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·5 min read

Apr. 18—A half-dozen local high school hockey players are moving on in their quest to reach Minnesota Hockey and USA Hockey's top off-season development levels.

The Minnesota Hockey High Performance program is holding its annual HP Spring Festivals — they began last weekend and will conclude this weekend.

Players from around the state try out to participate and represent their section (high school players) or district (youth players) in tournaments against the top players from other sections or districts from across the state.

The ultimate goal for boys and girls players at the 15, 16 and 17 age levels is a spot in a USA Hockey National Development Camp this summer.

Three local girls players and three boys already know they'll be advancing to the next stage of competition.

Two Dodge County girls players, goalie Ida Huber and forward Nora Carstensen, and Rochester native Sawyer Fleming (Shattuck St. Mary's) have advanced. In boys play, Rochester's Gavin Kor (Shattuck), La Crescent-Hokah's Wyatt Farrell and Albert Lea/Rochester Grizzlies defenseman Joseph Yoon will move on.

Here's a look at southeastern Minnesotans who competed in Minnesota Hockey Spring Festivals last weekend, or will this weekend:

—HP 17s: Four local players competed at last weekend's Spring Festival — Fleming, as well as three Dodge County players: Mollie Koch, Hannah Peterson and Abbigail Simons. Fleming had a goal and two assists in three games, while Koch had two assists and Simons had a goal. Fleming was chosen as one of the top 54 players at the Festival and has advanced to the Final 54 Festival this weekend in Blaine. Top players at that Festival will be selected to participate in the USA Hockey Select 17 National Development Camp this summer.

—HP 16s: Carstensen and Huber were selected to participate in the HP16s Final 54 Festival this Friday-Sunday in Blaine. Huber was outstanding at last weekend's Spring Festival, posting a 2.03 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. Top players at the Final 54 Festival will be selected to participate in the USA Hockey Select 17 National Development Camp this summer. Other local players at the HP16 Spring Festival included Madrid Satterstrom (Rochester 15U), and Dodge County's Zoe Heimer, Kate Ahern and Seraphina Ellinghysen.

—HP 15s: The Spring Festival for this age group is set for this weekend in Blaine. The top 102 players will earn a spot in the Minnesota Hockey Development Camp June 10-15 at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Local players competing in this week's Spring Festival include Dodge County's Maysie Koch, Bryn Spreiter and Kylie Meyer, and Rochester's Quinn Stewart, Taylor Kurtz and Cora Wadewitz, who attends Lewiston-Altura High School and plays for the Rochester 15U A team.

—HP 14s: Seven local players competed in the Spring Festival last weekend in Duluth. The top 120 players from the Festival will be selected to train at the High Performance 14 Development Camp at St. Olaf College in Northfield, June 18-22. That list has not yet been posted. Seven local girls played in the Spring Festival this past weekend: Addison Vaszily, Josie Fulton and Marley Smith from Rochester, and Sophia Bueskin, Taryn Wernecke, Grace Roethler and Faith Humphrey from Dodge County.

—Ted Brill Great 8: This tournament is broken down into Seniors and HP 18s divisions, with four teams in each division, featuring the best players from two high school sections combined on each roster. Ten local players competed, with two — La Crescent's Wyatt Farrell and Albert Lea/Rochester Grizzlies defenseman Joseph Yoon — advancing on to the Minnesota Hockey NIT this weekend at the Plymouth Ice Center. Farrell will play on the Minnesota HP18s team, while Yoon will play on the Minnesota Seniors team. John Marshall defenseman JT Veney and Century forward Aiden Emerich were also part of the Section 1/3 HP18s team, while Mayo's Will Sexton, Sam Jacobson and Cohen Ruskell, JM's Mason Decker and Century's T.J. Gibson were on the Section 1/3 Seniors team. Teams from Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, Colorado and North Dakota will join the two Minnesota teams at the NIT.

—HP17s: Six local players were part of the Spring Festival: Xander Carter-Kleven (goalie, Lourdes); Frank Goodman (defense, Des Moines AAA/Rochester); Colton Holzer (defense, La Crescent); Aven Prodzinski (forward, Winona); and Dodge County forwards Gryffon Funke and Brett Ludvigsen.

—HP16s: Gavin Kor (Shattuck St. Mary's/Rochester) advanced out of last weekend's Spring Festival and on to this week's Final 54 Festival. The top players from the Final 54s will be invited to the USA Hockey Select 17s Development Camp this summer in Amherst, N.Y. Five other local players were part of the Spring Festival: John Marshall forward Ole Fevold, Dodge County's Jackson Bielenberg-Howarth and Jeremiah Peterson-Gordon, Mayo's Dawson Desjardins, and Rochester native Oscar Balkins.

—HP15s: Local players will compete this weekend in the Spring Festival, with a chance to be invited to the Minnesota Hockey Development Camp in St. Cloud, June 11-16. Local players at this week's festival include: Rochester's Charlie Kor, Calvin O'Reilly, Owen Barclay, Alexander Monosmith, Beckett Fleming, Holland Christopherson and Kyler Flanders.

—HP15s: Local players competed last weekend in Duluth in the Spring Festival, with a chance to be invited to the Minnesota Hockey Development Camp in St. Cloud, June 18-22. Local players at last week's festival included: Austin's Kade Overocker, Talan Hall and Alex Whipple; Dodge County's Liam Huso and Jaxon Burgess; and Rochester's Sawyer Young, Chay Cunningham, Michael Norman, Elliott Schell and Brayson Magle.