News and notes from around the state.
-Congrats to Derek Stepan on his retirement from the NHL. The Hastings native was a 2nd round pick by the New York Rangers in 2008 and played in 890 regular season games and an additional 120 playoff games during his tenure in the NHL. Derek totaled 570 points in his career.
-Will Schumacher of Prior Lake leads the NAHL in goals with 10 in just 6 games. Will was the NAHL Midwest Division Star of the Week for September 25th through October 1st.
-Congrats to Noah Urness on his commitment to St. Cloud State University. The Roseau native is currently playing in the BCHL with Cranbrook. He has 2 goals and 2 assists in 4 games for the Bucks this season.
-UST received a verbal commitment form Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep forward Kaeden Hawkins. The St. Louis native has 10 points in 8 games this season. Hawkins is a 2005 DOB.
-I’m still hearing a lot of bitterness towards Cole Eiserman while at the rinks. No doubt he’s a great player, but for the long term, the Gophers will be a better team without the 1-year rental player.
-The Hockey News projects the Wild to finish 3rd in the Central Division. They also rank Kirill Kaprizov as the 23rd best player in the NHL.
-MYNHLDraft.com projects Will Skahan going to the L.A. Kings 23rd overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.
-The MNHockeyLife Podcast will be returning the week of October 9th.