Minnesota’s Hockey Factory: 57 NHL Players Came Through High School Rinks

There were 57 players who skated in the NHL this season that once played Minnesota High School Hockey. These players represent a wide spread of programs across the state, from traditional powerhouses like Minnetonka, Edina, and Hill-Murray, to smaller programs like Lake of the Woods and Chisago Lakes.

Eden Prairie, Hermantown, Lakeville North, and Minnetonka led the way with 4 former players each in the NHL this year. Both the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks had 5 former Minnesota High Schoolers play this season, while the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and Philadelphia Flyers had 4.

The numbers reflects not only the depth of Minnesota’s High School Hockey talent but also the diversity of paths taken by players from across the state to reach the NHL.

Player	Position	Team	High School
Wyatt Aamodt	D	Avalanche	Hermantown
Jack Ahcan	D	Avalanche	Burnsville
Joey Anderson	RW	Blackhawks	Hill-Murray
Mikey Anderson	D	Kings	Hill-Murray
Kieffer Bellows	LW	Predators	Edina
Nick Bjugstad	C	Utah	Blaine
Jackson Blake	C	Hurricanes	Eden Prairie
Brock Boeser	RW	Canucks	Burnsville
Will Borgen	D	Kraken	Moorhead
Travis Boyd	F	Wild	Hopkins
Bobby Brink	RW	Flyers	Minnetonka
Jonny Brodzinski	RW	Rangers	Blaine
Noah Cates	LW	Flyers	Stillwater
Hudson Fasching	RW	Islanders	Apple Valley
Justin Faulk	D	Blues	S.S.P./STA
Derek Forbort	D	Canucks	Duluth East
Jake Guentzel	LW	Lightning	Hill-Murray
Brian Halonen	RW	Devils	Delano
Justin Holl	D	Red Wings	Minnetonka
Nick Jensen	D	Senators	Rogers
Wyatt Kaiser	D	Blackhawks	Andover
Matt Kiersted	D	Panthers	Elk River
Cole Koepke	LW	Bruins	Hermantown
Joseph LaBate	LW	Blue Jackets	Holy Angels
Nick Leddy	D	Blues	Eden Prairie
Anders Lee	LW	Islanders	STA/Edina
Vinni Lettieri	C	Bruins	Edina
Charlie Lindgren	G	Capitals	Lakeville North
Blake Lizotte	F	Penguins	Chisago
Alex Lyon	G	Red Wings	Lake of the Woods
Sam Malinski	D	Avalanche	Lakeville South
Ryan McDonagh	D	Lightning	Cretin-Derham Hall
K’Andre Miller	D	Rangers	Minnetonka
Casey Mittelstadt	C	Avalanche	Eden Prairie
Ben Meyers	F	Kraken	Delano
Oliver Moore	F	Blackhawks	Totino-Grace
Brock Nelson	C	Avalanche	Warroad
Tommy Novak	C	Predators	St. Thomas
Jake Oettinger	G	Stars	Lakeville North
T.J. Oshie	RW	Capitals	Warroad
Nick Perbix	D	Lightning	Elk River
Scott Perunovich	D	Blues	Hibbing
Neal Pionk	D	Jets	Hermantown
Ryan Poehling	C	Flyers	Lakeville North
Mike Reilly	D	Blackhawks	Holy Angels
Sam Rinzel	D	Blackhawks	Chaska
Dylan Samberg	D	Jets	Hermantown
Nate Schmidt	D	Panthers	St. Cloud Cathedral
James Schuldt	D	Sharks	Minnetonka
Nick Seeler	D	Flyers	Eden Prairie
Brady Skjei	D	Predators	Lakeville North
Hunter Shepard	G	Capitals	Grand Rapids
Cole Smith	LW	Predators	Brainerd
Jimmy Snuggerud	RW	Blues	Chaska
Jaxson Stauber	G	Utah	Holy Family
Dominic Toninato	C	Jets	Duluth East
Riley Tufte	LW	Bruins	Blaine