It’s one of Minnesota’s best times of the year, and no, it’s not Christmas or summertime; it’s state tournament time. From the last couple weeks of February to the middle of March, there are the girls’ and boys’ state hockey tournaments, plus the girls’ and boys’ state basketball tournaments that are all televised. I’m not as familiar with other states but these tournaments are a big deal in Minnesota, especially the hockey tourneys played at the Minnesota Wild and PWHL Minnesota’s home rink, the Xcel Energy Center.
The girl’s state hockey tournament just wrapped up, with its Class A and Class AA championships finishing on Saturday, Feb. 24. With the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) officially underway and doing quite well, the girls playing in the state tournament now have a pro league they can work towards. In this article, we’ll look at how the PWHL has a pipeline of players in Minnesota.
State Tourney Showcases Minnesota Talent
While there are plenty of regular-season girl’s high school games to watch, the state tournament is different, it’s like the Stanley Cup for high schoolers. It allows scouts to see the state’s best talent playing each other under one roof. While the tournament has immense talent, plenty of standout players don’t play in it because only so many teams make the cut. It has been held every year since 1995 and has been a dream for many high school girls throughout the state ever since.
While they haven’t always had a professional women’s league to play in, they’ve had a state tournament, which means just as much to many of those girls. Now, with the PWHL, there will soon be scouts looking for young talent to recruit to their team eventually, and this tournament is the perfect time. It also helps that they play on the biggest stage in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center rather than some of these smaller high school rinks, which can make it difficult to see the skills these kids have with the seating available.
Current PWHL/Former State Tourney Players
PWHL Minnesota’s current roster has several players who played in the state tournament during their high school careers. Those players are Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle, Maggie Flaherty, Liz Schepers, Sydney Brodt, Claire Butorac, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, Lauren Bench, and, of course, Maddie Rooney.
Each player represented their team proudly, and when they played, the PWHL didn’t exist yet, so they didn’t know if their hockey careers would expand past high school or possibly college so this was their big stage. It’s different with the high school players today and the future having a team to set their sights on. They can make plans for a career out of hockey rather than getting a different job in the business world.
PWHL Future Stars
As the PWHL grows, they’ll have prospects at different levels, such as high school and college that they’ll be watching and waiting to recruit, similar to the NHL. Nowadays, players draw attention to their skills at younger and younger ages, and this high school tournament is a perfect example of this.
Related: Get to Know the 2024 PWHL Minnesota Players
Some players who may be future PWHL stars that highlighted this season’s tournament include Kaiya Sandy from Warroad, who had three points in their championship game and five points total throughout the tournament. Lorelai Nelson made a name for herself with her team, Edina. She had two points in their championship game and four points in three games. These are just two names, but there will be many more throughout the seasons, and they may be seen in a PWHL jersey in the future.
PWHL Minnesota Could Benefit
PWHL Minnesota’s roster is full of Minnesota natives, and having this tournament is an excellent way for them to watch their local talent. It’s also a great experience for these girls to play on the big stage with dreams of doing so as pros. The PWHL is a great league, and the high school state tournament is an excellent tradition for Minnesota talent. It’ll be fun to watch as the seasons go by and which names stay local throughout their careers.
High school state tourney history courtesy of elitestats & MSHSL
