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Jun. 29—KASSON — The calendar year couldn't get much better for Maren Hodgman and Nolan Steele.
As a high school freshman, Hodgman helped the Dodge County girls hockey team reach the state tournament and place third in Class 1A. The Wildcats' lone loss at state came in overtime against powerhouse Warroad in the state semifinals.
Steele's freshman year was much the same. He played on an ultra-talented top line for a Dodge County boys team that won the Section 1-1A championship and earned the program's second-ever trip to state.
Steele went viral after showcasing his skill with a top-shelf, between-the-legs goal on state-wide TV in the Wildcats' state quarterfinal game against No. 1-ranked Hibbing/Chisholm.
Now, the two young Dodge County hockey standouts have one more thing in common: they're both solidly on USA Hockey's radar.
Hodgman and Steele have been invited to compete at USA Hockey National Development Camp for their age groups.
Hodgman will participate in the Girls 15 National Camp, as one of 33 skaters selected from Minnesota. The camp will include approximately 200 of the best 2011-born players from across the country. Hodgman is one of 20 forwards from Minnesota who received invitations to the camp, which will be held at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, July 19-24.
"I'm really excited to play with girls from all over the nation," said Hodgman, who has played on the Dodge County varsity for three seasons. "I'm excited to compete and learn, especially with all of the college coaches there (scouting) and all of the (Minnesota Hockey) High Performance players there."
With the depth of talent Dodge County has had in recent seasons — it has gone to the state tournament in three consecutive seasons — Hodgman was able to ease her way into the varsity lineup. She scored one varsity goal as a seventh-grader, then broke out as an eighth-grader with 13 points for a team that won the state championship.
This past season, as a freshman, Hodgman — a fast, dynamic playmaker with a high Hockey IQ — matched her point total from a year ago and set her personal career high in goals, with four.
She credited the veterans and captains she has played with, including Hannah Peterson, Nora Carstensen and Maysie Koch, with helping her acclimate to the varsity level.
"It's great to see players like that and know you can excel at a high level and also have a lot of fun during practice," Hodgman said. "It's comforting knowing they went through the same thing.
Like many who have passed through the Dodge County Ice Arena in recent years, Hodgman's goal is to play college hockey. The upcoming national camp will be another big step in that process for her. She learned she was selected for the camp while she was riding in a car.
"I was on my way back from a practice in the Cities," she said with a laugh. "I said 'well, I might as well go look at the (Minnesota Hockey) website. It got dead silent in the car and I was scrolling slowly, trying to find my name, then I saw it and 'oh my gosh, this is crazy!'
"Obviously, making the camp was a goal, but the information and the learning process out there is going to be (valuable). It's one thing to make the camp, but learning and improving is the goal."
Nolan Steele put the skates away for a little bit in the spring. That's when the standout all-around athlete from Byron High School trades his hockey gloves for a baseball glove for a few months.
Now, though, he's back on the ice and hasn't skipped a beat.
The 5-foot-10 right-shot forward will head to Amherst, N.Y., July 15-21 for the Boys 15 National Camp. He's one of 22 players from Minnesota who have been invited to the camp, which features the best 2011-born players from across the country.
"I'm looking forward to being there with all my friends, the guys from Minnesota, and with kids I know in our age group," Steele said. "It will be fun to compete against other people from around the country."
This won't be Steele's first experience in a pressure-packed environment. In addition to playing in the state tournament, he has played in the Tier I U14 division of the USHL Fall Classic in Pittsburgh and has developed friendships with many of the players in his age group.
Steele and Hodgman had to pass through multiple steps in order to make it to National Camp. For Steele, it started with being selected as one of the top players from Minnesota Hockey's District 9, competing in 10 skills/evaluation sessions, then moving on to the Spring Festival in Plymouth. From there, 102 players were chosen from across the state to compete in the Minnesota Hockey summer development camp at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
The top players from that camp — and dozens more from around the country — were chosen to advance to the national camp in New York.
"The process was really fun," Steele said. "It's hard to just make the team to go to Plymouth, then to get selected to go to the St. Thomas camp. ... It's just fun to play against guys from the Cities and all over Minnesota."
Steele credited his linemates at Dodge County last season — senior Gabe Coshenet and sophomore Cam Koch — for helping him get comfortable quickly at the varsity level. That trio combined for 70 goals and 160 points, and Steele set a program freshman scoring record, with 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists).
He offered an emphatic "yes" when asked if he'll be playing high school hockey at Dodge County again this winter.
"Definitely the style of play is a lot different, a lot more physical than playing Bantams," Steele said of his first year of high school hockey. "The jump up was a little difficult at first, but the coaches really helped me get back to playing a physical game.
"And playing with (Coshenet and Koch) was great. They're the two best teammates you'll ever play with. They work so hard, do all the little things. I wouldn't say everything came easy for us, but playing with them made it much easier. And I'll have to, this year, do some of those things — get in the corners, battle for pucks — that Gabe did."
Continue reading...
As a high school freshman, Hodgman helped the Dodge County girls hockey team reach the state tournament and place third in Class 1A. The Wildcats' lone loss at state came in overtime against powerhouse Warroad in the state semifinals.
Steele's freshman year was much the same. He played on an ultra-talented top line for a Dodge County boys team that won the Section 1-1A championship and earned the program's second-ever trip to state.
Steele went viral after showcasing his skill with a top-shelf, between-the-legs goal on state-wide TV in the Wildcats' state quarterfinal game against No. 1-ranked Hibbing/Chisholm.
Now, the two young Dodge County hockey standouts have one more thing in common: they're both solidly on USA Hockey's radar.
Hodgman and Steele have been invited to compete at USA Hockey National Development Camp for their age groups.
Hodgman will participate in the Girls 15 National Camp, as one of 33 skaters selected from Minnesota. The camp will include approximately 200 of the best 2011-born players from across the country. Hodgman is one of 20 forwards from Minnesota who received invitations to the camp, which will be held at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, July 19-24.
"I'm really excited to play with girls from all over the nation," said Hodgman, who has played on the Dodge County varsity for three seasons. "I'm excited to compete and learn, especially with all of the college coaches there (scouting) and all of the (Minnesota Hockey) High Performance players there."
With the depth of talent Dodge County has had in recent seasons — it has gone to the state tournament in three consecutive seasons — Hodgman was able to ease her way into the varsity lineup. She scored one varsity goal as a seventh-grader, then broke out as an eighth-grader with 13 points for a team that won the state championship.
This past season, as a freshman, Hodgman — a fast, dynamic playmaker with a high Hockey IQ — matched her point total from a year ago and set her personal career high in goals, with four.
She credited the veterans and captains she has played with, including Hannah Peterson, Nora Carstensen and Maysie Koch, with helping her acclimate to the varsity level.
"It's great to see players like that and know you can excel at a high level and also have a lot of fun during practice," Hodgman said. "It's comforting knowing they went through the same thing.
Like many who have passed through the Dodge County Ice Arena in recent years, Hodgman's goal is to play college hockey. The upcoming national camp will be another big step in that process for her. She learned she was selected for the camp while she was riding in a car.
"I was on my way back from a practice in the Cities," she said with a laugh. "I said 'well, I might as well go look at the (Minnesota Hockey) website. It got dead silent in the car and I was scrolling slowly, trying to find my name, then I saw it and 'oh my gosh, this is crazy!'
"Obviously, making the camp was a goal, but the information and the learning process out there is going to be (valuable). It's one thing to make the camp, but learning and improving is the goal."
Nolan Steele put the skates away for a little bit in the spring. That's when the standout all-around athlete from Byron High School trades his hockey gloves for a baseball glove for a few months.
Now, though, he's back on the ice and hasn't skipped a beat.
The 5-foot-10 right-shot forward will head to Amherst, N.Y., July 15-21 for the Boys 15 National Camp. He's one of 22 players from Minnesota who have been invited to the camp, which features the best 2011-born players from across the country.
"I'm looking forward to being there with all my friends, the guys from Minnesota, and with kids I know in our age group," Steele said. "It will be fun to compete against other people from around the country."
This won't be Steele's first experience in a pressure-packed environment. In addition to playing in the state tournament, he has played in the Tier I U14 division of the USHL Fall Classic in Pittsburgh and has developed friendships with many of the players in his age group.
Steele and Hodgman had to pass through multiple steps in order to make it to National Camp. For Steele, it started with being selected as one of the top players from Minnesota Hockey's District 9, competing in 10 skills/evaluation sessions, then moving on to the Spring Festival in Plymouth. From there, 102 players were chosen from across the state to compete in the Minnesota Hockey summer development camp at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
The top players from that camp — and dozens more from around the country — were chosen to advance to the national camp in New York.
"The process was really fun," Steele said. "It's hard to just make the team to go to Plymouth, then to get selected to go to the St. Thomas camp. ... It's just fun to play against guys from the Cities and all over Minnesota."
Steele credited his linemates at Dodge County last season — senior Gabe Coshenet and sophomore Cam Koch — for helping him get comfortable quickly at the varsity level. That trio combined for 70 goals and 160 points, and Steele set a program freshman scoring record, with 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists).
He offered an emphatic "yes" when asked if he'll be playing high school hockey at Dodge County again this winter.
"Definitely the style of play is a lot different, a lot more physical than playing Bantams," Steele said of his first year of high school hockey. "The jump up was a little difficult at first, but the coaches really helped me get back to playing a physical game.
"And playing with (Coshenet and Koch) was great. They're the two best teammates you'll ever play with. They work so hard, do all the little things. I wouldn't say everything came easy for us, but playing with them made it much easier. And I'll have to, this year, do some of those things — get in the corners, battle for pucks — that Gabe did."
Continue reading...
