BOYS - Prior Lake
Moving on to #5 in the LaxNumbers rankings on the boys side… Prior Lake
2023 Record
14-5, State Runner Up
Lost Notables
Ben Mickett - 53G, 11A
Jack Gilbert - Starting SSDM, Wing on FO
Eli Herrmann/Marcus Lavigne/Noah Young - Starting Close D line
Returning Notables
Jack Tocko: 42G, 35A
Max Anderson: 35G, 20A
George Tocko: 23G, 11A
CJ Sheffield: 9G, 8A, 97GB, 50FTs
Dillon Tushie: 42GB, 14A
Cade Wozney: Starting SSDM
Instant Reaction
I think the first and probably biggest piece of information to react to is that they will be replacing their Head Coach, Casey Mithun, who moved on to coach at the college level. However, Sam Kepner has been named the new HC and has been with the program for 7 years. This should, like when Mithun replaced Fleck, be a seamless transition for the Lakers, logistically. Losing Casey’s offensive mind will be off-season priority #1 for the Laker’s staff, I would think.
However, In what was supposed to be a “down year” for the Lakers, they ended up, once again, in the state final. They will need to find a way to replace Ben Mickett, who has is your prototypical college midfielder. They leaned on him a lot last year and really put the ball in his hands in the biggest moments. They also will be replacing all three of their starting close defenseman, one of their starting SSDM’s and starting goalie. This isn’t really anything new at prior lake, given the size of the program, they generally replace a lot of seniors every year.
As I dug in a bit, they have to replace a lot less this season than they did last season with that large 2022 class graduating. They get a ton of scoring back. Two young poles that played a lot and one of their Short Sticks on defense. So while, they do have to come up with a plan to replace the aforementioned players above, they do have a lot to build upon heading into 2024 season.
One thing PL has been great at over the years is developing players through their Prep/JV program. All players work their way through the system. A few of the absolute best players over the years have been able to see varsity time as underclassmen, but, it’s more of an exception than a rule. This model has been adopted by the whole program top to bottom (as far as I can tell). I think this is a big reason why they continually find a way to be one of the best teams every year. They never really go “all-in” on one single class of kids.
The Future
Griffin Marshall, FO/M - joined the varsity team halfway through the year last season and provided some stability for them at the face off X. Could see an expanded role this year
Brady Hallberg, Defense - was in the mix on varsity last year and should have a chance to start with three close defenseman graduating
Braden Deboer, Goalie - senior goalie who will be most likely to take on the starting role in 2024
Griffin Noble, Attack - split time as the “3rd attack” in 2023, but should be the assumed occupant of the 3rd attack spot this season.
2024 Schedule
Schedule is never an issue for PL. They, like the previous couple teams, get the strong SSC matchups baked in automatically. They also have leverage to play really whoever they want. According to the SSC website, they will have Centennial, Jefferson, Chanhassen, BSM and Stillwater for OOC. I’d say that is pretty solid and will be one of the tougher schedules in 2024.
In Conclusion
People were writing the Lakers off in 2023 after that 1-4 start. But, as we have mentioned on the podcast a million times… regular season doesn’t matter in high school sports. Everyone makes the playoffs. When you have the talent and coaching that PL does, you always give yourself a chance at the end of the year. That being said, PL will be looking to replace some key guys and look for reserves from last year to step up into larger contributing roles. Section 6 got even harder adding Shakopee and Eden Prairie and their Section 6 final opponent, Edina, should be as good if not better again in 2024.
