15 Minnesotans make NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings

Edina’s Mason West leads five high schoolers on list

Fifteen players born in Minnesota were listed in the NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings released earlier this week. The rankings are an annual scouting report of the top NHL draft prospects in North America and around the world. The list is divided into North American Skaters and International Skaters.

Of the 15 Minnesotans named on the list, five are current Minnesota high school players. The top player is Logan Hensler, a former Hill-Murray defenseman who also played two seasons with the U.S. National squad. He is currently at the University of Wisconsin and also played for Team USA in the World Juniors.

Minnesota Gopher commit and current Team USA 18U defenseman Maceo Phillips is t next highest ranked Minnesotan coming in at 49. Phillips played high school hockey at Benilde-St. Margaret’s before joining the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP). Phillips is a big-bored defenseman at 6’5” and 228 pounds.

The top high schooler is Edina’s Mason West. Another big-bodied skater, West is 6’5” and 208 pounds and currently leads the Hornets in scoring with 14 goals and 23 points in 15 games. West is only a junior with an August 2007 birth date.

Eden Prairie’s Mason Moe is ranked 54th. The Eden Prairie native opted for juniors tis year and is currently playing for Madison in the USHL. He has 15 points in 19 games and has also played tis season for Team USA’s U18 squad.

Ashton Schultz is ranked 59th. The speedy forward also opted out of his senior season with Minnetonka to play for Chicago in the USHL where he has 22 points in 29 games. He is committed to North Dakota.

Moorhead native and USNTDP defenseman Sam Laurila is ranked 63rd. He has 26 points in 29 games and is also headed to North Dakota.

Shakopee’s Cooper Simpson is the second highest ranked high school player coming in at 67th. The smooth skating soft-handed winger has 25 goals and 41 points in 18 games so far this season and is a likely Mr. Hockey contender.

William Belle is a Minnetonka native ranked 89th. The winger played high school hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and is currently playing in the USNTDP.

Brendan McMorrow is a Lakeville native who attended Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School and is currently playing for Waterloo in the USHL. He is ranked 127th and has 20 points in 29 games thus far.

Gopher recruit Jacob Kvasnicka ranks 129th on the list. The winger played for Wayzata and is currently playing for Team USA in the NTDP.

Former Wife Bear Lake star and 2024 Mr. Hockey finalist Nolan Roed is ranked 148th. Reed is having a strong season with Tri-City in the USHL where has averaged a point a game (33-14-19-33).

Champlin Park senior Brent Solomon is ranked 161st. The sharp-shooting winger led the Elite League in scoring this fall and has 24 goals in 15 games this season for the Rebels.

Moorhead’s Brooks Cullen is ranked 165th and has his Spuds at the top of the Let’s Play Hockey Rankings. The senior center has 21 points for the Spuds and is committed to Michigan State.

Rogers defenseman Nolan Geerdes rounds out the Minnesota skaters who made the midterm rankings. He is ranked 168th and is a solid two-way blue liner for the Royals.

The only goaltender to make the list was last year’s section hero Cam Hendrickson who led Chanhassen to their first state tournament appearance and ultimately the state championship game. Hendrickson is currently playing for Waterloo in the USHL.