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I'VE BEEN COVERING Minnesota high school hockey for 50 years. Long enough to know when a so-called “rebuilding year” is really just code for most people aren’t paying attention yet.
Hermantown is rebuilding, yes. Hermantown is also quietly dangerous.
And if you want to understand why, start on the blue line. Specifically, with freshman defenseman Nikolai Zhukov — an ultra-elite prospect who already looks like the cornerstone of the next era of Hermantown hockey.
I’m not whispering this. I’m not hedging it. This kid is a future first-round NHL draft pick. Mark it down in pen.
Zhukov doesn’t play like a ninth-grader. He plays like someone who already understands time, space and consequences. Calm retrievals. Head up. First pass on the tape, always on time. Stick in the right lane. He doesn’t chase hits. He doesn’t force offense. He just quietly removes danger from the ice.
That’s not “good for his age.” That’s top-four NHL defenseman wiring showing up years early.
Hermantown will try to build around him for as long as it can — unless the U.S. National Team Development Program steps in and changes the plan entirely. That’s the level we’re talking about here. Watch him while you can.
Now zoom out.
As a team, the Hawks are probably still a year away from winning another Class A state championship. The edges aren’t razor sharp yet. The full muscle memory of a title run is still forming. That’s fine. I’ve seen plenty of eventual champions look exactly like this in January.
What I also saw — with my own eyes, not rankings or chatter — was Hermantown out-play Hibbing-Chisholm.
That 2–1 game wasn’t luck. It wasn’t a bounce. It wasn’t a whistle. Hermantown controlled the pace, won the hard ice and stayed calm when the game tightened. That’s veteran hockey, regardless of what the roster says.
If that game was a Section 7A preview — and it sure felt like one — the so-called favorite got a warning shot.
I’ve seen this shape before. A team that doesn’t sparkle. Doesn’t rush. Doesn’t panic. Balanced up front. Disciplined through the neutral zone. Comfortable winning games that make people uncomfortable.
If you’re a betting person — and the smartest hockey people always think like gamblers — Hermantown is the best money in Section 7A when the tournament hits Amsoil Arena.
Not because they’re perfect. Because they’re honest.
They didn’t duck anyone this season. They never do. They went looking for problems instead of hiding from them, and now they’re better for it. And with a defenseman like Zhukov already tilting the ice as a freshman, the window isn’t closing — it’s opening.
So no, I’m not handing them a state trophy in January. I’ve been around too long for that.
But when Section 7A drops the puck and the pressure turns real, I know exactly who I’m riding with. I’ve seen this movie before. It usually ends with everyone else wondering how they missed it.
. . .
THE PROCTOR/HERMANTOWN girls hockey team didn’t stumble into the heart of the season at 13-5-2. The Mirages arrived there the old way — balance, discipline and a quiet willingness to defend before they dazzle. That’s usually the first sign you’re dealing with something real.
Four goals a night will get your attention. Giving up fewer than two will earn my respect. Proctor/Hermantown does both, and they do it without drama. No gimmicks. No shortcut hockey. Just steady five-on-five play, smart special teams and an understanding that games are won in the uncomfortable parts of the ice.
I’ve seen teams with prettier numbers. I’ve also seen those teams disappear when the schedule stiffens. This group didn’t.
They played Warroad, Edina, Andover, Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Breck because that’s what serious teams do. They beat Apple Valley. They handled Cloquet/Esko/Carlton twice. They won on the road at Blaine and Hibbing-Chisholm. Nobody handed them anything, and nobody intimidated them either.
What jumps out isn’t one line or one name. It’s that the Mirage keep coming. Eleven skaters in double figures tells you everything you need to know about how hard they are to match up against. You shut one group down, another hops over the boards and keeps the pressure on.
Avery Milbridge leads the way, but she’s hardly alone. Grace Nichols. Mya Gunderson. Ella Kaups. Aubrey Miner. Natalie Heitzman. Peighton Paulson. That’s not a headline act — that’s a roster that wears teams down by the middle of the second period.
And that’s when Proctor/Hermantown really starts to separate.
They’ve owned the second period all season, and that’s never an accident. That’s conditioning. That’s coaching. That’s knowing what adjustments to make while the other bench is still catching its breath.
On the back end, the Mirage don’t give you much to work with. They move the puck, they clean up rebounds and they don’t gift second chances. Sarah Stauber and Ashlee Pruse set the tone, Taylee Manion adds offense without gambling, and the shot totals tell the story — opponents get chances, but not many good ones.
Then there’s the goaltending.
Lillian Clemons doesn’t steal games so much as she closes doors. Calm. Square. No wasted motion. The numbers are excellent, but the presence is better. And when others have been called on, the level hasn’t dropped, which tells you this team trusts what it’s doing.
I’ve watched enough seasons to know when a record lies. This one doesn’t.
Proctor/Hermantown has built its season the way postseason teams always do — defend first, share the puck, roll lines and let frustration set in on the other bench. That’s not flashy hockey. It’s winning hockey.
And teams like this don’t fade when February hits. They last.
