HowieHanson.com Section
Championship opportunities are temporary, particularly now. Max Plante will not remain at UMD forever. Neither will Zam Plante, Shaugabay or Hanson. Professional hockey will come calling, and the roster eventually will be pulled apart by the realities of the sport.
Through his first two varsity seasons, Swanson has amassed 49 goals, 68 assists and 117 points. He will enter his junior season as a centerpiece of a Bluejackets program expected to contend for another deep postseason run.
Murray, who turned 29 on Friday, signed a one-year contract with Minnesota in March after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
That is the broad Hermantown picture entering training camp starting Aug. 17. Football and girls cross-country should expect to contend for section championships. Boys soccer and volleyball return enough proven talent to make deep playoff runs realistic.
The Sentinels now have returning captains, increasing roster depth and a championship-tested young core. The next objective is to prove that last spring’s breakthrough in Alexandria was the beginning of something sustainable.
Individual awards, including most valuable player and offensive and defensive player honors, are scheduled to be announced Friday at the AF1 Awards Banquet in Clarksville.
Hermantown’s final record will depend less on finding one player capable of replacing everything that left and more on whether its senior class can make the game easier for one another. The Hawks have experience, numbers and a realistic opportunity in Section 7AAA.
Wilf also addressed the family’s long-term commitment to the franchise amid soaring NFL team values and recent ownership sales. The Vikings are not being positioned for an exit. The next generation of the Wilf family is becoming involved, and ownership intends to remain in place.
Hanson is a No. 1 college defenseman entering his prime, and UMD’s championship ceiling will be tied directly to how completely he controls the back end.
Monsters finish 9-5 after winning seven of their final nine games.
“You don’t have to watch his tape very long to feel that play extension and the ability to not only steal some first downs with his legs, but he can go get a lot more than that.” -- Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell on projected QB1 Kyler Murray
Minnesota must limit QB1 Ja’Vonte Johnson’s turnovers and create points through defense or special teams. Albany must protect its quarterback, prevent explosive returns and force the Monsters to sustain drives.
Johnson has spent much of the summer competing for All Iowa Attack’s 17U team, regularly playing against athletes two and three years older. At the Nike Tournament of Champions West from July 10-13 in Las Vegas, Johnson averaged 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists over six games.
