COLLEGE TIER: JACKSON POTULNY, POWELL RIVER KINGS (BCHL)

Forward Jackson Potulny earned Player of the Month honors after showing consistency, adaptability, and a positive mentality this summer at APX. It may only be his first year with the program but he has already made a positive impact on the coaches and staff at the rink. 

“He faced some adversity and he is coming out of it incredibly motivated,” said APX Director of Player Development Wes Jirovec. “A lot of kids go in to their first year of junior hockey and things maybe don’t go as well as they would’ve hoped and some of them lose their drive or want to quit and instead he did everything he needed to do and was really motivated and detail-oriented and was really hungry to get feedback and support from our staff.”

Potulny just finished up his first season of junior hockey while competing in the British Columbia Hockey League and he’ll play one more season of juniors this fall before eventually heading off to play Division I at the University of St. Thomas. The APX team believes that Jack will have a strong final year of juniors and is excited about his trajectory as a college hockey player.

18 SELECTS TIER: DOMINIC ANTHONY, SHATTUCK-ST. MARY’S

Dominic Anthony is awarded Player of the Month honors after not just a strong past four weeks of July but a strong summer training session altogether. Anthony is in his second season with the program and APX directors and instructors love to see his strong desire to make big moves within his game to get as far as he possibly can in his hockey career. 

“This year has been a really strong step forward for his consistency and duration of impact on both sides of the puck,” said Jirovec about Anthony’s game. “He’s really hard to play against right now in terms of his tactics and tenacity as a defender. He’s also really hard to play against on offense because he’s very dynamic and he’s very cerebral and we’re so excited to see what he does this year.” 

18s TIER: BLAKE DOSAN, BLOOMINGTON JEFFERSON

Forward Blake Dosan is your APX 18s Tier Player of the Month after showing lots of improvements both on and off the ice, specifically in the mental approach to his development and game performance. Now in his second year with the program, coaches say that Dosan has shown lots of growth in his maturity and that he is developing into quite the talented and athletic skater, which has even resulted in him making an Elite League roster for this fall.

“Blake has responded incredibly well this whole year from a details and accountability standpoint,” said Jirovec. “He’s ramping up his ability to impact the game in different ways and we’re really excited about his tactics and his situational awareness and he’s becoming a really exciting player to watch in terms of his decision-making and his playmaking.”

16s TIER: JUSTIN OLSON, LAKEVILLE SOUTH

Olson is in his second year with APX and has been chosen as the 16s Tier Player of the Month after coming off of an eye-popping bantam season. The staff say that the forward from Lakeville South has been a great fit with APX since Day 1 due to his coachability and work ethic along with how he positively contributes to the culture. 

“Justin is very driven and determined about his short and long term goals and that shows in his day to day mentality in how he responds to challenges and how he loves being at the rink,” said Jirovec about Olson. “He’s a fun name that everyone will want to put a note next to because in a few years he’s going to materialize into something really good - even though he’s already one heck of a player.” 

15s TIER: TEDDY SMITH, NORTHFIELD

Teddy Smith of Northfield has been chosen as the July Player of the Month for the 15s Tier after an impressive and promising summer of training so far. Smith has even been called up to skate with the 16s Tier a handful of times recently and he has done incredibly well with that challenging opportunity.

“Every week, every month, his game just seems to keep growing and growing and that’s because of the commitment and the dedication that he puts in here at the rink,” said APX Director of Player Development Kyle Osterberg. “I think he’s getting more confident with the puck and he’s trusting in his skating ability and his playmaking ability and from there he seems to be a great player every week, especially on game days, that you can count on to perform every time.”

14s TIER: HUDSON DECKER, LAKEVILLE NORTH 

This may only be Hudson’s first year with APX but he has already shown tremendous growth in his game. The coaching staff has been impressed with his determination to become a better defenseman each and every day and they also love his personality both on and off the ice that helps keep everyone in a positive, fun mood. 

“He’s shown a lot of poise on the backend and he’s not getting beat very often, and when he does he works his butt off to get back and disrupt the play,” said Osterberg. “He’s just been solid day in and day out and week after week. We really like what we saw this whole month. He’s starting to produce a little bit more offensively and find his complete game.” 

13s TIER: AIDAN UMLAND, EAGAN

Umland, who is in his first year with APX, has put in a lot of work this summer to play a full 200-foot game. It has been exciting to watch the growth of this forward from Eagan and he will definitely be a name to look out for in the future. 

“He’s had a really good summer in general but this last month I think he’s taken his game to another level,” said Osterberg. “This past month, he just seemed to kind of figure everything out by playing a full 200-feet, especially during game days, and outcompeting a lot of other players in his tier. He’s one of the shiftier and more slippery players in his tier, which is really fun to watch when he’s on offense.” 

GOALTENDING TIER: ERNIE DRURY, CRETIN-DERHAM HALL

Drury, a goaltender from Cretin-Derham Hall, is in his second year with the APX program and the coaches and staff have all praised his incredible growth over the last calendar year and they all speak to his love of the game and the ability that he has to win the respect and trust of his teammates and peers. 

“Ernie has a great passion for the game and has a relentless desire in wanting to get better. He has such a consistent presence in our rink, on the ice, in the locker room and in the gym and that materializes into tremendous growth on a regular basis,” said Jirovec. “He’s improved so much and he loves to compete, he loves the games and loves to win, he’s easy to root for and the boys love him. He has very much immersed himself into the high regards of his peers based off of what he does from a game performance standpoint.” 

GIRLS TIER: KAYLEE BUTLER, OWATONNA

This is Butler’s first year with the APX program after a strong junior season at Owatonna High School. Her coaches all say that she is a delight to work with on the ice and is someone that just simply makes the entire group better. The team is excited to see what she can do in her upcoming senior season. 

“To me, she’s everything you look for in the type of player that you want to have in the program,” said Jirovec. “She’s got a really high compete level and is very responsive towards feedback and always likes investing in the details from a development standpoint with what we’re getting after. She’s got really high coachability and she’s got a lot of purpose when she’s in the building.”