18 SELECTS TIER: KADEN LARSON, BLOOMINGTON JEFFERSON

Bloomington Jefferson forward Kaden Larson has earned Player of the Month honors for the 18 Selects Tier after an impressive summer of training that has the APX staff excited about his upcoming senior season of high school hockey. Larson was just added to the APX program this year, but he has already turned heads in just that short amount of time. As a junior, he was tied for the lead in overall scoring (29pts) for the Jaguars, so the skilled forward will absolutely be a player to watch for Jefferson in 2025-26. 

“At this point in the training season, it’s safe to say that he’s one of the most improved 200-foot players in the whole program. He’s relentless in his compete level, in his coachability, and he’s been a sponge to feedback and to constructive criticism,” said APX Director of Player Development Wes Jirovec. “He loves details, and he’s become a very difficult player to play against on both sides of the puck. We’re very excited about the senior season that he’s going to have for Jefferson this year.”

18s TIER: OTTO SCHOENROCK, WASECA

Schoenrock is no stranger to APX since he has been with the program for three years now. The coaching staff awarded him with Player of the Month honors after seeing his game really take off over the last few months. Schoenrock led the Jays in overall goal-scoring (31) last season as just a sophomore and is set up to have a big junior year. 

“Since we met Otto, he’s always been a player of the utmost work ethic and compete level,” said Jirovec. “Our staff thinks there’s been a breakthrough this year in terms of some of his offensive prowess, execution around the net as a finisher, and some more consistency in his hard skill and playmaking. He’s a very exciting player to see in any game scenario right now.”

16s TIER: GAVIN WHITE, SHAKOPEE

White is in his first year with APX, and he has had not just a strong month of training but a strong year overall, improving in multiple areas of his game. The Shakopee skater has played at both forward and defense and can be extremely versatile out on the ice. He has played a lot of forward this year, but might be starting off as a defenseman for Shakopee High School this winter. 

“It’s been impressive to see him improve within his role of consistency and duration in terms of hard skill and play in the trenches. He’s gained a lot of confidence and a lot of effectiveness in 50/50 puck battles, in his impacts as a forechecker, his ability to win positional battles, becoming really confident in his strength on his skates and for all of these reasons I think he’s going to be a strong contributor to a really strong Shakopee varsity team right out of the gates in his first year as a sophomore.”

15s TIER: HARRISON METZ, NORTHFIELD

Metz is in his third year with the APX program now, and the coaching staff all agree that it seems like he has been on a very steady upward trajectory for some time now. The forward from Northfield is set up to have a strong bantam season with the Raiders this winter and will be a name to keep track of in the years to come.

“He’s got a very consistent mindset when it comes to his engagement in game reps, his compete level, his details, and his responses to adjustments from the staff,” said Jirovec. “He’s been on a rocket ship of development for a lot of months now, and he’s going to have a really good year on that Northfield bantam team.”

14s TIER: KOOPER EWING, HASTINGS

Ewing is in his first year with the APX program and has been an athlete who has dazzled the coaching staff both on and off the ice. Everyone is incredibly excited to see the skill that he brings to the table each day, and they applaud his ability to positively impact those around him both on and off the ice. 

“He’s a human highlight reel - you could say that in terms of his talents and his offensive prowess and him being able to produce scoring chances, and you could also say that from a coach’s standpoint because he’s very positionally sound and really sharp in details about what he does from the defensive standpoint,” said Jirovec. “We couldn’t have asked for a better kid and a better general influence on the ice and the culture as a whole for the 14s tier.” 

13s TIER: JACKSON LYNSE, COTTAGE GROVE

Lynse is also in his first year with the APX program, and his coaches say that they have loved to see his development over the summer and the effort and consistency that he brings to his training. After seeing what he has been able to do in just one year with APX, we can’t wait to see what his game will look like in the years to come.

“Jack has improved a ton in the development of some of his physical tools, that’s a compliment towards the consistency of his efforts and his compete level on the ice,” said Jirovec about the Cottage Grove skater. “Jack has also shown some really good growth in terms of his decision-making both with and without the puck, and his contributions in different scenarios. It’s really fun to see a player like that grow and round out his game by the end of the training season.”

GOALTENDING TIER: EMORY BATT, ST. PAUL HIGHLAND PARK

Batt has been chosen as the September Player of the Month for the Goaltending Tier after a strong month of training with APX. The senior netminder is the first athlete in quite a long time who has come to our program from St. Paul Highland Park, and likely the first-ever goalie that we’ve had from the Scots team. Batt earned the opportunity to compete in one of the summer showcase games against The Base and did a great job, and the coaching staff all say that he has exceeded all of the expectations that they originally set for him. 

“He is an absolute grinder, he loves to take the feedback from our goaltending staff and tries to apply it right away. One of my favorite things is how dedicated he is in the gym, he has an aptitude and an interest in the sports science side of things as well, so he’s asking the right questions in the gym and learning how to perform exercises better,” said APX Director of Goaltending, Drew Fielding. “That desire and effort are translating on the ice as well, and I feel like he’s become a more explosive and dynamic athlete as a byproduct of both the on and off-ice efforts that he’s put into it. He’s one of those kids that just defines a high-character athlete, and that’s something that we really do take pride in at our program.”

GIRLS TIER: ABBY DAVIS, EASTVIEW

Davis is in her first year with the APX program and has been one of the most exciting young prospects in the Girls Tier. As just an 8th Grader, the young forward scored 11 points for the Eastview varsity squad in 2024-25, so the coaching staff is all excited to see what she can do over the next four years of high school and believes that she’s on an impressive trajectory with her hockey career.

“Abby Davis was a pleasure to coach this summer. She is a gritty player with a wicked shot!” said APX Director of Girls Development Karyn Bye. “Without a doubt, Abby took her game to the next level! Congratulations, Abby!”