Anderson was excellent in net as the starting goaltender for the Bobcats in 2024-25. He played more minutes in goal than anyone else in the entire league and had the most wins in the league with 37. In fact, he only had eight regular season losses. Those stats were good enough to push the Bobcats to the top of the Central Division standings and to earn Anderson a spot on the All-NAHL and Central All-Division teams along with eventually winning the prestigious NAHL League MVP award. 

“It’s an incredible honor obviously for him to win league MVP. As the league has gotten bigger then obviously it’s harder to win league MVP since there’s more players involved. He should be very proud of himself and we’re very proud of him,” said Kapetanovic. “He got better as the season went on … He learned how to be so calm in net and nothing phased him, whenever we needed a big save, he was there. I just feel like anytime we needed Tomas he was always there for us.”

Seeing the recent success of Anderson, who is now set to play Division I hockey this fall at Niagara University, is even more impressive when you consider the perseverance and hard work that he had to put in to even make it to the junior hockey level after being cut from about five different teams before eventually finding a spot in the MJHL in 2023-24 (as the only American on the roster) and then the Bismarck Bobcats in 2024-25. 

“There’s a lot of kids who would’ve quit after one, maybe two, tryouts. He showed a ton of resilience and I think that defines who he is from a character perspective,” said APX Director of Goaltending Drew Fielding about the 20-year-old. “For him to handle not only the adversity but the pressure of taking advantage of those opportunities, it speaks volumes to him and his mental toughness and who he is as an athlete and a person.”

Forward Tommy Cronin also played a key role for the Bobcats. The St. Thomas Academy graduate actually started this past season in the USHL and then spent a while up in Salmon Arm of the BCHL before making his way back to Bismarck around the winter holiday break, which is a team that he was already familiar with considering that he spent almost the entire year prior with the Bobcats. 

“When the opportunity arose for me to go back there, those first few days, you could see how talented the team was in practice and how well-rounded we were with great forwards, defensemen and goalies and I got to experience Coach Roth for the first time in action and he was extremely dialed-in and intense and you could tell the team had a lot of potential and was going in a great direction,” he said about coming back to the program about halfway through the season. 

Cronin played a large role in Bismarck’s offense and was the only athlete on the team to have played at over a point-per game pace. He also led the team in scoring in the playoffs with 13 points through 13 games. 

“He’s an incredible talent. One of the most talented players we’ve probably ever had in Bismarck, as far as the skillset goes,” said Kapetanovic about Cronin, who started training with APX in middle school and has played on various Blue Army teams throughout the years. Kapetanovic also added that the Edina native made huge strides this season in rounding out his game by adding a more physical element to his style of play to go along with his gifted skillset.

“APX has always been a great spot for me to train, I definitely learned a lot of things, honed a bunch of skills, spent a lot of time and met some great people there,” said Cronin, who is set to play Division I hockey at Alaska Fairbanks this winter. “It definitely helped me turn my game from just liking hockey a lot to being more of a complete junior hockey player and preparing myself for the next level.” 

And last but certainly not least is forward Kyle Doll, who is one of the captains of the team. Doll, who played high school hockey at Lakeville North, is certainly no stranger to Bismarck since he has spent the past three seasons within the Bobcats organization. He has gotten better in each of his years there and he was tied for top-six in scoring in 2024-25, but his impact as a teammate and a leader goes well beyond just on the ice. 

“I truly believe when I say it that it would’ve been really hard to win a championship if we didn’t have Kyle Doll,” said Kapetanovic. “The confidence he had in his teammates, the confidence he had in himself and in his group and the willingness to do whatever it takes to win, that’s how you win championships … Just his resiliency for a young man, and the care, and the effort, and the drive and the character that he is. I can’t speak enough about Kyle Doll and how important a person he is to the program, and who he is as a person is exactly how he plays.” 

Doll started skating with APX during his first year of bantams and said that he will always remember the camaraderie of the program. “It makes coming to the rink a lot of fun, especially coming back for the summer and seeing guys that you haven’t seen and catching up on how their seasons went — that’s always a lot of fun.” 

The 6-foot forward still has one more season of junior hockey eligibility left and is undecided on what his current plans are for the upcoming season.