Photo courtesy of Andrew Herron Marshall’s Dominik Caspers looks to make a save during the Minnesota High Performance 16 & 17 tournament.

MARSHALL – The prep winter sports season may be in the books, but for six Marshall hockey standouts from the boys and girls teams, the on-ice action continues well into spring and summer beginning with the CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Spring Festival that wrapped up this past weekend.

The Spring Festival – put together through USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey – is broken up into multiple tournaments that serve as tryouts for later stages of High Performance events, as well as showcases for college and junior scouts. One such event is the Ted Brill Great 8 tournament composed of current seniors as well as juniors across the state born in 2001. Like all of the tournaments in the Spring Festival, the teams are divided based on their high school team’s section. Marshall’s representatives included senior Mason Plante as well as juniors Kaleb Welvaert and Bryson Whyte.

The goal for all Ted Brill Great 8 competitors is to be selected to return in late April for the National Invitational Tournament, where they will join forces with fellow Minnesota standout players on the MN senior team or Minnesota HP 18 team to compete against other state-select teams like Wisconsin and Michigan in a three-day tournament.

For sophomores and juniors born in either 2002 or 2003 like Marshall’s Kaitlyn Timm and Emelia Barker, as well as junior goaltender Dominik Caspers, the three-game High Performance 16 & 17 tournament is where they showed off their skills in the Spring Festival.

For both the girls and the boys taking part in the event, the goal is to be one of 54 selected at each age level to return for the CCM High Performance Final 54 Festival held on April 26. Those who make it to the Final 54 have a chance to move on to New York for Player Development Camps held in July.

Here’s how the Marshall skaters fared this past weekend:

Mason Plante

(Team: Sections 1 & 3,

Seniors)

The scoring king of the 2018-2019 high school season put the state of Minnesota on notice once more this past weekend with a team-leading five points in four games played in the Ted Brill Great 8 Tournament to go along with a runner-up finish for his squad.

Plante joined forces with section competitors like Hutchinson’s Lane Glaser and Redwood Valley’s Luke Ryan on the Section 1/3 squad that finished 3-1 overall. According to Plante, the group has been playing together in tournaments like the Spring Festival for years, making the experience a highly enjoyable one.

“It was awesome. I’ve been good friends with a lot of those guys for a long time,” said Plante. “We played hockey growing up together up in the cities. It’s always a fun time to battle together. We joke around about the season, and it’s a blast to be out there with them.”

On Wednesday it was announced that Plante was selected to move on to the NIT where he will be part of the MN Seniors team that opens up competition on April 25 against the Wisconsin Senior High Performance team. The tournament will run through April 28 and will be held at Plymouth Ice Center.

The selection was a very pleasant surprise for Plante.

“You know I had no idea. I was actually sitting at lunch just hanging out with my friends and I saw a text from my dad that I had made the team and I was a little surprised,” said Plante. “I kind of looked around and was in shock but it was great.”

The NIT will provide Plante with another opportunity to showcase his talents in front of collegiate and junior scouts. The senior forward has already been in contact with North American Hockey League scouts previously and is hopeful that he either ends up there or in the United States Hockey League.

“I’ve been contacted by a bunch of guys (but) I haven’t fully committed to what I want to do yet,” said Plante. “I know where I want to be which would be in the NAHL or the USHL, and if that doesn’t work out I think golf is another option. I’ve been offered a couple of scholarships and could pursue that.”

Kaleb Welvaert (Team: Sections 1

& 3, HP B18)

The mobile defenseman was reunited with teammate Bryson Whyte on the Section 1/3 team that finished 1-3 overall in the tournament. In the first game, Welvaert buried the team’s first of three goals in a 3-1 victory over the eventual champions of Section 7/8.

For Welvaert, the event is a special one as it allows him to not only gain exposure to scouting, but provides an outlet to show what Section 3A is all about.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, I’m glad they give to us kids down here,” said Welvaert. “A lot of people don’t have very much respect for Section 3A so it’s really nice to get up there and really show them what it’s about down here.”

Through tournaments like the Ted Brill Great 8 and other showcase events, Welvaert has been in contact with multiple junior hockey programs across the country and even traveled to Aberdeen, South Dakota recently to skate for the Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL.

“I’ve talked to a couple of NAHL teams like the Fairbanks Ice Dogs,” said Welvaert. “I’ve talked to the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL. I’ve talked to the Aberdeen Wings, and I went out there for a skate two weeks ago. I mean the things just keep coming so that’s a great confidence builder and just keeps me working on my game every single day.”

Welvaert joined Plante in being selected to the NIT, and will be part of the Minnesota High Performance 18 team that opens up competition on April 25 against North Dakota’s High Performance team. As cousins, the shared accomplishment is special, and he hopes that the achievement will inspire future Marshall hockey players to aspire to participate in these sorts of events as well.

“It’s just a huge accomplishment for us and especially just being family,” said Welvaert. “It’s huge for our family. I think it definitely encourages a lot of Marshall people to do that kind of stuff.”

In addition to the NIT event, Welvaert will be traveling to Madison, Wisconsin in August to take part in a University of Wisconsin camp that he hopes will continue to bring about interest from college programs.

“I’m going to go to that Wisconsin camp and that will be August 5-8,” said Welvaert. “That will be at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and I’ll get to skate at their facility, get tours of their facility and that will be a great time. I’m just hoping that I can get a couple other colleges to maybe reach out and stay in contact and I’m just looking forward to my senior season.”

Bryson Whyte (Team: Sections 1/3, HP B18)

After nearly doubling his goal total from his sophomore year and garnering All-Conference honors following his junior season, Whyte was rewarded for his efforts with a trip to the cities where he joined Welvaert on the Section 1/3 team that finished with a 1-3 record overall. The team’s lone victory came in the first contest at the expense of the Section 7/8 team, their only loss of the tournament. In that game, Whyte chipped in a crucial assist on the third goal that gave his club a 3-0 lead in an eventual 3-1 victory.

Not having played in an event like the Spring Festival, Whyte says it took time to get accustomed to the faster pace, but as the tournament went on, he felt more comfortable and settle into his game.

“Obviously it’s a lot faster up there,” said Whyte. “In the first game it took me quite awhile to get used to it, but moving into the second and third game I felt a lot more comfortable. I was able to do more of my own thing and play more of my game.

Reflecting on his time competing in the tournament, Whyte was honored to have represented his section and looks forward to coming back next season even stronger thanks to the experience.

“It was great. I’m honored to be picked to go down there. It was a great experience,” said Whyte. “The pace up there is faster and I was able to improve my skill level so I can come back stronger next year.”

Dominik Caspers (Team: Section 3, HP B17)

Junior Tiger netminder Dominik Caspers had a sensational four-game run competing for the Section 3 team where he made a case for goaltender of the tournament with a .970 save percentage and a 0.46 goals against average. Both totals rank atop the respective statistical categories among the 32 goalies taking part in the event.

With prior experience in High Performance events under his belt, Caspers felt comfortable throughout the competition and even took part in some locker room pranks with his teammates.

“We chuckle back and forth, there’s always pranks going on in the locker room, but when it comes down to business, they always have your back no matter what,” said Caspers. “It’s like a family atmosphere. You grew up with the guys so you know they’re like a family member to you.”

After giving up only a single goal in the opening game of competition, Caspers pitched a shutout in over 80 minutes of ice time in the next two games. For his efforts, Caspers was selected to return for the Final 54 held on April 26 where he will be vying for a shot at traveling to Amherst, New York to take part in the USA Hockey B17 Player Development Camps held in June.

Caspers’ inclusion in the Final 54 marks the second-consecutive year that he’s been selected to return for the event. He says he was excited when he got the news and is glad to keep the streak of making it this far into the High Performance events.

“I found out through my parents and from both of my coaches texting me and I got really excited because I get to represent my community like I have for the last two years,” said Caspers. “I’m glad to keep that streak going.”

Kaitlyn Timm (Team: Section 3, HP G16)

Following a 20-goal sophomore season featuring a team-leading seven tallies on the power play, Timm was rewarded for her remarkable 2018-2019 campaign with a tryout for the Spring Festival event vying for a spot against the best players in Section 3A. Admittedly she was nervous if she would be selected to participate in the event, but was relieved and excited once she got the email confirming her roster spot.

“You know it was pretty exciting. We had tryouts one weekend and I showed up thinking ‘Hey I think I got this’ but I saw those girls and they were all very good,” said Timm. “I was actually wondering if i was going to make it after that. I was like ‘I don’t really know if I’ll make it or not’ so once they sent me an email saying I made it, it was huge. It really said something like ‘I can keep up with them’ and it felt good.”

In only her first time competing in a High Performance event, Timm made the most of it with a an assist on the team’s lone goal in their second game against Section 1. Her team would finish the tournament with a 1-2 record, but according to Timm, the experience at the event, along with Marshall’s previous trip to state, will go a long way in pushing her to be her absolute best after seeing the collection of talent the state possesses first-hand.

“We also went to state two years back and even then you see girls that are much better than you and you’re like ‘I want to be like them,” said Timm. “I want to beat them one day. So you do start shooting pucks more, you start working out more in the summer and doing whatever you can in the offseason to help push you to be better in the season coming up.”

Emelia Barker (Team: Section 3, HP G17)

Dependable in the defensive zone and a playmaker on offense, Barker put together an exceptional sophomore season that saw her increase her point total from nine a season ago all the way to 22 this past year with seven goals and 15 assists in 24 games played.

Well-acquainted with select tournaments like the Spring Festival after years of participating in such events, Barker is always excited to represent her section as one of its best players in addition to reuniting with old friends on past select teams.

“I thought it was pretty amazing being able to get out there and get recognized for how skilled I am as a hockey player in general,” said Barker. “I made the team last year too, so it was nice getting back with older teammates from last year and getting to play with each other because we might not see each other during the regular season. Just reconnecting and being able to be one of the better players in my section feels amazing.”

Like Timm, seeing the elevated level of competition serves as a motivator to keep grinding during the offseason in order to improve next season.

“It pushes me harder up here and I know I can’t come back down here and think it’s going to be easy,” said Barker. “I just have to keep that mindset that every competition is going to be a hard one and I need to push myself harder.”