World Selects - NorthStar Elite

Midwest program enters two 2007 teams into the mix at Nashville

A veteran of the North American World Selects Trophy tournaments, the NorthStar Elite program will compete in its fourth consecutive 15U event next month. In 2021, the program entered two teams into the field, and at the 2007-born tournament in two weeks, they will once again submit two rosters: NorthStar Elite-Green and NorthStar Elite-White.

Last year’s pair of teams combined to 2-8-0 record, with five of those losses coming in overtime. One of the teams — NorthStar Elite-MN — did qualify for the single-elimination playoffs as the No. 14-seed, but fell 3-2 in the first round.

Teams Green and White will look to improve on those efforts in 2022, with a pair of rosters loaded with players from the American Midwest. While NorthStar as a whole maintains a national base of players, this pair of ‘07 teams stem primarily from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

NORTHSTAR ELITE – GREEN

Top defenseman Carson Steinhoff, and forwards Bryce Wiitala, Mason Minsky, Jackson Schroeder and Jacob Kvasnicka will lead the charge for Green. Steinhoff finished third on his Shakopee High School team in scoring as a freshman, with five goals and 26 points from the blue line. Wiitala and Kvasnicka were standouts on the Minnesota Bantam circuit this winter as well, both finishing in the top 20 in the league in scoring. Schroeder impressed people in Wisconsin after finishing second in scoring for Stevens Point Area High during his freshman year, scoring 15 goals and 48 points.

NORTHSTAR ELITE – WHITE

Headlined by a national championship-winning goaltender in Bjorn Bronas, Team White is built from the net out. Bronas led Chicago Mission to a 14U USA championship earlier this month, and is one of the top goalies in the country. He’ll have strong defensive play in front of him from the likes of Andrew Horn and Joey Buzzetta. Forwards Grant Gatliff and Jack Kennedy come from strong Midwestern programs like Carshield and Omaha AAA Lancers as well.

NorthStar has been a consistent participant in the World Selects tournament series as of late. Its best finish came in 2018, with a 4-3-0 record and a quarterfinal loss to Western Canada Selects. Can either of the ‘07 teams outdo that mark? We’ll find out in Nashville when the puck drops on May 11th.

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