Strong freshmen class to give Huskies much-needed depth

by Dain Solberg, Let’s Play Hockey

St. Cloud, Minn.— The 2024-25 Husky squad guided by veteran head coach Brett Larson will have plenty of holes to fill with the graduation  and/or trasnsfer of top-line forwards in Kyler Kupka (Camrose, AB./Camrose Kodiaks/AJHL), Zach Okabe (Fukuoka, JPN. /Grande Prairie Storm/AJHL), Joe Molenaar (Minnetonka, Minn./Cedar Rapids Roughriders/USHL) and veteran center Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Fin./ Kiekko-Espo U20/SM-liiga). SCSU kept there NCAA tournament hopes alive when they advanced to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (NCHC) 2024 Frozen Faceoff where the Huskies fell to the eventual national champion Denver Pioneers.  SCSU will fill this void when they bring in three transfers and six high-flying freshmen to the 2025 roster.

On defense, offensive defensemen Dylan Anhorn (Calgary, AB./Union College/NCAA) led the back end alongside Minnesota Wild draft-pick Jack Peart (Grand Rapids, Minn./Fargo Force/USHL). The pair combined for 47 points a season ago. Coming into Anhorn’s spot in 2025 will the big heavy size of Thor Byfuglien (Roseau, Minn./Chicago Steel/USHL) who is the cousin of former Winnipeg Jets D-man Dustin Byfuglien.

The Huskies finished 17-16-5 in 2023-24.

Keys to Success for St. Cloud

Veteran Goaltending- SCSU returns netminder sophomore Goaltender Isak Posch (Umea, SWE/Minnesota Wilderness/NAHL) and adds a seasoned vet in Northern Michigan transfer Charlie Glockner (Minnetonka, Minn./Waterloo Blackhawks/USHL). A season ago, Posch made 14 starts for the Huskies in 2024 bolstering a .901 save percentage and a record of 5-6-2.

Hall of Youth

The Huskies welcome in a group of young talent. Barrett Hall (Seattle Kraken draft pick 2023) led the way as a freshman both on the second line and first power play unit alongside the Miettinen brothers. Hall provided 16 points (8g, 8a) which included two 4-point nights on Feb. 3, 2024, at Colorado College and on Nov. 24, 2023, when SCSU hosted the Michigan Wolverines at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. This season Hall will be joined by three freshmen forwards that include the likes of Andover native Gavin Thoreson (Andover Minn./Waterloo Blackhawks/USHL).

Fresh Faces

St. Cloud State will bring in a rookie class of three forwards and two defensemen. The forward lines will include Dana Wallace (Boulder Co./Austin Bruins/NAHL), Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn./Madison Capitols/USHL) and Thoreson. On the back end, St. Louis Blues draft pick Colin Ralph (Maple Grove, Minn./Dubuque Fighting Saints/USHL) and Byfuglien will be manning the blue line. In their junior careers both Ralph and Byfuglien combined for 35 total points.

Key Losses to Graduation

Dylan Anhorn, defensemen (34 games, six goals, 24 assists, two game winning goals)

Kyler Kupka, forward (34 games, 14 goals, 14 assists, zero game winning goals)

Zach Okabe, forward (34, ten goals, 13 assists, one game winning goals)

Joe Molenaar, forward (31 games, eight goals, four assists, two game winning goals)

Veeti Miettinen, forward (33 games, 17 goals, 15 assists, one game winning goals)

Dominic Basse, goaltender (25 games, 12-10-2, .896 save percentage, 2.75 GAA)

2023-24 Scoring Breakdown

Veeti Miettinen- 17 goals

Kyler Kupka- 14 goals

Zach Okabe- 10 goals

New Additions:

TRANSFER- Josh Zinger- Northern Michigan (CCHA)

Zinger like Glockner spent two seasons at NMU before choosing to take advantage of the transfer portal for his junior season. Zinger tallied 58 points (three goals, 17 assists) for the Wildcats a season ago and was named to the All-CCHA Second team while also earning CCHA All-Rookie team honors. Before NMU, Zinger played alongside Glockner with the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks. Zinger’s game is an offensive defenseman who is not afraid to jump up on the rush or make an impact on special teams. Fans can look for Zinger to fill the void of graduating defensemen Dylan Anhorn and Jack Peart.

2024-25 Roster

 TRANSFER- Daimon Gardner-Clarkson (ECAC)

The former Mr. Hockey Finalist and Warroad Warrior will look to find his stride after moving from the East Coast back to his home state.  Gardner spent his freshman season with the Clarkson Golden Knights where he posted six points in 29 games. Gardner models his play style after a Joel Erikson Ek type player who is not afraid to get into the dirty areas by making his net front presence known but also uses his size and skill to his advantage to win corner battles.

Fr.- Colin Ralph- (Maple Grove, Minn./Dubuque Fighting Saints/USHL)

Ralph played four seasons in Tier I with the Shattuck St. Mary’s U18 AAA team where he tallied 124 points. During his final season in AAA Ralph saw two contests where he suited up for the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. Ralph is a two-way defenseman who is not afraid to back check and uses his size along the wall to out muscle his opponents in the D-Zone.

Fr.- Jack Reimann (Ham Lake, Minn./ Des Moines Buccaneers/USHL)

Reimann recorded 19 points in the Minnesota Elite League before spending three seasons in the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede, Muskegon Lumberjacks and most recently the Des Moines Buccaneers. In the United States Hockey League, Reimann totaled 35 points. Reimann will be a power-forward for the Huskies where his biggest asset will be prevalent in the faceoff circle.

Fr.- Dana Wallace (Boulder Co./Austin Bruins/NAHL)

Wallace will be familiar with playing alongside former Freshman Colin Ralph. Wallace and Ralph spent two seasons alongside each other at Shattuck St. Mary’s from the 2020-2021, Wallace combined for 34 points for the Sabre’s. After Tier I, he spent five seasons in junior hockey. Three of these were with the Austin Bruins of the NAHL and two were with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. Wallace will look to make an impact on the top special teams’ units for St. Cloud State this season.

Fr.- Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn./Madison Capitols/USHL)-

Burnevik was a member of the USA NDTP U18 program in 2023 tallying 18 points in 72 total contests. Most recently, Burnevik played for the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Madison Capitols where he tallied a league leading 71 points. Biggest strengths to NCAA Division I College Hockey will be his explosiveness on the rush and strong elusiveness without the puck to create scoring chances.

Fr. – Thor Byfuglien (Roseau, Minn./Chicago Steel/USHL)-

Byfuglien, a Roseau native, spent three seasons with the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel where he tallied 35 total points. Byfuglien will be a player to watch with his heavy shot and size. Husky fans compare him to Fifth-Year Graduate senior Dylan Anhorn, who captained the 2024 SCSU team to a conference tournament berth.

Fr.- Gavyn Thoreson (Andover Minn./Waterloo Blackhawks/USHL)-

Thoreson led Andover High School to the 2021 Class AA State High School Hockey Tournament where the Huskies fell to a high-flying Cretin Derham Hall team in the third-place game. Thoreson tallied 74 total points his senior year. After High School, he took his talents to spend his junior years with the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL. Thoreson’s game is described as former St. Cloud State Husky and leading scorer Vietti Miettinen due to his ability to bait defensemen in shooting and passing situations including his acceleration on the rush, and heavy shots within traffic to create scoring chances.

Non-Conference Schedule:

Oct 5- Minnesota

Oct 6- St. Thomas

Oct 11/12- @ Bemidji State

Oct 18/19- @ Michigan

Oct 25/26- Augustana

Nov 1/2- Boston College

Dec 29- St. Thomas