General | 3/10/2025 9:33:20 AM
USHL players and prospects shined at the Class A and AA 2025 Minnesota Boys Hockey State Tournament from March 5-8 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Mason Kraft (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Max Cullen (Muskegon Lumberjacks), Brooks Cullen (Fargo Force), Zac Zimmerman (Fargo Force) and Tyden Bergeson (Madison Capitols) won the Class AA Minnesota Boys’ Hockey State Championship with Moorhead High School.
Griffin Sturm and John Hirschfeld of the Lincoln Stars were named to the Class A All-Tournament Team after finishing as runners-up in the title game with Cathedral High School. Kraft and Brooks Cullen of the Moorhead Spuds, along with Mason West (Fargo Force), Luca Jarvis (Youngstown Phantoms), Jonas Kohn (Sioux Falls Stampede) of the runner-up Stillwater Ponies and Cooper Simpson (Tri-City Storm) of Shakopee High School, were selected to the Class AA All-Tournament Team.
Kraft was named the recipient of Minnesota’s 2025 Mr. Hockey Award, which annually recognizes the state’s top senior boys’ hockey player as decided by the Minnesota All Sports Alliance. He was selected 48th overall in the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft by the Sioux Falls Stampede. After playing one game for the Herd this season, his rights were acquired by Cedar Rapids in May. He is expected to join the RoughRiders next weekend.
As captain of the Class AA state champion Moorhead Spuds, Kraft led the team in scoring with 46 goals and 49 assists for 95 points in 31 games, sharing the league’s scoring title. The Minnesota State commit recorded 68 goals and 105 assists for 173 points in 88 career games for the Spuds. In the state championship game, he scored four goals in the first period of a 7-6 win, tying the Minnesota state tournament record for most goals in a single period—a mark set in 1951.
Kraft was among seven Mr. Hockey finalists with USHL ties, including Hirschfeld, Brent Solomon (Sioux Falls Stampede/Champlin Park High School), Simpson, Josh Toll (Tri-City Storm/Rosemount High School), Mason Jenson (Tri-City Storm/Rogers High School) and Nolen Geerdes (Madison Capitols/Rogers High School).
About the USHL
The United States Hockey League and its 16 member clubs are committed to being the premier junior hockey league for players aged 16–20. More than half of all Division I men’s hockey roster spots are held by USHL alumni, and over 195 alumni were listed on NHL rosters at the start of the 2024-25 season.
The league’s player-first approach—featuring a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule where 92% of games are played on weekends—provides an optimal environment for athletic and personal development. The USHL has paved the way for the next generation of stars, including Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel), Cole Caufield (NTDP), Adam Fantilli (Chicago Steel) and Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede).