You don’t have to look too far to find Minnesotans playing college hockey. We are fortunate to have five in-state schools with both men’s and women’s Division I programs – all of which heavily recruit the local landscape.

We’re also very much exposed to the other Midwestern regional teams that the Gophers, Bulldogs, Huskies, Mavericks and Beavers face. Many Minnesotans do end up playing for those other programs, which allows us to continue following their careers.

But there are more – many more – that you may have never heard of. Or maybe you followed them in high school, but didn’t know they ended up playing Division I hockey.

With 204 men and 139 women representing the state on the Division I circuit, there’s just not enough room on the local rosters.

“With so many NCAA-caliber players coming from Minnesota, not all of them end up playing in the state,” said Mike Snee, Duluth native and executive director of College Hockey Inc. “Many of them play for teams across the country, and given time to develop on campus, they often become stars for those teams.”

And on top of all that, there is Division III hockey, where 223 men and 292 women represent the state of Minnesota proudly.

We took a look at some of those “unknowns,” so to speak, who have become leaders for college hockey programs you might be less familiar with.

(High school indicated in parentheses if necessary)

MEN

Conor Andrle, F: Army, St. Louis Park (Breck). Leads the Black Knights in points (33) with 13 goals and 20 assists through 36 games. The sophomore tallied 7 power-play goals and doubled his overall production from his freshman season.

T.J. Moore, F: Holy Cross, Edina (Benilde-St. Margaret’s). The sophomore led the Crusaders in goals (15) and points scored (28). Named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week in January after notching a hat trick against Princeton on Jan. 2.

Erik Baskin, F: Air Force, Minnetonka. Sophomore from Minnetonka making a big impact for the Falcons, tallying 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 34 games. Named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week in January after scoring 4 goals and an assist against American International.

Will Merchant, F: Maine, Eagan. Captained the Black Bears as a senior. More than doubled his production from last year with 13 goals and 9 assists for 22 points in 36 games.

Spencer Naas, F: Connecticut, Minnetonka (Benilde-St. Margaret’s). Led UConn in goals last year as a freshman with 13. Potted 9 goals as a sophomore for the Huskies.

Packy Munson, G: Vermont, Hugo (Centennial). Freshman goaltender debuted for Vermont with a shutout on Dec. 11 and added two more for good measure. Named Hockey East Rookie of the Month for December and finished his first season with a .920 save percentage.

Wyatt Ege, D: Alaska Anchorage, Elk River. Made the WCHA All-Freshman Team with 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 total points from the blue line.

Sam Rothstein, F: Colorado College, Minnetonka. Junior from Minnetonka is a smart two-way player and one of Colorado College’s leaders. Named team captain as a junior.

Gordon Defiel, G: Lake Superior State, Stillwater. Goaltender set a WCHA record for saves (57) in a non-OT playoff game. Named to the All-WCHA Third Team and posted a .926 save percentage.

Matt Pohlkamp, F: Bowling Green, Baxter (Brainerd). Sophomore is already among the leading scorers for the Falcons. Tied for third in team scoring with 23 points.

Eric Scheid, F: Penn State, Blaine. Redshirt senior is a captain and two-way workhorse for the Nittany Lions. Tallied 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 32 games.

Tyler Heinonen, F: Michigan Tech, Delano. The junior forward has set career-highs in goals (15), assists (12) and points (27) this season. Named to the All-WCHA Third Team and helped Michigan Tech capture a share of the conference trophy with a red-hot March (6 goals in 7 games).

Alex Lyon, G: Yale, Baudette (Lake of the Woods). Probably the least unknown of the group these days, but definitely worth noting the top goaltender in the country came up through the Lake of the Woods program and is the new all-time wins leader at Yale. Posted a .938 save percentage and 1.59 goals against average.

WOMEN

Sydney Rossman, G: Quinnipiac, Excelsior (Minnetonka). An absolutely stalwart in net for the fourth-ranked Bobcats with 15 (15!) shutouts posted this season.

Paige Voight, F: Merrimack, St. Michael (Cretin-Derham Hall). Led the team in scoring with 11 goals and 8 assists. Named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

Laura Bowman, F: Penn State, Minnetonka. Led the Nittany Lions in scoring the past two seasons and led the team with 17 goals scored this year, a single-season record for the young Penn State program.

Lauren Boyle, D: Ohio State, Eden Prairie. Freshman is a scoring threat from the blue line for the Buckeyes. Notched 3 goals and 14 assists this season. Earned WCHA Rookie of the Week honors in October after a 4-point weekend and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team.

Amy Schlagel, D: New Hampshire, Blaine. Sophomore racked up an impressive 21 points from the blue line, eighth-most among all Hockey East defensemen.

Amy Petersen, F: Penn State, Minnetonka. Led Penn State in scoring with 8 goals and 21 assists for 29 points.

Caitlin Hewes, D: Connecticut, Stillwater. Solid puck-moving defenseman played 145 games notching 43 points and blocking 252 shots during her career at UConn.

Dani Sadek, D: Ohio State, Lakeville (Lakeville North). Sophomore defenseman finished second on the team in points (22) with 4 goals and 18 assists.

Karlie Lund, F: Princeton, Eden Prairie (Blake). Electric forward guided the Tigers to the NCAA tournament with 39 points in 32 games. She led the ECAC in scoring as a freshman. Lund was named ECAC Rookie of the Month three times, Rookie of the Week five times and is a finalist for ECAC Rookie of the Year.

Molly Illikainen, F: St. Cloud State, Grand Rapids. Senior and assistant captain led the Huskies with 32 points in 33 games. Illikainen was an All-WCHA Third Team selection.

Division III

Brandon Zurn, F: Hamline, Mahtomedi. The leading scorer in all of Division III hockey with 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points in 27 games.

Charlie Adams, F: Hamline, Mahtomedi. The second-leading scorer in Division III hockey – and linemate of Zurn – with 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points.  Adams was named the 2015-16 MIAC Player of the Year and is a finalist for the AHCA DIII Men's Player of the Year.

Adam Knochenmus, F: Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Roseau. Ranks top 10 in the country with 38 points and is tied for first in goals with 22 in 27 games.

Corbin Chapman, F: Augsburg, Burnsville. Captain of the Auggies scored 11 goals and 10 assists as a junior.

Lucas Hendrickson, D: Augsburg, Burnsville. Assistant captain and stout defenseman for the NCAA Division III national tournament-bound Augsburg Auggies.

Jordyn Kaufer, G: Augsburg, Stillwater. Kaufer led the MIAC in save percentage (.929) and goals against average (2.01). Not bad for a kid who never played varsityhockey in high school. 

Kathryn Larson, F: St. Thomas, Shoreview (Mounds View). Junior forward led the Tommies in scoring with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in 28 games. Helped guide St. Thomas to the national tournament.

Chloe Kinsel, F: Wisconsin-River Falls, West St. Paul (Cretin-Derham Hall). The Cretin-Derham Hall alum is one of the top five scorers in the country with 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points in 29 games. UW-River Falls is ranked third in the country. Kinsel was named the 2015-16 WIAC Player of the Year and is a finalist for the AHCA DIII Women's Player of the Year.

Alex Toupal, F: Amherst, New Brighton (Irondale). Irondale grad led Amherst to the national tournament with 39 points (23 goals, 16 assists) in 27 games.

Late-bloomers are very common in hockey, so remember, if you’re not a superstar for your current team, that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams. Every player develops at his or her own pace. Keep working hard and good things will happen. But most of all, have fun!