2025-26 Preseason Top-25 Rankings
Top teams in Michigan high school hockey to begin the upcoming season
Craig Peterson
November 5, 2025
Last season, I unveiled the first ever Preseason Top-25 Rankings for Michigan high school hockey. Never been done before — at least to my knowledge — the inaugural rankings would include the likes of then-No. 1 ranked Detroit Catholic Central and future Division-I state champion, as well as then-No. 2 ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary’s; your eventual Division-III state champion. 2025 Division-II state champion Flint Powers debuted at No. 8 as well, and 11 of the 12 teams to make it to the Final Four last March were accounted for as well. Of the 25 teams in my preseason rankings a year ago, 19 went on to finish the season among MyHockeyRankings’ Top-25 as well.
It’s early. Not a single game has been played yet, but there’s plenty of speculation and bold predictions to get into, so lets work our way up the preseason Top 25 with a couple of team tiers.
Tier 6 - Bubble Teams
Honorable mention: Mattawan, Calumet, Sault Ste. Marie
Make a case for these teams to have a number next to their names, and I won’t fight ya. Mattawan graduated a lot, finishing right on the cut line of No. 25 on MHR to end last season. The Wildcats are still in good hands with returners Ben Edington and Gavin Wiech, but I’ll need to see what kind of impact the incoming class has on high school hockey before they climb any higher for me.
Calumet has a ton of talent. Coach Dan Giachino gets leading scorer Erik Loukus back, as well as key returners Nathan Londo, Ben Anderson, Luke Hamlin and Brady Boberg. This group has the potential to not just enter the rankings, but climb into the top 10-15 if the team can buy in and play hard at both ends of the rink.
On the other end of the U.P., there’s plenty of question marks coming out of Sault Ste. Marie preseason. They graduated 10 seniors last spring, but have been a mainstay in the Top-25 scene for much of the last few seasons despite similar turnover in years past. The move to the Big North Conference for the upcoming season should give the Blue Devils plenty of opportunity to prove they’re still in the mix among top teams in the state.
25. Rochester United
On the heels of a Division-II state quarterfinals run, what was once a young team now enters ‘25-26 as an experienced one. The presence of Nolan Hizer alone makes this team very scary, especially on the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) circuit. They should win a bunch of games with a favorable schedule.
24. Escanaba
A season four years in the making. Can this senior class return the program to a regional championship, or more? Something the Eskymos haven’t achieved since Nolan Bink, Graham Johnson and Cully Hayes were freshmen. This is Escanaba’s year.
23. Cranbrook
Coach John LaFontaine has taken the Cranes to back-to-back Division-III state finals, and could be a dark horse to do so a third time this winter. Cranbrook graduated a lot, but will have seniors Gianluca Di Salvo and Blake Tice to lean on; two guys who have been a part of the previous playoff runs.
Tier 5 - Mid-Majors
22. Northville
Tommy Marinoff has been an important building block for the program during coach Ryan Ossenmacher’s tenure at Northville. This season could be the senior forward’s best in a Mustangs jersey, especially considering he’ll have a dynamic incoming forward to work with in Ethan Egelski.
21. Jeffers
I don’t know that a return trip to Plymouth is in the cards for the Jets this season, but I won’t entirely rule it out either. As many as 12 returners in the lineup from last winter, including Brogan Turner, Max Nordstrom and Kasen Helminen. A strong offseason when no one was watching could absolutely position Jeffers to be a mainstay in the rankings for a second straight season.
20. Utica Eisenhower
The Eagles feel like this is their year, with dynamic duo Sawyer Hotchkiss and Bode Farr returning. Both had productive fall hockey seasons. That, plus guys like Ryan Dex, Weston Szudarek and Matt Daoust in addition to a couple incoming AAA players, and Ike could dominate the Eastside.
19. East Grand Rapids
Any time I say, “Rebuild” and “East Grand Rapids” in the same sentence, it gets me in trouble. So I expect this winter to be a developmental season for the Pioneers. They lost a lot with the 2025 senior class, and the guys filling those roles are still young and learning. Whit Hill, Trevor Bird and Jacob Goossens may still be a year away.
18. Forest Hills Central
The schedule is tough for the Rangers. So tough that I wouldn’t be surprised if FHC dropped out of the rankings at some point this season. But Ben Mielock is too good to keep my guys out of the Top-25 scene for long. He’ll make others around him better and I expect this team to be in the rankings by season’s end as well.
Tier 4 - In the Hunt
17. Alpena
This is a team absolutely capable of being in the Top 10. If young guys like Joe Lacross, Ethan Walker and Brody Misiak progressed this offseason as expected, the Wildcats could go from good, to great, to elite. We all know what Gavin Winterstein is capable of, so if those other prospects round into form, look out.
16. Brother Rice
Watch out for the Warriors this season. There isn’t a Peter Rosa type player in the lineup for Brother Rice, but first-year goaltender Drake England should keep the team in close games. Timely scoring and strong defensive effort would make Rice one to watch out for on the schedule.
15. Caledonia
Eighteen wins and a Top-25 appearance last season was just a sign of things to come for the Scots. Goaltender Sam Hoag alone would make this a scary team to face this season. Returners Ty Lewandowski, Henry Simon, Ethan Sova and Harmon Esch — 42 of the team’s 96 goals last season — put Caledonia over the top as a team in the hunt.
14. Byron Center
The offseason work from Reid Glupker, Dylan Kamminga and Gordie Young put the Bulldogs in position to flirt with the Top 10 once again this season. Two years removed from a D-II state title — and a stretch of three finals appearances in four years — Byron Center’s depth guys have improved immensely, giving the program a real chance at redemption this season.
13. Livonia Stevenson
The honeymoon phase is in full effect for first-year coach Jay Thompson. There’s a real good chance that everything in Livonia remains status quo with the Spartans, considering they return as many as 14 from last season. The addition of former AAA prospect Blake Calhoun certainly helps solidify things as well.
12. Brighton
They may start the season at No. 12, but the Bulldogs could move as high as 7th or as low as 20th as the schedule drags on. I expect some growing pains for a young Brighton team this season; they could have really impressive runs followed by surprising droughts. It’ll take time, but coach Kurt Kivisto will have this squad rounded into shape by playoffs and in the hunt in Division-I.
Tier 3 - Contenders
11. Grandville
There’s eight games inputted on the Hockey Hub schedule at time of publishing, and I’d have the Bulldogs as the favorite in at least eight of them. Expect Grandville to win a lot of games this season, with Ayden Karas keeping things close and the general style of play being one that wears opponents down.
10. Marquette
Speaking of wearing people down, no one grinds you down quite like Marquette. Quite a few returners expected back after graduating just five players last spring. Seth Sandstrom, Brody Sheldon, Brody LeMire, Lucas Belkowski and Parker Nevenhoven: elite-level returners cement the Sentinels into the contender scene.
9. Riverview Gabriel Richard
Connor Forster is good enough to single-handedly carry the Pioneers into the Top 25, but the beauty of this lineup is he won’t have to. An experienced supporting cast that includes Michale Taucher and Santino Venturini as well as incoming defensemen Alex Hoerle and Jason Mathews, Jr., and RGR is a bonafide D-III title contender.
8. Houghton
Houghton doesn’t have a game scheduled on the Hub right now outside the U.P., which is mildly concerning come playoff time. But in their last 100 regular-season games north of the Mackinac Bridge, the Gremlins are 84-15-1 overall. Another 20-win season may be in the near future for coach Micah Stipech.
7. Clarkston
I may be a bit high on the Wolves at No. 7 here. Returning contributors Gavin Anderson, Drew Sieting and Ryan Wilford should reload the war chest for a program that’s made a habit out of winning lately. But there’s also a scenario where Clarkston gets clipped with a few early losses like they did last season. Cautiously calling them a contender her.
6. Hartland
Last year was “The Year” for Hartland. Graduating a sizable and impactful senior class coupled with a coaching change might have you thinking the Eagles are taking a step back this season. I don’t have them winning 22 games again, but Ian Evans, Vinnie Sabala, Max Bogotaitis and Brayden Stephens still make this Hartland team a strong contender.
Tier 2 - Favorites
5. Trenton
Donovan Durbin, Zach LaMay, Grandon Echols, Landon Leone and Patrick Rogowski may be the best starting five in the state, second only to Howell. The Top is heavy. The depth is strong. The Trojans’ goaltender Theo Dull doesn’t have to single-handedly win games, but just keep them in the mix long enough for the offense to strike.
4. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
The Eaglets’ schedule may be the toughest I’ve seen in the last few seasons from a team not named DCC. Thad Raynish, Charlie Roberts and co., will be battle tested by the time they play the Shamrocks in January, and may very well beat the No. 1-ranked team in the state on that date. They’re fast, they’re deep, and should be the odds-on favorite to defend their D-III title.
3. Flint Powers
Should return as many as 14 players from last season’s D-II state championship team, including top scorers Ayden Cook, Owen Perry and Parker Bendall. Powers returns just three defensemen after junior Andon Harwood left for the GOJHL. I have some concerns about the back end, but senior goalie Hunter Clark certainly helps put those worries to rest.
2. Howell
Can Howell succeed this season where Hartland failed last season going head-to-head with CC? We’ll see when the Highlanders clash with the Shamrocks in Game 1 of the season, but a potential D-I quarterfinal matchup in February is what really matters. Until then, expect Luke Storm and Chad Pietila to help lead this team to a bunch of wins this winter.
Tier 1 - Catholic Central
1. Detroit Catholic Central
The Shamrocks have seven of the next eight teams on this list on their schedule. Everyone will take their shot at the crown this season, and some may even succeed. Circle the St. Mary’s matchup in early January and Howell next week as well. Brother Rice always plays this rivalry tough and Cook is so good for Flint Powers, he could single-handedly keep them in that February matchup at home, nonetheless. This is a unique schedule for coach Brandon Kaleniecki’s squad, with non-conference road games to Powers, at Alpena and an East-West matchup with Byron Center at Munn Ice Arena.
Someone’s gonna catch the Shamrocks this season. Hell, they may uncharacteristically end up with multiple losses on their resume before playoffs. But I’m still not sure that’d be enough for me to take them off the top spot, or think anyone other than CC is winning the D-I state title in 2026.
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