Power Rankings: First Look at putting the AAA landscape in perspective
Little Caesars dominates younger levels, but some surprises atop the 16U and 18U age groups
Craig Peterson
September 13, 2023
After watching 30-plus Michigan-based AAA teams through some of the earliest action of the 2023-24 season, I’ve started to compile our first version of Petey’s Power Rankings. This includes the eight primary AAA organizations in the state, plus the 18U Soo Indians as well as both MHA and MDHL Fall programs. The MDHL will see its first external action of the season this weekend at the NAPHL Showcase in Minnesota. They have been omitted from the initial Power Rankings but will certainly be included after seeing AAA-level action.
With all that said, let’s get into the Power Rankings:
Four clear cut “Tiers” to the 14U AAA teams
 |  | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  HoneyBaked32-14-3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 |  Little Caesars37-12-2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 |  Victory Honda20-12-8 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 |  Fox Motors22-12-4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 |  Oakland Jr. Grizzlies15-16-10 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 |  Compuware8-25-3 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 |  Belle Tire12-22-3 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 |  Biggby7-25-1 | 8 | 8 |
Little Caesars pretty clearly sets themselves apart from the pack among 2009 teams in the state. They out-scored opponents at the MAHA Showcase 26-4, which may be slightly deceiving, given that they played the No. 5, No. 7 and No. 8 teams last weekend. I saw enough from the likes of Sig Ebersold, Liam Martin, Colby Coombe and others to suggest that even if they played sub-par competition, Caesars is still the front runner of the age group.
After that, I think HoneyBaked, Victory Honda and Oakland Jr. Grizzlies could all prove to be interchangeable in that 2-3-4 range. HoneyBaked oozes with potential up front, given several players’ size, skating ability and puck skills. I give them a slight edge in that second tier because of what I think this team could become as the season unfolds. I do expect that third tier of teams — Compuware and Fox Motors — to have great moments and games where they compete with Tier-2 teams. However, they don’t quite have that same level of talent as the teams ahead of them. Structure, discipline and timely scoring will likely help keep them in games and could see both steal some wins as the MAHA season unfolds.
‘09 Little Caesars’ new additions separate them even further from the pack
| | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Caesars 29-9-3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | HoneyBaked 18-20-1 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 19-22-0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Victory Honda 20-22-2 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Fox Motors 23-12-0 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Belle Tire 14-26-0 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Compuware 12-27-0 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 |  MHA5-9-1 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 |  MDHL0-3-1 | N/A | 9 |
| 10 | Biggby 6-26-4 | 9 | 9 |
They were already the top team in the state among 2009s, and earned an at-large bid to USA Hockey Nationals last spring. Jacob Monks and Ethan Garden are at a level that no one else is in the age group. Plus, they added Cam Nimmer and Logan Stuart to the mix this offseason, and if you listened to the pod this week, you know how significant those additions will be. That may make Caesars untouchable at the 15O age level. They may just run the table in-state this season.
I think a case could be made that aside from Caesars, this age group is wide open. HoneyBaked and OJG have a ton of skill. But HB already dropped a game to No. 5 Compuware who dropped a game to No. 6 Fox Motors. You’ve got five teams in the middle there the rankings here who all have varying strengths and weaknesses. Fox and Compuware are pretty structured; may give up a good amount of shots and spend significant time in their zone but capitalize on opportunities. HB and OJG can overwhelm you with raw skill and pretty plays.
MHA is in a weird tier of its own as I’d like to see more from them this season. They’re not quite competitive enough to lump them in with other Tier 2 teams. On the other hand, they also have a solid enough resume already to separate themselves from the bottom two teams in the Power Rankings as well.
Victory Honda’s Here to Take Over the 2007 birth year
| | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Caesars 32-7-0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Victory Honda 33-10-1 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Fox Motors 30-14-0 | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | Compuware 22-14-0 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 17-15-2 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | MHA 8-9-1 | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Belle Tire 10-18-0 | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | MDHL 3-5-0 | 10 | 8 |
| 8 | HoneyBaked 7-22-0 | 6 | 7 |
| 10 | Biggby 3-26-0 | 9 | 9 |
I’ve said it multiple times on the podcast and made several references to VH in the 16U age group this season. They are my No. 1 team currently and I think they will finish that way too. They’ll trade blows with Little Caesars this season, I’m sure. Hell, Compuware and OJG may even insert themselves into the mix as well if they play a proper game. VH is my top dog, but I do expect this season to be a volatile one among ‘07 teams.
Fox Motors especially, but HoneyBaked and MHA as well, may not have the skill that the first four have. However, They’re disciplined enough, structure enough and coached well enough to at least keep themselves in contention with higher ranked teams. It wasn’t a pretty final score when MHA met top-ranked Victory Honda — 5-1 in favor of VH — but make no mistake, MHA held its own and competed for long stretches of that game. That’s what I think this second tier of teams is capable of doing against other MI-AAA opponents.
18U Belongs to Biggby for now. Will it stay that way?
| | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victory Honda 34-12-1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Little Caesars 17-22-1 | 6 | 3 |
| 3 | MDHL 4-3-0 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | Biggby 20-12-0 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Fox Motors 21-17-0 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15-19-0 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Belle Tire 22-14-0 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | MHA 10-6-0 | 9 | 8 |
| 9 |  Soo Indians16-20-0 | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | HoneyBaked 8-24-1 | 11 | 10 |
| 11 | Compuware 3-31-1 | 13 | 12 |
I’ll admit, I need to see more of the 18s before this Power Rankings really gets my stamp of approval. But I certainly wasn’t going to omit the age group from the inaugural release! Biggby struggles mightily at every other age group except the 18U level. In fact, 18U is the only age group that the program has won a MAHA state title in, and that was in 2021. They had a good showing at the MAHA Showcase last weekend, including a decisive 7-3 win over No. 2-ranked Little Caesars.
I expect a lot of movement to come from the 18s both at the top and bottom. This is one Power Ranking that could look vastly different come season’s end. More to come on that.
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