Twenty teams across three age groups competed at the 2025 AAA Kickoff Classic in Grand Rapids over the weekend. Among them were all six of Michigan Hockey Advancement’s (MHA) fall teams. 18U Red, 16U Royal and 15O Black competed against the likes of host Fox Motors, Compuware and Belle Tire at their respective age groups. Similarly, 18U Navy, 16U Grey and 15O White played against Tier-2 level competition, including other Michigan high school hockey fall programs like BRPD and West-Michigan Varsity. 

The unofficial start to the 2025-26 hockey season featured plenty of top-level high school prospects.

Donovan Durbin shines for 18U Red, leads all skaters in goals

18U Red struggled a bit out of the gate, falling to Fox Motors 6-1 in the opening game of the weekend. They bounced back the next day, scoring four unanswered goals to defeat Pittsburgh Vengeance 5-4 in a shootout, and then knocked off Belle Tire 4-1 later that same day. The team finished 2-2-0 overall, after skating together for just one practice ahead of the event; not bad considering most of the teams in the field had been skating as a group for more than a month.

One bright spot for Red was Trenton forward Donovan Durbin. He scored the lone goal in the team’s Friday loss, and generated several other scoring chances for himself and others in that game against Fox. I thought he was the best forward on the ice in that game, and Durbin’s strong showing only continued throughout the weekend. He scored two goals in the win over Belle Tire and then added a hat trick in the finale against Team Minnesota, leading all Kickoff Classic participants in goals with six in four games.

“[Durbin’s] got a good shot,” said head coach Ray Brice. “He’s got a nose for the net, can make plays; he’s a good passer.”

This is an 18U Red team that features 2025 NAHL Draft pick Ayden Cook (Flint Powers, 2026) and former NCDC prospect Ben Mielock (Forest Hills Central, 2026), and Durbin was the one I noticed most on Friday. He’s got great compete level, heavy on pucks and can finish on open looks.

MHA 18U Navy tops the Tier-2 Division

18U Navy unofficially won the Tier-2 Division, finishing first in the standings with a 3-1-0 record and nine points overall. Three of the four teams in the field consisted of Michigan high school prospects, with West-Michigan Varsity and BRPD in the mix as well.

The weekend slate began with an 8-1 win over Parson High School. They followed that up with a 3-2 win over BRPD – a team consisting of high school prospects primarily from the Muskegon area. Navy then split a pair of games with West-Michigan Varsity, losing the first one 4-1 and winning on Sunday, 5-2 in the rematch. Brother Rice senior goaltender Drake England earned the victory in net, while five different goal scorers contributed offensively. 

“Overall, a great first weekend,” said head coach Jeff Fleming. “We faced some adversity and the boys worked through it. A lot of unselfish hockey; great group of kids.”

Trenton forward Zach LaMay was a top performer, scoring two goals and five points on the weekend. He tied with Kellen Keighron (Stoney Creek, 2026) and Alex Slapak (Brother Rice, 2026) for most points on the team.

West-Michigan Varsity tops Tier-2 Division

With two teams in the Tier-2 Division, West-Michigan Varsity Teams White and Green claimed the top two spots. WMV-White shut out three straight opponents before MHA White — a 15O group playing up an age level — scored at the 11:20 mark of the first period. South Lyon forward Blake Ross scored the goal off assists from Lucas Campbell (Rochester United, 2028) and Grant Pace (Hartland, 2028). WMV-White responded with seven unanswered goals to pull away with the win and a perfect record on the weekend. 

MHA-Grey fared a bit better in the Tier-2 Division, opening up with a 3-1 win over BRPD. After a 4-0 loss to WMV-White, Grey took WMV-Green down to the wire. A pair of goals from Brady Chippa (Novi, 2027) made it a tie game before WMV-Green’s Bryce Mitchell scored the deciding goal with under 11 minutes to play. 

“We competed well against teams that have been together for a couple of months,” Grey head coach Chris Newton said. “We took meaningful steps forward in becoming more of a unit. Erasing two deficits over the weekend showed the team’s resilience and will to compete. We’re moving in the right direction.”

The final game of the weekend for MHA Grey came down to a shootout, as goals from Lars Dupuie (Forest Hills Central, 2027) and Krey Anderson (West Ottawa, 2027) weren’t enough to upend Chesterfield. 

MHA 16U Royal plays to three straight one-goal games

The 16U AAA division of the Kickoff Classic may have been the most competitive on the weekend. Five of the 10 games were decided by two goals or fewer, and MHA Royal found itself in three of them. After a 9-0 drubbing by Fox Motors Friday morning, MHA Royal bounced back with three consecutive one-goal games against the likes of Chicago Phantoms, Compuware and Team Minnesota.

Zander Folgmann (Traverse City Central, 2028) scored a pair of goals three minutes apart to give MHA Royal a 3-0 lead over the Phantoms on Friday afternoon. A second-half flurry saw the Phantoms come from behind and win late with four straight goals.

Flint Powers forward Sam Beebe scored the deciding goal in a shootout to give Royal the 3-2 victory over Compuware on Saturday afternoon. And in the finale on Sunday, goals from Aiden Pattenaude (Trenton, 2027), Arie Sytsma (Sparta, 2027) and Drake Callanan (Hartland, 2027) weren’t quite enough in a 4-3 loss to Team Minnesota. 

MHA Navy, Grey and White begin inaugural split-season campaigns

For the first time, the Tier-2 level MHA fall teams will be eligible for the MAHA split-season. Contests from the Kickoff Classic will count towards their game totals for the fall — teams need 20 total to qualify for the state tournament. Head-to-head results against other split-season programs like BRPD and West-Michigan Varsity will serve as good measuring sticks moving forward.

“We felt like it was an important opportunity for those guys on the Tier-2 teams to be able to compete for state titles,” said MHA Director Rick Gadwa. “There’s some good hockey to be played in split-season and I’m confident our three teams are going to compete very well at that level, just like they did this weekend.”

18U Navy is a serious contender. Zach LaMay dominated at times over the weekend and really showed his offensive prowess at this level. I love their defensive group too, Cooper Aller (Clarkston, 2026) and Jason Mathews, Jr. (Riverview Gabriel Richard, 2027) were two of my favorites at the MHA Showcase earlier this month. On top of that, two experienced goalies in Drake England (Brother Rice, 2026) and Jakob Aron (GRCC, 2026). A 3-1-0 record over the weekend with little, to no practice time. This group is only going to continue getting better as the fall season wears on.

Up next for the Tier-2 teams, Navy, Grey and White will head back to Grand Rapids to play in the Howie’s Hometown Cup next weekend. That same time, Tier-1 teams Red, Royal and Black are off to the Windy City for the Chicago Steel Icebreaker.