The North American Hockey League this week announced five Minnesota Wilderness players will participate in the league’s annual Top Prospects Tournament slated for Feb. 16 and 17 in Plymouth, MI.
Eight teams will be part of the event – with seven comprised of players from the NAHL and the eighth being the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U17 squad. The teams of NAHL players include four representing the league’s divisions – the Midwest, Central, East and South – and three “Selects” teams. Each divisional team is made up of players from teams that compete in those divisions and have not yet committed to NCAA institutions.
Rosters for the “Selects” teams were chosen by NAHL coaches, NCAA coaches and the National Hockey League Central Scouting Bureau and will include players from all four divisions that are primarily younger, with birth years being between 2006 and 2009.
The Wilderness will send three forwards and two goaltenders to represent three different teams.
Forwards Noah Dziver and Zach Homer will join goalie Valdemar Andersen on Team Midwest. Wilderness head coach Zach Stepan will also be with Team Midwest as its head coach. Stepan earned the honor of being head coach due to the Wilderness having the Midwest Division’s best winning percentage.
Goaltender Ryan Gerlich and forward Andrei Gudin will also make the trip to suburban Detroit. Gerlich was named to the Selects Blue squad, while Gudin will skate for Selects White.
This will mark an encore performance for Dziver. The Wilderness Co-Captain competed for Team Midwest in 2025 where he recorded two assists in two games.
Each team will play two games over the two days, with the USA Hockey Arena hosting the event.
Other details on the tournament can be found at nahl.com.
Below is background information for each Wilderness player selected for the tournament.
| Player | Position | DOB | Height/Weight | Hometown | Tourney Team |
| Valdemar Andersen | G | 3/14/05 | 6’3″, 208 lbs | Herning, DEN | Midwest Div. |
| Noah Dziver (Dziver, like river) | F | 5/15/05 | 6′, 186 lbs | Winnipeg, MB | Midwest Div. |
| Ryan Gerlich (GER-lick) | G | 5/15/2006 | 6’2″, 186 lbs | Nisswa, MN | Selects Blue |
| Andrei Godin (GOO-dihn) | F | 7/4/2008 | 5’9″, 165 lbs | Yekaterinburg, RUS | Selects White |
| Zachary Homer | F | 6/15/2005 | 6’2″, 195 lbs | Birmingham, MI | Midwest Div. |