The North American Hockey League this week announced six Minnesota Wilderness players will participate in the league’s annual Top Prospects Tournament slated for Feb. 17 and 18 in Plymouth, MI.
Six teams will be part of the event. Five of those squads will feature the NAHL’s top players not yet committed to a NCAA Division 1 institution, while a “Selects Gold” team will be made up of players selected by the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau. The non-committed players will play for teams exclusively tied to their divisions, along with a “Selects Black” squad comprised of a mixture of players from the four divisions.
The Wilderness will send four forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender to represent three different teams. Forward Noah Dziver and defenseman Luke Margenau will be on Team Midwest Division; goaltender Niklas Erickson will be in the crease for “Selects Black”; while forwards Jakeb Lynch, Frantisek Netusil and Brady Zugek will skate for “Selects Gold”.
Each team will play two games over the two days. The USA Hockey Arena will host the event in conjunction with the NA3HL’s Top Prospects Tournament.
Wilderness broadcaster Marty Hill will also participate in the event as a member of the NAHLTV.com play-by-play announcing team.
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/ |
Hometown | Tourney Team |
| Noah Dziver (ziver, like river) | F | 5/15/05 | 6′,185 lbs | Winnipeg, MB | Midwest Div. |
| Niklas Erickson | G | 6/29/04 | 6’2″, 183 lbs | Apple Valley, MN | Selects Black |
| Jakeb Lynch | F | 2/9/07 | 5’7″, 165 lbs | Papillion, NE | Selects Gold |
| Luke Margenau (MAR-guh-no) |
D | 9/11/04 | 5’10”, 170 lbs | Maple Grove, MN | Midwest Div. |
| Frantisek Netusil (n’TOO-sil) |
F | 5/14/07 | 5’10”, 185 lbs | Prague, CZE | Selects Gold |
| Brady Zugec (ZOO-jek) | F | 11/1/06 | 6’2″, 195 lbs | Geneva, NY | Selects Gold |