Many NHL players have roots in Minnesota high school hockey, and on Monday, NHL Central Scouting identified six players competing for Minnesota high school programs among its prospects to watch for the 2027 NHL Draft.

Some of Minnesota’s elite youth hockey players leave their high school programs for junior hockey or national development teams, but these six remain associated with their Minnesota high school teams.

The NHL’s preliminary watch list is not a ranking of the best players in order. Instead, it groups prospects according to their projected draft potential.

Here are the six Minnesota high school hockey players on the NHL’s Central Scouting Watch List:

Sattler is a left-handed left winger who competes for the Providence Academy Lions in Plymouth. Last season, Sattler helped the 11-14-2 Lions with 29 points in 26 games, which was third best on the team. He scored 29 goals and provided eight assists. 

In September, he signed with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League, where he might play after the high school season.

Swanson led the 2026 MSHSL Class 1A runner-up, Hibbing/Chisholm, to 29 goals last high school season. He added 33 assists, so he was second in points (62) on his team. She shoots left-handed. 

He’s recently played in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League Hockey for Team TDS Transportation. He tallied four goals and 11 assists in 12 games played,  Upper Midwest High School Elite League Hockey, according to eliteprospects.com.

Aronson was second in points on a stacked Skippers team last season. He scored 15 goals and had 22 assists. He totalled one goal and five assists in the 2026 MSHSL state tournament, and the Skippers were the Class 2A runner-up to Moorhead. He shoots right-handed.

In the Upper Midwest High School Elite League Hockey, he recently played for the Team SIT Mutual Funds, and he scored 11 goals and had 15 assists in 18 games played,  Upper Midwest High School Elite League Hockey. He has also recently played two games for the U.S. National U18 Team in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

Goodwin was fourth in points for the Irish in the 2025-26 season. He totalled 20 goals and 24 assists. He is staying in the Metro for college with his commitment to St. Thomas. 

He helped Rosemount go to the MSHSL boys hockey state tournament for the first time since 1992, where they fell in the semifinals to Minnetonka, 4-3. 

Hanson is the only Minnesota high school defenseman on the list. He shoots right-handed. As a defenseman, he had five goals and 23 assists for Elk River. His 23 assists were third on the team. He helped the Elks go to the Section 8AA championship, but they fell to eventual Class 2A champion Moorhead, 5-1.

At 6-feet-2, he is taller than the average for defenseman on the list. 

At just over 6-foot-5, Karlsen is much taller than most of the other goalies on the list. Against a tough schedule last season, Karlsen had a .891 save percentage and a 2.48 goals against average. He also split time with Elk River goalie Jack Stimac, who graduated.

Sammy Nelson, a Maple Grove native and freshman at Notre Dame, is the only Minnesotan to receive an A rating.

Four other Minnesotans received B ratings: Gunnar Conboy of Lakeville (Green Bay – USHL), Nolan Fitzhenry of Andover (USA U-18 – NTDP – USHL), Ben Geiger of Northfield (USA U-18 – NTDP – USHL), and Freddie Schneider of Edina (USA U-18 – NTDP – USHL).