Waseca put together one of the best seasons in Class A last year, finishing 20-6-2, capturing the Big South Conference Championship, and advancing to the Section 1A Semifinal before a 4-3 overtime loss to Dodge County. It was a dominant, deep team — but the offseason changed the math. Leading scorer Griffin Storey has left the program for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program U-18 team and will not play for Waseca in 2026-27. Losing an 88-point forward is a serious blow to a section title run. Even so, Waseca graduates just six seniors and still returns three of its next four leading scorers along with its starting goaltender — enough to stay firmly in the Section 1A contender group, just no longer the runaway favorite.
Players Lost for 2026-27
Griffin Storey (F) is the headline departure, and he is not a graduate. Storey has left Waseca for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program U-18 team, taking with him a season of 39 goals and 49 assists for 88 points in 28 games. He also led the roster with 3 power-play goals, 11 power-play assists, 4 short-handed goals, 3 short-handed assists and 5 game-winning goals — production in every situation that no single returning player replaces on his own.
Beyond Storey, Waseca graduates six seniors, a light class by Section 1A standards, but it does include real production from the middle of the lineup.
Jude Gehring (F) was a major contributor, posting 25 goals and 21 assists for 46 points in 28 games — third on the team last season.
Jackson Dahl (D) was the top offensive defenseman, scoring 3 goals and adding 27 assists for 30 points, with 2 power-play goals, 5 power-play assists and 2 short-handed assists.
Jayden Gehring (F) adds 4 goals and 16 assists for 20 points, with a short-handed assist and a game-winner.
Jayden Hervey (D) and Max Bodenweiser (D) both contributed from the blue line, with Hervey posting 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points and Bodenweiser adding 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points. Avery Wetzel (F) rounds out the departing class with a goal in 4 games.
Waseca does not lose its starting goaltender — the program’s entire goaltending situation carries over into next season.
Returning Players for 2026-27
Storey’s departure costs Waseca its best player, but the cupboard is a long way from bare. Three of last season’s top four scorers return, along with the starting goaltender.
Top Returning Scorers
Henry Huttemier (F), also a senior next season, posted 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points, adding 3 power-play goals, 6 power-play assists, 2 short-handed goals, a short-handed assist and 2 game-winners.
Otto Schoenrock (F), a senior next season, finished with 30 goals and 19 assists for 49 points, including 7 power-play goals, 6 power-play assists, 2 short-handed goals, a short-handed assist and 4 game-winners.
Cash Lynch (F), a senior next season, added 13 goals and 23 assists for 36 points, with a power-play goal, 2 power-play assists and a game-winner.
Aydan Kath (F), a junior next season, returns after a 26-point season (10 goals, 16 assists) that included 2 power-play goals and 3 power-play assists.
Avery Selvik (F), a senior next season, adds 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points, with a short-handed assist and 3 game-winners.
Among returning defensemen, Beckett Srp posted 1 goal and 11 assists for 12 points with a short-handed assist, and August Hansen added 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points with a game-winner.
Returning Defense Core
With Jackson Dahl, Jayden Hervey and Max Bodenweiser all graduating, the blue line shifts to Beckett Srp and August Hansen, who combined for 23 points last season as juniors. Owen Weiseler also returns after a 6-point season. While the defense loses real production in Dahl specifically, the strength of this roster’s forward group should help cushion that loss considerably.
Goaltending Situation
Waseca returns its entire goaltending situation, headlined by Josiah Schmidtke (G), a senior next season, who was outstanding as the full-time starter — posting a 20-6-2 record with a 2.26 GAA, a .914 save percentage and 6 shutouts across 28 appearances. Having a proven, battle-tested starter return after a season like that gives Waseca a significant advantage over much of the rest of the section.
Players to Watch
With Griffin Storey gone to the NTDP, Henry Huttemier becomes the headliner — a 55-point season and the most likely candidate to absorb top-line minutes and power-play time. Otto Schoenrock gives Waseca a second legitimate 49-point scorer, and Cash Lynch and Aydan Kath add proven depth that most Section 1A teams cannot match. With Josiah Schmidtke anchoring the net, Waseca still returns plenty of what made it one of the best teams in the section last season — it just no longer has the one player who could win a playoff game by himself.
Key Players to Replace
Waseca’s offseason to-do list got a lot longer in July:
- Griffin Storey’s 88 points, his power-play quarterbacking and his penalty-kill role — by far the biggest hole to fill
- Jude Gehring’s 46-point season
- Jackson Dahl’s 30-point season and power-play presence from the blue line
- Jayden Gehring’s secondary scoring and playmaking
2026-27 Outlook
Waseca is still a contender, but the ceiling moved. Losing Griffin Storey to the NTDP takes 88 points and the section’s best player out of the lineup, and there is no honest way to call that anything other than a major hit to the section title dream. What remains is real: Henry Huttemier, Otto Schoenrock and Cash Lynch all return from a 20-win season, and so does a starting goaltender who posted a .914 save percentage and 6 shutouts. That combination still beats most of Section 1A on paper. But the losses on defense now compound rather than get covered up, and Waseca heads into 2026-27 as one of several teams with a case rather than the clear favorite — a group that very much includes Dodge County, who ended the Bluejays’ season in overtime last February.
Statistics reflect the 2025-26 regular season and Section 1A playoffs as provided.
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