Why Every Section 4A Team Has a Shot at State in 2026-27
Mahtomedi won Section 4A again, beat Chisago Lakes 7-1 in the final, then took third place at the State Class 1A Tournament. That’s the program’s standard, not a surprise. But last season’s bracket also produced two overtime games, a 1-0 quarterfinal, and a freshman who outscored every senior on his own team. Section 4A is rarely the deepest section in Class A, but it’s reliably one of the most competitive top-to-bottom, and 2026-27 sets up no differently.
2025-26 Final Results
| Team | Record | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Mahtomedi | 19-10-2 | Section Champion (beat Chisago Lakes 7-1 in final) |
| Chisago Lakes | 16-9-3 | Runner-up (lost to Mahtomedi 1-7 in final) |
| Hastings | 13-13-1 | Semifinalist (lost to Mahtomedi 1-5) |
| Tartan | 11-16 | Semifinalist (lost to Chisago Lakes 3-8) |
| Irondale | 14-11-1 | Quarterfinal (lost to Tartan 2-3 OT) |
| South St. Paul | 11-14-1 | Quarterfinal (lost to Hastings 0-1) |
| St. Paul | 5-19-2 | Quarterfinal (lost to Mahtomedi 0-11) |
| Simley | 9-18 | First round (lost to Chisago Lakes 0-10 in QF) |
| Osseo | 4-22 | First round (lost to St. Paul 1-3) |
| St. Paul Academy | 1-24 | First round (lost to Simley 2-7) |
Mahtomedi: The Favorite, With a Real Question in Net
Mahtomedi returns its actual top two scorers from last season — Devin O’Donnell (34 points) and Vinny Redpath (31) — plus Will Seevers as a third scoring option. The real concern is goaltending: both Jackson Chesak and Nico Huberty graduate, leaving the program without a single proven returning netminder. Cain Campbell is the only goaltender left on the roster who isn’t a senior, but he saw no recorded varsity action last season. The offense alone still makes Mahtomedi the team to beat, but this is the most exposed the program has looked in net in years.
Chisago Lakes: Rebuilding the Top of the Lineup
Chisago Lakes reached the section title game but loses its entire top five scorers, headlined by Jacob Kletti’s 63-point season. Nick Hansen becomes the new top returning scorer at a modest 20 points, and the blue line takes a real hit too. The good news: Jacob Schaeppi, who posted a .913 save percentage and 7 shutouts last season, gives this team a legitimate anchor in net while everything else gets sorted out.
Tartan and South St. Paul: Built to Take a Step Forward
Both programs return the core of teams that were one win away from a deeper run. Tartan brings back its top two scorers in Benny McClellan (26 points) and Quinton Remackel (22), plus goaltender Nathan McGuire’s .910 save percentage. South St. Paul returns an even bigger chunk of its production — Roman Knight (36) and Jaxson Horning (33) form one of the best returning duos anywhere in the section, and goaltender Michal Francis is back after five shutouts on a sub-.500 team. Both programs have a real case to push past the quarterfinal round.
Hastings and Irondale: Stable, If Unspectacular
Hastings returns its actual leading scorer in Jonas Schauer, but loses both goaltenders who played meaningful innings — that’s the swing factor for a team that already reached a section semifinal. Irondale is in better shape: leading returner Calvin Urdahl (42 points) and goaltender Henry Lockwood, who already started most of the season at a strong .902 save percentage, give this program one of the more settled situations in the section.
The Freshman Class Worth Watching
Two of the more interesting individual stories in Section 4A aren’t on the favorites. Simley’s Noah Schwab led his entire team in scoring as a 9th grader, with classmate Sawyer Husemann adding 12 assists from the same grade — a real building block on a 9-18 team. St. Paul Academy’s Judd Berthiaume put up 13 points as a freshman on a one-win team, the rare bright note in an otherwise difficult season. Neither team is a section favorite next year, but both have a player worth tracking for years to come.
2026-27 Outlook
Mahtomedi’s offense still makes it the favorite, but the goaltending picture is not yet clear. South St. Paul and Tartan both return enough to genuinely contend, and Chisago Lakes’ goaltending alone keeps it from falling out of the conversation despite a major rebuild up front. This remains a section where playoff seeding means less than who’s hot in net come February — and this year, that’s true for the defending champion too.
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