Walton, Casanova named all-state players

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 14, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &045;

A pair of Albert Lea junior hockey players were named to the all-state team.

Forward Mark Walton and goaltender Clay Casanova both received honorable mention all-state honors.

Email newsletter signup

Walton finished among the leaders in the Big Nine Conference with 24 goals and 22 assists for a total of 46 points on the year as he helped anchor the Tigers’ top line.

Casanova finished the year with a 2.74 goals against average and had a save percentage of .905 as he helped lead the Tigers to the section semifinals.

David Fischer, an Apple Valley defenseman who has signed with the University of Minnesota, was chosen as this season’s state Player of the Year for boys’ prep hockey by The Associated Press.

He could’ve played in the junior leagues, and he was invited to play with the U.S. national team’s development program in Ann Arbor, Mich. But Fischer chose to finish his career with the Eagles.

&8220;It’s just nice to see a story about a kid who doesn’t … start the business part of his life early,&8221; coach Jerry Hayes said. &8220;He wanted to be around his buddies.&8221;

There was golfing to get after last summer, intramural football to play in the fall (his team was

the champion), and a little neighborhood pingpong league to organize. And, of course, play high-school hockey.

&8220;You just have to question how important it is to you,&8221; Fischer said.

It’s very important to Fischer, who has always wanted to play major college hockey and dreams like any other kid with a pair of skates of competing in the NHL. But he realized that skipping his senior season wasn’t a necessity for reaching those goals.

&8220;If you’re a good hockey player,&8221; Hayes said, &8220;you’re going to get noticed no matter where you’re playing.&8221;

Fischer was joined on the AP’s all-state team, as voted on by a statewide panel of sports writers and broadcasters, by Jay Barribal of Holy Angels, Michael Forney of Thief River Falls, Jordan Fulton of Breck, Carl Sneep of Brainerd and Austin Lee of Bloomington Jefferson. Sneep is a defenseman. Lee is a goalie.

Fischer, who was voted captain as a junior, keyed Apple Valley’s power play and penalty kill and finished with eight goals and 31 assists. A poised, smart player who exudes confidence, Fischer helped the Eagles knock off second-ranked Holy Angels in the section semifinals. They lost to Eagan in the final, one game from a state tournament appearance.

Though it’s possible he’ll play a year of juniors before beginning college, Fischer &045; who is ranked 25th among amateur North American skaters by the NHL’s scouting service, the highest for Minnesota high-schoolers &045; could be a contributor for the Gophers next season.

The wiry Fischer has reminded people of former Apple Valley blue-liner Mike Lundin, the AP’s Player of the Year in 2003. Lundin wound up playing significant minutes for Maine as a freshman.

If Fischer does that next season, Minnesota coach Don Lucia will have a hard 2004 summer of workouts to thank. That’s when Fischer truly began to dedicate himself to the game, between his sophomore and junior years, and became a much faster skater.