TOP HONORS

WASILLA — When Trent Wohlers started his prep career with the Wasilla Warriors, the Wasilla coaching staff thought the young blueliner could be better used on a forward line. Now, three years later, Wohlers is seen as one of the top three forwards in the state.

The junior forward has been named to the first team of the 2010 All-State Large-Schools Hockey Team.

“Considering he is actually naturally a defenseman and he’s doing that well at forward speaks volumes about what type of skill he has,” Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant said of Wohlers, who led the Warriors with 54 points during the 2009-10 season.

Wohlers is joined at forward by East Anchorage senior Ryan Luiten and West Anchorage senior Logan Miller on the first team of the all-state hockey squad, released to the media on Saturday afternoon.

West Anchorage goalie Blake Mendenhall, West defenseman Eric Wichorek and South Anchorage defenseman Alex Carle were also named to the first team. Mendenhall earned player of the year honors and West’s Jeff Carlson was named coach of the year after leading the Eagles to the 2009-10 4A state title.

Paul Brauneis, a former coach at Chugiak, compiled the team, which was voted on by the state’s 4A hockey coaches.

Wohlers is the lone Mat-Su Valley and North Star Conference player to be recognized on the squad, and the first Valley player to be named to the first team since former Houston standout Wade Williams was tabbed as one of the state’s top three forwards in 2005.

Wohlers, a first-team all-conference selection and the NSC Player of the Year, was a force for the Warriors during his junior season. He led the Warriors with 30 goals, 54 points, 72 penalty minutes and a +33 plus-minus rating. Wohlers was second on the squad with 24 assists and three game-winning goals.

“He did a fantastic job for us this year,” Sturdevant said. “He put up a considerable amount of points.”

Wohlers was also a key piece of the Wasilla power play and penalty kill units, and excelled on the defensive end of the ice.

“He was responsible for doing a lot of work in the defensive zone as a centerman,” Sturdevant said. “He did everything for us other than play in goal.”

Sturdevant said Wohlers’ ability to play on both ends of the ice will help him as he skates to the next level.

“I think he’ll be much more valuable to a team with the ability to play either position,” Sturdevant said.

Wohlers has another season of high school eligibility, but Sturdevant said Wohlers is exploring options to play at the junior level next year.

Wohlers is one of the few Valley players to be recognized on the all-state hockey team. Wohlers joins the likes of Williams and former Colony standout Jake Luthi, who earned a first-team nod in 2001. Former Palmer standout Cotton Gore was named the player of the year in 1989, marking the only time a Valley player has grabbed that honor. On the average year, the Valley is lucky to be represented by honorable mentions.

Last year, there were no Valley players on the list. In 2008, Colony’s Blake Huppert and Wasilla’s Adam Friese, Ben Barber, Dylan Troisi and Jake Dargis were named all-state honorable mention.

The 2010 all-state list comes about two months after the end of the 2009-10 season. The team is typically compiled by the Anchorage Daily News, but Brauneis volunteered to put together the list.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

2010 All-State Large-School Hockey Team

(Compiled by Paul Brauneis, Voting by state large-schools coaches)

Player of the Year — Blake Mendenhall, Sr. G, West.

Coach of the Year — Jeff Carlson, West.

First Team

Forwards — Ryan Luiten, Sr., East; Logan Miller, Sr., West; Trent Wohlers, Jr., Wasilla.

Defensemen — Eric Wichorek, Sr., West; Alex Carle, Soph., South.

Goaltender — Blake Mendenhall, Sr., West.

Second Team

Forwards — Max Fairchild, Sr., Dimond; Alec Butcher, Soph., West; Chris Feller, Sr., Dimond.

Defensemen — Justin Woods, Soph., West Valley; Tommy Gerken, Sr., East.

Goaltender — Stephon Williams, Jr., Lathrop.

Honorable Mention

Kyle Simmons, Jr. F, South; Dylan Blankenship, Jr. F, West Valley; Shane Topf, Jr. F, Chugiak; Colton Wolter, Soph. F, Lathrop; James Pfeifer, Sr. D, Dimond.