VALLEY STARS

PALMER — Barely 16 years old, Jared Hanson faced a tough decision. Do you stay home for your junior year of high school and stick around for another season of prep hockey, or do you take a shot and skate into an elite level?

Then a sophomore, Hanson opted for the latter, took a stab at the Tier I Junior A United States Hockey League, and he’s never looked back.

Hanson, a former Palmer High standout, is ready for another season with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars and could be within reach of scoring a Division I hockey scholarship.

“It was really difficult. Some people might say I went too early,” Hanson said recently of his decision. “My parents and I felt it was the right decision to play at that level. It’s worked out for me. I’ve had some DI offers. I’m at the top of my game, and in better shape.”

Hanson returns for the 2011-12 season as one of the top forwards for Lincoln, a squad in the country’s top Junior A hockey league. Hanson netted nine goals and 15 assists in 53 games last year. He also posted a plus-12 rating and was skating with the team’s top line — a unit that included Ottawa Senators draftee Ryan Dzingal — by the end of the season.

Hanson said his 2010-11 campaign proves the decision to head to Lincoln, Neb., and play for the Stars was the right one.

“I felt like I really belonged there. I felt comfortable,” Hanson said. “This year, I feel even more comfortable.”

Confidence was key for Hanson, now 18.

“Coming into this year I feel way more confident. The game seems slower to me,” Hanson said.

Lincoln has always seemed to be the right place for him, Hanson said.

“I fit really well into the system. I love the coaches. The guy who recruited me is still there. I know they’ve always wanted me there,” Hanson said.

Hanson was slowed by an early-season injury last year, and after battling through some ups and downs during the winter, Hanson was able to hit his stride later in the season.

“I was playing with the two best guys of the team at the end of the year,” Hanson said.

One of those players was Dzingal, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Senators after bagging a team-high 23-44-67 totals. Hanson and Dzingal were also roommates last year.

“Playing with a guy like that, it brings up your game, makes everyone around better,” Hanson said.

This year, Hanson will have a chance to play with longtime friend and rival Matt Friese.

Friese, a former Wasilla High star and Alaska Avalanche forward, is making the leap back into the USHL. After stints with Tri City and Chicago last year, Friese finished the season with the Avalanche, recording 23-18-41 totals in only 32 games.

“I’m excited,” Hanson said. “Matthew and I grew up playing on a team together on the same line. We’ve been playing together our whole lives.”

Hanson and Friese were both members of the same Mat-Su Eagles squad.

For more on Friese, see the accompanying story on Page B1.

Just 18, Hanson still has plenty of Junior A eligibility left, but he’s hoping to make his next jump soon.

“I’m pretty sure this is probably my last year (of junior hockey),” Hanson said. “I want to get going to school, try to get something going.”

Division I programs are recruiting the 5-foot-11 forward, and he said he hopes to play in a major conference.

“I’m trying to find the right fit,” Hanson said. “I don’t want to settle for anything.”

Hanson also stood out in the classroom as a high school student. He was nominated for the USHL Scholar-Athlete Award, with his 3.7 cumulative grade point average. Hanson took advanced placement courses in psychology, calculus and literature while at Lincoln Southeast High School.

Lincoln starts the 2011-12 preseason against Sioux Falls on Sept. 30.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.