Mankato West's Frentz gets NAHL call

Photo by Pat Christman

Mankato West standout Derek Frentz plans to continue his hockey career post-high school next season after getting picked by the Michigan Warriors of the first round of the Junior A North American Hockey League draft on Tuesday.

Frentz, who led the Scarlets in scoring the last two years and finished his career with 150 points in 81 games, spent the offseason going to several junior camps and combines. He was passed over during the United States Hockey League but was scooped up quickly by the NAHL, with the Flint, Mich.-based Warriors taking him with the 16th overall pick.

This doesn't put anything in stone for Frentz. He'll have to go to Fint's summer camp next month and earn a roster spot. But being a first-round pick should put him in a good starting position. His goal is to play college hockey one day, which, he knows, could be a few years down the road.

He's starting an adventure few Mankato kids have experienced. West alums Corey Leivermann and Tyler Bruggeman did it, with Leivermann playing two seasons in Fargo of the USHL before joining Minnesota State. (He finished his career this past season at Gustavus). And Bruggeman moving around the country in the USHL and NAHL  (Fargo, Fairbanks, St. Louis, Des Moines, Austin) for four seasons before going to St. Scholastica, where he will be a junior next season.

Read my Freep story about Frentz here.