{"id":487396,"date":"2026-03-05T18:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/487396\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T18:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:00:20","slug":"star-studded-delano-has-state-tournament-bloodlines-minnesota-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/487396\/","title":{"rendered":"Star-Studded Delano Has State Tournament Bloodlines – Minnesota Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNearly a decade after the Delano Tigers first surged onto the stage at the Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey Tournament, the current iteration of the West Metro program is back in a big way. And if their opening-round performance is any indication, this version of the Tigers might finally be the one to turn a decade of promise into a deep tournament run.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDelano has established itself as a perennial contender in Class A Boys High School Hockey. Their entry into the 2026 State Hockey Tournament is their fifth appearance, all of which have occurred in the past ten seasons. That said, Delano tends to be a step below the division\u2019s top teams, failing to win a quarterfinal game in each of their first four<\/a> appearances.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, that is not the case for this year\u2019s team. The second-seeded Tigers downed<\/a> a pesky Mankato West team 6-2 on Wednesday night.\n<\/p>\n

\t\t@_narz.media_<\/a> Lance Halonen rips and puts the Tigers on the board in the state tourney. #hockey<\/a> #minnesota<\/a> #delano<\/a> \u266c original sound – _narz.media_<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the state’s best forward lines paces the team. Seniors Brady Kangas<\/a> (31 goals, 48 assists) and Daniel Halonen<\/a> (41 goals, 33 assists), along with sophomore Lance Halonen<\/a> (23 goals, 26 assists) produce at such a devastatingly proficient rate that it doesn\u2019t seem to matter that only one other player on the team has more than five goals on the season (senior forward Brody Geislinger<\/a> has 14).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKangas and the Halonens, who are brothers, are also bolstered by a strong top four defensive corps, which features senior Connor Oja<\/a> (4 goals, 23 assists) and junior Dylan Nelson<\/a> (5 goals, 21 assists) on the top pair and sophomore Jackson Wollack<\/a> (5 goals, 17 assists) and junior Bennet Halonen<\/a> (4 goals, 12 assists) on the second pair. Bennett is Daniel and Lance\u2019s cousin.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThis might be the best Delano team since the 2016-17 season<\/a>, when they made their first state tournament appearance, earning the top seed in Class A with a 24-3-1 record. That team featured two future NHL players in Ben Meyers<\/a> and Brian Halonen<\/a>, who is the older brother of Daniel and Lance.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThat team had a handful of other players who went on to play Division I college hockey (John Keranen, Andrew Kruse, and Garrett Pinoniemi) and also had another Halonen cousin (Gabe), along with a forward named Ross Oja (there are four other Halonens, plus two Ojas, that have competed on Delano\u2019s other state tournament teams).\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2017 version was shocked<\/a> in the first round by an upstart Monticello\/Annandale\/Maple Lake team that took Hermantown all the way to overtime in the state championship game. However, the 2026 Tigers hit the ground running in their victory on Wednesday, and the top line was at the center of it all. Lance Halonen had six points (2 goals, 4 assists), Daniel Halonen had four points (2 goals and 2 assists), and Kangas chipped in a goal and two assists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRegardless of their different tournament experiences, it\u2019s still easy to recognize some similarities between the 2017 and 2026 Delano teams. The 2017 team had five players move on to Division I hockey and two future NHL players. Does the 2026 team have something similar in store?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBrian Halonen moved on from his starring role at Delano to become a four-year standout at Michigan Tech. After graduating from Michigan Tech, he signed a minor-league contract with the New Jersey Devils, where he\u2019s since played 13 NHL games and 202 AHL games. Daniel Halonen will be following in his older brother\u2019s footsteps. He has committed to Michigan Tech for the 2027-28 season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs a prospect, Daniel profiles similarly to his older brother, who is a 6-foot, 207-pound power forward who uses his strength, skating, and hockey sense to bulldoze into scoring areas and plays a positionally sound game that makes him a top player for Utica in the AHL, and a reliable call-up option for New Jersey in the NHL.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDaniel is 5-foot-11 and has plenty of room to add to his frame. He\u2019s a strong skater who gets powerful push and acceleration off a strong stride, and sees or creates passing lanes and open ice, which he then exploits. While he doesn\u2019t have the same raw explosiveness that his brother showed at that age, he\u2019ll have plenty of time to develop at Michigan Tech, which is a perennial contender in the underrated CCHA conference.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tLance Halonen might be the best forward prospect on the team, and the 5-foot-11 sophomore is on an absolute bender with a 16-game (and counting) point streak in which he\u2019s produced 39 of his 49 points on the season.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHe has an upright skating style and a long stride that he uses to traverse the ice in a calculated, measured way, and he reads off his linemates extremely well and understands how to work in tandem with them to create plays. Lance also has a heavy shot that will almost certainly get heavier in the coming years. It would not be surprising to see his name on draft lists in a couple of years. Look for him to follow his brother to Michigan Tech as well.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJackson Wollack, the 6-foot-2 sophomore defenseman, has a definite chance to land on those draft lists when the time comes. He looks like the player with the highest ceiling and is one worth watching throughout the tournament and in the coming seasons. He moves effortlessly around the ice and can navigate into space with a quick push in any direction.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJackson’s lateral movement is especially impressive. He doesn\u2019t have to play a leading role in this deep defensive corps. Still, he has quality puck touches, and he uses his skating and size to snuff out plays before they can develop. He has already played two varsity seasons and is definitely on the radar of many NCAA schools.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBrady Kangas is an excellent distributor and puck transporter, and it will be interesting to see how he develops beyond high school. His 5-foot-8 frame will be a limiting factor for some evaluators, but he looks like a player who can have an impact in the NAHL as soon as next season. If he succeeds there, perhaps he gets a look at higher junior leagues and\/or college programs.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe same goes for Dylan Nelson, who is an excellent skater and a standout at this level. He\u2019ll have another year of high school to develop and will likely be one of the top high school defenseman in the state next season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tNo matter what the future holds, there\u2019s no doubting the firepower that Delano has this season. Their practically unstoppable top line and mobile top four defensemen make them a legitimate title contender in Class A. Their next game will be on Friday against third-seeded Warroad, another top-heavy team with legit star power.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt will be yet another can\u2019t-miss matchup in a tournament that promises to produce plenty of them.\n<\/p>\n

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