Counting Crow

Kelsey Crow (19 white) battles in front of now-PSU sophomore Paige Jahnke (17 black)

Minnetonka (MN) High School's girls hockey program has announced that junior defender Kelsey Crow has committed to Penn State for 2015.

Kelsey Crow

Defender
Minnetonka (MN) HS
5'6" // Deephaven, MN
DOB 10/27/1996

MNgirlshockeyhub.com Minnetonka page

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2011-12	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	31	4	10	14	2
2012-13	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	31	5	8	13	2
2013-14	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	-	-	-	-	-

Given that Minnetonka produced current freshmen Amy Petersen and Laura Bowman, as well as 2014 commit Hannah Ehresmann, the Skippers dynastic program needs little introduction at this point. Each of the last three seasons in Minnesota big-school girls hockey has ended the same way: with the Skippers mobbing a trophy. Bowman and Petersen were central to those teams as top scorers and Ehresmann was a key contributor as a backup goalie who played good minutes during the regular season, but Crow certainly played an important role to the last two title winners as well.

Her 13 points over the course of the 2012-2013 season were fourth among Skippers blueliners, although it's important to note that two of the three ahead of her were all-everythings Sydney Baldwin and Sydney Morin, who have both been national U18 team selections and are headed to powers Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth, respectively. The third was RPI freshman Hannah Behounek. Crow, as a sophomore, was the youngest of the four - Behounek and Morin were seniors last year, while Baldwin was a junior. They pump out some players at that school, don't they?

Crow (19) and Laura Bowman (16) sandwich Amy Petersen, after the latter scored against BSM

Two of her five goals came in a February 1st win at Chaska/Chanhassen, but really, her offense is a bonus. Above all, Crow reads as an intelligent defender who will lock things down in front of Ehresmann, Celine Whitlinger, Daniela Paniccia or whoever else is fortunate enough to play goal with her on the ice. Said Skippers coach Eric Johnson:

"As a sophomore this season, Kelsey Crow had the decision-making ability of a senior. She had a great work ethic on and off the ice and really takes care of the defensive zone."

Other scouting reports have also generally been positive, including from Amateur Hockey Report:

A strong skater and defensive presence. Displayed an ability to rifle out crisp and accurate passes. She needs to work on building a softer touch with the puck – most targeted recipients of her passing had a hard time corralling them due to the brute force she put behind them.

Crow was invited to the USA Hockey U18 Player Development Camp back in July, and was also at Select 16s in 2012 and Select 15s in 2011. Outside of hockey, Crow is a track star, and her efforts helped Minnetonka to a sectional title in the spring, including on a 4x100 relay team that missed the state meet by four tenths of a second.

Her commitment continues a major push by Penn State's coaching staff to grab some of the best players on the best high school teams in Minnesota. The trend started with Paige Jahnke (Roseville) and Kendra Rasmussen (Sartell/Sauk Rapids) in 2012, then exploded this year with Petersen, Bowman and Sarah Nielsen (Edina). It shows no signs of slowing up with Ehresmann, Christi Vetter (Lakeville North), Caitlin Reilly (Benilde-St. Margaret's) and Bella Sutton (Mounds View) heading to PSU next season, and now with Crow on board for 2015 as well.