The lone high schooler on the list, playing in the Minnesota High School Hockey League with Edina, Schneider’s playmaking and creativity has made him one of the top offensive players from his class in the state. He’s an incredibly quick skater, who isn’t necessarily just fast, but will get going in a hurry, make quick changes in direction, and even to the pace of his game, adding a high level of deception to his play, he’s tough to anticipate and predict, leaving him time and space to slip passes off to teammates in shooting lanes, and or walk down from atop the faceoff dots, into the mid-slot, and get a prime scoring look. A lot of his chances come via a series of quick passes, flashy toe pulls, tight twists, all combined into one, executing things at high speeds and with great accuracy, it can be tough to track Schneider once he gets going, forcing defenders to collapse, thus opening up plenty of time and space for himself to work with. He excels as a playmaker more than a goal scorer, his passing ability and vision to recognize lanes at the last possible moment enable him to set up some very crafty backdoor set-up plays or plays through the middle of the ice. The motor is always going with him and he’s always looking around the ice for these quality looks. If the game is a tighter checked one and space isn’t as evident, he has the wherewithal to make the simple play, execute a strong cycle game, and wait for the chances to come. I appreciate Schneider for all his skill and his ability to know when not to rush plays, I’m sure he could try and force a few more slot passes and have success doing so at this current level, but it’s an unsustainable habit a lot of crafty playmakers have, that I haven’t seen Schneider fall victim to. There’s lots to like about his game, and the offensive upside is very high with this player, and with plenty more room to grow physically, he’s another name that may really cement himself throughout this upcoming season.

There were a number of players who were impactful for the successful Kelly Green team, but Freddie Schneider was simply a cut above the rest during their time at the camp. He simply found a way to get involved in every possible facet of the game; from winning foot races to loose pucks, to setting up beautifully crafted goals with his distribution, and everything in between. He played a heads up game and was constantly aware of everything that was going on around him, scanning when he didn’t have the puck so he could locate the open space and attack it once the puck made its way to his stick. He showed some incredible skills on the puck to slip away from pressure and get open, and he was always looking for the open man and made some very difficult passes look run of the mill. He was dynamic in possession and pushed the pace of play to get the defense on their heels as he drove hard to the net, but he also slowed the game down effectively and set a slower tempo in the offensive zone when he wanted to break down the defense. He created passing lanes with his movement around the zone and he was difficult to stop once he set his feet in motion. He found shooting lanes using quick bursts of speed and he protected the puck well to avoid losing possession. His intelligence and positional awareness of everyone else was really something to behold, he almost always made the correct plays and was able to find the open man in pockets of space to get high quality scoring opportunities. He was patient when he needed to be, showed a killer instinct when he had an edge on his man, and applied constant pressure to the defense to continue to terrorize them even when he didn’t have the puck on his stick. It was such a completely dominant offensive display from him as he finished with team highs in goals, assists, and points with a 4-5-9 stat line; I was thoroughly impressed with Freddie Schneider’s play.

Our third highest ranked Minnesota-born 2009 skater, Freddie Schneider out of the MNHS league for Edina High had a great start to his high school hockey career, tallying 13 goals, 14 assists, for 27 points in 31 games played. Like many of these Minnesota players, Schneider’s game has only grown and grown in the last few months, adding layers of attack to his game, making him a more versatile offensive threat. Earlier in the year the playmaking ability was the marquee element to his game, his vision combined with puck skills and timing made him a lethal playmaker at feeding pucks to the slot, anticipating defensive systems, and making the most out of even the smallest mistake from his opponents. He’s continued to be a phenomenal playmaker, arguably he’s gotten even better as he’s naturally gotten stronger, and quicker throughout the season. Playing against older and larger players, he held his own very nicely during the high school season. Where I noticed his game has really evolved comes through his scoring ability, and putting himself in the right places to finish off plays, along with being willing to let it rip when it comes time. So often there are talented playmakers that are too hesitant to shoot the puck, making the extra pass, wanting things to be perfect – not Schneider. While there have been moments where things may have gotten a little too fancy through his play, he has really shown that he can be the one to end of plays, zipping pucks in corners with a nice release in step. He can score in a multitude of ways, and will go to the dirty areas of the ice, along with slip away from coverage for the half-second he needs to get a stick on a pass and put the puck in the back of the net. We’ve gotten this far in talking about his playstyle without even touching on one of his best strengths: his skating and footwork. He can change direction so quickly, make extremely tight turns and pivots with the puck, whilst making moves with his head up and facilitating play. A lot of the time he’s quick enough to skate himself into dangerous scoring areas and finish things off himself, but he still leans to the playmaking side of things, getting teammates involved. He reminds me a lot of John Mooney in the way that he moves around the ice, will outwait and utilize fancy footwork to create space, whilst looking around to make plays.

After a not so prominent first period, Schneider really kicked it into gear in the second. His agility and quick footwork allowed him to easily shake defenders with quick stops and spins which I saw a lot more of in the second period, helping him extend his puck touches and create more off his stick. He shine in this game when it mattered most by wiring a one-timer in the bottom right corner of the net to tie the game up at 5-5 and with 3 minutes left, made a subtle touch pass after selling the shot that opened up the goaltender and allowed for Meyer to bury it past the Team Gold goaltender to take the lead and eventually go on to win the game.

This game was pretty much flawless from Freddie Schneider, just dominant from start to finish. His three points that he tallied don’t do him enough justice as he pulled the strings throughout the game, orchestrating offense at just about every turn. He was pressuring the puck effectively in the defensive zone and forcing turnovers, one leading to a breakaway opportunity for himself. He was quick to loose pucks and reacted quickly to players closing in behind him, keeping his head up and rapidly moving the puck to the open man. He showed a great awareness for his teammates around him and was constantly able to access passing lanes and find the open man, feeding pucks through tight windows crisply and accurately. He was dynamic with the puck on his stick and used his legs well to skate around the offensive zone in search of his next move, and he proved capable of making whatever play was required in each situation. He adjusted his body well to protect the puck and agilely spin away from his man in an instant to break free into space and throw a pass into the slot. Schneider was excellent in this one and well deserving of the first star as he could easily have come away with six or seven points.

He was a little quiet to start the game but then he flipped the switch and Schneider quickly became the centerpiece of the Kelly Green offense. He’s speedy with the puck on his stick and uses his agility to bide time in the offensive zone for him to find the passing opportunity that appeals to him the most. He was constantly feeding the puck into the slot and creating problems for the Purple defenders, and while he holds onto the puck for extended periods of time he is quick to get it off his stick when he senses danger or sess someone cutting into space. He finds open ice and can generate his own opportunities, he was able to get the puck on goal and force saves and produce rebound opportunities. He’s quick to accelerate and won plenty of foot races to loose pucks, seemingly popping up out of nowhere and applying pressure to the opposition and emerging with possession himself. No matter how hard the defense tried to shut him down he always found an avenue to escape or feed a pass into and keep the offense rolling.