PROCTER — In hockey, goaltenders almost always start working their way toward the position at an early age, but few started as early as Proctor's AJ Reiertz.
Like many young parents, Dave and Ann Reiertz used a jumper hanging from their door frame to hold their young son. And it wasn't long before his older brother Kenan, who was only three years old at the time, was playing with a hockey stick. Makeshift pack. There was a net right on the other side of the doorway, so Kenan took the next logical step.
“He turned around and started shooting the puck…he turned to AJ and said he was the goalie,” Dave said. “We joked that maybe he was already a goalie before he could walk.”
Contribution / Dave Reyelts
Since the day Kenan called A.J. “goalie,” the younger brother of Reiertz seems to have honed his skills and become one of the state's top netminders.
AJ's .942 save percentage and 1.72 goals against average led the Rails to 19 wins. It was the most wins for a Proctor team since the 1997 Class A third-place team (23 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw).
He was a finalist for the Frank Brimsek Award, given to Minnesota's top senior goaltender, and has caught the eye of top scouts and coaches and is committed to playing NCAA Division I hockey at Lindenwood University. Masu.
Now he has added the 2024 Duluth News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year to his ever-growing list of honors, becoming the first Proctor alum to win the award since Aaron Slattengren in 2000. He became the first goaltender from the school to win the award since Cloquet. Esco Carlton's Josh Johnson, 2002.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
AJ and Kenan were born just two years and three days apart, and their close age, combined with their shared interest in sports, could lead to some hurt feelings at the Reierts' backyard ballpark.
“They were both best friends and worst enemies,” Dave said.
The boys came honestly to that interest. Dave was St. Scholastica's women's soccer coach and was a standout goalie for the Saints in the 1990s, as well as a forward on her hockey team.
“We're going to have series in different sports,” Kenan said. “We played wiffle ball in the backyard and went to the driveway to play basketball. Then we went upstairs to the attic and played knee hockey and ping pong.”
The boys played hard, and Kenan said there were three occasions when knee hockey ended in stitches for AJ, but the home game turned the boys into fierce competitors on any play. .
According to Dave, Kenan and AJ are the two teams with the lowest strikeout rates against batters in Proctor Baseball history.
“That's because when they were kids, they used to throw wiffle balls at each other as hard as they could from about 20 feet away,” Dave said.
Dave said the battle was back-and-forth, and the football game usually ended with AJ or Kenan. Dave and Kenan said both boys developed into great players no matter what they played, but AJ was a “special athlete.”
The two boys are very competitive, but AJ knows he's a little more than that.
“To be honest, I'm very competitive,” he said. “I hate losing, and when I lose I always get angry about something. I think I've been called that a lot, but I think it's OK at this point. When you look at a kid like that, you just think he's a good competitor.”
Never achieve the same goal twice
Usually one of the best natural athletes on the team he played with, AJ started playing goalie as soon as he started playing Might Hockey.
Considering all the equipment and ice time, goalie is a popular position, and in the early days AJ would split his time with other goalies and skate when he wasn't in goal. Dave said skating at the bantam level from time to time has allowed AJ to grow as a skater.
Kenan said his brother gave him different skills and things to work on so he didn't burn out at the goalie position.
At the Warlord bantam level tournament, AJ skated and had a multi-point game.
“He's obviously a really good skater and has been at it for a long time,” Kenan said. “I think that's why he was too young to be a goalkeeper. Now he's at a stage where he loves every part of it.”
AJ's athleticism made him an excellent candidate for goaltending, but he has worked tirelessly to hone his craft. From his puck handling to his improved control at the net rather than diving all over the crease, he has developed into one of the top goalies everywhere.
NHL Central Scouting ranked AJ as the 28th best goaltender in North America, and he was one of only five high school players to make the list.
AJ even saw his “competitive” tendencies as a positive.
“No matter what goal you give up, you can take something from it and fix it for next time,” AJ said. “After the game, I go home and watch film. For each goal, I wonder if I did something wrong or if I could do something different to have a better chance of making a save… I think it's important to try not to give up because that shows you haven't really learned.
A season that almost didn't exist
Given all the accolades and headlines, it's hard to imagine that AJ could have easily missed an entire season.
Amy Arntson/Duluth Media Group
During a goalie skate in the Twin Cities, AJ felt an impact to his knee. He was eventually diagnosed with a torn meniscus and underwent surgery to repair the damage on August 30, but faced a fall during a long and painful rehabilitation.
AJ, a Late Enrollment Option student at Proctor University, was able to use that to his advantage.
“He was taking classes online through (Lake Superior University),” Dave said. “So he was either doing his homework or going to therapy. That's basically all there was to it.”
AJ devoted himself to the physical therapy necessary to prepare for the Rails' season with the same enthusiasm he applied to goalkeeping and other sports. Excel North PT and Performance therapists in Hermantown offered a variety of therapies that were “stimulating and fun,” he said.
“I tried my best to stay positive, keep myself busy and be around my guys,” AJ said. “Physical therapy wasn't easy. It was a lot of work, but it helped me keep a good mindset about the whole thing and knew that when I got back, I would be well-rested, ready, and better.” From before. “
Dave and Proctor coach Jeff Laspi said AJ attacked his physical therapy with purpose and returned to the ice for the Hibbing/Chisholm game on Dec. 14.
Laspi said AJ played well, but the Rails were called for eight penalties in a 4-1 loss.
Things changed at Proctor's Holiday Tournament, where Proctor won all three games over sectional finalists Southwest Christian/Litchfield and Northern Lakes from Minnesota and Division 1 runner-up Brookfield from Wisconsin.
The fire from Rayerts' backyard was also present at the rink, with Rayels skaters looking for a goal from one of Minnesota's top goaltenders.
“They want to score with AJ and if they score, they let him know,” Laspi said. “But when AJ takes the puck away from a kid, he lets the kids know if the puck is in his glove or in the net. That gets across to the whole team and it's increased our competitive spirit.”
AJ's net skills have been a clear boost for the Rails this season, but his biggest contribution has been his return to the ice in a Proctor uniform.
“The biggest thing he did for our program was come back and play as a senior, because he had the opportunity to play as a junior,” Laspi said. . “The biggest thing was his dedication to the program and working hard to get back as soon as possible for his teammates. He came back a little earlier than we expected, but he He did his best.”
Although the most wins for a Proctor team in more than a quarter century and just three wins into the 2021 season, AJ, his teammates, and Laspi lead a program that has struggled for consistency since the 1997 team. revived.
“A lot of people in Proctor say we have green blood,” Kennan said. “There's a lot of pride in our community, and AJ is one of those guys who takes a lot of pride in our community. The big part was just getting to play another year with the guys I grew up with.”
News Tribune Male Hockey Player of the Year
grade player team
2024 AJ Reiertz Proctor
2023 Cole Christian Duluth East
2022 Zam Plante Hermantown
2021 Jack Part Grand Rapids
2020 Blake Biondi Hermantown
2019 Dontelloson Greenway
2018 Garrett Worth Duluth East
2017 Micah Miller Grand Rapids
2016 Wyatt Armott Hermantown
2015 Nate Pionk Hermantown
2014 Avery Peterson Grand Rapids
2013 Meyers Moore Duluth East
2012 Jake Randolph Duluth East
2011 Garrett Skubic Hermantown
2010 Adam Krauss Hermantown
2009 Max Tardy Duluth East
2008 Jake Yuso International Falls
2007 Patrick White Grand Rapids
2006 Tyler Johnson Crockett Esco Carlton
2005 Matt Niskanen Virginia/MIB
2004 Alex Goligoski Grand Rapids
2003 Ben Gordon International Falls
2002 Josh Johnson Crockett Esco Carlton
2001 Gino Geyer Greenway
2000 Aaron Slattengren Proctor
1999 John Francisco Hermantown
1998 Adam Cool Duluth East
1997 Dylan Mills Duluth East
1996 Dave Spehar Duluth East
1995 Dave Spehar Duluth East
1994 Joe Goltz Duluth Denfeld
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Jake Przytarski / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
