Junior Hockey’s Rising Stars - Clark Cup Champion Sioux Falls Stampede
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA BOYD
Sioux Falls Stampede: Looking At The Clark Cup Champions Young Stars
Cooper Soller, 2008, F
Soller certainly helped his stock in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, being currently ranked 140th among North American Skaters. The former USA Hockey 18U Nationals Champion (with Shattuck-St. Mary's) saved his best hockey of the postseason for the Clark Cup Finals against Muskegon. He scored his first goal of the playoffs in Game 3, which gave the Stampede a 3-1 lead after two periods, before Muskegon eventually came back to get their only win in double-overtime. Soller also assisted on the first goal of the Game 2 win, and also earned an assist in the clinching Game 4. All told, three of his four total points in 14 postseason games came in Games 2-4. Soller finished sixth in regular season scoring for the Stampede with 49 points in 62 games. The Western Michigan University recruit was selected in the 2024 USHL Phase I (Futures) Draft by Sioux Falls, in the third round, 36th overall.
Matthew Grimes, 2007, D
The third-year Stampede player and Boston College recruit finished third among USHL defensemen in 2026 playoff scoring with nine points in 14 games. Experience plays a big part, as Grimes first joined the Stampede in 2023-24, straight out of 15U hockey with Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island. That first year, he registered nine points in 49 games (plus two assists in three playoff games). He improved to 14 points in 58 games in 2024-25, and also appeared in four playoff games. This year, he blew both those previous totals out of the water, with 35 points in 60 regular season games, good for 11th among blueliners league-wide. Like Soller, Grimes earned three assists during the four-game Clark Cup Final series, including an assist in Game 2 and two helpers in the double-OT loss in Game 3.
Brent Solomon, 2007, F
Solomon's goal in the second period of Game 4 gave the Stampede the first of three leads in the game, the last of which was Joey Macrina's Cup-winning double-OT goal. The Detroit Red Wings 2025 draft pick also earned an assist in the 3-0 shutout win that was Game 2. The second-year Stampede standout and University of Wisconsin commit closed the playoffs with eight points in 14 games, following on a season that saw him finish fourth among Stampede players, with 53 points in 54 games. Along with the eight games he played in 2024-25 coming out of Champlin Park (Minn.) High School, Solomon has 59 points in 62 career regular season games, plus eight points in 16 playoff contests. The Stampede selected him in the 10th round (143rd) of the 2024 USHL Phase II Draft.
Anthony Bongo, 2007, D
The University of Michigan recruit and second-year Stampede blueliner started the scoring in the eventual double-OT Game 3 loss, his third goal of the playoffs. Bongo finished with a 3-3-6 line in the 14 playoff games. The former All-Rookie Team selection (2025) finished his second season with the Stampede by more than doubling his point total from his first season, scoring 30 points in 62 games for a career total of 44 points in 114 regular season games. He's also produced seven points in 18 playoff games. In the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft, the Stampede selected him in the second round with the 18th overall pick.
Jake Prunty, 2009, D
Prunty started the season with the Rockets Hockey Club 16U team in New Jersey. He finished as one of the most exciting new defensemen in the USHL and as a Clark Cup Champion with Sioux Falls. Prunty earned an assist in Game 2's 3-0 victory, and came through with a 2-2-4 line in 14 postseason games. A University of Massachusetts commit, Prunty finished in the Top 10 among USHL defensemen this year with 37 points in 44 games. NHL eyes will be all over Prunty as he rounds the 2026-27 horn towards his 2027 NHL Entry Draft eligibility. Prunty was selected in the 2025 USHL Phase I Draft (sixth round, 87th overall).
Also getting it done for the Stampede:
Ryder Betzold, 2007, F - The Arizona State University recruit earned seven points in 14 playoff games, and he has 48 points in 95 regular season games in his three-year career. Betzold was selected second overall in the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft by the Chicago Steel. This was his first season with the Stampede.
Jake Stuart, 2007, F - The former two-year U.S. NTDP player faced his former Muskegon teammates during the Cup Finals. Stuart had played in 47 games with the Lumberjacks this year, scoring 14 points. He played in four regular season games after being acquired by Sioux Falls, registering two assists. The University of Denver recruit earned one assist in 10 playoff games. He has 32 points in 101 regular season games.
Nicklas Nelson, 2008, D -The UConn recruit joined the Stampede after the close of his 2025-26 Monticello (Minn.) High School season, playing in five regular season games, registering an assist, plus one playoff game against Fargo on May 2. The Stampede drafted Nelson in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft with their ninth round pick (126th overall).
Honorable Mention
For the runners-up the Muskegon Lumberjacks, high praise to Buffalo Sabres Draft Pick Melvin Novotny '07, who scored two goals and one assist in Games 3 and 4; Carter Amico '07, scored a goal and an assist in Game 3, then added one more helper in Game 4; three-year USHL veteran Niles Benson '07 scored all three of his Finals points in Game 3, posting a 1-2-3 line