Jake Larson, St. Michael-Albertville Hockey’s Leading Scorer, Goes Division I

Credit a bit of hard work, a little bit of brash-ness, and a whole lot of “not listening to the naysayers” for Jacob Larson’s latest stop on the road to making a dream come true.

Larson became the first Division I product in recent history from St. Michael-Albertville this week, as he signed a letter of intent to play with the University of Alaska-Anchorage, a former member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association that is no stranger to local Gopher and St. Cloud State fans.

“He’s just a guy who pushes himself to get better each day,” Larson’s former coach, Jerr Johnson, said of his former STMA star. “He practices hard, plays hard. He’s been a huge player for this program.”

Larson told Patch in his senior season that he hopes the 2012 team has paved the way for future success.

“Our younger players are already playing against big schools like Edina, Wayzata and the rest in tournaments. They’re going to come up knowing that competition,” Larson said. “It will be fun to come back and watch.”

The forward played last year for the Superior International Hockey League’s Minnesota Wilderness, based in Cloquet. The Junior A Level squad plays against northern Minnesota clubs and several based in Ontario.

Larson scored 44 goals en route to 72 points and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year last year.

The squad also won the league championship. Larson assisted on an overtime goal that clinched the crown. The Wilderness went on to win the Canada A Junior Crown.

He has a year of Junior League eligibility left, and is currently playing in Canada with the Brooks Bandits. He has four goals and 10 assists in 10 games, good for ninth in the AJHL in scoring.

Larson will head to Anchorage next summer to join the Sea Wolves.