The North American Hockey League announced its all-rookie teams Wednesday, and two members of the Minot Minotauros made the cut.

First-year forward Blake Lizotte – Minot’s leading point scorer at just 16 years old – collected first-team honors, while defenseman Casey Johnson became a second-team honoree, making the Tauros one of four NAHL teams to collect multiple all-rookie distinctions.

“Those guys have been huge for us this year,” Minot coach Marty Murray said. I think if you look at all our first-year guys in general, they’ve made real big contributions to our team’s succes this year, and those two in particular.”

Lizotte is the only top-25 scorer in the league younger than 17. Already committed to St. Cloud State, he finished the regular season with 14 goals and a team-high 38 assists.

Murray was admittedly surprised by how quickly Lizotte became acclimated to the NAHL. Now, consistency is expected of Minot’s youngest player.

“He has high expectations of himself. I think that type of mentality as a hockey player seperates you a bit from the pack,” Murray said. “He’s a guy that expects himself to do well, and he has that fire in his belly to continue pushing himself and continue to get better.”

As for Johnson, he ranks on the Tauros in scoring for a defenseman, trailing only captain Jon Lizotte. Johnson has buried seven goals in 47 games played this year, along with 15 assists.

Murray’s been pleased with the way Johnson has progressed this season. After a slow start, Johnson’s form continues to improve as the season wares on.

“Coming out of high school hockey, it’s a big transition to junior, and I think when he was trying to find his way early in the year, he may have been trying to do a bit too much,” Murray said. “I think he grew as a player throughout the season, and he’s flourishing for us now at the perfect time.”

Joe Mellenbruch covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @Mellenbruch_MDN.