Kleven Earns Central Honors

Apr 1, 2020

Minot, ND – The Minot Minotauros are proud to announce that forward Kyler Kleven has been named the NAHL Central Division Rookie of the Year and is one of three forwards named to the All-Central Team.  Yesterday Kleven was named to the NAHL All-Rookie First Team along with teammate Owen Baumgartner.  The NAHL Announced the Divisional Awards today.

Kleven led the Tauros in scoring this season posting 53 points in 48 games on 25 goals and 28 assists.  His 1.10 points per game give him the best offensive season in Tauros history.  He finished just two points behind Miroslav Mucha for most in a single season and undoubtedly would have passed Mucha had the final 10 games of the season not been lost to the COVID-19 crisis.  Minotauros Head Coach and General Manager Marty Murray agreed, “Kyler was on the verge of breaking team records for points and goals in a season before it was cut short. He’s the only player in our team history to be over a point per game over the course of a season. He skates well, and he has the ability to make plays or score. Kyler was very consistent throughout the season and in my opinion will secure D1 opportunity in the near future.”

Kleven joins Blake Lizotte (2014/15), Jon Lizotte (2014/15), James LaDouce (2015/16), Reid Stefanson (2016/17), and Nolan Sawchuk (2017/18) as Tauros who have been named to the All-Central Team.  He is the first Tauro to earn Central Division Rookie of the Year honors in just the second year that the NAHL has awarded Rookies at the divisional level; Blake Lizotte was the 2014/15 NAHL Rookie of the Year.