Fargo waited 15 rounds to pick a goalie
The Fargo Force has its two goaltenders in Zane Gothberg and Reed Peters. So, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if fans weren’t familiar with the name Anders Franke. Odds are, by next season’s end Force fans will know exactly who he is.
Franke was selected 211th overall by Fargo in the 15th round of the 2011 United States Hockey League Entry Draft. A couple of weeks later, the Elk River (MN-HS) goaltender was picked by Bismarck 116th overall in the fifth round of the North American Hockey League Entry Draft. All that and the kid is only going into his senior year of high school.
“With Zane coming back…that was kind of the big concern was goaltending,” Assistant Coach Jesse Davis said. “If we didn’t have anybody coming back, we probably would have had to take a goaltender with our first pick overall. With Zane coming back, we felt that the time now was the 15th round and we better get a goalie on the list here.”
Now that Franke knows he will not play in Fargo to start this season, he has a couple of options. He can try to catch on with Bismarck and play in the NAHL or he can go back to Elk River to finish his high school career as a four-year starter.
The numbers will not jump off the page at you. He went 10-13-1 in the regular season last year with a 2.78 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. He did post three shutouts and face stiff competition all year, though. The Elks played in one of the state’s best conferences and they also played in the very tough Section 7AA.
“He’s really athletic, compact, and super quick,” Assistant Coach Byron Pool said. “He is fun to watch. Really fun to watch.”
With Franke not on the Force’s 28-man roster heading into the Fall Classic, there is a nice place for him on the team’s ’94 affiliate list according to Pool. Davis said that a lot of goalies struggled in practice and in camp, but Franke was one of the few that didn’t.
However, as of now the team is committed to Gothberg and Peters for goaltenders this season. Because of that, it may be better to let some prospects mature in other leagues and at other levels.
Make no mistake about it, the organization likes Franke, who has spent time playing in the Upper Midwest Elite League.
“We’ve seen Franke play quite a bit in the Elite League and he came out and skated with us,” Davis said. “We liked him a lot.”
The organization likes the way he plays the game and they like how he acts as a human being. There is a good bet that he ends up wearing a Fargo Force jersey sooner or later.
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By: Tim How
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