Blackhawks prospect Mason West embracing final chance to leave football impression

Roughly a year ago, Mason West reached out to Anders Lee. 

Then a 17-year-old junior in high school, West asked Lee a question that the New York Islanders forward was uniquely qualified to discuss. 

How do you best manage elite opportunities in football and hockey?

“It’s funny, his situation is similar to mine, but he’s probably got a chance to be better than me at both,” Lee told Elite Prospects this week. “So it’s one of those things, where I was a sounding board, we chatted, and I kind of told him how he should embrace both as long as he can.”

In 2007, as a junior, Lee led Edina High School to the Class 6A State Championship game in football. The following year, he was named Minnesota Gatorade High School football player of the year, finishing as one of the state’s most high-profile passers before switching to hockey full-time and getting drafted in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders. 

Now, 15 years later, West’s story is highly reminiscent of Lee’s, but with a bit more public fanfare. 

While Lee was a sixth-round pick, West was drafted in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks back in June. Because he’s a late birthday, he was also drafted before his final season of high school football, meaning he’d still be playing high school football after he was chosen. 

So while Lee was a fascinating prospect in his draft year playing football, West has been a highly-discussed Blackhawks selection, leading to a fun world where “prospect updates” from Blackhawks writers include his football stats and the fact West will play for the Minnesota High School state championship tonight. 

“It’s kind of a wild thing to have it after your draft year, the attention to that,” Detroit Red Wings forward Andrew Copp said. “But that’s awesome for him, I think that’s something that I really hope he’s enjoying, because you never know the last time you get to play football like that.”

Copp, like Lee, was a dual sport athlete in high school. In fact, Copp played high school football in Michigan during his junior and senior season while also playing for the National Team Development Program, a decision Copp made despite USA Hockey initially requesting he stop playing football. 

“I was a late addition to the NTDP, injury related, and they told me I could join the team, but I had to stop playing football,” Copp said. “That wasn’t going to happen, so when I stood by that decision, they kind of relented and I was able to do both.”

Copp eventually played college hockey at Michigan, but he had NCAA Division I offers to play quarterback at the University of Minnesota. He hasn’t spoken to West directly, but he will be openly rooting for the quarterback in tonight’s championship game. 

At Elite Prospects, we understand hockey. We understand why West was a first-round pick for the Blackhawks, and why he’ll be such an intriguing player this season for the Fargo Force in the USHL and then eventually at the NCAA level with Michigan State. 

We aren’t football experts. 

Luckily, my good friend Mike Craven is a football expert and covers college football and recruiting for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, commonly known as “the Bible of Texas football.”

I wanted to know what type of football opportunity West was passing up by picking hockey, what type of player was leaving the gridiron for the ice after his high school season ends tonight. 

So Mike went through his film for me. 

"When I turned on his junior tape, he far exceeded anything in my mind going in. Big frame, effortless arm strength, good touch, can move around when he needs to. The production matches the tape, as well. Clearly a winner since he’s played in one state championship game and is about to play in another.

"I get why he has FBS offers in the area and I’d bet money that if he wasn’t such a sure-fire hockey player, he’d have more. If you sent me this tape and said, “hey this guy just got offered by (enter G5 school),” I’d say it was a great find. I’d imagine recruiting services know he’s going hockey and that’s why he isn’t a three-star. Screams three-star quarterback to me. 

“Probably doesn’t have the pure arm talent to get looks from the heavy hitters in the Big Ten or whatever, but a legit high school football player who could easily find a spot on an American (Athletic Conference) or Pac-12 team.”

It’s also not lost on me that West is going to a Big-10 school for hockey, Michigan State, and one that’s struggled with quarterback play on the football side this season. Which just adds to the fun of this entire situation. 

But, in all seriousness, it’s important to end this story going back to Lee, who as both an Edina alum and now confidant of West, is going to be watching a television tonight to see if the quarterback can win his final game at the position before switching to the ice for good.

“Football is not a lifetime sport,” Lee said. “Even if you do take it to the next level, most people never play after high school. I think embracing that part of his life, the community element too, it’s gonna help him in the long run. He’ll be a better athlete for it either way, and he followed his heart on things, I think that’s what matters the most here.”