For Mercury Bischoff, arguably Minnesota’s best girls hockey player, the spotlight is unavoidable

Grand Rapids/Greenway senior forward Mercury Bischoff is as anti-spotlight as a hockey player can be, though her possession of such obvious skill makes avoiding attention almost impossible.

She is, after all, perhaps the best girls hockey player in Minnesota.

Her total of 41 goals leads the state. She started this season with 295 career points and surpassed the 300 mark in her second game. A team captain since her sophomore year, she has the most goals and points in her program’s history.

With 61 total points this season — she has 20 assists — her career total of 356 ranks sixth all-time for points by a girls hockey player in Minnesota, according to the state high school league.

On Feb. 23 inside St. Paul’s RiverCentre, she will likely be one of five Ms. Hockey Award finalists on stage for the official announcement.

“[My coach] has talked to me about submitting a nomination for me,” Bischoff said. “But it’s not like it’s top of mind.”

For Bischoff, the spotlight isn’t where the glory is.

“There are several younger girls out there, and she’s trying to let them step up a bit,” Laura said. “They have a lot of potential and she wants to see some of them use their good shots more, which would take some of the pressure off her.”

Away from the spotlight, there is a relentless drive to get better.

Brad Hyduke, head coach of Grand Rapids/Greenway, said Bischoff hired a personal trainer in the offseason, a sign of her commitment to improvement. Bischoff, her mother said, “breaks down the film and notices little things that she can improve upon.”

“Teams have to work hard to take her away physically,” Hyduke said. “And her greatest assets are being slippery and elusive. She’s an elite player that likes to get her points, but the W’s matter. You could see that against Roseau [Dec. 26]. The way we lost was a dagger for her, and she felt it for her team — and that is what you love about her.”

The 5-4 loss to Roseau, in which GRG owned a 4-3 lead in the third period, was the team’s opening game in the Midwinter Meltdown at the Eden Prairie Community Center. One game later, Bischoff didn’t record a point in GRG’s 3-2 victory over North Wright County, but her presence made a difference.

In November, Bischoff signed scholarship acceptance documents to play collegiately for Minnesota State Mankato. There, Bischoff will room with River Lakes goaltender Kaydence Roeske. The future Mavericks have already planned their dorm room color scheme via Amazon: white, baby blue and gold.

Speaking of color, Laura Bischoff said the Mavericks’ purple swag was a popular Christmas choice. A popular choice, just like her daughter’s name. Unable to reach consensus on a name for their fourth child, Bischoff and her husband, Don, found middle ground in Mercury — after the boat motor manufacturer in Fond du Lac, Wis. Her name started as a humorous suggestion by Ben Quirk, a salesman at the Bischoff-owned T&M Marine in Grand Rapids.

Bischoff is one of seven recruits from Minnesota joining the Mavericks women’s hockey team later this year. First-year Minnesota State coach Shari Dickerman lauded Bischoff’s skills when the program announced the signing class, calling her a “smooth skating forward” with “offensive instincts that allow her to make plays for herself and teammates.”

Minnesota State hasn’t had a winning season since 2003-04, but first things first. Bischoff will be expected to power Grand Rapids/Greenway (14-4-1) as it navigates rough waters in the approaching Class 2A Section 7 playoffs.