Another hockey playoff season approaches.

The past year has been the usual, in some ways, as many of last year’s league champions repeated and the top of the rankings is largely filled with familiar teams.

But there have been a few surprises.

Both Cranbrook and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s seem to be sporting their best teams of the last few years, and while Detroit Catholic Central still has a firm grip on the title of top team in Michigan, the challengers appear to be narrowing the gap a bit this year. The Shamrocks still have to be considered clear favorites to win a sixth straight title, which would be unprecedented. But their path to USA Hockey Arena looks a bit more challenging this year, starting with a road regional at Hartland.

Catholic Central and Hartland being drawn together highlights a major reshuffle in the regionals this year. There are a lot of new teams in new places. If you are an Oakland County fan, though, be prepared to drive. Only Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Cranbrook, Birmingham Unified, and M1 are hosting this year — and three of those teams are in Division 3. About two-thirds of the teams in Oakland County will have to cross the county line for their regional games. And there is only one quarterfinal slated for inside the county as well, a Division 2 Quarterfinal at Lindell that could see one of the Rochester teams playing there.

Overall, we’re going to see a lot of new matchups in this year’s playoffs, and the familiar roads for some teams are going to look a bit less familiar than in years past. Will we get some new teams at USA Hockey as a result? Maybe. That’s why they play the games. But it will make for some fun speculation the next few weeks as the games play out.

A quick note before the regional assignments and picks. With more and more combined teams and MHSAA only listing teams in the brackets by the primary school’s name, both the official team name and the MHSAA designated team name for the brackets have been included. First listed below is the official team name in the alphabetical listing. The name appearing in parenthesis is the school that is considered the primary school, and it is that name that appears in the MHSAA brackets. For example, North Oakland is the full name for the combined team of Oxford, Brandon, Avondale, and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. But they are simply listed as Oxford in the MHSAA brackets.

DIVISION 1

Region 4

• Teams: Clarkston, Genesee (Davison), Grand Blanc, Lake Orion, North Oakland (Oxford), Port Huron

• Analysis: This should be Clarkston’s region. Davison and Port Huron got seeded second and third behind the Wolves. But Port Huron does not have a win against a team that finished over .500, and Davison’s best win is probably the one over Port Huron. The other teams here have generally struggled this season. Lake Orion in particular might find a way to hang around against their rivals as they are very sound defensively. But the Dragons have not been able to score much this year, and it is hard to see them pulling off the upset without finding a bit more offense than they have shown. The Wolves are only a bit over .500 themselves, but they have played one of the toughest schedules around. That experience against the top teams will be invaluable in the playoffs.

• Pick: Clarkston

Region 6

• Host: Hartland

• Teams: Bloomfield Hills, Detroit Catholic Central, Hartland, Lakes Area United (Waterford Mott), Troy United (Troy), Walled Lake United (Walled Lake Central/Walled Lake Northern/Walled Lake Northern)

• Analysis: There are several good teams here. Lakes Area United won a share of the Lakes Valley Conference title, and Bloomfield Hills are co-champions of the Oakland Activities Association White Division, though they struggled a bit down the stretch. But frankly, this region almost has to come down to Detroit Catholic Central and Hartland. A game between those two teams would be worthy of a state final. They are likely the two best teams in the state regardless of division. Catholic Central’s record over the last five years is virtually unfathomable. Until losing to Warren De La Salle in overtime last week, the Shamrocks had not lost to any team from Michigan in nearly three years. The last playoff game they lost was the 2018 state semifinals to eventual champion Brighton. But if anyone is going to pick them off this year and stop their run of five straight Division 1 titles, Hartland at home is as likely a team and place as you could find. The Eagles went 21-3-1 this year and did not lose a game in their own building all season. That said, how do you not go with the five-time defending champs?

•Pick: Detroit Catholic Central

Region 7

• Host: Northville

• Teams: Ann Arbor Huron, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Brighton, Northville, Novi, Saline

• Analysis: This region features three teams from the Kensington Lakes Athletic Association at the top — Brighton, Northville, and Novi. The teams were seeded in that order, but they also seem very evenly matched with each team earning a split against the other two during the regular season. Northville is technically the host, but given that they share a rink with Novi, that is not likely to provide much home ice advantage beyond the last change if the Wildcats make the semifinal like they should (the Wildcats were scheduled to play Ann Arbor Huron at 5 p.m. on Monday). But Brighton has the advantage. The Bulldogs have more late season momentum, riding a five-game unbeaten streak. They also have the advantage of the No. 1 seed. Novi and Northville will have to play each other in the semifinals, while Brighton should, in theory, have an easier matchup.

•Pick: Brighton

Region 8

• Host: M1 Unified

• Teams: Canton, Downriver Unified (Southgate Anderson) M1 Unified (Berkley), New Boston United (New Boston Huron), Plymouth, Salem

• Analysis: This could go several different ways. Plymouth edged out Salem for the top seed, but the Rocks are hotter than anyone else in the region with six wins in their last eight games, including wins over Brighton (a split of two games), Grandville, and Brother Rice. M1 could be pesky at home if they can get enough scoring depth, and Canton has started to play better of late. This feels like it comes down to Plymouth and Salem, however.

• Pick: Salem stays hot.

DIVISION 2

Region 12

• Teams: Fenton-Linden, Flint Powers Catholic, Milford, Saginaw Heritage, White Lake Lakeland

• Analysis: Flint Powers are clear favorites here. Lakeland is a good team, but the Eagles were blown out by the Chargers earlier in the year, and it seems unlikely that they will be seven goals better than they were before. Heritage and Milford are having down years, and Fenton-Linden won just two games this year. In another year, this could be a very deep region. But not this year. This one feels like a Powers vs. Lakeland final, and the Chargers should once again prevail.

• Pick: Flint Powers

Region 13

• Host: St. Clair Shores Unified

• Teams: Port Huron Northern, Rochester United, St. Clair Shores Unified (St. Clair Shores Lakeview), Stoney Creek, Thumb Area Legion

• Analysis: This is one of the more balanced regions around. Rochester United, Stoney Creek, and St. Clair Shores Unified are all fairly even. RU just eked out enough rating points to get the top seed, and that could prove important here. Despite their record, Port Huron Northern will be a tougher out than the numbers say, simple because they play in the top league in the state, the MIHL. Every year, they struggle in league play, then get into playoffs and start rolling teams because they simply are used to playing faster than their new group of opponents. That might not happen this year, though. RU and Stoney Creek have both faced a very good Clarkston team twice and won’t be shocked by the pace of PHN like past teams might have been. St. Clair Shores probably has the best win over anyone in the region with a December victory over Utica Eisenhower. Almost anyone could come out of this region, and it would make sense. But in needing to take someone…

• Pick: Rochester United seems to be peaking at the right time.

Region 14

• Host: Livonia Stevenson

• Teams: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, Ann Arbor Skyline, Dexter, Farmington United, Livonia Red Stallions, Livonia Stevenson

• Analysis: Stevenson and Dexter got the top seeds here. Dexter has the better record, but they have not played near the schedule that Stevenson has. Everyone else has been up and down this season — with more downs than ups. Farmington United is the lone Oakland County team here. They have had their moments lately, including a big upset of Bloomfield Hills at the end of January. But they have not won since. Really, it would be a major upset if anyone beats Stevenson.

• Pick: Livonia Stevenson

Region 15

• Host: Allen Park

• Teams: Allen Park, Birmingham Brother Rice, Detroit U of D Jesuit, Grosse Pointe South

• Analysis: There are only four teams in this region, and Brother Rice are the clear favorites here. While some (maybe even most) years this could be a challenging group, this year Rice has 13 wins, and that total matches the other three teams combined. Early in the year, the Warriors handled all three teams easily, shutting out each one. But U-D Jesuit pulled a late-season upset over the Warriors on Feb. 7. Still, that has been the exception much more than the rule for any of the challenging teams.

• Pick: Brother Rice won’t get upset again.

DIVISION 3

Region 22

• Teams: Chelsea, Dearborn Divine Child, Jackson Lumen Christi, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, South Lyon Unified

• Analysis: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s are the hosts and the No. 1 seed. The Eaglets have one of their better teams from the last few years and will have home ice. The other teams here are solid — each has at least 12 wins. But none of them can match St. Mary’s schedule strength or overall record. There should still be some fun games to watch in this region though, including an opener between South Lyon Unified and Dearborn Divine Child. But in the end, the Eaglets look to be the best team here and should win the region.

• Pick: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

Region 23

• Host: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood

• Teams: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, Grosse Pointe North, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Madison Heights Bishop Foley United, Marysville, Warren De La Salle

• Analysis: Cranbrook and De La Salle are likely on a collision course here. The Cranes have been having a very good year, and De La Salle has a nearly identical record. For that matter, so does Liggett. Marysville has had a solid year overall but went through a late season losing streak before getting a couple of wins at the end. In the end, though, this likely comes down to Cranbrook and De La Salle. The two MIHL foes met once in the regular season, with Cranbrook winning 3-0 in January. But the Pilots then reeled off a string of five straight wins, including an overtime win over Detroit Catholic Central.

• Pick: De La Salle just seems a little hotter right now.

Region 24

• Host: Birmingham Unified

• Teams: Allen Park Cabrini, Birmingham Unified, Detroit Country Day, Gibraltar Carlson, Grosse Ile, Riverview Gabriel Richard

• Analysis: This is a fascinating region. Riverview Richard’s schedule strength gave them the best MPR and the top seed. Grosse Ile has the best record, and Country Day is the hottest team in the region going 6-0-1 down the stretch. The hosts can’t be counted out either as Birmingham Unified knocked off Grosse Ile a month ago. Gibraltar Carlson also has an early season win over the Red Devils and could be considered a threat. In all, this looks like one of those regions where you could throw a dart and defend almost any choice it landed on as a team with a chance to win it.

• Pick: Country Day