Even with the emergence of Steve Racine down the stretch, there was speculation that the Wolverines would look to bring in a goalie next season. They've done so, picking up a commitment from Zach Nagelvoort today. Nagelvoort played this season for Aberdeen in the NAHL (he started the season with the Soo before being traded at his request to gain some more playing time). On the season he is 17-6-2 with an impressive 2.10/.936. Since being acquired by Aberdeen, Nagelvoort is 8-1-1 with a 1.66/.949. He ranks 3rd in the league in both GAA and save percentage (though his save percentage is only 2 points out of the top spot).
Despite some great play down the stretch from Nagelvoort, the Wings missed the playoffs. I've been told he'll be with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL for their playoffs, so maybe he'll see some postseason action yet!
While he was on the Soo, they posted a long interview with him on YouTube:
Last year he was 10-6-1 with a 2.27/.921 with Traverse City and Kalamazoo in the NAHL.
MGoBlog dug up a quote from his coach in Aberdeen that was very complimentary:
“Zach came in and immediately injected the team with confidence. He is a very confident goaltender and person and it rubbed off on the rest of the team. We know we have a chance to win every night when he is in goal and during the last two months of the season, that was the mindset in every game and one of the reasons the team played so well.” Winter also said that Nagelvoort’s strengths in goal lies within his athleticism. “Zach is a very athletic goalie, who doesn’t give up on plays and he is very quick from side to side. He makes the 2nd and sometimes 3rd saves you need to stay in the game and keep momentum going and you almost never see a bad goal scored on him. I think all that combined with his confidence makes him an elite goaltender at this level.”
This gives Michigan five goalies on the roster for next season, with Racine, Jared Rutledge, Luke Dwyer, and Adam Janecyk. I think it's pretty automatic that one of them won't be with the team next year. Racine you'd figure is a lock and I have a hard time believing that Janecyk would leave before his senior year when he's proven to be at least capable. Dwyer has never really played, and there was talk (though I don't know if it was more than speculation) that Rutledge could go back to the USHL for a year to get some confidence back. Time will tell.
Even with Racine's play, there's definitely an opportunity to earn playing time. I'd imagine that Racine gets first crack at the job, but, like last year, the best player is going to play.
Showing posts with label Having a Seat Over There. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Having a Seat Over There. Show all posts
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Having a Seat Over There: Kevin Lohan (YTL)
Michigan has added a defenseman to their commit list. Kevin Lohan out of the BCHL committed to the Wolverines today and will join Michigan in either the 2013-14 or the 2014-15 season. He's already 19 years old and is listed at 6'5", 210. He plays for the Merritt Centennials. Lohan has a 3-11--14 line in 40 games with 18 PIMs. Previously he played for the New York Apple Core. A couple of season ago he also skated for Shattuck St. Mary's.
In the linked article about his commitment, Luke Pierce, the coach and GM of the Centennials said:
Lohan may have to be known as "Kevin Lohan (YTL)" because, yes, that Lohan. His cousin is actress Lindsay Lohan. Their fathers are brothers. Thanks to Dave Starman for pointing out that fact and to Matt Slovin for confirming it.
That gives the Wolverines up to 30 players for next year's roster. They're clearly covering their bases in the event of Merrill and/or Trouba not returning or some unexpected departures/guys not making it to campus. And they might not be done. Mike Spath reported that Michigan is actively seeking a goalie for next season, using the scholarship money freed up by Milne's departure. I don't want to say any more than that because it's a premium link, but the info will come out soon enough. We haven't heard any names yet, but I'm kind of intrigued. I might get to bring back one of my favorite phrases!
I apologize for the lack of content lately. It's hard to get up the energy to write about games that you don't actually get to see, especially when the results aren't good. On the plus side, Red called their split with LSSU their best weekend of hockey on the season. They followed it up with a competitive game against WMU before a much-less competitive game against WMU. Is that progress? Maybe? I mean, that's three not-bad games out of four, right?
I will be in the house for the game against the Spartans on Friday night, which I'm pretty excited about. I haven't seen Yost since the opener of last season. Since I'm attending the game, you'd expect a loss since that's how things usually go, but this has been an upside-down season, so maybe I'll actually be good luck this time...
In the linked article about his commitment, Luke Pierce, the coach and GM of the Centennials said:
[Lohan] has shown tremendous growth here as a player and is well deserving of this opportunity. He has been a tremendous addition to our hockey club as his character has fit in seamlessly with our environment here. He has become a big-minute player for us and has provided a very calming presence amongst our defence core. With his size and intelligence he has been able to establish himself as an elite player in our league.
Lohan may have to be known as "Kevin Lohan (YTL)" because, yes, that Lohan. His cousin is actress Lindsay Lohan. Their fathers are brothers. Thanks to Dave Starman for pointing out that fact and to Matt Slovin for confirming it.
That gives the Wolverines up to 30 players for next year's roster. They're clearly covering their bases in the event of Merrill and/or Trouba not returning or some unexpected departures/guys not making it to campus. And they might not be done. Mike Spath reported that Michigan is actively seeking a goalie for next season, using the scholarship money freed up by Milne's departure. I don't want to say any more than that because it's a premium link, but the info will come out soon enough. We haven't heard any names yet, but I'm kind of intrigued. I might get to bring back one of my favorite phrases!
I apologize for the lack of content lately. It's hard to get up the energy to write about games that you don't actually get to see, especially when the results aren't good. On the plus side, Red called their split with LSSU their best weekend of hockey on the season. They followed it up with a competitive game against WMU before a much-less competitive game against WMU. Is that progress? Maybe? I mean, that's three not-bad games out of four, right?
I will be in the house for the game against the Spartans on Friday night, which I'm pretty excited about. I haven't seen Yost since the opener of last season. Since I'm attending the game, you'd expect a loss since that's how things usually go, but this has been an upside-down season, so maybe I'll actually be good luck this time...
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Having a Seat Over There: One Buzzer In, One Buzzer Out
Yesterday the St. Michael's Buzzers pipeline to Ann Arbor was tapped once again, with 2014 defenseman Jared Walsh offering up his commitment to the Maize and Blue. Today, however, a former Buzzer is out. Daniel Milne, a freshman forward, left the hockey team to sign with Owen Sound of the OHL.
Walsh played for Team Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge where he had a pair of assists in five games. Last season he played for the Toronto Marlboros and scored 4-11--15 in 35 games.
You can follow him on Twitter at @3jwalsh. He was a second-round pick of Missassauga of the OHL. So there's that.
While one Buzzer pledged his commitment, another decided to head back to Ontario. It was announced today that Milne had left the hockey team. He had played in just seven games this season and had not tallied a point.
From the linked article in The Daily, Red voiced his disappointment but noted that Milne was in good academic standing. He'll be playing for the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL. He picked Michigan over Notre Dame (and Owen Sound). Michigan had liked (PDF link) his skating ability as well as his ability to play at both ends of the ice. I'm not a fan of players bailing midseason, but given Michigan's struggles up front and the fact that he wasn't playing very often, some frustration is certainly understandable (assuming this move is for more playing time). But seriously, F the O.
Walsh, a 5'11", 175 blueliner from Toronto, has a goal and 15 assists in 34 games for the Buzzers. He's also got 20 PIMs and six points on the power play. That's good for a tie for 34th in the league amongst defensemen, but 3rd amongst 1996-birthdays. At least 20 of the guys in front of him are either 92s or 93s.
The Buzzers' Head Coach and GM said the following about Walsh (this link has a little more detail than the previous version that was cycling around yesterday):
He has developed into a very high end defenceman early in his rookie year. He has become a force on special teams and brings a unique bag of speed, smarts, toughness and a very heavy shot. He's becoming a quiet leader and is very deserving of the attention and accolades.
Walsh played for Team Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge where he had a pair of assists in five games. Last season he played for the Toronto Marlboros and scored 4-11--15 in 35 games.
You can follow him on Twitter at @3jwalsh. He was a second-round pick of Missassauga of the OHL. So there's that.
While one Buzzer pledged his commitment, another decided to head back to Ontario. It was announced today that Milne had left the hockey team. He had played in just seven games this season and had not tallied a point.
From the linked article in The Daily, Red voiced his disappointment but noted that Milne was in good academic standing. He'll be playing for the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL. He picked Michigan over Notre Dame (and Owen Sound). Michigan had liked (PDF link) his skating ability as well as his ability to play at both ends of the ice. I'm not a fan of players bailing midseason, but given Michigan's struggles up front and the fact that he wasn't playing very often, some frustration is certainly understandable (assuming this move is for more playing time). But seriously, F the O.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Having a Seat Over There: Nolan De Jong
When Brian Wiseman tweeted over the weekend that he was in the Seattle airport, I wondered if he was possibly doing some recruiting out West. Coincidence or not (I don't know if he was recruiting, and if he was I don't know who he went to see), the Wolverines have landed a player from the Pacific Northwest.
According to his Twitter account (@JongShow), Victoria Grizzlies defenseman Nolan De Jong (6'2" 180) has committed to the Wolverines. He was originally a Cornell commit for 2014-15, but says that he will be enrolling next year at Michigan.
In 15 games this year, De Jong has 2-9--11 with 2 power play goals and six penalty minutes. He's fourth on his team in scoring, the top-scoring defenseman, and he's a 95-birthday, while the guys in front of him are all 93s or older. There are only four defensemen in the league with more points at the moment. A year ago, he had 2-15--17 in 56 games for the Grizzlies, en route to winning the team's Rookie of the Year award (along with the Scholastic Award and the Governor's Award).
The Grizz Roar Blog wrote the following about his performance last year:
The Grizzlies play in the BCHL. They're 10-4-0-1 on the season and sit in first place in the Island Division. They are currently 12th in the CJHL top 20 rankings, the second-highest BCHL team listed.
It doesn't look like the full roster has been released yet, but De Jong was named to Canada West's roster for the World Junior A Challenge selection camp, which will take place November 5-11. He was also named a "B" skater on Central Scouting's watch list, pegging him as a potential 2nd-3rd round pick. There were six players from the BCHL on that list, which also included Michigan-commit Dexter Dancs.
According to his Twitter account (@JongShow), Victoria Grizzlies defenseman Nolan De Jong (6'2" 180) has committed to the Wolverines. He was originally a Cornell commit for 2014-15, but says that he will be enrolling next year at Michigan.
In 15 games this year, De Jong has 2-9--11 with 2 power play goals and six penalty minutes. He's fourth on his team in scoring, the top-scoring defenseman, and he's a 95-birthday, while the guys in front of him are all 93s or older. There are only four defensemen in the league with more points at the moment. A year ago, he had 2-15--17 in 56 games for the Grizzlies, en route to winning the team's Rookie of the Year award (along with the Scholastic Award and the Governor's Award).
The Grizz Roar Blog wrote the following about his performance last year:
Nolan Dejong, had a tremendous rookie year last season, playing like seasoned BCHL vet rather than a 16 year old rookie. Dejong, is a defender who doesn't make a lot of mistakes, has great hockey sense and creates opportunities for the team whenever he's part of the attack. A solid two way player.
The Grizzlies play in the BCHL. They're 10-4-0-1 on the season and sit in first place in the Island Division. They are currently 12th in the CJHL top 20 rankings, the second-highest BCHL team listed.
It doesn't look like the full roster has been released yet, but De Jong was named to Canada West's roster for the World Junior A Challenge selection camp, which will take place November 5-11. He was also named a "B" skater on Central Scouting's watch list, pegging him as a potential 2nd-3rd round pick. There were six players from the BCHL on that list, which also included Michigan-commit Dexter Dancs.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Having a Seat Over There: Brendan Warren
Kyle Connor has company as a 2015 recruit: Compuware forward Brendan Warren has committed to join the Wolverines in a few years.
Warren recently took place in the Select 15 Festival, where he "was arguably the top forward" according to Yost Post poster BradyThomas. Thomas also said that one scout likened him to Tyler Seguin.
Last season, Warren had 8-5--13 in 10 games for Compuware. His teammates had 24 games played, so I'm assuming there was an injury or something. His 1.3 ppg were good for fourth on the team. He also had 3-3--6 in five playoff games. In 2010-11 he had 33-18--51 in 31 games, which was tied for the team lead in points and first in goals. He also finished first in the league in goals and tied for third in points.
Amazingly (assuming Pointstreak is right), only 1 of his 33 goals came with the man advantage. I have a hard time believing that's accurate, but if it is, it shows he can get it done at even-strength!
MichiganHockey.net has some Twitter comments about him.
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In other news, after some scary-sounding rumors during the Devils prospect camp, Jon Merrill announced that he will return to Michigan for his junior season. He told Red that he wants to be competing for a job in the NHL when he leaves, and that he doesn't want to play in the minors, which you know has to thrill Coach Berenson.
Despite a subpar end to the season, in the month after he returned from suspension Merrill showed just how amazing he can be. I fully expect a mega-season out of him.
TheWolverine talked with Billy Powers about a variety of subjects including Merrill's return. It sounds like they'll definitely have Merrill and Trouba paired together at times.
Speaking of Coach Berenson, Red signed an extension that will keep him behind the bench through the 2015-16 season. It sounds like that will probably be the end of the line, but it's nice to know that Red will be guiding us into the B1G era.
Lastly, I still want a bleacher from Yost. Dammit.
Warren recently took place in the Select 15 Festival, where he "was arguably the top forward" according to Yost Post poster BradyThomas. Thomas also said that one scout likened him to Tyler Seguin.
Last season, Warren had 8-5--13 in 10 games for Compuware. His teammates had 24 games played, so I'm assuming there was an injury or something. His 1.3 ppg were good for fourth on the team. He also had 3-3--6 in five playoff games. In 2010-11 he had 33-18--51 in 31 games, which was tied for the team lead in points and first in goals. He also finished first in the league in goals and tied for third in points.
Amazingly (assuming Pointstreak is right), only 1 of his 33 goals came with the man advantage. I have a hard time believing that's accurate, but if it is, it shows he can get it done at even-strength!
MichiganHockey.net has some Twitter comments about him.
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In other news, after some scary-sounding rumors during the Devils prospect camp, Jon Merrill announced that he will return to Michigan for his junior season. He told Red that he wants to be competing for a job in the NHL when he leaves, and that he doesn't want to play in the minors, which you know has to thrill Coach Berenson.
Despite a subpar end to the season, in the month after he returned from suspension Merrill showed just how amazing he can be. I fully expect a mega-season out of him.
TheWolverine talked with Billy Powers about a variety of subjects including Merrill's return. It sounds like they'll definitely have Merrill and Trouba paired together at times.
Speaking of Coach Berenson, Red signed an extension that will keep him behind the bench through the 2015-16 season. It sounds like that will probably be the end of the line, but it's nice to know that Red will be guiding us into the B1G era.
Lastly, I still want a bleacher from Yost. Dammit.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Having a Seat Over There: Dexter Dancs
Dexter Dancs, a forward for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, has committed to Michigan for the 2014-15 season.
Dancs played most of this past year with the Osoyoos Coyotes of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He was second on the team in scoring with a 29-38--67 line in 42 games. The team's leading scorer, however, is four years older than Dancs. He had 9 goals on the power play and also chipped in with 8 game-winners, which led the team by a wide margin (the next highest had 3) and also led the league.
He contributed 6-6--12 in 6 playoff games. He was named the KIJHL Rookie of the Year for his efforts.
Dancs is a February 1995 birthday and is listed at 6'2", 180 lbs. He had 1 assist in 15 games with the Vees. He didn't play in the playoffs as the Vees won the Junior A Championship. He'll be up with them all year next year.
The Three V's has a long interview with Dancs about his commitment to the Wolverines. Dancs said, "I went there last week and I checked everything out. The arena was getting renovated and it just blew me away. The campus is beautiful. It was the first university I had ever seen and it was everything I had imagined it would be. It kind of blew me away. It's hard to say no."
He said the following about his first year in Junior B: "My goal was to get a point per game and I got a little bit more than that. I surprised myself, honestly, this year. I gained confidence and it really helped me out. Going up with the Vees helped me out more with my confidence."
He described himself as a "big guy" whose "skating is pretty good". He likes to use his feet and create opportunities for himself and his teammates.
He will be training back to North Vancouver this summer before heading back to Penticton to train with an assistant coach until training camp.
Dancs played most of this past year with the Osoyoos Coyotes of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He was second on the team in scoring with a 29-38--67 line in 42 games. The team's leading scorer, however, is four years older than Dancs. He had 9 goals on the power play and also chipped in with 8 game-winners, which led the team by a wide margin (the next highest had 3) and also led the league.
He contributed 6-6--12 in 6 playoff games. He was named the KIJHL Rookie of the Year for his efforts.
Dancs is a February 1995 birthday and is listed at 6'2", 180 lbs. He had 1 assist in 15 games with the Vees. He didn't play in the playoffs as the Vees won the Junior A Championship. He'll be up with them all year next year.
The Three V's has a long interview with Dancs about his commitment to the Wolverines. Dancs said, "I went there last week and I checked everything out. The arena was getting renovated and it just blew me away. The campus is beautiful. It was the first university I had ever seen and it was everything I had imagined it would be. It kind of blew me away. It's hard to say no."
He said the following about his first year in Junior B: "My goal was to get a point per game and I got a little bit more than that. I surprised myself, honestly, this year. I gained confidence and it really helped me out. Going up with the Vees helped me out more with my confidence."
He described himself as a "big guy" whose "skating is pretty good". He likes to use his feet and create opportunities for himself and his teammates.
He will be training back to North Vancouver this summer before heading back to Penticton to train with an assistant coach until training camp.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Having a Seat Over There: Andrew Copp
Red Berenson isn't done adding players to the incoming class of 2012. Andrew Copp, an Ann Arbor native who has played with the NTDP the past couple of years, announced that he has committed to join the Wolverines next season.
Copp had 1-5--6 in 23 games for the Under 18s this year. He also spent nine games with the U17s and put up 5-6--11 in that span. Technically that was good for first on the team in points per game, though clearly that's a very small sample size and he was an older player. He missed a good chunk of the season with a broken collarbone suffered while quarterbacking Ann Arbor Skyline.
In 2010-11, he split time between the U17s (1-4--5 in 25 games), U18 (1-0--1 in 6 games), and Detroit Compuware (2-7--9 in 17 games).
Copp is listed as 6'0", 185 on the NTDP website.
Copp was also a part of the USA team that just brought home the gold medal at the U-18 World Championships. He had an assist on the game-winning goal in the gold medal game.
The obvious comparison (based on the situation moreso than style of play, as I've never seen Copp) is with Danny Fardig, another Ann Arbor native who split time between the U17s and U18s before becoming a very solid 3rd/4th liner for the Wolverines. Fardig wore 26 with the Wolverines, Copp wore 26 with the NTDP. There ya go.
The NTDP had a nice feature on him back in February. He was planning on playing a year in the USHL, but the chance to join the Wolverines is hard to pass up!
Copp had 1-5--6 in 23 games for the Under 18s this year. He also spent nine games with the U17s and put up 5-6--11 in that span. Technically that was good for first on the team in points per game, though clearly that's a very small sample size and he was an older player. He missed a good chunk of the season with a broken collarbone suffered while quarterbacking Ann Arbor Skyline.
In 2010-11, he split time between the U17s (1-4--5 in 25 games), U18 (1-0--1 in 6 games), and Detroit Compuware (2-7--9 in 17 games).
Copp is listed as 6'0", 185 on the NTDP website.
Copp was also a part of the USA team that just brought home the gold medal at the U-18 World Championships. He had an assist on the game-winning goal in the gold medal game.
The obvious comparison (based on the situation moreso than style of play, as I've never seen Copp) is with Danny Fardig, another Ann Arbor native who split time between the U17s and U18s before becoming a very solid 3rd/4th liner for the Wolverines. Fardig wore 26 with the Wolverines, Copp wore 26 with the NTDP. There ya go.
The NTDP had a nice feature on him back in February. He was planning on playing a year in the USHL, but the chance to join the Wolverines is hard to pass up!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Steven Racine
Michigan has another goalie for next year! Steven Racine, the keeper for the Georgetown Raiders of the OJHL, has verbally committed to Michigan. USHR.com first reported that the former Taft goalie had committed, and MHNet confirmed it publicly via some conversations over Twitter.
In the three games he's played for Georgetown, he's 3-0-0 with a 1.30 goals against and a .961 save percentage. He pitched a 26-save shutout in his first appearance for the team. He most recently made 48 saves in a 4-3 overtime win. He had previously been with the Westside Warriors in the BCHL, where he was 7-9-0 with a 3.10/.885. After winning seven of his first nine starts this year, the Warriors went into a huge slump. They made a change after he dropped seven straight decisions, though it doesn't sound like he had a lot of help.
Prior to the BCHL, he spent quite a bit of time in the USHL and the EJHL.
Racine--and I will never say his last name without sounding like Kit from A League of Their Own--is listed at 6'3", 190 and hails from New York.
MHNet has a quote from a guy in OHL Central Scouting who called Racine a "good, solid goalie" and "Athletic, but nothing flashy".
He is expected to backup Jared Rutledge. He sounds like a solid enough pickup. He's a little bit older, he's got some experience playing in a variety of leagues, and he's got good size.
In the three games he's played for Georgetown, he's 3-0-0 with a 1.30 goals against and a .961 save percentage. He pitched a 26-save shutout in his first appearance for the team. He most recently made 48 saves in a 4-3 overtime win. He had previously been with the Westside Warriors in the BCHL, where he was 7-9-0 with a 3.10/.885. After winning seven of his first nine starts this year, the Warriors went into a huge slump. They made a change after he dropped seven straight decisions, though it doesn't sound like he had a lot of help.
Prior to the BCHL, he spent quite a bit of time in the USHL and the EJHL.
Racine--and I will never say his last name without sounding like Kit from A League of Their Own--is listed at 6'3", 190 and hails from New York.
MHNet has a quote from a guy in OHL Central Scouting who called Racine a "good, solid goalie" and "Athletic, but nothing flashy".
He is expected to backup Jared Rutledge. He sounds like a solid enough pickup. He's a little bit older, he's got some experience playing in a variety of leagues, and he's got good size.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Dylan Larkin
At least there's some good news for the Michigan hockey program this week. 1996-born forward Dylan Larkin has committed to the Wolverines according to Mike Spath and College Hockey PROSPECTive. Larkin, a forward for Belle Tire's midget minor team, has 13-7--20 in 17 games this year.
His 13 goals this season is tops on the team, which leads the Great Lakes Division of the MWEHL with a 14-0-3 record. The next highest on the team has 9 goals. He's also second in points (Kyle Connor has 21). Surprisingly, only one of his 13 goals has come on special teams, so he's getting it done at even strength. He also leads the team with 4 game-winning goals.
League-wide, he's tied for 17th in points (and points per game) and tied for fourth in goals. The league-leader has 15 tallies.
In the 2011 MAHA State Tournament, Larkin scored 5-11--16 in five games.
A year ago, his 23-24--47 line put him third in goals, fifth in assists, and third in points. They downed the Chicago Mission 6-5 in the U14 National Championship. Larkin had a goal in the championship game.
I'm going to list him as a 2014 until I hear otherwise.
His 13 goals this season is tops on the team, which leads the Great Lakes Division of the MWEHL with a 14-0-3 record. The next highest on the team has 9 goals. He's also second in points (Kyle Connor has 21). Surprisingly, only one of his 13 goals has come on special teams, so he's getting it done at even strength. He also leads the team with 4 game-winning goals.
League-wide, he's tied for 17th in points (and points per game) and tied for fourth in goals. The league-leader has 15 tallies.
In the 2011 MAHA State Tournament, Larkin scored 5-11--16 in five games.
A year ago, his 23-24--47 line put him third in goals, fifth in assists, and third in points. They downed the Chicago Mission 6-5 in the U14 National Championship. Larkin had a goal in the championship game.
I'm going to list him as a 2014 until I hear otherwise.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Jared Rutledge
For the third straight year, the Wolverines have picked up a commitment from an NTDP goalie. Like Jack Campbell and John Gibson before him, Jared Rutledge has verballed to Red Berenson. Hopefully unlike the other two, he will wear the Maize and Blue next season. He had been mentioned as a possibility for the Wolverines over a year and a half ago.
Rutledge is listed at 5'11", 167 lbs and like Connor Carrick, he hails from Illinois.
This season, he is 3-2-1 with a sparkling 2.34 goals against and a .918 save percentage. His two losses have come against Michigan and Colorado College, two of the top 4 teams in the country. He made 33 stops against Michigan in a 3-1 loss and 38 against CC, though USA fell 5-0.
Last season with the U17s, he put up very solid numbers. He was 17-9-1 with a 2.57 goals against and a .905 save percentage. Internationally, in the Vlad Dzurilla tournament, he was 2-0-0 with a 1.00/.957 en route to the tournament title. He was in net for the final game and stopped 24 of 25 shots.
He was also 2-0-0 with a 2.00/.844 in the Four Nations Cup. In the World Under 17 Challenge, he was 3-1 with a 2.57/.844. The Americans fell 5-3 to Team Ontario in the gold medal game. Rutledge didn't get the start, but stopped 10 of 12 shots in about 48 minutes of relief work. One of the goals he allowed was on a penalty shot.
He played with the Chicago Young Americans prior to joining the NTDP and led the league in wins. His head coach said the following:
His dad now coaches other young goalies.
Dan Sallows, a scout for the Indiana Ice, had some kind things to say about him:
Rutledge is listed at 5'11", 167 lbs and like Connor Carrick, he hails from Illinois.
This season, he is 3-2-1 with a sparkling 2.34 goals against and a .918 save percentage. His two losses have come against Michigan and Colorado College, two of the top 4 teams in the country. He made 33 stops against Michigan in a 3-1 loss and 38 against CC, though USA fell 5-0.
Last season with the U17s, he put up very solid numbers. He was 17-9-1 with a 2.57 goals against and a .905 save percentage. Internationally, in the Vlad Dzurilla tournament, he was 2-0-0 with a 1.00/.957 en route to the tournament title. He was in net for the final game and stopped 24 of 25 shots.
He was also 2-0-0 with a 2.00/.844 in the Four Nations Cup. In the World Under 17 Challenge, he was 3-1 with a 2.57/.844. The Americans fell 5-3 to Team Ontario in the gold medal game. Rutledge didn't get the start, but stopped 10 of 12 shots in about 48 minutes of relief work. One of the goals he allowed was on a penalty shot.
He played with the Chicago Young Americans prior to joining the NTDP and led the league in wins. His head coach said the following:
"His anticipation for what a shooter is going to do and his reading of a situation so he can best position himself in the net are definitely his strengths," Young Americans head coach Bruno Bragagnolo said. "He's able to analyze his weaknesses about as well as any goalie I've ever coached. And then I think his movement across the crease and his play out of the net are underrated."The Skokie Review had a neat story about how his dad has helped his career along.
“I took (Jared) to NHL goalie coaches, read everything they wrote and watched every DVD. There was a tremendous amount to learn,” said Johnny, who works full-time in the music business. “I videotaped every one of Jared’s games, watched the videos and analyzed his game. It was an intensive training process. By the time (Jared) was 14 years old, I started backing off. By the time he was 15, I let him go.”
His dad now coaches other young goalies.
Dan Sallows, a scout for the Indiana Ice, had some kind things to say about him:
Rutledge is technically and positionally very sound, is excellent at controlling rebounds, handles the puck well, competes hard, has a good glove, doesn’t get phased on the rare occasion he does let in a bad goal, and is extremely good at anticipating the play. Though he isn’t overly big, he challenges exceptionally well, and makes life miserable for shooters.I'd still imagine that Michigan will bring in a second freshman goalie for next season. I don't know that they'd risk the possibility of getting whammied three years in a row.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Jacob Trouba
The Wolverines have landed a "5-star" defenseman for the incoming class of 2012. Jacob Trouba posted on Twitter this evening that he has committed to the University of Michigan. Trouba, a 6'2", 191 lb defenseman from Rochester, MI, was reported to be deciding between Michigan, Notre Dame, and playing in the OHL (his rights are held by Kitchener). While most of the U-18 team has already committed to a college, Trouba was waiting. Why?
It appears that he has finally decided on going the NCAA route.
It's hard to find an article about Trouba that doesn't gush praise. The Hockey News had a scout call him "Cam Fowler with more of an edge." The Prospect Blog called him "the next great American defenseman" and echoed the Fowler-with-an-edge comparison. Fowler, you may recall, played for the NTDP, broke his Notre Dame commitment to play in the OHL for a year, and scored 10-30--40 as a rookie for the Anaheim Ducks.
A poster at HockeysFuture compiled a list of the early 2012 Draft Rankings and had Trouba 4th overall. As I mentioned the other day, TSN has him tied for 10th in in their rankings. He's tied with Matia Marcantuoni, whose name might sound familiar to Wolverine fans. NHL Central Scouting ranked him as an "A" player on their watch list.
After he was given that distinction, the United States of Hockey chimed in:
This year so far Trouba has three assists in four games for the NTDP's Under 18 team. He had 6-13--19 in 37 games with the U-17s last season, made the USHL All-Star team, and was called up to the Under 18s at the end of the season. With the U-18s he had 6 points, including a goal in the World Under 18 Championship Game, which the USA won in overtime.
Connor Murphy played with Trouba on the U-18s last year. He gave a quick scouting report to McKeen's:
Jacob Trouba wants to be known as a man of his word.
So when the highly touted defensive prospect is ready to make his decision whether to play in the OHL for the Kitchener Rangers -- who hold his CHL rights -- or the NCAA, there won't be any late de-commitments or promises broken.
"That's sort of why I haven't (committed), because I don't want to make a commitment and then back down from it," said the 17-year-old on Wednesday, while in Toronto to take part in the NHL's Research and Development Camp.
It appears that he has finally decided on going the NCAA route.
It's hard to find an article about Trouba that doesn't gush praise. The Hockey News had a scout call him "Cam Fowler with more of an edge." The Prospect Blog called him "the next great American defenseman" and echoed the Fowler-with-an-edge comparison. Fowler, you may recall, played for the NTDP, broke his Notre Dame commitment to play in the OHL for a year, and scored 10-30--40 as a rookie for the Anaheim Ducks.
A poster at HockeysFuture compiled a list of the early 2012 Draft Rankings and had Trouba 4th overall. As I mentioned the other day, TSN has him tied for 10th in in their rankings. He's tied with Matia Marcantuoni, whose name might sound familiar to Wolverine fans. NHL Central Scouting ranked him as an "A" player on their watch list.
After he was given that distinction, the United States of Hockey chimed in:
Trouba was called up to the Under-18s and had a chance to showcase himself at the World Under-18 Championship. His booming shot and excellent skating are his most notable assets. He plays a physical brand of hockey in all areas. The only thing that happened to Trouba at the U18s is that a few of his flaws that he’ll need to work on this year were exposed. His hockey sense isn’t where it needs to be just yet, as he made a few poor decisions in Germany. That said, his tools are elite. He scored Team USA’s first goal in the gold-medal game against Sweden on a one-timer. Another year of development, and focusing on making good decisions, and he could easily find himself in, or around the top five.
This year so far Trouba has three assists in four games for the NTDP's Under 18 team. He had 6-13--19 in 37 games with the U-17s last season, made the USHL All-Star team, and was called up to the Under 18s at the end of the season. With the U-18s he had 6 points, including a goal in the World Under 18 Championship Game, which the USA won in overtime.
Connor Murphy played with Trouba on the U-18s last year. He gave a quick scouting report to McKeen's:
It's been good. He's a good, strong, energy defenseman. Like you saw last night, he always has a couple big hits. He's got a good shot. We try to work to get him one-timers on the power play. So, I think he brings energy with his speed and his physical nature into the game. It really helps us out. I'm kind of more of a smart playmaking defenseman, so I can set him up or angle guys toward him to make some big hits. So, he helps us out a lot.Robbie Russo (U-18 and Notre Dame defenseman) also chimed in:
He's got a lot of power in his game. He's got a massive one-timer. He'll knock some guys off their feet, even being a young player. He doesn't back down from any of that. I'd like to see him go to Notre Dame in the future (smiles).HUGE pickup, especially with the likely defection of Jon Merrill to the NHL after this coming season. He joins NTDP teammate Connor Carrick and possibly Spence Hyman as a defenseman in the incoming class of 2012.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Michael Downing
Some good recruiting news has come out this week! 2013 defenseman Michael Downing has committed to Michigan! Downing visited Yost this week and announced on his Twitter feed today that he's "officially a Wolverine".
Downing is a 6'3" 185 lb defenseman that previously played for Detroit Catholic Central. He had 7-16--23 in 26 games this past season with 18 PIMs.
He was the 3rd overall pick (and first defenseman chosen) in the USHL Futures Draft. He was selected by the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
A poster on the Yost Post mentioned him awhile back and said that he played very well at the Select 16 Festival and was supposedly the third-best defenseman there.
An OHL scout that covers Michigan said that he is a "very good skating defender with high-end offensive capabilities". He was selected in the 8th round of the OHL Draft by the Sarnia Sting.
Edit: Downing will also be a member of the USA U-17 Select Team for the Five Nations Tournament that will take place at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube from August 9-13. Target Gabe Guertler will also be on the roster. Stick tap to The United States of Hockey Blog for that one.
Downing is a 6'3" 185 lb defenseman that previously played for Detroit Catholic Central. He had 7-16--23 in 26 games this past season with 18 PIMs.
He was the 3rd overall pick (and first defenseman chosen) in the USHL Futures Draft. He was selected by the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
A poster on the Yost Post mentioned him awhile back and said that he played very well at the Select 16 Festival and was supposedly the third-best defenseman there.
An OHL scout that covers Michigan said that he is a "very good skating defender with high-end offensive capabilities". He was selected in the 8th round of the OHL Draft by the Sarnia Sting.
Edit: Downing will also be a member of the USA U-17 Select Team for the Five Nations Tournament that will take place at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube from August 9-13. Target Gabe Guertler will also be on the roster. Stick tap to The United States of Hockey Blog for that one.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Mike Chiasson
The Omaha Lancers announced that Mike Chiasson has committed to Michigan for next season. Chiasson, the son of former Red Wings defenseman Steve Chiasson (who was killed in a car wreck back in 1999), is a 5'11" 195 defenseman.
Chiasson put up 4-11--15 in 50 games this season. He was fourth on the team with a +10 rating and had 41 PIMs. He was named the most-improved player on the team last season and won the a leadership award this year. He was unanimously voted team captain this past season and Lancers coach Bliss Littler wasn't surprised:
This also means that Brandon Burlon will not be back. Mike Spath mentioned that he spoke with the Michigan coaches, and it sounds like both sides decided it was time to move on.
Chiasson will be an older freshman (he's 20 right now) that brings 122 games of USHL experience. It's reasonable to expect that he'd be able to come in and play right away. In addition to Burlon, the Wolverines lost Langlais and kind-of Llewellyn. In addition to Chiasson, the Wolverines bring in the highly-regarded Brennan Serville and preferred-walk-on Michael Szuma, giving them 8 D. Once again, I fully expect some nice competition for the final spots on the blueline.
He another kid who is interested in education. The linked article is a nice story about how he got to this point. Here is a Q&A with him from two seasons ago.
He wears #3 just like his father. With Scooter Vaughan graduating, I'd imagine that Chiasson will have dibs on that number.
Chiasson put up 4-11--15 in 50 games this season. He was fourth on the team with a +10 rating and had 41 PIMs. He was named the most-improved player on the team last season and won the a leadership award this year. He was unanimously voted team captain this past season and Lancers coach Bliss Littler wasn't surprised:
“The kid reeks with character on and off the ice,” Littler said. “For a player to be selected that way (unanimously) really tells you a lot. That doesn't happen very often.”
This also means that Brandon Burlon will not be back. Mike Spath mentioned that he spoke with the Michigan coaches, and it sounds like both sides decided it was time to move on.
Chiasson will be an older freshman (he's 20 right now) that brings 122 games of USHL experience. It's reasonable to expect that he'd be able to come in and play right away. In addition to Burlon, the Wolverines lost Langlais and kind-of Llewellyn. In addition to Chiasson, the Wolverines bring in the highly-regarded Brennan Serville and preferred-walk-on Michael Szuma, giving them 8 D. Once again, I fully expect some nice competition for the final spots on the blueline.
He another kid who is interested in education. The linked article is a nice story about how he got to this point. Here is a Q&A with him from two seasons ago.
He wears #3 just like his father. With Scooter Vaughan graduating, I'd imagine that Chiasson will have dibs on that number.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Little More on Hyman
For the season, Zach had 42-60--102 in 43 games played. He had just 24 PIMs, ten of which came in the last game of the season for "inciting an opponent", whatever that means. He had 27 points on the power play and five short-handed goals, along with three game-winners. In the playoffs, he had 3-5--8 in 7 games.
In the 43 games he played, he was held off the scoresheet on just four occasions. His season included a 27-game point streak, which contained five 5+ point games and four hat tricks. He had three 7-point games during the season.
He finished the year third in goals and second in points in the CJHL.
There are several clips of him on Youtube, and for that, we thank you.
Highlight video from Feb. 2010:
From the 3 Nations Tournament:
And an OT Game-Winner in the playoffs:
In other news, Mike Spath is hearing that there are three finalists for the vacant Assistant Coach position and that a decision could be made as soon as next week. The finalists are Matt Herr, Bill Muckalt, and Brian Wiseman. Muckalt is a head coach in the NAHL, Herr has been Kent's head coach in the prep ranks for quite some time, and Wiseman is an assistant in the AHL.
In the 43 games he played, he was held off the scoresheet on just four occasions. His season included a 27-game point streak, which contained five 5+ point games and four hat tricks. He had three 7-point games during the season.
He finished the year third in goals and second in points in the CJHL.
There are several clips of him on Youtube, and for that, we thank you.
Highlight video from Feb. 2010:
From the 3 Nations Tournament:
And an OT Game-Winner in the playoffs:
In other news, Mike Spath is hearing that there are three finalists for the vacant Assistant Coach position and that a decision could be made as soon as next week. The finalists are Matt Herr, Bill Muckalt, and Brian Wiseman. Muckalt is a head coach in the NAHL, Herr has been Kent's head coach in the prep ranks for quite some time, and Wiseman is an assistant in the AHL.
Having a Seat Over There: Zach Hyman
A week ago, I mentioned that the Canadian Junior A Player of the Year, Zach Hyman, was considering Michigan. Today, he decided to become a Wolverine.
As, I believe, first reported by Andy Strickland, then confirmed by Bob Miller, Hyman will play at Michigan next season. Bob says that he's signing on Friday.
It's hard to understate how large of a development this is. We just picked up the college-eligible player in all of Canada. And he's coming to Michigan for THIS COMING SEASON. This isn't getting all excited about the prospect of Max Domi. This isn't looking ahead to what could be a ridiculous class in 2013. This isn't Tristin Llewellyn being a top prospect as a 14 year-old. This is a five-star prospect for next season. Immediate impact. You could make the case that he's the top recruit in this class. (Edit: To clarify, that's based on him being the top junior player in Canada more than any awareness of the rest of the players out there.) This is potentially the offense that we could be lacking next season.
Let's take a look at some of the other players that have won the CJHL Player of the Year award, decided to play college, and how they did freshman year:
So out of the last 11 guys that won CJHL Player of the Year and went on to play college hockey, 8 scored double-digit goals and 30+ points as a freshman. One of the three that didn't hit either of those plateaus (Lessard) ended up scoring 32-31--63 as a senior and won the Hobey. Brosz and Bomersback ended up with a 30/40 point season as well.
At the low-end, these guys ended up being fairly-productive college players with at least one great season. At the high-end, they put up really good numbers right out of the gate and ultimately became Hobey Baker-caliber players. Lessard and Kariya won the award. Comrie, Heatley, and Tambellini would have arguably been the favorite to win the award the next season had they not turned pro.
History says that you can pencil in Hyman for 10-15 goals and 30-35 points next season. This late in the game, to pull in someone who could potentially approach a point per game as a freshman is a huge, huge pickup.
Bob Miller linked out to a couple of GREAT articles. The first talks about how it seems like he's got his head on straight, actually backs it up when he talks about caring about academics, and is just a great kid. The second is a Q&A with him after he won the Player of the Year award.
There are many more links in the first article. Mark Seidel, the chief North American scout for CSS, wrote the following:
Hockey's Future (yeah, I know) mentioned that prior to juniors (when he played at a lower-level to maintain his college eligibility), Hyman was thought to be on the same level as Jeff Skinner and Tyler Seguin. If that's true, yikes.
Here's a really interesting article about his father's dealings in hockey. Baller.
Hyman was the captain of his team last season and put up 42-60--102.
Gotta love that Red Berenson snake-oil!
As, I believe, first reported by Andy Strickland, then confirmed by Bob Miller, Hyman will play at Michigan next season. Bob says that he's signing on Friday.
It's hard to understate how large of a development this is. We just picked up the college-eligible player in all of Canada. And he's coming to Michigan for THIS COMING SEASON. This isn't getting all excited about the prospect of Max Domi. This isn't looking ahead to what could be a ridiculous class in 2013. This isn't Tristin Llewellyn being a top prospect as a 14 year-old. This is a five-star prospect for next season. Immediate impact. You could make the case that he's the top recruit in this class. (Edit: To clarify, that's based on him being the top junior player in Canada more than any awareness of the rest of the players out there.) This is potentially the offense that we could be lacking next season.
Let's take a look at some of the other players that have won the CJHL Player of the Year award, decided to play college, and how they did freshman year:
| Player | Year | Team | GP | Line |
| Cody Kunyk | 2010 | Alaska | 38 | 12-18--30 |
| Eric Delong | 2009 | Sacred Heart | 35 | 15-20--35 |
| Joe Colborne | 2008 | Denver | 40 | 10-21--31 |
| Kyle Turris | 2007 | Wisconsin | 36 | 11-24--35 |
| Nick Johnson | 2004 | Darmouth | 35 | 18-17--35 |
| Mark Bomersback | 2003 | Ferris State | 37 | 8-10--18 |
| Jeff Tambellini | 2002 | Michigan | 43 | 26-19--45 |
| Tyler Brosz | 2001 | Minnesota-Duluth | 40 | 5-6--11 |
| Junior Lessard | 2000 | Minnesota-Duluth | 36 | 4-8--12 |
| Dany Heatley | 1999 | Wisconsin | 38 | 28-28--56 |
| Mike Comrie | 1998 | Michigan | 42 | 19-25--44 |
So out of the last 11 guys that won CJHL Player of the Year and went on to play college hockey, 8 scored double-digit goals and 30+ points as a freshman. One of the three that didn't hit either of those plateaus (Lessard) ended up scoring 32-31--63 as a senior and won the Hobey. Brosz and Bomersback ended up with a 30/40 point season as well.
At the low-end, these guys ended up being fairly-productive college players with at least one great season. At the high-end, they put up really good numbers right out of the gate and ultimately became Hobey Baker-caliber players. Lessard and Kariya won the award. Comrie, Heatley, and Tambellini would have arguably been the favorite to win the award the next season had they not turned pro.
History says that you can pencil in Hyman for 10-15 goals and 30-35 points next season. This late in the game, to pull in someone who could potentially approach a point per game as a freshman is a huge, huge pickup.
Bob Miller linked out to a couple of GREAT articles. The first talks about how it seems like he's got his head on straight, actually backs it up when he talks about caring about academics, and is just a great kid. The second is a Q&A with him after he won the Player of the Year award.
There are many more links in the first article. Mark Seidel, the chief North American scout for CSS, wrote the following:
...along with being an impressive physical specimen, he showed that he could really play this year as well by putting up 75 points on a decent Tier 2 team while showing he understands the game as well as any in the draft. His dad owns my chief competitor, ISS, so it pains me to say, but this kid may become the steal of the draft
Hockey's Future (yeah, I know) mentioned that prior to juniors (when he played at a lower-level to maintain his college eligibility), Hyman was thought to be on the same level as Jeff Skinner and Tyler Seguin. If that's true, yikes.
Here's a really interesting article about his father's dealings in hockey. Baller.
Hyman was the captain of his team last season and put up 42-60--102.
Gotta love that Red Berenson snake-oil!
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Bryson Cianfrone
Question mark removed from subject line. Bob Miller confirms that he is a commit! The cynical part of me wants to follow that sentence with "...until he gets traded to an OHL team of his choosing." I'm listing him as a 2013 commit, but as MGoBlog pointed out, there's a site saying that he'll graduate in 2012, so I suppose he could end up at Michigan for the 2012-13 season as well.
It appears that may be what's on the table for Max Domi. The Pipeline Show is reporting that Domi will be dealt to London (of course) and speculates that unlikely the deal would happen if they didn't think Domi would come to play for them. That said, Norman James, one of the sports reporter from London is saying that one source has told him no, another has said yes.
Tyler King, Kingston's play-by-play man, just spoke with Doug Gilmour and said that the Domi rumors are "garbage". Time will tell.
It appears that may be what's on the table for Max Domi. The Pipeline Show is reporting that Domi will be dealt to London (of course) and speculates that unlikely the deal would happen if they didn't think Domi would come to play for them. That said, Norman James, one of the sports reporter from London is saying that one source has told him no, another has said yes.
Tyler King, Kingston's play-by-play man, just spoke with Doug Gilmour and said that the Domi rumors are "garbage". Time will tell.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Having a Seat Over There?: Bryson Cianfrone
Bryson Cianfrone of the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget team was generally thought of as a first-round draft pick in the OHL Draft. He fell to Brampton in the third round. Bob Miller says that a "very valued source" told him the drop may have been due to a Michigan commitment.
The Marlies came from behind to win the OHL Cup against Max Domi's Don Mills Flyers. Cianfrone had 5-5--10 in 7 games, including a goal in the championship game. Domi had 1-1--2 in the finals, and 5-6--11 in the tournament.
They finished the season an incredible 69-3-4 and outscored their opponents by a 338-79 clip. Cianfrone had 45-51--96 in 69 games according to a scouting report. Here's what they said about him:
Here's one of those goals, in a game against JT Compher's team:
In the draft thread at Hockeys Future, people were commenting that Cianfrone must be US-bound to fall so far. Someone mentioned he was looking at Shattuck for next year, but who knows how accurate that is.
I'm sure we'll hear shortly if the commitment is confirmed or not.
In other OHL Draft news, Max Domi went 8th to Kingston. Kingston is managed by Doug Gilmour and coached by Todd Gill, both former Tie Domi teammates. Gilmour says he spoke with Max's parents recently and their "decision is to go elsewhere right now". Of course we've seen that before with Lessio, Marcantuoni, Campbell, etc. Gilmour also called Domi an "unbelievable player". He also told a reporter that he doesn't believe Domi will come in and play for Kingston this year. Definitely a situation worth watching. I'm still not getting my hopes up.
Other than that, it seems like it was a pretty good day if you're a Michigan fan. JT Compher went in the 11th round to Saginaw, Tyler Motte (10th) and Alex Talcott (13th) both went to Sarnia, and Evan Allen went to Windsor in the 15th round. Target Gabe Guertler went to the Soo in the 6th round.
The Marlies came from behind to win the OHL Cup against Max Domi's Don Mills Flyers. Cianfrone had 5-5--10 in 7 games, including a goal in the championship game. Domi had 1-1--2 in the finals, and 5-6--11 in the tournament.
They finished the season an incredible 69-3-4 and outscored their opponents by a 338-79 clip. Cianfrone had 45-51--96 in 69 games according to a scouting report. Here's what they said about him:
Cianfrone is a smart, smaller and skilled center whoPretty much everyone at Hockey's Future has raved about him. I saw lots of people complimenting his hockey IQ. He's also the captain of the team. One scout told THN there are concerns about his size (5'10", 167), but "all he does is score".
plays a pretty effective two way game while producing offensively at a consistent
level. He is an excellent skater, displaying speed and quickness. Most
importantly, he tends to keep his feet moving at all times, preferring to and
showing the ability to play the game at a high speed. He plays a pretty intelligent
game, using his speed and quickness to support the play, getting
himself around the puck all times. He also has very good hands, showing
the ability to handle the puck and makes plays.
Here's one of those goals, in a game against JT Compher's team:
In the draft thread at Hockeys Future, people were commenting that Cianfrone must be US-bound to fall so far. Someone mentioned he was looking at Shattuck for next year, but who knows how accurate that is.
I'm sure we'll hear shortly if the commitment is confirmed or not.
In other OHL Draft news, Max Domi went 8th to Kingston. Kingston is managed by Doug Gilmour and coached by Todd Gill, both former Tie Domi teammates. Gilmour says he spoke with Max's parents recently and their "decision is to go elsewhere right now". Of course we've seen that before with Lessio, Marcantuoni, Campbell, etc. Gilmour also called Domi an "unbelievable player". He also told a reporter that he doesn't believe Domi will come in and play for Kingston this year. Definitely a situation worth watching. I'm still not getting my hopes up.
Other than that, it seems like it was a pretty good day if you're a Michigan fan. JT Compher went in the 11th round to Saginaw, Tyler Motte (10th) and Alex Talcott (13th) both went to Sarnia, and Evan Allen went to Windsor in the 15th round. Target Gabe Guertler went to the Soo in the 6th round.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Motte, Allen Lead Honeybaked to National Title
Congrats to Tyler Motte, Evan Allen, and the rest of the Detroit Honeybaked U16s, who defeated Shattuck St. Mary's 3-2 today to capture the U16 National Championship. Shattuck led 1-0 headed to the third period before Allen scored to tie the game. Shattuck regained the lead with just over 8 1/2 minutes left in regulation, but Motte scored one minute later to tie the game at two. Motte then scored the game-winning goal with 1:50 left to give Honeybaked a 3-2 win.
Motte finished the tournament with a 3-3--6 line in 6 games. He was second on the team in points.
Allen had 6-5--11 to lead the team in goals, assists, and points. His totals included a 2-1--3 line in their semifinal win and a 1-3--4 line in a 4-3 overtime win against JT Compher's Team Illinois. Motte also assisted on the GWG in that game. Compher had a goal in that contest and finished with a 2-2--4 line in 4 games.
Thanks to reader TJ for pointing out that the championship was today and that Motte had scored the game-winner.
Motte finished the tournament with a 3-3--6 line in 6 games. He was second on the team in points.
Allen had 6-5--11 to lead the team in goals, assists, and points. His totals included a 2-1--3 line in their semifinal win and a 1-3--4 line in a 4-3 overtime win against JT Compher's Team Illinois. Motte also assisted on the GWG in that game. Compher had a goal in that contest and finished with a 2-2--4 line in 4 games.
Thanks to reader TJ for pointing out that the championship was today and that Motte had scored the game-winner.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Having a Seat Over There: Evan Allen
Chris Heisenberg is reporting that Michigan has picked up a commitment from Detroit Honeybaked forward Evan Allen. (HT to @ChrisDilks) He's a February of 1995 birthday, so that probably puts him in the incoming class of 2013.
Allen is listed as 5'10", 180. He has 14-24--38 in 34 games, which is good for the team lead in points. Fellow Michigan commit Tyler Motte is second on the team with a 23-14--37 line. His total of 38 points is good for 11th in the league in scoring. Allen's 24 assists are good for 7th in the league.
Last year Allen had 14-35--49 in 31 games, which was good for first in the Bantam Major division. And actually, JT Compher was third in points, and Motte was 4th. (Allen and Compher were also 1-2 in Bantam Minor points two seasons ago.) 35 assists was ten better than anyone else in the league. The other good thing is that in 65 games over two years, Allen has taken just ten penalty minutes.
In the MAHA state tournament, Honeybaked went 6-0-0 to capture the title and Allen led the team and tournament with 5-5--10. Motte was second in both classifications with 3-5--8. They are now off to Nationals.
Allen was one of the players invited to the NTDP tryout camp.
The Scouting News (I know...) says that he has made a habit of "impressing the daylights" out of contributing sources. He is also "very agile on his skates, can turn on a dime and possesses pretty impressive acceleration."
This is old, but back in 09, he impressed USHR at the Select 14 Camp. They had him as the #3 forward, saying that he had "Great hands, good shot. All-around strong game." At Select 15s last year they didn't have him as highly ranked (13th) but said that he "does a little bit of everything. Battles. Makes plays."
Allen is listed as 5'10", 180. He has 14-24--38 in 34 games, which is good for the team lead in points. Fellow Michigan commit Tyler Motte is second on the team with a 23-14--37 line. His total of 38 points is good for 11th in the league in scoring. Allen's 24 assists are good for 7th in the league.
Last year Allen had 14-35--49 in 31 games, which was good for first in the Bantam Major division. And actually, JT Compher was third in points, and Motte was 4th. (Allen and Compher were also 1-2 in Bantam Minor points two seasons ago.) 35 assists was ten better than anyone else in the league. The other good thing is that in 65 games over two years, Allen has taken just ten penalty minutes.
In the MAHA state tournament, Honeybaked went 6-0-0 to capture the title and Allen led the team and tournament with 5-5--10. Motte was second in both classifications with 3-5--8. They are now off to Nationals.
Allen was one of the players invited to the NTDP tryout camp.
The Scouting News (I know...) says that he has made a habit of "impressing the daylights" out of contributing sources. He is also "very agile on his skates, can turn on a dime and possesses pretty impressive acceleration."
This is old, but back in 09, he impressed USHR at the Select 14 Camp. They had him as the #3 forward, saying that he had "Great hands, good shot. All-around strong game." At Select 15s last year they didn't have him as highly ranked (13th) but said that he "does a little bit of everything. Battles. Makes plays."
Thursday, March 10, 2011
CCHA Quarterfinals: BGSU Preview
Last weekend, Bowling Green went up to Northern Michigan and became the first lowest-seeded team ever to win a CCHA playoff series by upsetting the #6-seeded Wildcats. Their reward is a trip to Yost and a second-round series with the Michigan Wolverines.
NMU took a 1-0 lead in the series, but BGSU advanced after 2-0 and 2-1 (2ot) wins. In doing so, they won two games in a row for the first time since October 22nd and 23rd against Alabama-Huntsville. (They did win and then pick up a shootout win in late January.) For the regular season in the CCHA they were 3-21-4-2, so to pick up a pair of wins on the road was pretty impressive. They actually did pick up a win against Notre Dame. They also knocked off NMU and LSSU in conference.
The Falcons were far and away the last place team in the CCHA. They scored 15 points on the season. Michigan State was 10th with 35. They were also a distant last in goals scored. Their 41 in 28 games was a full 18 behind Ferris State. They were also tied for last in goals allowed with NMU.
The offense is really, really bad. They didn't score more than three goals against a team not named Alabama-Huntsville this season (though they did have 5, 4, and 5 against UAH). They scored exactly three goals on seven occasions, but it's worth pointing out that three of those were against ND and Miami. The first game of the series against NMU (a 6-3 loss) was the only time they've scored more than two goals in 2011. Since then, they've gone 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 2. That's ugly. They currently rank dead-last in offense at just 1.85 goals per game.
That said, they've been playing pretty decent defense. For a team that was last in the CCHA in goals allowed, they've only given up 28 goals in their last 12 games. That's not too bad, especially considering 11 of those were over 2 games. In the other 10 games, they've only given up 17. They're 34th in team defense at 2.92 goals per game.
They're led up front by sophomore Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who has followed up his 25 point freshman campaign with 9-12--21 in 34 games this year. Freshman Brett Mohler has 7-10--17 on the year. Nobody else has more than 6 goals or 15 points.
They've gotten absolutely nothing offensively out of their defensemen. No defender has more than nine points and their blueline as a whole has 7-23--30 (along with 1 PPG).
In net they had a time-split for a good chunk of the season, but senior Nick Eno has given way to sophomore Andrew Hammond. Eno did get in during Game 1 of the NMU series after Hammond got the hook, but Hammond played games 2 and 3 and allowed just one goal on 74 shots in helping the Falcons to advance. Despite playing 8 of his last 9 on the road, Hammond has given up just 17 goals over that stretch (and just 19 goals in his last 11). For the year, he is 6-15-3 with a 2.50/.918. He's solid, though the Wolverines did touch him up for 4 goals on 20 shots earlier in the year. For his career against Michigan he's 0-2-0 with a 4.98/.833. Eno has been better, 1-5-0 with a 2.64/.914, but I don't expect to see him this weekend unless it's in a relief role.
They're middle of the pack in penalties at 14.0 minutes per game. Their penalty kill is 29th at 81.9%, and they've had to kill off 35 more penalties than Michigan has. Their PP, as you would expect, sucks. They're 56th at 10.9%. They're -19 on special teams this season.
Michigan has won 5 in a row in the series. Caporusso has 4-7--11 in 8 career games against BGSU. Chris Brown has 5 points in 6 games. Hagelin (10 games) and Wohlberg (8 games) have identical 2-6--8 lines, and Matt Rust has scored 4 times. Shawn Hunwick won his only appearance against BGSU. He has a 1.00 goals against and a .944 save percentage.
We should do pretty well on draws this weekend. BGSU has one guy who has taken almost 500 faceoffs and has won fewer than 40%. David Solway is their top regular faceoff man at 52.2%. Out of the three guys who have taken 400+ faceoffs, only one is higher than 45% and he's at 50.2%. We're going to have the puck a lot.
Samuels-Thomas has had a fair amount of success against Michigan. He has 2-3--5 in 6 games. Solway has 5 points as well. The team as a whole has a 6-11--17 line in 140 career man-games.
The bottom line: We're much better than this team. They've had a terrible time putting the puck in the net. They were able to win a couple of games last weekend by keeping NMU off the scoreboard. Hammond is a solid goalie, but Michigan has gotten to him when they've played him, granted he's been really good in the second half of the season. Unless Hammond absolutely stands on his head, this should be a sweep and a fairly easy one if Michigan plays their game.
Sickness:
Red Berenson (Coach), Jon Merrill (Freshman, Offensive Defenseman, Defensive Defenseman), and Carl Hagelin (Player of the Year, Best Defensive Forward) were named finalists for various CCHA awards. Gotta say, that's kind of gross that Merrill is a finalist for both awards for defensemen as a freshman. Please come back for one more year. Please?
The Hunwick Snub:
Carl Hagelin was named to the All-CCHA First Team and Merrill was named to the Second Team (in addition to being on the All Rookie team). Brandon Burlon was an honorable mention. I think there are a couple of snubs there. I know Krug was the leading scorer amongst defensemen, but if a kid is named one of the three best offensive defensemen and one of the three best defensive defensemen in the conference--and only took four penalties the entire season--how is he not one of the top two defensemen in the conference? Sorry, that's a snub.
The bigger one though, in my opinion, is no postseason hardware for Shawn Hunwick. Four goalies in the CCHA got more votes than him (Nagle, Greenham, Reichard, and Kapalka). I have no problem with Nagle. I'm pretty sure I mentioned either here or on The Wolverine that I thought he would be a great choice. He got Ferris State a bye despite getting just a tick over 2 goals per game in support. He ran away with first-team honors. To be fair, the difference between Hunwick in 5th and Greenham in 2nd was 3 points.
You want to vote for Nagle, I've got no problem with it. But Cody Reichard? Come the f*** on. Hunwick had him in wins (14 to 9), goals against (1.94/2.04) and killed him in save percentage (.931 to .914). Oh, and Miami scored 11 more goals during conference play. It's not like we were winning games 5-4. Give me some rationale for picking Reichard over Hunwick. Reichard outplayed him head to head. That's it. For the course of the conference season it wasn't even close. I suspect Shawn doesn't care that much, but it's ridiculous that a guy with a 1.94/.931 for the conference champions finished 5th in the voting. That's turrable.
Having a Seat Over There: Alex Talcott
Nice find by Jason at MHNet, who has been killing it lately. Alex Talcott, a 5'11", 180 lb forward for Detroit Honeybaked has committed to Michigan, likely for the incoming class of 2013. USHR had him as the #7 forward in the Select 15 Tournament last year. There's lots of good stuff over in the linked article if you want to read more about him.
This is a couple years old, but here's what his high school coach had to say about him:
"For lack of a better word, he's a freak of nature, and in a very good way. He's mature, strong, and naturally very athletic, complemented by the fact that he's a great kid with a good work ethic who does the things that he needs to do to get better."
He has 8-13--21 in 37 games this year.
Future NTDPers?
Tyler Motte and JT Compher were invited to the NTDP evaluation camp.
Cappy's Back?
According to an article in The Wolverine, Billy Powers said that "the impression he gets" is that we could have Caporusso back for the CCHA Semifinals, should we advance past BGSU. That's great news given that the initial prognosis was 3-6 weeks, which could have knocked him out for the year.
Keep Patch in Your Thoughts:
Former Wolverine Max Pacioretty was injured on a hit by Zdeno Chara the other night. Pacioretty suffered a concussion and a broken vertebrae. You be the judge. Chara was not suspended for the hit, but did receive a five minute major and a game misconduct.
NMU took a 1-0 lead in the series, but BGSU advanced after 2-0 and 2-1 (2ot) wins. In doing so, they won two games in a row for the first time since October 22nd and 23rd against Alabama-Huntsville. (They did win and then pick up a shootout win in late January.) For the regular season in the CCHA they were 3-21-4-2, so to pick up a pair of wins on the road was pretty impressive. They actually did pick up a win against Notre Dame. They also knocked off NMU and LSSU in conference.
The Falcons were far and away the last place team in the CCHA. They scored 15 points on the season. Michigan State was 10th with 35. They were also a distant last in goals scored. Their 41 in 28 games was a full 18 behind Ferris State. They were also tied for last in goals allowed with NMU.
The offense is really, really bad. They didn't score more than three goals against a team not named Alabama-Huntsville this season (though they did have 5, 4, and 5 against UAH). They scored exactly three goals on seven occasions, but it's worth pointing out that three of those were against ND and Miami. The first game of the series against NMU (a 6-3 loss) was the only time they've scored more than two goals in 2011. Since then, they've gone 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 2. That's ugly. They currently rank dead-last in offense at just 1.85 goals per game.
That said, they've been playing pretty decent defense. For a team that was last in the CCHA in goals allowed, they've only given up 28 goals in their last 12 games. That's not too bad, especially considering 11 of those were over 2 games. In the other 10 games, they've only given up 17. They're 34th in team defense at 2.92 goals per game.
They're led up front by sophomore Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who has followed up his 25 point freshman campaign with 9-12--21 in 34 games this year. Freshman Brett Mohler has 7-10--17 on the year. Nobody else has more than 6 goals or 15 points.
They've gotten absolutely nothing offensively out of their defensemen. No defender has more than nine points and their blueline as a whole has 7-23--30 (along with 1 PPG).
In net they had a time-split for a good chunk of the season, but senior Nick Eno has given way to sophomore Andrew Hammond. Eno did get in during Game 1 of the NMU series after Hammond got the hook, but Hammond played games 2 and 3 and allowed just one goal on 74 shots in helping the Falcons to advance. Despite playing 8 of his last 9 on the road, Hammond has given up just 17 goals over that stretch (and just 19 goals in his last 11). For the year, he is 6-15-3 with a 2.50/.918. He's solid, though the Wolverines did touch him up for 4 goals on 20 shots earlier in the year. For his career against Michigan he's 0-2-0 with a 4.98/.833. Eno has been better, 1-5-0 with a 2.64/.914, but I don't expect to see him this weekend unless it's in a relief role.
They're middle of the pack in penalties at 14.0 minutes per game. Their penalty kill is 29th at 81.9%, and they've had to kill off 35 more penalties than Michigan has. Their PP, as you would expect, sucks. They're 56th at 10.9%. They're -19 on special teams this season.
Michigan has won 5 in a row in the series. Caporusso has 4-7--11 in 8 career games against BGSU. Chris Brown has 5 points in 6 games. Hagelin (10 games) and Wohlberg (8 games) have identical 2-6--8 lines, and Matt Rust has scored 4 times. Shawn Hunwick won his only appearance against BGSU. He has a 1.00 goals against and a .944 save percentage.
We should do pretty well on draws this weekend. BGSU has one guy who has taken almost 500 faceoffs and has won fewer than 40%. David Solway is their top regular faceoff man at 52.2%. Out of the three guys who have taken 400+ faceoffs, only one is higher than 45% and he's at 50.2%. We're going to have the puck a lot.
Samuels-Thomas has had a fair amount of success against Michigan. He has 2-3--5 in 6 games. Solway has 5 points as well. The team as a whole has a 6-11--17 line in 140 career man-games.
The bottom line: We're much better than this team. They've had a terrible time putting the puck in the net. They were able to win a couple of games last weekend by keeping NMU off the scoreboard. Hammond is a solid goalie, but Michigan has gotten to him when they've played him, granted he's been really good in the second half of the season. Unless Hammond absolutely stands on his head, this should be a sweep and a fairly easy one if Michigan plays their game.
Sickness:
Red Berenson (Coach), Jon Merrill (Freshman, Offensive Defenseman, Defensive Defenseman), and Carl Hagelin (Player of the Year, Best Defensive Forward) were named finalists for various CCHA awards. Gotta say, that's kind of gross that Merrill is a finalist for both awards for defensemen as a freshman. Please come back for one more year. Please?
The Hunwick Snub:
Carl Hagelin was named to the All-CCHA First Team and Merrill was named to the Second Team (in addition to being on the All Rookie team). Brandon Burlon was an honorable mention. I think there are a couple of snubs there. I know Krug was the leading scorer amongst defensemen, but if a kid is named one of the three best offensive defensemen and one of the three best defensive defensemen in the conference--and only took four penalties the entire season--how is he not one of the top two defensemen in the conference? Sorry, that's a snub.
The bigger one though, in my opinion, is no postseason hardware for Shawn Hunwick. Four goalies in the CCHA got more votes than him (Nagle, Greenham, Reichard, and Kapalka). I have no problem with Nagle. I'm pretty sure I mentioned either here or on The Wolverine that I thought he would be a great choice. He got Ferris State a bye despite getting just a tick over 2 goals per game in support. He ran away with first-team honors. To be fair, the difference between Hunwick in 5th and Greenham in 2nd was 3 points.
You want to vote for Nagle, I've got no problem with it. But Cody Reichard? Come the f*** on. Hunwick had him in wins (14 to 9), goals against (1.94/2.04) and killed him in save percentage (.931 to .914). Oh, and Miami scored 11 more goals during conference play. It's not like we were winning games 5-4. Give me some rationale for picking Reichard over Hunwick. Reichard outplayed him head to head. That's it. For the course of the conference season it wasn't even close. I suspect Shawn doesn't care that much, but it's ridiculous that a guy with a 1.94/.931 for the conference champions finished 5th in the voting. That's turrable.
Having a Seat Over There: Alex Talcott
Nice find by Jason at MHNet, who has been killing it lately. Alex Talcott, a 5'11", 180 lb forward for Detroit Honeybaked has committed to Michigan, likely for the incoming class of 2013. USHR had him as the #7 forward in the Select 15 Tournament last year. There's lots of good stuff over in the linked article if you want to read more about him.
This is a couple years old, but here's what his high school coach had to say about him:
"For lack of a better word, he's a freak of nature, and in a very good way. He's mature, strong, and naturally very athletic, complemented by the fact that he's a great kid with a good work ethic who does the things that he needs to do to get better."
He has 8-13--21 in 37 games this year.
Future NTDPers?
Tyler Motte and JT Compher were invited to the NTDP evaluation camp.
Cappy's Back?
According to an article in The Wolverine, Billy Powers said that "the impression he gets" is that we could have Caporusso back for the CCHA Semifinals, should we advance past BGSU. That's great news given that the initial prognosis was 3-6 weeks, which could have knocked him out for the year.
Keep Patch in Your Thoughts:
Former Wolverine Max Pacioretty was injured on a hit by Zdeno Chara the other night. Pacioretty suffered a concussion and a broken vertebrae. You be the judge. Chara was not suspended for the hit, but did receive a five minute major and a game misconduct.
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