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Tommy Novak committed to the Gophers per his twitter account

Congrats to him.

Good get by the Gophers, he'll look good in maroon and gold.

Congrats to Tommy AND the Gophs!

thestickler07 wrote:Congrats to him.

Good get by the Gophers, he'll look good in maroon and gold.

OMG!!! It's me and thestickler -agreeing? Slap me!

Great get for the Gophers. Very talented, has a knack for putting the puck in the net. I thought he was the best player in the state tournament.

Can't wait to watch the huskies knock him around in a few years

Awesome for Tommy.

"Now if we can just get him to go to the USHL next year"...Section 3AA

Just curious. what were his stats at CDH the past couple of years? I've only seem him play twice ('12 Championship, and '11 vs HM) and what stood out to me was the fact that he never passed (or even looked to pass). Great shot, stick handling, and skating. But, then again, Jake Hanson didn't pass much in High School either, and he obviously developed it in the USHL and at the Gopher's.

Great hockey player with a very special skill set. Gophers should be very happy to get him after missing on Gersich.

BodyShots wrote:Just curious. what were his stats at CDH the past couple of years? I've only seem him play twice ('12 Championship, and '11 vs HM) and what stood out to me was the fact that he never passed (or even looked to pass). Great shot, stick handling, and skating. But, then again, Jake Hanson didn't pass much in High School either, and he obviously developed it in the USHL and at the Gopher's.

It was STA not CDH. I don't know (other than on the Hub) but he was at the top of his team in points with 47 (25g, 22a) as a Soph!!

He is a puck possession player with a ton of skill and not a pass first kind of style (and it works for him). He did tie the team lead for assists with 22 which tells me that he can make a play of two for someone else.

We will have to follow his progress in Ann Arbor for the next two years but I'm sure he will develop into another phenomenal player for the Gophers. Best of luck to the kid!!

So the assumption is that Novak will go to Michigan? Why not follow Besse footsteps and stay?

Bonehead wrote:OMG!!! It's me and thestickler -agreeing? Slap me!

If you like the Gophers you won't mind me on that front.

If you're a fan of JBSU or dUMD I'll probably get further under your skin.

puckster15 wrote:So the assumption is that Novak will go to Michigan? Why not follow Besse footsteps and stay?

Well, he accepted the invitation to evaluation camp, and it seems at least possible that a)he'd be offered a spot and b) he'd accept it and go.

Which is kind of a shame, speaking selfishly. It would have been fun to watch him play two more years of MN high school hockey.

Maybe the lure of a AA state ship would keep him around? Doubt it though.

Shinbone_News wrote:

puckster15 wrote:So the assumption is that Novak will go to Michigan? Why not follow Besse footsteps and stay?

Well, he accepted the invitation to evaluation camp, and it seems at least possible that a)he'd be offered a spot and b) he'd accept it and go.

Which is kind of a shame, speaking selfishly. It would have been fun to watch him play two more years of MN high school hockey.

Maybe the lure of a AA state ship would keep him around? Doubt it though.

It would be great to see him stay.

What would you do? Stay in MN and play for the most hated team in MSHSL history and be ripped apart every day...or play for your Country?! I don't have any personal knowledge but I would assume that he would play in Michigan next year.

oldschoolpuckster wrote:

BodyShots wrote:Just curious. what were his stats at CDH the past couple of years? I've only seem him play twice ('12 Championship, and '11 vs HM) and what stood out to me was the fact that he never passed (or even looked to pass). Great shot, stick handling, and skating. But, then again, Jake Hanson didn't pass much in High School either, and he obviously developed it in the USHL and at the Gopher's.

It was STA not CDH. I don't know (other than on the Hub) but he was at the top of his team in points with 47 (25g, 22a) as a Soph!!

He is a puck possession player with a ton of skill and not a pass first kind of style (and it works for him). He did tie the team lead for assists with 22 which tells me that he can make a play of two for someone else.

We will have to follow his progress in Ann Arbor for the next two years but I'm sure he will develop into another phenomenal player for the Gophers. Best of luck to the kid!!

Never pass?

He was by far the best passer on the team. He passed all the time. He has some amazing sense of where his teammates are on the ice and got them the puck at the most opportune times often.
Not really sure how anyone could say a guy who led his team in assists, and ended up finishing the season with more assists than goals (28-29-57), doesn't pass.

He clearly likes to score and is good at it, but he is one of the most selfless, good players I have seen. Getting the puck in the net is most important, not who scores the goal.

oldschoolpuckster wrote:

Shinbone_News wrote:

puckster15 wrote:So the assumption is that Novak will go to Michigan? Why not follow Besse footsteps and stay?

Well, he accepted the invitation to evaluation camp, and it seems at least possible that a)he'd be offered a spot and b) he'd accept it and go.

Which is kind of a shame, speaking selfishly. It would have been fun to watch him play two more years of MN high school hockey.

Maybe the lure of a AA state ship would keep him around? Doubt it though.

It would be great to see him stay.

What would you do? Stay in MN and play for the most hated team in MSHSL history and be ripped apart every day...or play for your Country?! I don't have any personal knowledge but I would assume that he would play in Michigan next year.

Don't overlook Conner Hurley here!

HShockeywatcher wrote:

oldschoolpuckster wrote:

BodyShots wrote:Just curious. what were his stats at CDH the past couple of years? I've only seem him play twice ('12 Championship, and '11 vs HM) and what stood out to me was the fact that he never passed (or even looked to pass). Great shot, stick handling, and skating. But, then again, Jake Hanson didn't pass much in High School either, and he obviously developed it in the USHL and at the Gopher's.

It was STA not CDH. I don't know (other than on the Hub) but he was at the top of his team in points with 47 (25g, 22a) as a Soph!!

He is a puck possession player with a ton of skill and not a pass first kind of style (and it works for him). He did tie the team lead for assists with 22 which tells me that he can make a play of two for someone else.

We will have to follow his progress in Ann Arbor for the next two years but I'm sure he will develop into another phenomenal player for the Gophers. Best of luck to the kid!!

Never pass?

He was by far the best passer on the team. He passed all the time. He has some amazing sense of where his teammates are on the ice and got them the puck at the most opportune times often.
Not really sure how anyone could say a guy who led his team in assists, and ended up finishing the season with more assists than goals (28-29-57), doesn't pass.

He clearly likes to score and is good at it, but he is one of the most selfless, good players I have seen. Getting the puck in the net is most important, not who scores the goal.

Well said. If a great passer sets up a non finisher neither gets a point.
If an average passer sets up a great finisher both get a point. Never undervalue a great finisher.

WarmUpTheBus wrote:Never undervalue a great finisher.

Yep, the WCHA is full of great passers. But most of the great finishers don't play all four years.

"St. Thomas Academy hockey coaches say sophomore Gophers commit Tommy Novak will be a Cadet next season" -David La Vaque of the Star Tribune, via Twitter.

Mich is a long way from home Mn kids have plenty of hockey here !!!

Congratulations to young Mr. Novak, quite a honor and accomplisment! Such a talent and will be fun to watch his progress in the future. I'm still recovering from the dagger he put in my heart a week ago. Good luck young man!

Good job kid! A real pleassure watching you in the State Tournament the last couple years. Love to see you in the AA event as well ... or the NTDP ... good luck which ever way you go and can't wait to see you in Maroon & Gold!

Well he is from River falls Wisconsin, so Michigan isn't quite as far for him.