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Jake just announced on twitter he has committed to SCSU

Congrats to Jake! I wonder where Brandon will end up now

Good stuff. I hope he continues to perform at a high level.

Even if he doesn't end up being the Huskies' best player, it's nice to see high profile kids choosing SCSU!

Great pickup by St. Cloud. I think he will have a huge college career from a offensive perspective.

Kid has been a heck of an athlete on the ice to watch since he's about 9 or 10...hopefully he'll have a great career at SCSU and who knows what the future after that may hold. Since I'm inclined to dislike White Bear by nature of my zip code..this is like a Red Sox fan giving respect to Jeter...you hate em' and love em' at the same time

Is he playing juniors next fall, or playing his senior year at WBL?

inthetwine wrote:Is he playing juniors next fall, or playing his senior year at WBL?

Juniors

Too bad he isnt staying his senior year, followed by a year of Jr's.
It would give time to build his smaller frame up a bit......and break WBL's state tourney curse.

Vinny Litierri was a kid who should have done the same. Wasted a year as a Gopher

mnpuckster wrote:Too bad he isnt staying his senior year, followed by a year of Jr's.
It would give time to build his smaller frame up a bit......and break WBL's state tourney curse.

As highly touted as he is, he may actually play two years of juniors. That's in his own words as quoted in the St. Cloud Times article.

I know that probably doesn't make WBL fans happy, but it gives Jake the best chance at playing for SCSU as a true freshman. SCSU (and likely other Minnesota schools) weren't willing to take him without some time in juniors. That's true for most MN recruits in this day and age. It makes the decision to leave HS early a bit more justifiable if they have a scholarship offer in hand.

I think Kyle Rau was the last straight from HS player at any D1 Minnesota school, but I'll have to look that up.

EDIT: Never mind. Jake Bischoff.

mnpuckster wrote:Vinny Litierri was a kid who should have done the same. Wasted a year as a Gopher

The kid was in the lineup just about every night and helped his team to the championship game. I'm not sure there is any regret there. It wasn't like he was sitting in the stands most nights.

I thought Lettieri was good too but the Gophers were still young which has been an issue for them. In the losses against Mankato last year and Union this year it showed. Probably other games as well. Average age of roster. Fasching, Lettieri, Guertler, Cammarata, Bischoff and Brodzinski all true freshmen. Obviously all solid players but name another team in the country that brought in 6 true freshmen. That's why Union has 24 and 25 year old players. Another year of strengthening, like Kloos had in Waterloo, would have helped all of them play at a higher level longer.

My guess is Don is pressured by parents to bring them in as true freshmen. Seems like bragging rights at the highest level. Even his own son at Notre Dame last year. Certainly didn't embarrass himself but a year of maturity would have only helped.

observer wrote:I thought Lettieri was good too but the Gophers were still young which has been an issue for them. In the losses against Mankato last year and Union this year it showed. Probably other games as well. Average age of roster. Fasching, Lettieri, Guertler, Cammarata, Bischoff and Brodzinski all true freshmen. Obviously all solid players but name another team in the country that brought in 6 true freshmen. That's why Union has 24 and 25 year old players. Another year of strengthening, like Kloos had in Waterloo, would have helped all of them player at a higher level longer.

My guess is Don is pressured by parents to bring them in as true freshmen. Seems like bragging rights at the highest level. Even his own son at Notre Dame last year. Certainly didn't embarrass himself but a year of maturity would have only helped.

Agreed.

Rush, rush, rush..............must get to next level asap........must not enjoy things now...........must not be patient..............


All in the name of "development", or at least, that's the most common excuse used.

I swear, at times, it seems like kids in hockey these days are to be treated like a farm commodity crop.

puckbreath wrote:I swear, at times, it seems like kids in hockey these days are to be treated like a farm commodity crop.

College hockey, major juniors, and high level hockey in general is all just a business. Hockey players are a commodity from the perspective of a hockey business.

The Exiled One wrote:

mnpuckster wrote:Too bad he isnt staying his senior year, followed by a year of Jr's.
It would give time to build his smaller frame up a bit......and break WBL's state tourney curse.

As highly touted as he is, he may actually play two years of juniors. That's in his own words as quoted in the St. Cloud Times article.

I know that probably doesn't make WBL fans happy, but it gives Jake the best chance at playing for SCSU as a true freshman. SCSU (and likely other Minnesota schools) weren't willing to take him without some time in juniors. That's true for most MN recruits in this day and age. It makes the decision to leave HS early a bit more justifiable if they have a scholarship offer in hand.

I think Kyle Rau was the last straight from HS player at any D1 Minnesota school, but I'll have to look that up.

EDIT: Never mind. Jake Bischoff.

Besse went in as a true freshman straight out of HS to Wisconsin.

Letieri played a year of Juniors in Lincoln last year too (would have been his Sr year in HS)...and he was highly productive offensively. Not like he went straight from Minnetonka to the U. He is a really good player and would have liked to see him get some more mins last year up on Kloos line.

The Exiled One wrote:

puckbreath wrote:I swear, at times, it seems like kids in hockey these days are to be treated like a farm commodity crop.

College hockey, major juniors, and high level hockey in general is all just a business. Hockey players are a commodity from the perspective of a hockey business.

Yeah, I know.

My comments were about how it takes place at the hs level too it seems.

observer wrote:I thought Lettieri was good too but the Gophers were still young which has been an issue for them. In the losses against Mankato last year and Union this year it showed.

I'm I the only person that thinks the Gophers didn't really have many issues last year? They were one of the top teams all season long and made it to the championship game where they lost to a team that was also great all season long. I understand that motivated people will always look for opportunities for improvement, but they really can't do much better than their current formula.

Change for the sake of change is not necessarily a good thing, though every year will be different whether it's desired or not desired. Odds are very good that the Gophers will NOT make the championship game next season, and no amount of foresight and planning can guarantee a return trip to the championship game. Therefore, the best strategy at this point is probably to just stay the course.

observer wrote:My guess is Don is pressured by parents to bring them in as true freshmen. Seems like bragging rights at the highest level. Even his own son at Notre Dame last year. Certainly didn't embarrass himself but a year of maturity would have only helped.

Parents may try to apply pressure, but I don't think Lucia pays any mind to it. His major considerations are weighing benefit-to-the-team against risk-of-losing-recruit. If the kid is talented enough to contribute as a true freshman, he brings them in based on room and scholarship allocation. If not, he asks them to play in juniors. In such a situation, odds are good that the kid won't have better options, so he'll agree.

Actually, the scenarios above are true for most colleges, just that the Gophers tend to have more talented, hence younger players. The same goes for BC, Michigan, and UND to an extent. Since all these teams tend to do pretty well year-to-year, I don't think it's in their best interest to overhaul their recruiting strategies.

Sats81 wrote:Besse went in as a true freshman straight out of HS to Wisconsin.

I know.

The Exiled One wrote:...the last straight from HS player at any D1 Minnesota school, but I'll have to look that up.

There were a few to other schools as well, but I figured I'd focus on the Minnesota schools because that would be a more "ideal" path for a Minnesota kid. Likely, any HS kid with a scholarship offer to Minnesota, SCSU, Mankato, or Duluth could probably go straight from high school to a D1 school somewhere out of state (though I admit that it's an achievement to be able to do that at Wisconsin).

puckbreath wrote:
Agreed.

Rush, rush, rush..............must get to next level asap........must not enjoy things now...........must not be patient..............


All in the name of "development", or at least, that's the most common excuse used.

I swear, at times, it seems like kids in hockey these days are to be treated like a farm commodity crop.

And what is the WBL hockey team/community going to treat Wahlin like when he doesn't play for their benefit anymore?

The Exiled One wrote:

Sats81 wrote:Besse went in as a true freshman straight out of HS to Wisconsin.

I know.

The Exiled One wrote:...the last straight from HS player at any D1 Minnesota school, but I'll have to look that up.

There were a few to other schools as well, but I figured I'd focus on the Minnesota schools because that would be a more "ideal" path for a Minnesota kid. Likely, any HS kid with a scholarship offer to Minnesota, SCSU, Mankato, or Duluth could probably go straight from high school to a D1 school somewhere out of state (though I admit that it's an achievement to be able to do that at Wisconsin).

My bad, I missed that.

observer wrote:Fasching, Lettieri, Guertler, Cammarata, Bischoff and Brodzinski all true freshmen. Obviously all solid players but name another team in the country that brought in 6 true freshmen. That's why Union has 24 and 25 year old players. Another year of strengthening, like Kloos had in Waterloo, would have helped all of them player at a higher level longer.

Frankly, the young guys were some of the best players in that Union game. Hell, 3 of the 4 goals the Gophers scored in that game were by players you named above. It wasn't the youth that lost them that game.

Other than Bischoff, all of the names you mentioned were very productive players in the best college hockey feeder league (USHL) that there is (although Fasching being a part of the NTDP is a tad different).

Cammy, Lettieri, and Guertler were all near or above the 30 goal mark and over the 50 pts. mark in the USHL in 2012-2013 (way above in Cammy's case). You don't usually delay those types of players another year unless your depth chart warrants it. Fasching had the size/strength to handle what came his way and he proved it this season.

From a defensive perspective, Brodzinski was the leading D goal scorer in the USHL in 2012-2013 (over 30 pts as well) and was the leading D in +/- on his team. All USHL rookie team. Once again, you rarely delay players that produce like that.

Bischoff was actually the surprise player for me. I expected him to struggle more but he actually handled himself pretty well.

Let's be real... technically, ALL players would probably benefit from playing an extra year in juniors. But that doesn't mean that some of them aren't ready to make that next step.

My guess is Don is pressured by parents to bring them in as true freshmen.

No offense... but if you think the tail wags the dog in Gopher hockey, you don't know very much.

Sounds like we agree. Back to Jake!