Revisiting The Class of 2004

Remember last summer? All the hype surrounding guys like Zajac and Statsny. For all the effort that people put into rating these guys, once they step on the ice, people seem to forget about these all-important recruiting lists. Maybe because it’s so painful to think that at one time, people thought the likes of Barry Tallackson would be the next big thing in college hockey. Anyway, I’m here to look at who the early winners in last years recruiting really were. Since I didn’t try to rank the recruits last year, I’ll get a free pass this year and instead use www.insidecollegehockey.com ‘s rankings by position. First up: The Forwards.

Here is how I rank each freshmen forward from last year based on performance, with their pre-season ranking in parenthesis.

1. Bill Thomas- Nebraska-Omaha (17)- One of the most talented players I saw all year. Very big, a good skater, and great hands. I couldn’t think of a more perfect player to build a team around. One Omaha fan said it best when he asked, “How did we get this guy to come here?”

2. Joe Pavelski- Wisconsin (14)- The easy pick would be the higher scoring Paul Statsny, but it’s easy to play well for a good team. Pavelski was one of only three Badgers that was still playing by the end of the season.

3. Paul Statsny- Denver (4)- Lived up to the hype and then some. Not only was the leading WCHA rookie scorer, he was tremendous on the defensive end of the ice. All-around great player.

4. Tom Fritsche- Ohio State (19)- Not exactly a sniper this season, but 40,000 assists can’t be wrong. He put Ohio State into the top tier of the CCHA with Michigan rather than fighting it out with the second-tier of the league.

5. Travis Zajac- North Dakota (1)- Only 20 goals with nearly as many assists to match. Talk about slowly heading towards bust territory. Another extremely talented brick in North Dakota’s offensive wall.

6. Chad Kolarik- Michigan (16)- Yes, almost half his points came off of Michigan’s powerplay, Kolarik looked much more like the 17 year old Chad Kolarik than the 18 year old Chad Kolarik. Michigan will need that offensive flair next year when goals will be a little harder to come by.

7. Ryan Carter- Minnesota State-Mankato (NR)- One of the most dynamic freshmen in college hockey this year. A big guy that can skate well and do just about anything coach Troy Jutting could ask. He takes faceoffs, runs the point on the powerplay, kills penalty, scores goals, hits people, whatever. One of the most underrated players in college hockey this year.

8. Johnathan Matsumoto- Bowling Green (13)- He came in with heavy hype and the tough task of carrying an offensively stagnate Bowling Green team. He lived up to the hype, leading his team in scoring.

9. Mike Santorelli- Northern Michigan (NR)- Spirko might have been the more obvious choice here, but Santorelli meant more to his team, by becoming Northern’s top threat on the powerplay, and a viable option for Dirk Southern and Darin Olver to pass to.

10. Rastislav Spirko- North Dakota (5)- Quietly had a very good season, though is numbers were buoyed a bit by two outstanding weekends.

11.Kyle Greentree- Alaska-Fairbanks (NR)- There’s always questions when an older player tears up his junior league, but Greentree was able to bring that scoring touch to Alaska this year, leading the Nanooks in scoring.

12. Kevin Porter- Michigan (8)- Perhaps not the best numbers last season, but like Carter, his value lies in all of the little things that he can do. He’s extremely valuable at both ends of the ice.

13. Bryan Marshall- Nebraska-Omaha(NR) Great numbers and helped give Omaha the second scoring line they needed to make a huge jump in the standings.

14. Domenic Maiani- Ohio State (NR)- Solid playmaking center. Ohio State trusted him in critical situations throughout the year.

15. Nathan Davis- Miami (18)- 4 shorties made him a PK specialist. He had a solid season for the RedHawks.

16. Ryan McLeod- Alaska-Fairbanks (NR)- I’m surprised too. A hot stretch in the playoffs including 2 goals in 13(!) seconds against Bowling Green helped him finish up with great numbers. If continues the way he ended last season, he could be a surprise player to watch.

17. Kris Chucko- Minnesota (7)- One year definitely isn’t enough to judge Chucko. He should get better given a year or two more to develop, but he wasn’t that impressive this year. He was the weak link of the Potulny/Irmen line and his season highlights were illegally kicking in an OT goal and not being the guy that ran through a net.

18. Jimmy Kilpatrick- Colorado College (NR)- He was overshadowed by Sertich and Sterling, but had a very nice freshmen season, and showed the potential to develop into a very good player.

19. Brandon Scero- Nebraska-Omaha (NR)- After being dropped by Ohio State, Scero had an excellent season with Omaha.

20. Mike Howe- Minnesota (10)- Didn’t live up to his potential for most of the season until he got some health problems corrected, but showed a ton of promise once that was fixed.