Recruiting News

On Friday, reader Kenny Milz sent me
this article from the Wisconsin State Journal. The article talks about Wisconsin freshman Ben Street and his good start in Madison. Later on in the article, it mentions his friend and future teammate Kyle Turris, one of the top players for the class of 2007.

Also, the article talks about Wisconsin's recruiting situation. The Badgers have one full scholarship left for next year's class. In all liklihood, that scholarship will go to BCHL forward Brian Lebler. The other two players mentioned are Kris Fredheim, who is also considering Colorado College and Maine, and Jim O'Brien, who is currently the number two ranked uncommitted forward on the WCH 2007 Recruiting Board.

The article mentions O'Brien's scholarship offer being for next season, and there are rumors that he will be acclerating his education so that he can graduate from high school next summer. This would create an interesting scenario as to where O'Brien would go to college. Wisconsin is listed as one of the teams he might play for, but they may not have room if they give their last scholarship to Lebler. Michigan is the other school mentioned, but Michigan recruiting Bob Miller has basically said that's next to impossible. The other logical choice would be Minnesota, but they may not have room for O'Brien either. In that case, O'Brien would either have to choose somewhere else, or spend a year in the USHL playing hockey. In any case, it will be an interesting situation to follow.

Speaking of the Gophers scholarship situation, Thief River Falls forward Mike Forney made his official visit to Minnesota last weekend, and he was apparently offered a scholarship for next season. North Dakota has also offered him a scholarship, but for 2007-2008, and would probably only have a scholarship for him next year if a player like Drew Stafford, Travis Zajac, or one of their early round draft picks from this past summer decided to leave school early.

Finally, at the Team Illinios won the Autumn Invitational Midget Major Tournament this past weekend, and 2007 Recruiting Board prospect Ryan Santana was named tournament MVP after tallying 7 goals and 4 assists. You can check out the tournament's scoring leaders, as it should have some names that will become pretty well known in the next few years. Some names of note on the list include Justin Florek, who is currently the top committed prospect for 2008, who had 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. Dan Durham, a 2007 prospect, had 3 goals and 2 assists in 6 games.