Minnesota added two star players to their 2007 recruiting class when they got commitments from defenseman Cade Fairchild and forward Mike Hoeffel.
Fairchild plays defense for the NTDP and was ranked as the top uncommitted defenseman on the 2007 prospects board. It was generally thought that it was just a matter of time until Fairchild became a Gopher.
Hoeffel is playing for Hill-Murray High School this season. He is a big, talented forward that is similiar to Minnesota State, Mankato's David Backes. He was ranked as the 4th best uncommitted forward for 2007.
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7 comments:
4th best? Top uncommitted recruit? You think you are Mel Kiper or something? I didn't know that reading press clippings or seeing a kid play once suddenly made people a talent scout that can rate players.
why not, the nhl does it all the time. if you don't believe it review the names of the past drafts and the current prospects lists. Most of them are invisible stiffs when you watch them play they just have good agents (opps I mean advisors) to spin them...
I've never made any claims about my qualifications for this. If you don't like my opinion, don't bother reading.
Just find the fact that you think you can accurately rank guys with so little personal observation involved a bit ironic. You must be like Hobart. You can rank them from afar. Apparently some Michigan fans can rate them that way. I guess that is why Michigan has the #1 rated class for eternity.
Apparently no one is entitled to their own opinion these days, and of course, all some people can do is bitch about it even though they offer no valueable input in return. Chris never said he's an expert, he's never said he's seen them all play, or anything. He's just ranking them from those he's seen, what he's heard/read about them, and so forth. No different than anything USCHO or INCH probably does in their recruiting previews, and I think to some extent even Heisenberg's recruiting website he lists players at the bottom usually trying to list them by potential based on what he knows, but I'm sure he's never seen half of those kids play. If you don't like what Chris writes, put out your own list, or give us your genius input why his ranking is too high/low.
The point is that it would be better to just report things about recruits and end it there as opposed to giving uneducated comments about where some player "ranks". Particularly when you probably haven't even seen most of these guys play.
The previous writer can now feel free to rant like a baby again if the point still hasn't sunk in.
Maize - great blog and good information. I particularly like the humor that is missing from most College Hockey blogs/sites. While I am not in fact the previous writer, for those out there who have such a thin skin that they can't bear to see a player ranked higher or lower than they expect -- "lighten up Francis." Everyone has the right to an opinion and at least Maize makes a serious attempt to keep up with the players. If he makes a ranking based on what he has heard or read, I can live with it because his sources are actively involved in discussing/watching College Hockey. I am fortunate enough to take in about as many high school and college games as anyone in MN, but I haven't seen USNTDP play this year. That said, based on my experience seeing the program over the years, and based on the buzz from friends who have seen them play, I am certain that Erik Johnson will be an outstanding player for the Gophers. Is he top 5?, top 10? -- I don't know, but I can go on with my life whether someone ranks him #1 or #50. BTW, to writer who suggests it would be better to simply "report" about the recruits -- buy a newspaper. People read blogs to get the blogger's opinion (whether it is educated or not) in addition to the information.
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