I've seen a lot of interest from various people for a star rating system like the one used by the big football and basketball recruiting sites like Rivals.com or Scout.com. and I think it's a pretty good idea since it gives people at least a working knowledge on incoming players at a quick glance.
So I've started with a list of the first 120 players to commit to CCHA or WCHA teams for next year.(Let me know if I happened to miss anyone.) I'll be adding to it if any new players commit between now and next August. The list itself is pretty simple. I started with the 5 star players and worked down to the two star players. Five stars means I think the player will be a great college hockey player. Four stars means a very good player. Three stars means pretty good to average. Two stars means not expected to make much of an impact. I'm just basing this on immediate impact to college hockey, since some of these players may only stay a year or two. The players aren't necessarily ranked. I kind of tried to rank them, but by the time you get about halfway down, it's just too hard to compare players and they're mostly just thrown on there.
Here's a breakdown of how it worked out:
4 Five Star Players
36 Four Star Players
64 Three Star Players
16 Two Star Players
Without further ado, here's a look at the list...
1. Erik Johnson, Defenseman, Minnesota *****
2. Kyle Okposo, Forward, Minnesota *****
3. Joe Palmer, Goalie, Ohio State *****
4. Bill Sweatt, Forward, Colorado College *****
5. Nigel Williams, Defenseman, Wisconsin ****
6. Trevor Lewis, Forward, Michigan ****
7. Matt Butcher, Forward, Northern Michigan ****
8. Michael Carman, Forward, Minnesota ****
9. Michael Forney, Forward, North Dakota ****
10. Andreas Nodl, Forward, St. Cloud State ****
11. Matt Glasser, Forward, Denver ****
12. Kris Fredheim, Defenseman, Colorado College ****
13. Ryan Turek, Forward/Defenseman, Michigan State ****
14. Jim O’Brien, Forward, Minnesota ****
15. Rhett Rhakshani, Forward, Denver ****
16. Blake Geoffrion, Forward, Wisconsin ****
17. Michael Ratchuk, Defenseman, Michigan State ****
18. Steve Kampfer, Defenseman, Michigan ****
19. Erik Felde, Defenseman, Alaska-Anchorage ****
20. Ryan Flynn, Forward, Minnesota ****
21. Eddie del Grosso, Defenseman, Nebraska-Omaha ****
22. Kael Mouillierat, Forward, Minnesota State, Mankato ****
23. Cody Brookwell, Defenseman, Denver ****
24. Josh Lunden, Forward, Alaska-Anchorage ****
25. Jeremie Dupont, Goalie, Nebraska-Omaha ****
26. Kevin Montgomery, Defenseman, Ohio State ****
27. Johan Ryno, Forward, Minnesota State, Mankato ****
28. Darcy Zajac, Forward, North Dakota ****
29. Ryan Lasch, Forward, St. Cloud State ****
30. Brandon Campos, Forward, Alaska-Fairbanks ****
31. Alex Stalock, Goalie, Minnesota-Duluth ****
32. Phil Axtell, Forward, Michigan Tech ****
33. Kai Kantola, Forward, Bowling Green ****
34. Drew Dobson, Defenseman, Michigan Tech ****
35. Jake Marto, Defenseman, North Dakota ****
36. Kyle Lawson, Defenseman, Notre Dame ****
37. Trent Palm, Defenseman, Minnesota-Duluth ****
38. Tony Lucia, Forward, Minnesota ****
39. TJ Millier, Defenseman, Northern Michigan ****
40. Cody Danberg, Forward, Minnesota-Duluth ****
41. Chris Summers, Defenseman, Michigan ***
42. Zach Bearson, Forward, Wisconsin ***
43. Simon Grysbers, Forward, Lake Superior ***
44. David Fischer, Defenseman, Minnesota ***
45. James Perkin, Forward, Bowling Green ***
46. Brian Gifford, Forward, Denver ***
47. Dan Quilico, Forward, Colorado College ***
48. Jacob Cepis, Forward, Bowling Green ***
49. Brian Lebler, Forward, Michigan ***
50. Craig Gaudet, Defenseman, St. Cloud State ***
51. Jamie McBain, Defenseman, Wisconsin ***
52. Jon Ammerman, Defenseman, St. Cloud State ***
53. Ryan Thang, Forward, Notre Dame ***
54. Chris Vandevelde, Forward, North Dakota ***
55. Todd McIlrath, Forward, Bowling Green ***
56. Mark Letestu, Forward, Western Michigan ***
57. Jared Hummel, Defenseman, St. Cloud State
58. Andrew Rowe, Forward, Michigan State ***
59. David Grun, Forward, Minnesota-Duluth ***
60. Jay Sprague, Forward, Michigan State ***
61. Ken Selby, Forward, Alaska-Anchorage ***
62. Nate Prosser, Defenseman, Colorado College ***
63. Mark Olver, Forward, Northern Michigan ***
64. Brian Connelly, Defenseman, Colorado College ***
65. Jeff Young, Forward, Alaska-Fairbanks ***
66. Geoff Irwin, Forward, Minnesota State ***
67. Jordan Fulton, Forward, Minnesota-Duluth ***
68. Garrett Suter, Defenseman, Wisconsin ***
69. Steve Jakiel, Goalie, Michigan ***
70. Mike Davies, Forward, Wisconsin ***
71. Ray Kaunisto, Forward, Northern Michigan ***
72. Brett Blatchford, Defenseman, Notre Dame ***
73. Paul Crowder, Forward, Alaska-Anchorage ***
74. Jerad Stewart, Forward, Minnesota State, Mankato ***
75. Kevin Clark, Forward, Alaska-Anchorage ***
76. Mark Santorelli, Forward, Northern Michigan ***
77. John Mitchell, Forward, Wisconsin ***
78. Chris Clackson, Forward, Western Michigan ***
79. Kevin Deeth, Forward, Notre Dame ***
80. A.J. Gale, Forward, St. Cloud State University ***
81. Matt Schepke, Forward, Michigan State ***
82. Tyler Ludwig, Defenseman, Western Michigan ***
83. Jarrod Palmer, Forward, Miami ***
84. Mickey McCrimmon, Defenseman, Northern Michigan ***
85. John Scrymgeor, Forward, Lake Superior ***
86. Tommy O’Brien, Goalie, Notre Dame ***
87. Jeric Agosta, Forward, Nebraska-Omaha ***
88. Chay Genoway, Forward/Defenseman, North Dakota ***
89. Mike Testwuide, Forward, Colorado College ***
90. Jason Lepine, Forward, Ferris State ***
91. Julian Zamparo, Defenseman, Western Michigan ***
92. Dan Kissel, Forward, Notre Dame ***
93. Trevor Hunt, Defenseman, Alaska-Anchorage ***
94. Jason Wiley, Forward, Minnesota State, Mankato ***
95. Michael George, Forward, Lake Superior ***
96. Alexandre Gagne, Forward, Michigan Tech ***
97. Chris Minella, Forward, Notre Dame ***
98. Mitch Ryan, Forward, Minnesota-Duluth ***
99. Gary Steffes, Forward, Miami-Ohio ***
100. Cody Chupp, Forward, Ferris State ***
101. Eli Vlaisavljevich, Defenseman, Michigan Tech ***
102. Blair Riley, Forward, Ferris State ***
103. Jon Olthuis, Goalie, Alaska-Anchorage ***
104. Nathan Perkovich, Forward, Lake Superior ***
105. Brian Stewart, Goalie, Northern Michigan **
106. Mark Stockdale, Forward, Western Michigan **
107. Brian Moore, Defenseman, Bowling Green **
108. Ryan Gunderson, Forward, Minnesota State Mankato **
109. Stephen Balint, Forward, Northern Michigan **
110. Aaron Bendrickson, Forward, Wisconsin **
111. Drew Akins, Forward, Minnesota-Duluth **
112. Steve Kaunisto, Defenseman, Lake Superior **
113. Ryan Peckskamp, Forward, St. Cloud State **
114. Ben Grotting, Forward, Wisconsin **
115. Ryan Baird, Defenseman, Lake Superior**
116. Matt Overman, Forward, Colorado College **
117. Nik Sellers, Forward, Lake Superior **
118. Phil Greer, Goalie, Bowling Green **
119. Chad Swartzentruber, Defenseman, Lake Superior **
120. Chris Berenguer, Defenseman, Northern Michigan **
Any questions, comments, or complaints about the listing can be sent to me via email or posted as a comment. All I ask is that you try to keep it civil.
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13 comments:
A bit difficult to put an opinionated list together that rates a group of players in which many of whom you haven't seen with your own two eyes, isn't it?
I can respect trying to put something together but I think there should be a massive disclaimer next to any list that any fan puts together because we know a large portion of those players are being rated on something other than personal observations.
Seriously, do you people have anything better to do then sit around and crap on this blog every chance you get?
No, it's really not that difficult, because even if you can't personally go see every player (which, by the way, I'm pretty sure nobody has done), there are other ways to get reports on how players have done and put together your own perspective.
Like I've said before, if you don't like it, don't read it, and for the love of god quit threadcrapping.
Hey kevin, he asked for comments so why the heck do you care? Nobody forces you to read the comments area.
If rating guys is all about reading stat lines and press clippings, I can only wonder why college coaches pound the pavement to scout prospects most of the year. All they have to do is surf the net and they can get all the answers they want. Just think of all the money those college programs can now save by not having to have a recruiting budget.
Yep Kevin, you are right. All those NHL front offices and all these college coaches have been doing it the wrong way all of these years. Don't watch players play the game, just read the boxscores and read the local media report on the games. Those experienced hockey people are lucky to have you around to tell them how to do things the right way.
Hey anon, how do you know that Chris hasn't seen most of these guys play? We have been attending a lot more prep games this season, and we get a lot of games on tv as well. No, he hasn't seen everyone on that list. But if you don't value his opinion, why are you reading his blog?
This is a blogspot blog with a color scheme of orange and also-orange. How much more of a disclaimer do you need?
People are welcome to take everything on here as seriously as they want. It's just my opinion. I've never made any claims about my abilities or credibility.
No, I haven't seen every player play, just like everyone else in the world. Do I think I was able to more accurately rate the 20 or so players that I have seen play? Not really.
Obviously scouting players the way that college programs do is the ideal way to do things. But how many fans have the ability to do that type of thing? Most of the people that asked for the star rating system were casual college hockey fans at best, and I think the list gives them a fair amount of information. You're right that it's probably not the greatest system, but compared to what else is out there, it's probably one of the best, and definitely the most accessible.
hey... this is all for our own avocational interests.. (ie. fun).. Read it , like it, dislike it, agree with it, be pissed off by it... Its all good. Heck just because its written that these guys will have an impact on where they're going means nothing but conversation fodder. In fact the scouts that flip flop all over the country get it wrong.. Not an exact science folks. These guys are all going somewhere. Its their job to make the impact. And, alot of them are going to be awfully surprised when they get there how some no name without the hype cleans their clock.
I don't think Johan Ryno is coming to MSU-Mankato...or at least he wasn't last I heard. Red Wings Central had reported it but later had an article saying he was going to try and make it in the Swedish Elite League next year.
http://www.allsports.com/nhl/redwings/stories/2006_01/23_ProspectsWatch.html
Good list...makes for interesting reading.
That link didn't really come through (at least on my screen). If you go to www.redwingscentral.com and click on the Jan 23 prospect update it's in there....
Balint and sellers both michigan boys have been doing great since you posted this article, only 2 stars why is that? Sellers is great at setting up plays and balint has hands and vision with a scoring touch. Both should have at the least 3 stars, kinda funny how some kids with 4 stars , there dad or the political views are ranked high.
Chris, Love the site. I do have a question regarding your placement of Jake Marto and Chay Genoway. To be honest, I'm surprised they are that high and rated that highly. Sure, Marto has a strong offensive upside and Genoway has a good lineage (if that counts for anything) but I'd love to know how they earned 3 stars and were ranked above players that are probably better collegiate prospects than they are.
I think some of your four stars have been awarded solely on the basis of players going to the Gophers. Who can forget that on paper they were supposed to have the vastly superior freshman class last season. Just like lasts years group, the pretenders from this incoming group will be quickly exposed once the games begin.
Don't you think David Fischer should be ranked higher than Jim O'brien and Tony Lucia? He should be a 4 star guy for sure.
I am trying to find out where Chris Berenguer is playing this year. I looked at the Northern Michagan website and could not find him. Does anybody know where he is playing this year? He is very talented.
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