Pat Kane and other Recruit Stuff

The top available recruit in college hockey right now is Pat Kane from the NTDP U18 team. His stock has never been higher thanks to a tournament leading 12 points in 5 games at the World U18 Championships last week. Here's what I had to say about Kane after watching him play last season at the Select 17 Festival:

Pat Kane(No commitment yet ’07 recruit)- Very, very impressive. The Brendan Morrison comparison really isn’t that far off. His finishing ability isn’t quite there yet, but he’s a great playmaker. He ended up with two assists, but easily could have had 4 or 5. If he ends up committing to BU, like was rumored, I may end up curling in a ball in my room and crying, Tom Izzo-style.

The only problem is that he's not scheduled to graduate from high school until a year from now. There's now talk of him trying to acclerate schooling so he could join a team midway through next season. The Wisconsin State Journal recently had an article where Kane's mother said she preferred her son went to college and that Pat was deciding between Wisconsin, Boston U, Michigan, and Ohio State. Despite that, it's starting to look more and likely that Kane will choose to go the major junior route.

This article from the London Free Press doesn't help quell those OHL rumors. Among the factors that are in London's favor are the relative location to Kane's hometown and family in Buffalo, as well as the opportunity to play for coach Dale Hunter who has earned an impressive reputation in London.

The article also brings up the possibility that if Kane decides to play for the Knights next season, that could also influence friend and NTDP teammate Kevin Montgomery to break his commitment to Ohio State and also play for the Knights. The article also mentions that Wisconsin commit Sam Gagner would also go to London to play. Last summer, I thought both Montgomery and Gagner were about 50/50 between college and major junior. I think it became a lot more likely that they'd play college this year, but if Kane goes to London, it could become a lot less certain that either ever makes it to college.

Colorado College picked up a new commitment for 2008. Andrew Hamburg is a big forward that has played for the Dallas Stars Midget AAA program. The internet didn't turn up much about Hamburg, but he was listed as a potential recruit on Chris Heisenberg's site prior to committing so it's not like he came out of nowhere.

Ohio State got a commitment from Cory Schneider. No, not that Cory Schneider. Schneider is a forward from Northwood Prep out east.

At the Chicago Showcase last weekend, Minnesota defenseman Nick Canzanello was named the tournament's top defenseman. North Dakota forward Andy Dittus was the tournament's top forward, and Anchorage goalie Nathan Corey was the top goalie. I still think Canzanello would be a huge steal for whichever team ends up with him.