UW Announcement Coming

The Blog That Yost Built came across an interesting tidbit in the Detroit News, regarding Wisconsin holding an outdoor hockey game.

According to the News, Wisconsin will be making a formal announcement regarding an outdoor hockey game next February at Camp Randall stadium in the next two weeks. The Badgers have been trying for some time to schedule an outdoor game at Camp Randall. A deal to play a WCHA game outdoors fell through, so it's likely the game will be played against a non-conference opponent, with Michigan being one of the rumored schools.

I'd expect an announcement to come in the wake of tomorrow's outdoor hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

New Commits

NTDP defenseman John Ramage committed to Wisconsin. Defense is an area that Wisconsin isn't actually overloaded with prospects. Only Justin Schultz is scheduled to come in next year, and it's pretty plausible that the Badgers will be losing a couple blueliners to the pros.

Also, Anchorage reportedly got a commitment from '92 Joe Giordano. He's the second '92 birthdate UAA has recruited this year.

Providence continued their run of taking Minnesota HS players, by picking up a commitment from Lakeville South's Bill Simon. Simon had a pretty nice Elite League run this year.

That Didn't Take Long

Green Bay Gamblers forward Sean Little committed to, yeah, you guessed it.

Also, per Chris Heisenberg...

Roseau's Tyler Landman is going to Providence. The Friars have hit Minnesota hard lately, taking Matt Bergland, David Brown, and Rob Maloney straight out of high school.(Incidentally, Bergland is off to a fantastic start with 11 points in his first ten games). Landman is a very hard-working player, and it's great to see that rewarded.

Also, Anchorage picked up a commitment from Sam Mellor, a late '92 birthdate, that plays in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League for the Kimberley Dynamiters(No, I didn't make up that name). He's got 4 goals and 8 assists in 18 games against mostly older competition.

More on Montpetit

Now that Andy Baggot has given us a little more information on Brock Montpetit's de-commit, there's a few issues I wanted to discuss.

On the decision to back out of UW, Baggot wrote:

John Montpetit said the decision was "100 percent'' his son's. He acknowledged Brock was bothered by the fact he wasn't part of the current freshman class at UW and that the final scholarship offer was less than what was promised when the commitment was made.

"We were told it was a 100 percent full ride,'' John Montpetit said. "Now we're told they don't give out 100 percent rides, that they're 90 percent.''

This doesn't seem right to me. I've heard that pretty much every program short of the Air Force offers a maximum 90% scholarship. Maybe there was a mix-up in communication, but I have kind of a hard time believing Wisconsin dropped his percentage from 100% to 90%.

And really, does that sound like a huge deal-breaker? How much is 10% of in-state tuition at Wisconsin? The Univesity of Wisconsin estimates a year's worth of total expenses at UW-Madison is about $19,000, so we're talking about less than $2000 for a kid that spent two years at an elite prep school.

As far as not playing for Wisconsin this year, I could see that being a concern, but again, I'm fairly sure that when he committed, the commitment was for 2008 or 2009.(Someone can correct me here, since the original article on his commitment disappeared into internet ether, but I'm pretty sure that was the case) In any case, this is a pretty good lesson for all recruits out there. If a coach tells you that they want you either Year X or Year X + 1, you should probably count on starting in Year X + 1.

The bigger issue here, in my estimation, is that Montpetit committed to Wisconsin in June of 2006, and since that commitment, Wisconsin verbally committed to: Craig Smith, Derek Stepan, Jordy Murray, Travis Erstad(who has since decided to play D-III hockey), Tyler Barnes, Derek Lee, Tyler Lapic, Jefferson Dahl, Gavin Hartzog, Michael Mersch, Keegan Meuer, Cody Strang, Matt Paape, and Mark Zengerle. That's 14 other forwards--13 still committed, albeit spread out through 3-4 classes, but that's a lot of promises to a lot of players. You can only dress 12 forwards a night, and usually only 6 play on the powerplay. Make any argument you want about "earning playing time" but the fact is, once you start dividing things that many ways, players are going to get shuffled out. And who is to say that a year or two down the road, Wisconsin won't go after the next big prospect that comes their way?

Then, it's hard to imagine Montpetit finding a better situation than at Wisconsin. Most WCHA schools are likely going to be pretty full for next season. It's probably unlikely that Montpetit would find another 90% scholarship offer at another WCHA school--though again, I don't think the money was a huge issue. And it's not like there won't be a team full of talented players at any other WCHA school.

In any case, like I said last night, this is probably most damaging to Mike Eaves and Wisconsin. People have joked about the Weekly Wisconsin Commitments for a while, and it finally seems to be coming back to bite them. I often hear people say how verbal commitments are non-binding, and there are guarantees and yada yada, but this provides a good example of what can happen if teams don't honor. It should be noted that Wisconsin still sent Montpetit a Letter of Intent that he chose not to sign. But Wisconsin is going to get absolutely hammered in the recruiting world with the perception that they over-recruit and force players out of their program. It's a reputation that no team would risk gaining.

Montpetit Decommits

I've received word that Waterloo forward Brock Montpetit has decommitted from the University of Wisconsin.

Montpetit committed to Wisconsin back in June of 2006. I haven't heard reasons why, or where he might be looking to play in the future, but this seems like a pretty serious hit to Wisconsin's image. There's been complaints of over-recruiting dogging their program for a few months now, and having a top player decommit likely won't do anything to help that reputation.

Update: Andy Baggot talked with Montpetit's father about the situation.

New Commits

Des Moines forward Chris Knowlton committed to Denver.

BCHL defenseman Matt Grassi committed to Michigan State. One could only hope his middle initial is D.

BCHL forward Mark Zengerle committed to Wisconsin.

Lincoln Stars defenseman Ross Henry committed to Western Michigan. Henry is an interesting player. At his best, he looks like a very high-end defender. If he develops a little more consistency, he could be a real steal for Western.

Sioux Falls forward Matt Farris committed to Princeton. Farris is unique in that he is a native of Pierre, South Dakota. The Ivy League makes sense for Farris as he won the USHL's Scholar-Athlete Award.

Desperation Time for Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has started the season a rather dismal 0-5-1. On one hand, it's understandable given that every game they've played has been against a team ranked in the top 10, and only two of those games have been at home. But on the other hand, they've got to win some games. With the new rule that teams must finish the season with a winning record to make the NCAA tournament--likely henceforth known as 'The Wisconsin Rule' despite the fact that the rule was passed, but not implemented prior to Wisconsin's sub-.500 tourney appearance--Wisconsin's hopes of returning to the tournament may be on life support.

The Badgers have 30 regular season games, plus at least 2 postseason games left on their schedule. That means they'll need at least 19 wins in those last 32 games to even be under consideration for playing in the tournament despite what should be one of the country's toughest schedules. That's a big reason why I'm not a huge fan of the .500 rule. Had it been in place last season, Wisconsin essentially would have been punished by playing top-ranked Michigan on the road, as opposed to staying at home and blowing out the worst team in the country. Wisconsin never should have made the NCAA tournament last year, but for completely different reasons.

To make matters worse for the Badgers this year, they'll be without leading returning scorer Ben Street for at least three months after suffering a knee injury against Denver.

The big downfall for the Badgers so far has been their defense. They're giving up a brutal 5 goals per game, worst in the WCHA. Again, keep in mind the tough schedule, but also keep in mind that few teams would give up that many goals even against a tough schedule. The Badgers are loaded with offensive-minded defensemen, which has helped on the offensive side--a third of their goals so far have been scored by defenseman, and two D are tied for the team lead in scoring, while a third is tied for 3rd on the team in scoring--but hasn't helped keep the puck out of the net. Jamie McBain, who was named to most preseason all-conference and all-American teams, carries a dismal -12 rating through the first six games. Ryan McDonagh is at -6.

The next four weeks should tell a lot about Wisconsin's future. Three of their four series are on the road, but they face teams in North Dakota, Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Cloud that are more likely to be jockeying with the middle of the pack in the WCHA than leading the way at the top of the standings. To maintain the pace needed to reach the magic 19 wins, the Badgers need at least four wins and a tie, if not five wins. It's a tall task, but necessary to dig themselves out of the hole that they've dug.

Wisconsin Preview

Here is your Wisconsin preview.

New Commits

I'm way behind on these...

Duluth East defenseman Derek Forbort committed to North Dakota.

Matt Paape committed to Wisconsin.

Cody Murphy committed to Miami.

Jacob Fallon committed to Michigan

Erstad Opts for D-3

Wisconsin recruit Travis Erstad, a draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, has opted out of playing another year with the Lincoln Stars, and will instead play for Division III UW-Steven's Point.

Erstad is a native of Steven's Point and UWSP's head coach, Wil Nichol, coached Erstad in high school.

Critics of Wisconsin and their recruiting practices will immediately point to this as an example of Wisconsin over-recruiting and screwing over the players they've already committed to. I'm not sure I see it though.

In February of 2007 when Erstad committed, it was reported that his commitment was for either 2008 or 2009. So it's not like Wisconsin sprung the decision to have him play another year of junior hockey on him at the last minute or anything. If playing junior hockey this year was out of the question for him, he probably shouldn't have made the commitment. Yes, there was the possibility of him joining the Badgers this season, but looking at his scoring line--59 games played 9 goals 10 assists, a team worst -10--it's not like his play clearly showed that he was ready for college hockey this year.

Not that I blame Erstad for his decision. He'll be going to a nice situation in his hometown as opposed to the endless hours of travel and being away from home in Lincoln. I'm just not sure that Wisconsin should be villified for pulling the rug out from under a kid when they were just following what they had initially agreed to.

New Commits

I don't think I ever mentioned that goalie Joe Howe committed to Colorado College for the 2009 season. Howe played high school hockey in Wayzata, Minnesota before moving on to the USHL last season. He'll replace Drew O'Connell who graduates next season, and could step in as a starter if Richard Bachmann has another great year and decides to turn pro.

Justin Filzen committed to play for Alaska this season. Filzen played his high school hockey for Proctor High School, near Duluth and made a nice name for himself playing junior hockey last season.

Traverse City forward Kyle Jean committed to Lake Superior. He's a local kid with a lot of potential. A very nice pick-up for LSSU.

Keegan Meuer committed to Wisconsin. The World of Junior Hockey notes that Wisconsin has a recruiting pipeline with the Waterloo Blackhawks, now having four recruits from that team, as opposed to just three from every other team.

NTDP U17 defenseman Adam Clendening committed to Boston College. He's a small fast defenseman from Buffalo that played hockey in Toronto last year.

Jordan Schmaltz and Young Commitments

Maybe it's just because it's the summer, and a particularly down time in the summer with no major roster moves happening as teams gear up for the season, but Jordan Schmaltz's commitment to Wisconsin seemed to get an inordinate amount of press last week. Greg Wyshynski of the Yahoo blog Puck Daddy had a long write-up on Schmaltz and Illegal Curve also weighed in.

The thing is, Schmaltz's commitment isn't all that unique. Schmaltz was about 14 years 10 months old when he made his commitment. Cam Fowler, Jon Merrill, and Connor Anthoine were all younger than Schmaltz when they committed to a college, plus a slew of players that committed just a few months after their 15th birthday. Schmaltz may be the youngest academically, not having started the 9th grade yet since his birthday falls after the usual September cut-off, but in hockey terms, Wisconsin at least had a chance to see him participate in the National Select 15 Festival against the best in his age group, compared to ten or so players that committed to a college before ever having that opportunity.

Of course the fact that this is slowly becoming standard practice doesn't necessarily make it right. But before people think this is a college hockey problem, look elsewhere in the hockey world. Next April he could be presented with an opportunity to move away from home and spend the next two seasons with the US National Development Program. Next May, Schmaltz will eligible for the Ontario Hockey League draft. If he lived 200 miles west of his hometown of Verona, he could have already been selected by a Western Hockey League team(though he would have been restricted in the number of games he could have played this season).

These are major decisions that many top players his age are forced to make, and can be equally as important and life-changing as which college he attends years from now. His decision regarding the CHL is particularly important because signing any sort of agreement with the team, or participating in any sort of competition would void his eligibility for NCAA hockey. If a player is forced to choose between going to college or not, he should at least be allowed to also make the choice of which college he attends.

A 14-year-old committing to a college may look strange to some people, but ultimately, there's no real victim here. True, these commitments technically aren't binding, but it's pretty much a given that the college will honor it, and very rarely does a player switch a commitment to another college. Most college hockey leagues have a standing gentleman's agreement to not recruit players that have already committed to a college, so the team's investment is protected, and the player doesn't have to deal with the hassle of constant phone calls and text messages. So if it isn't causing any problems, why change it?

Meanwhile, Todd Milewski points out that the National Association of Basketball Coaches has asked coaches not to give out scholarships until after a player's sophomore year of high school, and suggest that perhaps the American Hockey Coaches Association could do the same.

It's an interesting idea, but one that I think is more necessary for basketball than it is for hockey. The move in basketball, I believe, was to take some of the power away from AAU teams and give it back to high school programs. I don't think hockey has had problems with AAA hockey programs in the same way basketball has had problems with more commercial AAU teams. Also, most young hockey players in that position are getting advice from a family advisor who is also a certified professional agent, whereas with many young basketball players, it's far more common to see shady figures with no professional background trying to make a quick buck by guiding these players.

The AHCA certainly could do something about it. It's usually a topic of discussion at the annual coaches meetings in Florida in every year, but while many coaches agree that maybe something should be done, nobody has really been willing to step up and push serious changes through.

So these young commitments are likely here to stay for the foreseeable future. It may not look right to casual observers, but it's quickly becoming part of the game.

Schmaltz Commits to Wisconsin

Chicago Mission U16 defenseman Jordan Schmaltz has committed to Wisconsin. Schmaltz will be a high school freshman this fall, so it's likely that the earliest he'd join the Badgers would be 2012.

Schmaltz played on the Mission with defenseman Robbie Russo, who is the other '93 birthdate to have committed to a western school so far.

Sometimes You Just Shake Your Head

Wisconsin and Minnesota were trying to get together to play an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium next season, followed by an outdoor game at TCF High School Stadium in Minneapolis the following year. But as Todd Milewski of The Capital Times reported today, those games are on hold thanks to the WCHA. The event was being put on by the Herb Brooks Foundation, and the WCHA didn't want control of a league game going to an outside entity.

Here's WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod on the reason for the veto:

"If they want to take an exempted game or something like that, we'll cooperate and do what we can. But with a regular-season game and somebody else running it, and you know how those points go -- especially Wisconsin the last few years -- that can be critical. So we're quite concerned about the circumstances under which these games are played.

Emphasis mine. That's an obvious reference to the blown video replay call that cost Wisconsin a game against Denver last season, and eventually ended up costing Wisconsin home ice in the WCHA playoffs.

Of course, the only problem with that logic is that the WCHA was in charge of those screw-ups. Basically what McLeod is saying is that if anybody is going to screw-up a WCHA game, Goddammit, it's going to be the WCHA. I'm not sure what the risk is here. Is McLeod afraid that if the Herb Brooks Foundation hires referees that completely blow a game-changing call, they won't issue a heartfelt apology letter like McLeod had to do multiple times last season?

In any case, it's a shame that it looks like Minnesota and Wisconsin won't be able to have a successful outdoor game like many NHL and college programs have had.

Wiercioch Switches

Defenseman Patrick Wiercioch verbally committed to Wisconsin this winter, but this week, switched his commitment by signing a letter of intent with Denver.

Wisconsin has many, some might say too many, defenseman committed to their team for the next couple of seasons, and Wiercioch would have had to wait to 2009 to join the Badgers. But Denver had a spot on their blueline open up when David Carle's hockey career was sadly cut short, and Wiercioch, who was a second round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in this year's draft, was anxious to play college hockey next season, and jumped at the opportunity.

TI Pair Commits to Wisconsin

Two players from the Team Illinois AAA program, forward Michael Mersch and defenseman Frankie Simonelli, have both committed to Wisconsin.

Hartzog Commits to Wisconsin

Wisconsin added another in-state forward for the future this week as Marquette High School forward Gavin Hartzog committed to the Badgers for either 2009 or 2010.

New Commits

Eau Claire Memorial(Wis.) forward Jefferson Dahl committed to Wisconsin for the 2010 season. Dahl had a great high school season, capped off by an impressive performance at the Chicago Showcase last month.

Topeka Roadrunners defenseman Tommy Hill will be playing for Ferris State next season.

New Commits

Mosinee HS(WI) defenseman Chase Drake committed to Wisconsin. He'll likely join the Badgers in two years.

Via Chris Heisenberg...

Cloquet HS(Minn.) defenseman David Brown committed to Providence. Brown got hot in the Section 7AA sectional tournament, scoring a number of goals to lead his team to the state tournament this past year. Providence has also recruit Minnesota high schoolers Rob Maloney and Matt Bergland.

Ohio(USHL) forward Rich Leitner committed to American International. Leitner is originally from the Los Angeles area.

Two Tylers Commit

Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal reported today that New Prague HS senior-to-be Tyler Lapic committed to Wisconsin.

Also, Minnesota State picked up a commitment from Centennial senior-to-be Tyler Pitlick, according to Chris Heisenberg.