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September
27, 2007
Recruiting Trail: Top 20 Forwards
In the first two years of Inside College Hockey's
Recruiting Rankings, North Dakota boasted the top forward
recruits (Brady Murray and Travis Zajac). The next two seasons,
the archrival Minnesota Golden Gophers countered with back-to-back
honorees (Phil Kessel and Kyle Okposo). That honor stays in
the WCHA this year — Wisconsin's Kyle Turris, the third
overall pick in June's NHL Entry Draft, is our top-rated forward
for 2007.
Of the top 20 forwards in our rankings, seven
are WCHA rookies and seven will debut in the CCHA this season.
The ECAC Hockey League and Hockey East each have three newcomers
on the list. USHL alums comprise seven of the 20 spots in
this year's rankings, while the BCHL produced five of our
top 20 forwards.
One note: Michigan Tech's Casey Pierro-Zabotel
and St. Cloud State's Luca Cunti have not received final clearance
from the NCAA to begin their college careers — Pierro-Zabotel
could suit up for the Huskies' second-semester games, while
Cunti is expected to get the green light prior to the start
of the regular season. That said, neither player is included
in these rankings.
Inside College Hockey compiled its 2007 Recruiting
Rankings with extensive input from college and junior coaches,
as well as professional scouts. Participants were asked to
evaluate recruits based on their projected impact at the college
level, not on their professional hockey prospects.
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Name |
School |
Last
Team |
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Kyle Turris |
Wisconsin |
Burnaby (BCHL) |
The lanky Turris scored
66 goals in 55 games for Burnaby in 2006-07, then
notched seven goals in eight contests to lead a group
of Canadian under-18 skaters to seven wins and a tie
against Russia in this summer's reincarnation of the
1972 Summit Series.
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James van Riemsdyk |
New Hampshire |
U.S. NTDP |
"He's got great speed
and size, and he's going to fill out even more, get
stronger physically, and play a slashing game up front,"
U.S. NTDP coach Ron Rolston said.
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Colin Wilson |
Boston University |
U.S. NTDP |
In addition to being among
the nation's highly touted freshman forwards, the
son of former NHLer Carey Wilson has a good chance
at being a top-10 pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
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Riley Nash |
Cornell |
Salmon Arm (BCHL) |
Edmonton traded up in
this year's draft to select Nash, a well-rounded player
who has great vision and is extremely creative with
the puck.
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Tyler Bozak |
Denver |
Victoria (BCHL) |
Sure, the BCHL has reputation
of producing players who rack up gaudy statistics,
but scoring a league-high 128 points in 59 games is
downright filthy.
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Max Pacioretty |
Michigan |
Sioux City (USHL) |
The 6-2, 200-pound Pacioretty
was named 2007 USHL Rookie of the Year on the strength
of his 63 points in 60 games.
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Aaron Palushaj |
Michigan |
Des Moines (USHL) |
One of the real climbers
in this year's rankings, some observers believe he
could have a greater impact than any forward on this
list not named Turris or van Riemsdyk.
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Kyle Ostrow |
Denver |
Nanaimo (BCHL) |
The 5-9, 160-pound waterbug
from Calgary scored 202 points
in three seasons of junior hockey.
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Patrick White |
Minnesota |
Grand Rapids (Minn.) HS |
Those we polled think
White is talented, but had issues with his durability
and weren't convinced he could make the leap from
high school hockey to the college ranks without struggling.
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Phil DiSimone |
New Hampshire |
Sioux City (USHL) |
The East Amherst, N.Y.
native earned USHL Player of the Year honors and first
team all-league status by recording 73 points in 60
outings for the Musketeers.
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Ben Ryan |
Notre Dame |
Des Moines (USHL) |
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Carter Camper |
Miami |
Lincoln (USHL) |
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Carl Hagelin |
Michigan |
Sodertalje SK (Sweden) |
A candidate to play for
Sweden in the 2008 World Junior Championship, Hagelin
started coming to Red Berenson's summer hockey school
when he was 11.
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Mike Hoeffel |
Minnesota |
U.S. NTDP |
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Tyler Helfrich |
Rensselaer |
Prince George (BCHL) |
First gained noteriety
as a midget in 2003, when he was named a second team
all-star at the famous Mac's AAA Tournament in Calgary.
So was Minnesota standout Kyle Okposo, who played
for Shattuck St. Mary's at the time.
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Jacob Cepis |
Bowling Green |
Cedar Rapids (USHL) |
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Corey Tropp |
Michigan State |
Sioux Falls (USHL) |
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Scott Freeman |
Clarkson |
Bowmanville (OPJHL) |
A 5-9, 178-pound right
wing, Freeman led the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey
League in scoring with 97 points in 43 games; he was
also named OPJHL Eastern Division MVP.
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Matt Frattin |
North Dakota |
Ft. Saskatchewan (AJHL) |
The Alberta Junior Hockey
League's second-leading scorer last season was also
its Rookie of the Year — Frattin notched 83
points (including 49 goals) in 58 games.
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Tyler Johnson |
Colorado College |
Cloquet (Minn.) H.S. |
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