October 18, 2011
Recruiting Trail: Top Classes

During the course of a season, you'll hear hockey coaches talk about the importance of winning one-on-one battles. But it's ultimately a team game, which is why we cap our Recruting Rankings with a look at the top incoming classes from coast to coast.

Inside College Hockey compiled its 2011 Recruiting Rankings with input from college coaches and professional scouts. Participants were asked to evaluate recruits based on their projected impact at the college level, not on their professional hockey prospects.

Individual Rankings: Top 20 Forwards | Top 20 Defensemen | Top 10 Goalies

TOP 15 FRESHMAN CLASSES

No.

School

1.

Miami

Top newcomers: F Tyler Biggs, F Blake Coleman, F Jimmy Mullin

2.

North Dakota

Top newcomers: F Rocco Grimaldi, F Mark MacMillan, D Nick Mattson

3.

Boston College

Top newcomers: F John Gaudreau, F Destry Straight

4.

Cornell

Top newcomers: F Brian Ferlin, F Phillip Hudon, D Joakim Ryan

5.

Denver

Top newcomers: D Joey Laleggia, F Zac Larraza, D Scott Mayfield

6.

Boston University

Top newcomers: F Cason Hohmann, D Alexx Privitera, F Evan Rodrigues

7.

Michigan

Top newcomers: F Phil Di Giuseppe, F Zach Hyman, D Brennan Serville

8.

Yale

Top newcomers: D Tom Fallen, F Nick Weberg, F Trent Ruffalo

9.

Minnesota

Top newcomers: D Ben Marshall, F Kyle Rau, F Sam Warning

10.

Western Michigan

Top newcomers: D Garrett Haar, F Will Kessel, F David Killip

11.

Rensselaer

Top newcomers: G Scott Diebold, F Ryan Haggerty, F Jacob Laliberte

12.

Harvard

Top newcomers: D Pat McNally, G Steve Michalek, F Petr Placek

13.

New Hampshire

Top newcomers: G Casey DeSmith, F Grayson Downing, D Trevor van Riemsdyk

14.

Ohio State

Top newcomers: F Ryan Dzingel, F Tanner Fritz, D Ben Gallacher

15.

Merrimack

Top newcomers: F Clayton Jardine, D Dan Kolomatis, F Josh Myers