Some news from the Twin Cities papers:
The items are kind of long so I'll briefly summarize and you can scan
below for items of interest to you:
Last year's top two high school juniors in Minnesota are now both
spoken for. To no one's surprise Jason Godbout decided to follow his
big brother Brent (an incoming frosh THIS year) to Minnesota.
The surprise is that Jamie Langenbrunner, whom I had been watching
covetously in state tourneys the last two years, has signed with the
Stars and decided, after being drafted by the Stars, to skip his senior
year of high school hockey to play major junior. (Thus avoiding the
Duluth/Gophers recruiting war I was expecting over him!)
There are also a couple of coaching blurbs about St. Cloud State, the
U.S. junior team, and former Gopher and CC coach Brad Buetow.
Oh, and the naming of the Gopher hockey TV announcing team on MSC.
The Langenbrunner item is quite long (if it even mentions his name a
few times, it HAS to be!) and only peripherally related to college
hockey (except in terms of the colleges not always getting the top
players), so I've put it at the end, where it can easily be skipped.
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!!!
1993 WCHA Playoff Champions!!!
Ski-U-Mah!!!
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From the Friday St. Paul Pioneer Press:
Charley Hallman's Gophers Notebook column:
Jason Godbout, Hill-Murray's returning all-state defenseman, is
the first player to commit to the Gophers for the 1994-95 season.
Godbout, brother of Minnesota incoming freshman Brent Godbout, made
an oral commitment after returning from Japan with the under-17
U.S. National team.
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From Charley Walters' Column:
It will be announced that Tom Reid and Frank Mazzocco will broadcast
Gophers hockey for Midwest Sports Channel.
Dean Blais of International Falls will coach the U.S. Junior hockey
team. Former Gopher Mike Guentzel will assist.
It looks as if former Gophers hockey coach Brad Buetow, who has been
coaching an in-line skating pro hockey team in Miami, could end up
assisting at Detroit Red Wings practices this fall, then joining
the Wings as an assistant at the end of the season.
It will be announced that former Hill-Murray standout Tony Gruba
will be the hockey captain at St. Cloud State. And that head coach
Craig Dahl has hired Tom Serratore, who last season coached Henry
Sibley to the Tier II state tournament, as an assistant. Tom's
older brother, Frank, is head coach at the University of Denver. [sic]
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From today's (Saturday) St Paul Pioneer Press (the same rept is in
the Star-Tribune, but I happen to have this one next to me!):
Jamie Langenbrunner of Cloquet, one of Minnesota's top high school hockey
players, signed a five-year contract with the Dallas Stars.
Langenbrunner, 18, was chosen by Dallas on the second round of the NHL
entry draft in June. Since then, Dallas coach Bob Gainey has urged him
to play major-junior hockey in Canada this season to prepare for the
NHL.
He'll report to Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League next week.
Peterborough selected Langenbrunner in the 1993 OHL draft.
In three years as a forward on the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton varsity,
Langenbrunner totaled 150 points. He played in three consecutive
Section 7 title games and in two consecutive Minnesota Tier I
tournaments.
Langenbrunner, 6 feet, 180 pounds, led the state in scoring in 1992-93
with 89 points, breaking the CEC single-season mark, and was named
player of the year by the Associated Press.
Included in Langenbrunner's contract was a signing bonus, worth
approximately $200,000, bonus incentives while at Peterborough, and
money for a college education.
Langenbrunner will live with a family in Peterborough while playing
there, and will attend his senior year of high school there.
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