Eric J Burton wrote:
>>I was looking for the Gophers recruites that are expected to be signed
>>and I see nothing in the Star Trib, Is this top secret information.
>>Just interested in seeing who they got.
 
Jeffrey Partnow replied:
>National letters of intent for the "late" signing period cannot be signed
>earlier than today (4/9/97). Therefore, it isn't releasable info until
>today, after the letters have been signed and returned, presumably by FAX.
>
>Alternatively, the Goph's are standing pat. :-)
 
I'm not so sure a smiley was needed there.  I don't expect much big news on
the Gopher hockey recruiting front.
 
The Gophers have 4 graduating seniors, Dan Hendrickson (F), Brian LaFleur
(D), Nick Checco (F) and Dan Woog (F).  So they have AT MOST four
scholarships coming available (I doubt Danny Woog has a full scholarship.
Partial is perhaps possible.)  And, conveniently, they already have four
early signees, 3F, 1D (from USCHO):
 
Player              Pos   Ht.  Wt.  Hometown/Current Team
Matt Leimbeck        C   5-9  170   Rochester Mayo
Dylan Mills          D  5-11  195   Duluth East
Aaron Miskovich     LW  5-10  174   Green Bay (USHL)
Erik Westrum        LW  5-11  175   Apple Valley
 
(BTW, I THINK Minnesota's Mr. Hockey finalists this year were these four,
plus Edina's Dan Carlson, who has already committed to Notre Dame.  If so,
-- and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong -- then Woog has
probably already landed most of his most-desired recruits, although he
might want to go looking for some big 20-year-olds with USHL experience.
Miskovich was a HS senior who played some at Green Bay before the start of
the HS season.)
 
But the math doesn't look so pretty when you recall that the Gophers are
forfeiting a scholarship next year as a self-imposed penalty for Doug
Woog's little "hat trick" in the Chris McAlpine case.  So Woog doesn't have
a lot of scholarships to offer, and, in fact, may be already a little
pressed for scholarships unless Rasmussen and/or Crowley turn pro.
Otherwise, we'll have to weigh the probability that they got at least one
of the above players to commit early for the offer of a partial
scholarship, and/or they'll have to count on reductions in scholarships to
current players.
 
I also couldn't pass up the chance to comment on the original note from
Kevin Ames:
>From Sid Hartmans Column in Sunday's Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
 
Gophers hockey coach Doug Woog said he met with defensive star Mike
Crowley, and Crowley said he plans to return next season unless he
receives a standout offer from the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who hold
his NHL rights. . . . The status of Gophers player Eric Rasmussen, whose
NHL rights belong to the Buffalo Sabres, will likely not be decided
until the future of Buffalo general manager John Muckler is determined.
Muckler is considering retirement.
--
This sounds more believable than much of his hockey gossip, but I won't
take as gospel any hockey news I read in Sid's column.  Certainly not when
he doesn't even spell Rasmussen's first name correctly!  (And I'm sure Erik
Biever will agree with me, although Eric Burton might not... ;-) )
 
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