From tonight's (4/7/94) Ithaca Journal:
 
"Incoming CU Frosh Wins Scholarship"
 
Ryan Smart, who will attend Cornell University in the fall and will play
hockey, has been selected as the winner of the 1994 Pittsburgh Penguins /
Bob Johnson Scholarship, it was announced last month.
 
The scholarship, sponsored by the Penguins and the Penguins Booster Club,
is for $2,000. It is given to a western Pennsylvania high school senior for
academic excellence, community involvement and for providing leadership,
sportsmanship and a positive attitude as a member of his school's hockey
team.
 
Smart, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound center, has been a standout at Meadville (Pa.)
High, which has won two consecutive state titles. The coach at Meadville is
Cornellian Jamie Plunkett.
 
The senior captain has set Meadville career records for goals (191),
assists (210), and points (401). This season, Smart scored 58 goals and 52
assists for 110 points. He will become the first western Pennsylvania
player to attend an NCAA Division I school right out of high school.
 
Last year, he became the only non-senior to be elected team captain. He was
named to the USA Hockey Select 177 [sic] team at Lake Placid in 1992 and
has played in the prestigious "Hockey Night in Boston" program for the past
two summers.
 
Academically, Smart carries a grade-point average of 5.50 (out of 6.0) and
ranks fifth in his class of 228 students. He will major in nutritional
sciences at Cornell, as part of a pre-med curriculum.
 
 
Comments:
   Well, this is neat and I'm really happy for the kid, but is a guy from
PITTSBURGH really going to have an impact on a Division I hockey program?
Has anybody seen this guy play or heard anything more about him? I've known
Jamie Plunkett for almost 20 years and trust that he can spot talent, but
really, how good is a guy from Meadville, Pa., even the BEST guy from
Meadville, Pa.,  actually going to be against real Division I competition?
Or did the Ithaca Journal just publish its April Fool edition six days
late?