>     Here is a list of Wisconsin's recruits this year:  Joe Bianchi a center
>from Minnesota state champion Bloomington Jefferson High School.
>     E.J. Bradley-high scoring forward from New Hyde Park, NY.  Playing in
>the Toronto Metro Junior League.            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Another player from Long Island!  What, everybody is thinking is this guy
talking about?  Long Island as a hockey power?!  The off-season must really
be affecting this guy.
 
With all the talk about the usual hockey hotbeds, I thought I would put in a
plug for Long Island.  There has actually have been quite a few very good
players starting to come out of Long Island lately, and they do have a Junior
B team that has done fairly well in National Tournaments.  However, the real
good players, like EJ Bradley, end up leaving the Island for better
competition elsewhere.
 
The Ferraro twins originally came from LI -- Sound Beach -- and started their
hockey there.  They left to seek out better competition Upstate.  (Ironically,
they grew up as diehard Islanders fans and hated the Rangers.)
 
Another player is Howie Vandermast who was a star defenseman for the Junior B
team.  He went to Potsdam where he starred, was named SUNYAC Player Of The
Year, and was drafted by the Islanders.  I lost track of him after he left
Potsdam (one semester early due to academic elgibility problems), so I don't
know how he did.
 
Though many may disregard the talent on LI, I do know some Div. III coaches
personally, who look at LI as a place to "steal" a recruit from an "unknown"
resource.
 
[BTW, for those wondering, yes, I grew up on LI, and no, I am NOT an Islander
fan.  I thoroughly enjoyed the thrashing the Rangers gave them.]
 
P.S. Just got back from a business trip in Boston.  There I was staying in the
Sheraton Towers within walking distance to NU, BC, BU, and Harvard (bit of a
hike for that one), and it was the offseason.  Could my timing have been any
worse? :-)
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russell Jaslow         | Official Contact - Potsdam College Hockey|My employer
Eastman Kodak Company  |  Potsdam Bears - 1981 and 1986 NCAA Div. |has nothing
Rochester, New York    |   III National Basketball Champions and  |to do with
[log in to unmask]     winners of 60 consecutive games!     |my drivel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------