Re: 2010 Division III Commitments
1 more to Hamilton
2010-11 Division III Commitments
Well --With all the hard work put forth uncovering commitments (Thanks to the two of you!), and approximately 1 month until classes. Who are the big winners securing commitments?
It's really hard to tell. Each of these recruits comes from a different league, with a different "style" of play. Some leagues are goal-happy, where 75+ points is the average. Some leagues are defensive, where 1.xx GAA and .9xx save percentage is the norm.
A lot of these guys have good-looking stat lines, but that will very likely only translate into good college numbers for a handful. But a lot of intangible factors, ones that don't show up on the stats sheet, go in to determining which ones will be successful collegiate student-athletes.
My best guess is that the biggest "winners" in this recruiting race would be the programs that fielded solid teams in 09-10, didn't lose a lot, and at least managed to cover their losses. In the east, the teams that stick out to me are Plattsburgh and Middlebury. Both only graduated a few.
Middlebury lost a solid goalie in Kennedy, but Yanchek was just as solid, played about twice the minutes this season, and will still be on for 2 more years. They keep their top 3 scorers, and 5 of the 7 who had at least 20 points. They've picked up a few prep kids with solid numbers for their leagues, including a goaltender, as well as a couple of kids from Delbarton in New Jersey (that school that's been talked about recently on the D3 in the Pros thread, having contributed the like of Alex Smigelski as well as some DI/Draft-calibre players).
Plattsburgh graduated a whopping 3 players. Willock's 23 points, Farrow's 17, and breslin's presence on the blue line will all be missed. But Plattsburgh had a solid team throughout the year, only losing to teams that made the final four (and Middlebury, whom they beat to get to Placid themselves), and already have the guys who can step it up. This will be the last season for Satim and Clarke, who are always offensive threats, and they will certainly be out to finish their careers on a high note. The Cardinals have pulled in solid junior players. None are really standout players on the stat sheet, but it certainly appears at a glance to be enough to cover the 3 graduates. I think Plattsburgh's best move this offseason was picking up Sam Foley. Solid goalie, when compared to the stats of other goalies, and it'll definitely be a good addition to the Leis-Williams pair. With Rossy gone, Plattsburgh has a solid group of 3 goaltenders.
Oswego and Norwich were both VERY good teams this past season (duh), and both have indeed pulled in some good (or great) recruits. But Oswego has lost Selleck, Musselwhite (2 of their biggest offensive threats), Lyon (a huge defensive threat), and KGT... it's going to be one helluva battle to recover after these losses (and I'm still not 100% confident that Beckwith can sustain it for a season... 2 years he's had an opportunity to start, and both times he lost that position). Norwich, on the other hand, has pulled in a couple GREAT goalscorers (not that they necessarily needed it), and one player that I understand was a solid presence on the blue line in junors, but they have some definite questions. Not to say that Dubois isn't a solid goaltender, but if they had at least one more goalie with good numbers, I'd put them as one of the recruiting "winners" from the east along with Plattsburgh and Middlebury.
Now, this is only looking at the east, I'll let Webb speak to the recruiting situation in the West. Also know that any of these recruits could be "the big one" that brings their team to the national spotlight. Especially with those teams that are essentially bringing in a new team, any of these teams could compete for a title this year. We'll never know until, well, tourny time. Elmira, Manhattanville, Utica, and a handful of the other SUNYs have certainly done a spectacular job. This is going to be a good season.
Also, it should be noted that the list is very likely nowhere near complete. Clearly, Norwich can't field a team without another goaltender. Plattsburgh and Elmira each have 1 more that I don't know the name of yet, because the teams and players have agreed to keep it all under wraps until rosters are announced, and I'm sure many other teams are doing the exact same thing. And of course, you never know when a Ryan Klingensmith is going to try out for the team as a walk-on.
Anyway, this is just my opinion. It might be spot-on. It might be partially right. Or, it might just be a bunch of crap.
