Stevens is the only other 16 y.o. commit I can remember. Is risky with young recruits like this, but hopefully he develops like his brother has. Is interesting that U is getting earlier (i.e. younger) commitments in the last 3-4 recruiting cycles. There was a time in the early Leaman years where it seemed like all the commits were 19 or 20 years old, so shows how far things have come and how Union's "brand name" has risen.You wonder how hard (if at all) they went after Max Coatta. The brother thing has worked out well for them multiple times in the recent past, and now you see Max Novak's brother being brought in.... though Max won't be on the team by the time Wade Novak arrives in 2016.
I can't remember the last time Union had a commit from a 16 year old. USHR wrote about Wade last fall - "Interesting player. High skill level. Good skater with a quick set of hands. Our guess is that his name will be one we hear a lot in the coming years."
I also heard through the grapevine that he wanted to stay closer to home. I think we sometimes forget how difficult it is for families to sacrifice the ability to see their sons play at the college level.Stevens is the only other 16 y.o. commit I can remember. Is risky with young recruits like this, but hopefully he develops like his brother has. Is interesting that U is getting earlier (i.e. younger) commitments in the last 3-4 recruiting cycles. There was a time in the early Leaman years where it seemed like all the commits were 19 or 20 years old, so shows how far things have come and how Union's "brand name" has risen.
As for little Coatta, I'm not worrying about this too much. If he'd chosen another ECAC, that would be different, but for a Minnesota kid going to a nearby Minnesota school where family & friends will be close is a big lure and is hard to fault that decision. Maybe Bennett & company knew that was how he was leaning or maybe academics played a role. Truth is we will likely never know, but would bet that the coaches were in contact with him or were at least following his progress. One thing I'll say is that the coaches seem to be on top of things recruits wise, especially looking at the current class and next year's.
Though I'm no expert on teams in the new WCHA, I'm a bit surprised that Lake State is not getting more love in the preseason prognostications. They did graduate two good forwards but have everyone back on defense and are excellent in goal. They have always been solid defensively and these games should be real strong tests of U's offensive potential.These Lake Superior games definitely have me nervous, especially with all of the injuries. Union looked lethargic and disjointed and played probably their worst weekend of hockey when they were swept by LSSU last year. LSSU has a pair of outstanding goalies, so goals will likely be at a premium this weekend.
It sounds like Stevens, Roy, Novak, Lichtenwald, and Wilkins are all still out judging from Ken's comments during Slap Schotts. This lineup is going to be awful tough to crack once everyone is healthy, especially at forward. Cruice and Bennett did a great job with their opportunity last weekend and DiPauli looked solid as well. There's going to be a lot of talent in street clothes later this season. I'm also interested to see what Krug and Martin can do as they were the only healthy skaters that did not play last weekend. I think one of those two could end up getting regular minutes before the season is over, especially Martin who was highly regarded by USHR last season. Is it Friday yet? Let's go U!