More interesting news, than great news. Nazarian is a recruit who excites me, long term, but one who seemed pretty much pegged for another year in the USHL and a 2016 arrival.
What does this mean for the rest of the class? It has been speculated by most, that UNH would add four forwards - replacing Downing, Willows, Thrush & Camper - which would give them 16 forwards. Blackburn signed early, Nazarian has signed and Cefalu (NLI/Walk-On) has announced that he is attending UNH this fall so that makes three. If they're going to stick with four, it had better be Vela - he is more talented/advanced than any other forward recruit in the pipeline save for, maybe, Blackburn.
Did UNH make the decision to take Nazarian ahead of BVR and Cefalu ahead of fellow 20 year olds Miller & Kalinowski (who despite their age are eligible for another year of junior hockey). I would have no complaints about those decisions - or are they planning to bring in five or six forwards (5-6 forwards in the seats is a LOT)?
My biggest concern for Nazarian is he gets the McNicholas treatment and matriculates 'ahead of schedule', but never really gets a shot. My biggest concern for UNH is that they stick to bringing in just four forwards and the fourth is one of Miller/Kalinowski. As I've stated before, I really think UNH needs to get its best talent into the program ASAP so they can grow together and give UNH the best chance to turn the corner quickly. Vela needs to be a part of this class for that to happen...
