I would say Lowell and St.Lawrence are two succesful programs that avoid early commitments. Lowell has managed to get the kids, Hellenbuyck, Chapie, etc., who fell through the cracks in the NAHL. However, it is a very difficult needle to thread, and not a model I would like to follow. If you look at also-ran teams (Quinnipiac, Union, Providence) as they progress they typically take advantage of the higher regard in the hockey community and make more early commitments.
Speaking of recruiting profiles, I will be interested in seeing Ciocco's move to Brown. He knew the prep scene from USHR, then moved out west to a program that is very hard to recruit for. He got some older Western Canadian kids, so has those connections. He then branched out to Europe. Now, at Brown, I think he would be in a position to get the younger commits (they just committed a 00), and more New England based. Depending on how that works, those connections would all be of interest two years down the road.