Re: Union Hockey Offseason Thread - That was fun...
So here are the 2012 recruits – according to Heisenberg 4 forwards and 2 d-men to replace departing 3 Fs and 2 Ds:
Matt Wilkins – LW, Brooks Bandits (AJHL), 5-11, 191#, 1991 DOB, 71GP- 41G-73A-114Pts-152PIM: Led AJHL in scoring, unanimous All-League selection, Asst. Captain and won the Pro Hockey Life Cup for being named most often a star of the game. Last season was 2nd in league scoring with 77 points, had 15 points in 10 playoff games and was All-League. This season Brooks tied for 1st in regular season and won AJHL playoffs losing only 2 games. Matt is a physically mature player and from what I’ve seen on video (links below) looks very solid in all phases of the game; a plus skater & puck handler, good hockey sense, and good in the tough areas. In the 2nd video (Matt is #19) he seems to be involved in most all of the good offensive chances for Brooks. Possible concern with relatively high PIMs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1XBNA4Cfi4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz8Z95lbUrk&feature=related
Andrew Johnston – LC, Humboldt Broncos (SJHL), 6-1, 185#, ’91, 74-39-56-95-67: Tied 4th in league scoring; Team Captain; Leading Scorer in Anavet Cup (9pts in 7 games); RBC Cup top scorer (9pts in 5 games) and named Top Forward; Last season for Flin Flon (SJHL) had 66 points in 57 games. Video below is from last season in Flin Flon. RBC Cup web page did a preview on Johnston, “high-end offensive skills, good sized power forward, controls the puck well off the cycle, soft hands, hard accurate shot, good hand-eye coordination, most effective with the puck on his stick, confident”. Also looks pretty good on faceoffs, is physical and reportedly has a “high motor”. Was getting interest from NHL teams at the RBC, so question if he shows up in Schenectady next season. I know that Bennett is very high on him and he looks like a perfect fit for Union’s style of play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tthm8oNa5QI
Tim Boyle – LD, Noble & Greenough (NE Preps), 6-2, 190#, ’93, 26-6-12-18: A top d-man for a Nobles team that made it to the NE Preps championship game; 28 points in 27 games at Nobles in 2010-11; ranked #208 N. American in final NHL Central Scouting rankings (which probably doesn’t mean much); brother plays for the Rangers; appears to have gotten bigger in the last couple seasons, which makes sense since brother is huge (6-7, 240#). Reportedly a very solid 2-way d-man who has improved significantly in the last couple seasons.
Sebastien Gingras, RD, Brockville (Central Ontario Jr. A), 6-2, 190#, ’91, 63-14-33-47-18: 4th leading scorer league d-men; Asst. Captain; 3rd season in CJHL; 55 points in 56 games two seasons ago and was 2nd Team League All-Star; named to Canada East team in 2009 World Jr. A Challenge; 28 points in 27 CJHL games one season ago and spent part of year in USHL where he got little ice time; was a Maine recruit in 2009 but decommitted; father is ex-NHL player Gaston Gingras. Below are 3 videos with highlights of Brockville games this season . From the video I’ve seen of Sebastien, he looks like a good skater with good instincts for pushing the puck up ice and joining the offense. However, not as good in his own zone (see a couple bad turnovers in the 3rd video below) sometimes holds onto the puck too long and makes risky passes. My bet is he will need time to work on his defensive skills and adjust to the quicker college game that won’t give him as much time to make decisions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYu4xBVI6ak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITE5dyu6OkA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HmLmBt5rnY&feature=relmfu
David Roy, RC, Brockville (CJHL), 6-3, 200#, ’92, 61-32-37-69-48: 13th leading scorer in league, 2nd on team; Asst. Captain; 8 points in 5 games in 2011 RBC Cup; selected for 2009 World Jr. A Challenge; 2009 NHL Central Scouting Watch List; had 2 sports hernias and missed most of the 2009-10 season. See videos above - 1st video has Roy scoring a goal assisted by Gingras. From what I’ve seen David looks big and raw. Pretty good hands and effective in front of the net, but skating looks a little “lumbering”. Not sure how physical a player he is either. Right now he looks like a project and potential 4th liner.
Theo DiPauli, LC, Chicago (USHL), 5-10, 185, ’93, 24-6-2-8-25-(-1): Played last 3 seasons in the USHL, had 11 and 8 points in previous 2 seasons; played for the US-U18 Select Team in 2010; younger brother played on USNDP and is a Notre Dame recruit; originally from Italy and moved to the USA when he was 13 . Unfortunately, my main comment on DiPauli is that he has been injured most of the last 2 seasons. Dislocated his shoulder in late 2009 and reinjured it summer 2010 playing on U18. The last 2 USHL seasons he got injured in December and did not play much after that. I couldn’t find any details on the injuries in the USHL, though the shoulder could be the culprit. When he’s playing, Theo is a fast disruptive energy- line type of player, very much in the Sam Coatta/Andrew Buote mold.
Overall this looks like potentially a good class, but there are several caveats. The big one is whether Johnston actually matriculates and stays more than one season in Schenectady. Then there are the injury histories of Roy & DiPauli, and questions about how quickly/easily Boyle, Roy, & Gingras will adjust to NCAA play. If everyone comes and stays healthy, I would see Wilkins, Johnston and Boyle getting good amounts of gametime and being significant contributors right away. DiPauli should be able to rotate in on the 4th line. Roy & Gingras may be more long term projects. IMO Johnston is the key add here, as he is a center and could potentially fill some of the huge void left by Zajac & Welsh. I’m also expecting Wilkins to bring a very mature game and add to the offensive skill level of the team. In the short term (next season), U should be very good and the freshmen really won’t need to add a lot for the team to be successful. However, in the long term this class and the next 2 will be key in determining if U can maintain their current high level.
On the speculative front.. have to wonder if DiPauli would wait a year to come to Union given his injury last season, as he does have a couple more seasons of Juniors eligibility left and U really doesn’t need an extra forward.. and looking out further, there will be 3 d-men graduating after next season, MBodie is a returning All-American who only needs to get bigger to be NHL ready, and Gostisbehere could potentially be drafted this summer. I know it’s kind of a doomsday scenario, but is really not impossible that 4-5 starting dmen could leave after next season and leave only 1-2 returnees with any real game experience. Expecting 4-5 freshmen d-men to start in 2013 is a little frightening. I wonder if the coaches will try to bring in another dman in this class so have someone “on board” with Union’s systems in ’13 (ala White). Currently have 8 dmen on the roster and have had 9 or 10 in the past, so seems plausible.