Thanks to an anonymous commenter, we have learned that Wisconsin has picked up a commitment from USA NTDP U-18 defenseman John Ramage. John will be on full scholarship and will enter the University of Wisconsin next fall. (2009)Ramage will be joined by Justin Schultz from the BCHL to presumably replace Jamie McBain (Carolina Hurricanes), and Ryan McDonagh (Montreal Canadians) who are expected to turn pro after this season.
Ramage is a 6'1, 190 pounder who hails from Chesterfield, MO. Previous to this season he played in the NAHL for the St. Louis Bandits and also for the St. Louis Junior Blues AAA program.
The NTDP is pretty terrible at tracking stats for the most part. As of 11-25-08, Ramage is credited with 4 assists in 20 games for the red, white, and blue. He has recorded 26 penalty minutes. Last season as a junior in high school, he had 4 goals and 5 assists in 45 games for the Bandits in the NAHL.
In the summer of 2007, Ramage was selected by the USA to compete in the U-17 5 Nations Tournament. Players are selected after their performances in the USA Select 16 festival. Ramage was tied for the most points for defensemen with Minnesota recruit Nate Schmidt at Select 16's.
Last January, Ramage was invited to join the U-17 NTDP in the 4 Nations tournament. USA sends the NTDP U-17 squad to the 4 Nations tournament, but always adds a few players from outside of the program for added depth. He was added along with Current Badger Derek Stepan.
Chris from the Western College Hockey Blog had this to say about Ramage at this summer's Select 17 festival. "John Ramage-Big defenseman that skates really well. Of the defenseman that played Jr. A last year, Ramage was probably the best."
John Ramage is the son of former NHL'er Rob Ramage. Ramage had an illustrious NHL career spanning 15 seasons. He played for St. Louis, Calgary, Toronto, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, and Montreal before finishing his career in Philladelphia.
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