Saturday Morning Link Roundup

-The best Wisconsin high school seniors are across the border in Minnesota this weekend playing in the Minnesota National Invitational Tournament with the best seniors in the country. Badger recruit Brad Navin (pictured) led Team Wisconsin to a 5-3 victory over Minnesota in the tourney opener Thursday night.

TW took one on the chin Friday night at the hands of Michigan 5-4. Navin chipped in another goal and assist. With 5 points in his first two games back, Navin is showing no ill affects from the MCL injury that cost him the majority of his senior season.

-The WCHA early departures continue to mount and NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth took two major blows this week as Mike Connolly signed a free agent deal with the San Jose Sharks and Justin Faulk signed with the Carolina Hurricanes who had drafted him in the second round. Connolly and Faulk are the fifth and sixth early departures for the WCHA this off-season.

-One team that has yet to be hit with departures but most definitely will is North Dakota. UND beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman notes that defenseman Ben Blood (Ottawa), and forwards Jason Gregoire (New York Islanders) and Brett Hextall (Phoenix) are all being pursued by their respective NHL clubs.

-USCHO.com has been releasing their post season awards this week and named their All-USCHO teams today. Wisconsin junior defenseman Jake Gardiner was named to the first team and in an absolutely ridiculous decision Justin Schultz was only named to the second team.

-There is a ton of buzz on the interwebs today that Michigan assistant coach Mel Pearson will be named the head coach at Michigan Tech soon. I don't personally understand the move as many have speculated that Pearson would step in at Michigan when Red Berenson retires but I guess the allure of being the head man now was too much to pass up.

-Paul Capobianco from UWBadgers.com talks about the success former Badgers had the first two days of the NHL Playoffs. Capobiano notes former Badgers account for 14.8 percent of the goals, 20 percent of the first goals and 20 percent of the game-winning goals so far in the early going.

-Andy Baggot has a breakdown of all WCHA players or recruits listed in the top 200 players for the upcoming NHL by the Red Line Report. RLR ranks Michael Mersch (50), Joseph LaBate (64), and Frankie Simonelli (127). Eddie Wittchow, an emerging recruit from Burnsville who is said to favor the Badgers is ranked #72 according to Baggot.

-WAHA has released the names of the players that it has chosen to represent the state at the Central District tryouts. You can find the names of the 1994's, 1995's, 1996's, and 1997's at their respective links. The 94's, 95's, and 96's will tryout in Fond du Lac May 6-8 and the 97's in Ames, Iowa June 19-24.

-Gary Peterson from the Bay Area News Group has a fantastic article up about Joe Pavelski and his success in the playoffs for the San Jose Sharks. I'm not a big fan of using the word clutch when it comes to athletics but the Polish Prince sure seems to come up big in important spots. With championships in high school, junior, and college, it's only a matter of time before he's hoisting the cup with the Sharks.

-It looks like North Dakota will continue to use the Fighting Sioux nickname for another year. The UND Chancellor announced that they will renew merchandising licenses for another year and keep the nickname through 2012. The biggest issue next season may be that UND would have to use different jerseys during the NCAA tournament that don't have Fighting Sioux logo's.

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NHL Central Scouting Final Ranking

NHL Central Scouting, an absolutely excellent source when it comes to ranking players for The NHL Draft has released it's final rankings for the 2011 draft. Central scouting releases four lists, one each for North American skaters and goalies, and the same for Euorpean skaters and goalies.

Three future Badgers and two current members were featured in this edition by CS. Although in the case for three out of the five, their rankings dropped since Central Scouting released their mid-terms in early January.

2011 forward recruit Joseph LaBate from the Academy of Holy Angels in the twin cities leads the charge at #51 overall. That's up from #60 at the mid-terms. Next is current Badger winger Michael Mersch at #83. Mersch was #63 at the mid-terms. After that is 2011 forward recruit Brendan woods at #147, up 9 spots. Badger defenseman Frankie Simonelli checks in at #154, down from #92 at the mid-term. And finally 2012 or 13 forward recruit Brad Navin from Waupaca rounds out the list of Badgers at #163, down from #150 at the mid-terms due to a knee injury.

Badgers on NHL Central Scouting
#51-Joseph LaBate-Academy of Holy Angels (2011 recruit)
#83-Michael Mersch-Wisconsin
#147-Brendan Woods-Muskegon Lumberjacks (2011 recruit)
#154-Frankie Simonelli-Wisconsin
#163-Brad Navin-Waupaca (2012 or 13 recruit)

Wisconsin natives on NHL Central Scouting
#134-Aaron Harstad-Stavens Point (Colorado College)
#159-Max McCormick-DePere (Ohio State)
#163-Brad Navin-Waupaca

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No playoffs for Navin

Dplaya over at HIW talked w/ Brad Navin a few days ago, and Brad will NOT be back for the WIAA Hockey playoffs which started this evening across the state.  He is hoping to be back to compete w/ Team Wisconsin in their upcoming post season.

Best Wishes to Brad on his continued recovery!  That leaves Tim Davison as the only current UW recruit in the State Tourney.  The State Tourney comes to Madison March 3rd - 5th at the Colesium.  W/ CC in town taking on the Badgers that weekend, I plan to make it a full hockey weekend by catching all four quarterfinal games.  Should be fun.

Wisconsin Recruiting: Brad Navin has strained MCL

As Gandalf posted last night, Brad Navin (pictured left), a forward recruit from Waupaca injured his knee on Thursday in a game at Tomahawk.

The Sixty Minutes blog was able to speak with Navin on Monday afternoon to get the scoop on how bad it was. Navin told us that the doctor informed him that he has an MCL sprain. The good news is that no surgery is needed.

I'm told that these types of injuries aren't severe and that most likely one could expect to be full strength in 4-6 weeks. If the 4-6 weeks is true, that would have Navin coming back right around the first week of the WIAA playoffs.

Navin is committed to Wisconsin for either 2012 or 2013 depending on departures and his development so this doesn't effect his status with the Badgers one iota but it is sad because Navin is a prospective NHL draft pick and the less times he can be seen the more it's going to hurt him in that regard.

Also, there is zero question that he would have been named the Wisconsin Mr. Hockey this season. Personally I still think they should give Navin the award. He's by far the most impressive senior in the state and it's not close.

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HIW reports Navin injured

Hockey in Wisconsin is reporting that 2012 or 2013 forward recruit Brad Navin injured his knee on thursday night against Tomahawk and will have it looked at this week.  Navin plays for Waupaca HS.

Navin is the favorite for Wisconsin's Mr Hockey award, and currently leads the state w/ 52 pts.

Waupaca visited Waupan last night, and I was originally going to drive up for the game to watch Navin play, but the Packers changed my plans.  Thanks goes out to Aaron Rodgers for saving me the trip.

Hoping a speedy recovery to Navin and that he is back on the ice soon.

Four Badgers on NHL Central Scouting Mid-Terms

NHL Central Scouting, an excellent resource for the NHL Draft has released it's annual mid-term rankings today. Two current and two future Badgers were fortunate enough to be recognized by Central Scouting.

The two current Badgers, forward Michael Mersch and defenseman Frankie Simonelli need no introduction. I think both players have exceeded expectations a bit this season at Wisconsin and both are looked upon as important players as the Badgers move forward in their season. Both players are expected to be drafted and their rankings by Central Scouting reflect as much.

Mersch, a 6'2, 198 pound winger is ranked as the #62 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. Adding in European players and goalies, that's a third round projection for Mersch in this summers NHL Draft.

Simonelli, who is listed at 5'10.75, 190 pounds is ranked as the #92 North American skater by CS. When you add in Euro's and goalies, That's around the 4th of 5th round in this summers draft.

An interesting name to follow regarding the draft is Wisconsin recruit Brad Navin. The 6'3, 183 pound center from Waupaca high school is ranked as the #150 North American Skater by Central Scouting. That puts Navin right down towards the end of the draft. Many feel that he would have increased his draft stock by moving to the USHL this season when the opportunity presented itself. I think unquestionably that this is the case but I can see from his point of view why he decided to stay at Waupaca for his senior season.

The other Badger recruit on the list is 6'2.5, 190 pound winger Brendan Woods from Muskegon of the USHL. Last season Central Scouting had Woods listed as the #52 North American skater and he got passed by all 30 NHL teams in all 7 rounds of the draft. Woods isn't lighting up the score board in the USHL by any means so it will be interesting to see if any NHL team takes a shot on him in this draft. Also note that his father is an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals.

There are three other players with Wisconsin ties to be featured by Central Scouting. Stevens Point native and Colorado College recruit Aaron Harstad is ranked #149. Harstad, who plays for the Green Bay Gamblers was passed over in last years draft. Max McCormick, a DePere, WI native and Ohio State recruit is ranked #159. McCormick is having a great rookie year in the USHL with Sioux City. And finally at #190 checks in defenseman Joey Fiala from Verona. Fiala, a Western Michigan recruit is playing with the USA NTDP U18's this season.

Photo courtesy of Melody Hasse

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Wisconsin Recruiting: McGuire, Zulinick Injured

If you have been regularly checking the recruiting statistics you may have noticed a couple of players haven't been playing. Two big time 93 born forwards, Corbin McGuire (Fargo, USHL) and Morgan Zulinick (Salmon Arm, BCHL), both 2012 commitments have been out with injuries.

I was able to get a hold of Zulinick (pictured) the other day to ask him about the injury. "I separated my shoulder and will be back playing on the 29th (Wednesday) against Vernon." He noted that he feels fine, "It's almost 100%."

McGuire, according to Fargo Force beat writer Ryan S. Clark is out with a concussion. A closer look at the USHL transactions reveals McGuire was placed on the 45 day IR by Fargo on November 26th. That would make a return date set for the weekend of January 14/15.
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Navin on fire

No surprise to anyone is the fact that the most recent Badger commit, Brad Navin, is leading the state of Wisconsin in scoring through Christmas. The 6'2 forward is averaging almost 4 points per game for the 8-1 Waupaca Comets. Navin has 20 goals through the first 9 games of the season. Waupaca was ranked #8 in the latest poll conducted by Wisconsin Prep Hockey. Waupaca's only loss this season came at the hands of fifth ranked, and undefeated Ashwaubenon.
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Rumpel turning heads

At no time in Mike Eaves tenure as head coach has he named a freshman the starting goaltender. Which is why many were shocked when Eaves anointed 2011 recruit Joel Rumpel next years starter, a year before he's even slated to be on campus.

But Rumpel is doing his part to silence the critics. Playing in the BCHL, a league known for it's wide open play and it's video game type offensive statistics, Rumpel has been brilliant between the pipes most of the season but has really picked up his play in the month of December.

Thanks to the help of Penticton Vees play by play man Ryan Pinder, we've found that Rumpel has put together a 1.26 GAA, .959 save percentage over his past 6 starts. Due in large part to Rumpels play in the past month, Penticton is in first place in the Interior Conference.

Wisconsin Committed Recruit Statistics (All updated except the NTDP Stats)

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Navin excited to be a Badger

Late Monday night we alerted you to the fact that in state superstar forward Brad Navin (pictured far left) had made a verbal commitment to Mike Eaves and the University of Wisconsin for 2012 or 2013 depending on his development and roster availability.

I was able to check in with big center over the Thanksgiving holiday and he was kind enough to take time away from the turkey to answer a few questions for our readers.

Chuck Schwartz: You've given a commitment to your home town Badgers. How does it feel as a Wisconsin kid to know you're going to be playing for UW in a few years?

Brad Navin: It's a great feeling! It's a dream come true! I've grown up watching and going to Badger games and have always wanted to be a Badger. Also it doesn't get any better to have my family and friends so close so they can come to watch. Nothing better than playing for your home State.

CS: I know you had other college options, can you give the fans a bit of a glimpse into your head on why you settled on Wisconsin?

Navin: I had two other schools in which I was considering, Ohio State and Bemidji State. I had to sit down and write down the pros and cons of each School. Ohio State was very close. Coach Oz has taken over the program and he is a great coach. Wisconsin has a great program, a great hockey tradition/reputation and is known for winning. The coaching staff there, Coach Eaves especially are top notch coaches and he is known for getting players to the next level, and I want to be apart of all that.

CS: You scored I believe something ridiculous like 52 goals last season. You had an opportunity to leave high school this year and play in the USHL. How tough was that decision to stay at Waupaca and give a run at a state championship?

Navin: Yeah this was definitely a very tough decision to make. Team Wisconsin played a big role in my decision too. We pick up play again in the Spring and as a Team we made a goal in the fall to make it to Nationals, and we believe we need every here to make that happen.

CS: Your commitment to Wisconsin means that you'll be teaming up with Team Wisconsin teammate Tim Davison (pictured top right next to Navin) who is also a 2012 or 2013 recruit. Can you give us a brief scouting report on his game and what it will be like to team up with him again in college?

Navin: Tim is a great kid and a great hockey player. He is very easy to get along with and has a great sense of humor. Tim is very good with the puck and can take control and slow the play down. He is not afraid to skate the puck up and get into the play. Being able to be teammates with Tim again in a few years will be awesome. We get along very well together as do our families. We've already talked about being roommates.

CS: NHL Central Scouting listed you as a "B" player to watch this fall. Something like that puts a target on your back especially coming back to high school hockey. Can you tell us what it's like having to deal with the expectations of living up to being put on a prestigious list like that?

Navin: Yes I agree with what you said with the target on my back. I have to come ready to compete day in and day out, I have to continue to work hard on and off the ice. Also I know many players on my team and at the younger age groups here in town look up to me and enjoy when I come out to their youth practices to help out, so I have to stay confident and be a great role model for many.

CS: I'm sure the Wisconsin fans want to know a little bit more about your game. They can see the stats you've put up at the high school level and with Team Wisconsin. Can you describe your game a little bit and what you think you can bring to the table when you get to Wisconsin?

Navin: I'm 6'2.5" so I would have to say I have size and strength in my advantage over many player, I have been told by many people that I have a high caliber shot. I've been a goal scorer a long with a play maker. I believe I have good vision on the ice to find the open man and to make plays. Coming to Wisconsin I think I can bring my size and my ability to score to the team.

Click here to view the statistics for all Wisconsin recruits.
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Editors commentary: I just wanted to thank Brad once again for his time in answering some questions. We're very appreciative of him doing this for us. As with all Wisconsin recruits, we'll be tracking his progress for the next few years until he pulls on that Wisconsin Badgers sweater.

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Badgers Land Top In-State Recruit Brad Navin

The list of in-state high school players to receive scholarship offers from Mike Eaves is pretty short. It takes a big time talent to be an land a UW offer before your senior hockey season begins without playing junior hockey.

That is the case with Waupaca senior forward Brad Navin who sources tell me has accepted an offer Mike Eaves and the Badgers. (Ed. Note: Wisconsin Prep Hockey is also speculating a Navin commitment)

Navin has been a hot name in recruiting circles this fall after tearing up the Upper Midwest High School Elite League with Team Wisconsin.

The 6'2 183 pound center has a nack for finding the net. While in the Elite League this fall, Navin led TW in scoring and finished tied for third in league scoring. Last year as a junior with Waupaca, Navin led the state of Wisconsin in scoring with an astounding 92 points (53 goals) in only 25 games.

This fall he was also rated a "B" player by NHL Central Scouting which means they view him before his draft year as a player projected to be drafted between the third and fifth round.

According to an article written by Chris Walby from Wisco Hockey in mid-October, Navin was considering Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota and Bemidji State for his college destination.

Navin, the odds on favorite to win the Wisconsin Mr. Hockey award this season was briefly listed on the roster of the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) at the end of the Team Wisconsin season. He has since been removed and it should be assumed that he will finish his high school career with Waupaca.

Mr. Navin will spend at least a year in the USHL after this high school season and come in for the 2012 or 2013 season depending on his development and roster availability.

Committed forward recruits:

2011
Brendan Woods-Muskegon (USHL)
Matt Pappe-Sioux City (USHL)
Tyler Lapic-Chicago (USHL)
Cody Strang-Youngstown (USHL)

2012
Morgan Zulinick-Salmon Arm (BCHL)
Nic Kerdiles-US NTDP U17
Corbin McGuire-Fargo (USHL)
Brad Navin-Waupaca (WI HS)-or 2013

Updated committed recruits statistics

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Recruiting: Pair of 95 born players move to the USHL

As I noted on Twitter Friday thanks to a tip from Dave Lundey, one of the top 1995 born players in the country Will Butcher was added to the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) roster. Butcher is a kid that's been talked about many times on this site and is a Sun Prairie native. He's been playing with the Madison Capitols and would be a 2013 recruit.

Admittedly having no inside knowledge of the situation on this kid, It's safe to assume that he's a priority target for Mike Eaves and company. Eaves has slowed his recruiting approach a bit lately after taking a lot of criticism for over-recruiting in the past. At this point we have no recruits committed for the 2013 season yet (Tim Davison is for 2012 or 2013). Butcher would be a great start to that class.

I'm not sure if Butcher has joined Dubuque for the rest of the season or if it was just for the weekend but he was plus 3 on Friday night and had an assist. There are rumors floating around that Butcher has been offered a NTDP spot already for next year and has accepted and that's why he didn't play with Sioux City of the USHL who drafted him but who knows how credible those reports are at this point. Would be interesting to see if he plays the rest of the season in the USHL if he would move to the NTDP next year or not.
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Interestingly enough, another 1995 born Wisconsin defenseman made his USHL debut this weekend as well. Ian McCoshen (pictured), who is from Hudson played for Waterloo this weekend. McCoshen has been playing at Shattuck St. Mary's the past few seasons and was with on the Shattuck Bantam team last season.

I was becoming a bit concerned about what was going on with McCoshen. Waterloo has had him on the roster all season but he didn't play in any games. When Shattuck released their rosters this fall and he wasn't there, no one know what was going on. With McCoshen playing this weekend I guess we've finally located the young man and I'm almost positive McCoshen will be with Waterloo for the rest of the season.

As an August birthday, I'm not sure if McCoshen is going to end up as a 2013 or a 2014 recruit but like Butcher, McCoshen needs to be considered a top priority for the Badgers, and I'm sure he is.
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Theres been some speculation as to who would be signing letters of intent this week when the fall signing period opens. According to Andy Baggot Wisconsin will send letters of intent to all seven players currently committed for next season. They are: goaltender Joel Rumpel from Penticton (BCHL), defenseman Jake McCabe from the USA NTDP, defenseman Troy Hesketh from Chicago (USHL), and forwards Matt Paape (Sioux City, USHL), Tyler Lapic (Chicago, USHL), Brendan Woods (Muskegon, USHL), and Cody Strang (Youngstown, USHL).
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Practice for Wisconsin high school hockey starts tomorrow and the odds on favorite to win this seasons Mr. Hockey award Brad Navin from Waupaca might not be there. I just noticed that Sioux City of the USHL has him on their roster.

He has not played a game yet for them so let's pump the brakes because being rostered doesn't necessarily mean that hes going to the USHL for sure. He played the fall season with Team Wisconsin (and was awesome) and played this past weekend in the season ending Bauer NIT tournament.

Navin finished third this fall in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League scoring race, and led the state of Wisconsin in scoring last season at Waupaca and I have to assume that their schedule didn't get that much better for this season. If he is indeed making the move to Sioux City, I think he would please the NHL scouts that are trying to evaluate him for the upcoming draft as well as the potential colleges who are recruiting him.

Wisconsin has been identified as one of a host of schools who are currently courting the 6'2, 192 pound forward.
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Another interesting note from the weekend is that 2011 Badger recruit Jake McCabe returned to the team and played a game over the weekend against Muskegon on Saturday night. McCabe if you remember, had a stress fracture in his L-5 vertebrae and was scheduled to miss 8-12 weeks with the injury. It looks like it's just past the 8 week mark so that is a great sign.

McCabe will be going overseas to Sweden with his USA Hockey teammates to participate in the four nations cup which starts on Monday.

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