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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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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Turnbull, Simonelli step up, Badgers handle UMass

For some all it takes is one breakout game to propel a player to the next level. Tonight may have been that night for freshman defenseman Frankie Simonelli.

The 18 year old out of Bensenville, Illinois had his most productive game as a Badger recording a goal and two assists in a 5-1 Wisconsin victory. The Badgers have now won four in a row.

Simonelli was thrust into an expanded role, including time on the power play Thursday night with John Ramage off playing with Team USA at the World Junior Championship.

Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves sees the progression in his young defenseman. "(Simonelli) got a little time on the power play tonight. When you’re on the power play and you have a little production that gives you confidence. He’s got some swagger and confidence with the puck right now and that’s a great thing to have. ”

Another Badgers starting to come into his own is Podge Turnbull. The senior center has found a home between freshmen wingers Michael Mersch and Tyler Barnes and buried his sixth and seventh goals of the season in the victory.

Turnbull while very talented, has been inconsistent over his four year career in Madison. After the game he noted that game is starting to open up for him. "Coach Eaves and Coach Butters pulled me aside and said ‘We need you.’ I knew that but it was one of those things that I had to completely understand and that last sit that I had really opened my eyes to game and how I needed to play."

Two other players that have taken criticism for inconsistent play over the past two seasons came to play tonight as well. Patrick Johnson played a hard nosed game throwing his body at anyone who crossed his path. Johnson got the Badgers on the board to start the game only 73 seconds in to the contest when he tipped a Simonelli shot past UMass goalie Jeff Teglia.

Derek Lee, the other player who hasn't always played up to his capabilities showed flashes of why the coaching staff was so enamored with him when he was recruited out of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League. Lee had an assist on the first goal of the game and showed burst and confidence with the puck that he's lacked since becoming a Badger.

Senior goalie Scott Gudmandson played another strong game in goal for Wisconsin. While only being seriously tested a hand full of times, Gudmandson looked confident and quick all night. His only blemish came on a great effort from UMass forward T.J. Syner was able to sneak between Jake Gardiner and Justin Schultz and he buried it on the stick side for Massachusetts only goal.

Badger freshman forward Sean Little collected his first collegiate point Thursday night when he assisted on a goal scored by his older brother Ryan. Coming out of the corner, Sean Little left a drop pass for defenseman Justin Schultz who was coming down the side boards. Schultz found Ryan Little out front with a beautiful pass and the elder little was able to bury the puck for his fourth goal of the season.

Wisconsin is back in action Friday night against UMass with a seven o'clock game time. The game once again will be broadcast live on FSN WI with the replay on the Wisconsin Channel.

BOX SCORE

First Period
1:16-Wisconsin-Patrick Johnson (Frankie Simonelli, Derek Lee)
16:28-Wisconsin-Podge Turnbull (Tyler Barnes, Michael Mersch)

Second Period
2:40-Wisconsin-Ryan Little (Justin Schultz, Sean Little)
6:59-UMass-T.J. Syner (Daniel Hobbs)
9:53-Wisconsin-Simonelli (Craig Johnson, Barnes)
14:05-Wisconsin-Turnbull (Eric Springer, Simonelli)

Third Period
No Scoring

Saves
Wisconsin (Gudmandson)-19 shots, 18 saves
UMass (Teglia)-20 shots, 15 saves
UMass (Dainton)-14 shots, 14 saves

Photo courtesy of Melody Hasse

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Frankie Simonelli, Team USA U18's Win GOLD

Back. To. Back.

The United States Under 18 team dispatched Sweden 3-1 on Friday to claim it's second straight Under 18 Gold Medal in Belarus. The United States squad, which features 2010 Wisconsin defensive recruit Frankie Simonelli lost only once during it's trip to Europe, an opening game loss to eventual silver medalist Sweden.

The United States got solid play in the nets from future first round NHL draft pick Jack Campbell. Campbell allowed just 5 goals against in his 6 games played. He stopped 33 shots in the Gold Medal game. Campbell stopped 96.5% of his shots en route to being named the best goalkeeper of the tournament by the IIHF.

Simonelli, who is expected to immediately step into the Wisconsin lineup next season, played in all seven games for the red, white, and blue. He did not record a point in Belarus, but reports are that he played well during the tournament. Simeonlli had 5 shots on goal and spent two minutes in the penalty box. He was even for the tournament.

Like I mentioned in the opening, this is the second straight gold for the United States in this tournament. As Chris Dilks talks about in his game recap, it's hard to argue with the success of the NTDP in producing results at the international level. The United States has metaled in every tournament since 2004 and has grabbed four gold medals in the past six seasons including going back to back twice. In the past 10 seasons, the United States has won 5 golds, two silvers, and a bronze.

Photo Credit: Mark Bialek for AnnArbor.com

Recruiting: Pair Of Recruits In Town Saturday

First of all I wanted to alert you that I've updated the recruiting statistics for committed and uncommitted players. There haven't been a ton of changes since the last update (besides obviously the stats).

2011 forward recruit Tyler Lapic has been traded from the Omaha Lancers (USHL) to the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL). This is going to work out as a great trade for Lapic. He was putting some points on the board with Omaha but was having a tough time staying in the lineup consistently with the outstanding lineup that Omaha has. He should be a regular in the lineup for Des Moines. In two games so far he has a goal and an assist.

I've also added the statistics of potential Shattuck recruits Ian McCoshen and Zach Stepan. Both players have been listed on the site for a long time but I've been having problems accessing their statistics with my Microsoft Excel. McCoshen is a 1995 born defenseman from Hudson and Stepan is a 1994 born forward and (I believe) the cousin of Derek Stepan, and originally from New Richmond. Both are nice players to keep an eye on.

The biggest reason for this post is to make sure to remind you guys that two recruits who will be skating for the Badgers next season will be in town on Saturday night. Forward Michael Mersch (pictured, top left), who is accelerating his studies to be a Badger next season, and defenseman Frankie Simonelli (pictured, middle left) who both play for the USA NTDP U18 squad will be in Madison to take on the Badgers Saturday at 7.

The subject has been brought up on how to treat the USA U18 squad. And my advice would be to treat this just like any other game to an extent. Go through your usual rituals but at the same time cheer on the USA boys if that makes sense. The U18's are going to expect a hostile environment so don't disappoint them.

A few nice signs for Simonelli and Mersch would be a nice touch to welcome the future Badgers. Also, goaltender Jack Campbell, and forward Jason Zucker who just won a gold medal along with Badgers Derek Stepan, John Ramage, and Jake Gardiner probably deserve a nice standing ovation if you ask me.

As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcomed.

chuckschwartz@live.com

US NTDP schedules released: 3 games in WI

A couple of days ago, the US NTDP released the schedules for the U17 and U18 teams. As DPlaya points out, the U17 team plays 1 game in WI, and the U18 team plays 2 games in WI. It's too bad that the sole U17 game in WI is at the same time as the U18 game v. the Badgers.

It doesn't look like USA Hockey has yet updated their rosters for this year, but the U17 roster should include potential Badger recruit Jake McCabe, and the U18 roster should include future Badgers Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch.

USNTDP: Frankie Simonelli, Michael Mersch

I really need to start paying better attention to things. Apparently, last month (where was I?) usahockey.com had a feature on future Badger defenseman Frankie Simonelli, and 2 days ago (again, where was I?) they had a feature of future Badger forward Michael Mersch.

Simonelli and Mersch both played on the USNTDP U17 squad last season. I'd imagine that they'll be on the U18 squad this season? I think both players are slotted to join the Badgers in 2010 or 2011 -- I think Simonelli more likely in 2010 and Mersch more likely in 2011, simply based on the players lined up so far on D and F.

Simonelli, Mersch, Ramage win @ international tourneys

2009 Vlad Dzurilla U-18
Future Badgers Frankie Simonelli (D) and Michael Mersch (F) helped the US National U-17 team win the Vlad Dzurilla U-18 Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia. In addition to the US U-17 team, the tourney included U-18 teams from Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland.

I can't give you complete tourney results because I can't find the tourney website and (not surprisingly) the USA Hockey website doesn't have that information.

Feb 5: USA 3 - GER 1 (Simonelli 1-0-1, Mersch 0-0-0)
Feb 6: SWI 6 - USA 5 (SO) (Simonelli 1-0-1, Mersch 0-1-1)
Feb 7: USA 7 - SVK 1 (Simonelli 0-1-1, Mersch 0-0-0)

2009 Five Nations U-18
Future Badger John Ramage (D) helped the US National U-18 team win the Five Nations U-18 tournament in Nykoping, Sweden. The other 4 teams at the tourney were Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Russia.

Once again, despite locating swehockey.se, I can't find full tourney results. I was smart enough to find a 5-nationersturneringen link, but that page doesn't have results. So once again we'll have to settle for the offerings of the USA Hockey website. Team USA won all of its games to win the tourney. Ramage was held off the scoresheet.

Feb 5: USA 3 - SWE 2
Feb 6: USA 7 - CZE 3
Feb 7: USA 3 - FIN 2
Feb 8: USA 5 - RUS 3

Badgers at the World U17s

As milzie was so kind to remind me the other day (thanks, milzie!), future Badger defenseman Frankie Simonelli and future Badger forward Michael Mersch are playing for Team USA in the 2009 World U17 Hockey Challenge. The tourney started on Mon, Dec 29 and continues through Sun, Jan 4.

Team USA has won all 5 of their games so far and will face Canada Pacific in the semis today at 9:00 CST. Hmmm, USA defeated PAC 11-0 in the exhibition game preceding the tourney. Canada West and Ontario play in the other semifinal at 5:00 CST.

Sun, Dec 28: USA 11 - PAC 0 (ex), Simonelli 1G 1A, Mersch 1 G
Mon, Dec 29: USA 12 - FIN 1, Simonelli 0G 2A, Mersch 1G 1A
Wed, Dec 31: USA 4 - QC 3, both held off the scoresheet
Thurs, Jan 1: USA 6 - SVK 1, Mersch 1G 0A
Fri, Jan 2: USA 7 - WST 0, Mersch 1G 0A

By the way, before being defeated by the US yesterday, Canada West was previously unbeaten in the tourney.

Mersch logs first goal w/ NTDP

Last night the US NTDP U17 team beat the Bismarck Bobcats 5-1 as part of the NAHL Showcase. Michael Mersch scored the game winning goal for the NTDP and was assisted on the play by past, current and future teammate Frankie Simonelli.

Good start for these kids!

US NTDP U17 roster includes Simonelli, Mersch

The2008-09 NTDP U17 roster was officially released today, and as expected future Badgers Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch have made the roster. The '08-'09 U17 schedule was released just a few days ago.

If you'd like to refresh you memory, here are our previous blog posts about Simonelli and Mersch.

Not sure if we posted this previously, but I just ran across this blurb from The Scouting News regarding Simonelli:

Top notch?

What can be a more fitting tribute to a 16 year old player other than an offer from a solid, nationally ranked team? Every prospect with a modicum of hockey ambition is hankering for an overture from a big-league squad! Frankie Simonelli has already received his call from close to every OHL and USHL team. But he has bigger fish to fry! The youngster will be a key player for the NTDP program in 2008-2009. Find out what the youngster brings to the table!

Also ran across this blurb from The Scouting News regarding Mersch:

Where is the logic?

The world of youth hockey is not totally subject to the laws of logic. Plenty of illogical stuff is going on. There were some illogical picks at the drafts this May, there were some illogical cuts from teams last season, etc. Why the NTDP waited so long to finally sign Team Illinois AAA top prospect Michael Mersch is yet another mystery of the illogical USA Hockey system.

Unfortunately, I can't access the rest of either article since I'm not a subscriber.

RLR: Simonelli, Mersch

Andy Baggot reports that, according to the latest Red Line Report, future Badgers Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch performed quite well at the USA Hockey Select 16 Festival:

On Simonelli: "Sleeper just continues to get better every game and has made a believer out of us. Plays with an edge and is tough to play against. Work ethic is exceptional and his skills have improved dramatically. Has turned into a premium blue-liner in his class with the skills to be offensive and yet still get back to defend. Solid, steady, consistent player does everything well.

Yeah, I'm pretty fired-up about Frankie Simonelli!

On Mersch: "Has great hands, vision, and can flat-out score goals. Past Festival performances rival anyone as he's been a top-10 scorer for three straight Festivals. Needs to work on his skating. . . . needs to balance his terrific offesnive insticts and skills with more energy and passion."

Ok, so he has some things to work on, but I sure do like the first 2 sentences of that review!

Baggot's article also has RLR evals of potential recruit Max Gardiner and Wisconsinite Aaron Harstad.

2 Monday Evening Links

Just a couple of quick items this evening:

• The latest 2008 Hockey Preview video is up -- Playing at the KC
  


• DPlaya has a post on HIW regarding the National Select 16 Tourney. Future Badgers playing include Michael Mersch and Frankie Simonelli, and potential Badger recruits playing include Max Gardiner (Jake's brother). A number of Wisconsinites are also playing.

Sunday Evening Odds & Ends

• On Friday, Uwbadgers.com posted the 6th installment of it's 2008 Hockey Preview Videos -- this video features Jamie McBain. I think we may have neglected to post on this blog the 6/11 feature on the captains. In case you missed any of the videos (I still haven't watched all of them yet), here's a link to all of the preview videos, as well as bonus coverage including Q&As with Engel/Drewiske/Klubertanz, Johnson/Davies, and equipment manager Steve Castelletti.



• The University of Wisconsin Athletic Board has announced it's Athletic Board Scholars for the 2007-08 academic year. The athletes named are the top male and female atheletes for each sport. This list includes hockey players Ryan Jeffrey (legal studies) and Maria Evans (Geography and Environmental Studies). Nice work, Ryan and Maria!

• The UW Athletic Department won a Silver Award at the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) annual convention for it's Badger Women's Hockey "Fill the Bowl" event. The promotion raised 8 barrels of food and over $5,000 for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Wisconsin. It also helped the Badgers set the NCAA women's hockey attendance record at 5,377.

• Not sure if we mentioned this yet, but a couple of weeks ago Todd Milewski talked to Badger recruits Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch about the OHL.
  

• Thanks to DPlaya, I see that Joe Pavelski is back in Wisconsin running a hockey camp in Stevens point for local kids. Kyle Klubertanz and Scott Pavelski are also helping out.
  

• Also, thanks to DPlaya, I have a link to a 6/10 THN article on Badger alumnus Chris Chelios. It's an amusing article that points out (in a fun way) just how old Chris Chelios really is.



• Not Badger Hockey related, but the Denver Post has a good article about David Carle and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The article also includes a list of 4 athletes who have died unexpectedly from the disease and what they were doing at that time. Thanks to LetsGoDU for the link.
  

If your bored on a Wednesday....

Then here are some links to Badger articles to occupy your time.

Heres an article on Cody Goloubef on nhl.com (Thanks to Todd Milewski)

Here is an article again courtesy of Milewski on recent commits Michael Mersch and Frankie Simonelli on getting drafted by OHL teams.

uwbadgers.com has come up with their 4th installment of pre-season videos.

uwbadgers.com did a question and answer session with Pat Johnson and Mike Davies.

In WCHA news, Joe Finley confirms hes coming back next season to play for the Sioux. Any forward with ANY speed in the WCHA is actually excited he's coming back to get torched for another season.

Just wanted to thank Ryan at the USHL blog for linking us. He does a fantastic job over there you guys should all check it out.

Photo courtesy of the Daily Cardinal

In case you missed it

I have a few items from the past several days that we haven't linked here on the blog yet. You may already have seen these items, but I just thought I'd post the links just in case.

• Uwbadgers.com has the second installment of the 2008 Men's Hockey Preview Videos: The 2008 Recruiting Class. I won't bore you with my thoughts, but I wouldn't be surprised if Gandalf and/or Chuck share some thoughts about this at some point. (Thankfully, their thoughts tend to be more interesting than mine.)

• WCH has a fun post on the NHL draft combine, and HIW has a bit on how Badgers at the combine performed. I gotta tell ya, I'm pretty fired-up to see Jake Gardiner play and also to see how Goloubef's play progesses his sophomore season.

• Baggot had a follow-up article in Saturday's WSJ about recent commits Simonellis and Mersch.

• Apparently Mike Eaves was one of the more entertaining coaches at the recent Badger Days stops. Or more accurately, on the bus rides to and from the Badger Days stops.

Eau Claire: We won’t leave till all the coaches are on the bus. Coach Eaves, attending to his always-busy schedule, was the last one on the bus as we loaded in front of Camp Randall Stadium. There was talk of fining him or making him sing, but he served his “punishment” by grabbing the mic telling some really good jokes on the bus on the way home.

Green Bay: I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Coach Eaves an “A” for effort on our return trips home. His seemingly endless array of jokes (most of them good) has kept us all entertained, but women’s soccer coach Paula Wilkins made a serious run at Eaves’ title last night on the way home from Lambeau. Good times.

Wausau: We had been a little pressed for time prior to the start of our Badger Days events in Milwaukee and Green Bay, so we moved up our departure for Wausau on Thursday to 1 p.m., which meant we left around 1:10 p.m. By 1:12, men’s hockey Coach Mike Eaves was deadpanning: “I wonder what they’ll have for us to eat tonight?” Laughter filled the bus. Each of the four Badger Days events featured identical meals: brats, chicken, hot dogs, potato salad and cookies.

Funniest UW coaches: Eaves (for his four days of jokes and commentary; he’s as relentless as the team he coaches) and women’s soccer coach Paula Wilkins (her comedic performance on the way back from Green Bay has already attained
mythic status)

Michael Mersch officially commits to Wisconsin

Wisconsin State Journal writer has confirmed that Team Illinois Midget Minor forward Michael Mersch has committed to Wisconsin. He joins Team Illinois Midget Major defenseman and friend Frankie Simonelli who I had already confirmed committed last week.

Baggot claims that the earliest Mersch could get there is 2010 but from the information I have, he graduates high school in 2011. Unless he accelerates his studies he wouldn't be in Madison until the fall of 2011.

Mersch is by all accounts an extremely talented forward prospect with boat loads of potential. He, like Simonelli was invited to the NTDP tryout. If he were to be offered a spot and accept it, that could become a bit fishy for Wisconsin. He would be entering the NTDP as a sophomore in high school. That means that once he ages out of the program, he will still have 1 season left to finish of high school. This falls into the same category as Peter Mueller, Pat Kane, Phil Kessel, Nick Pryor, Etc. Mueller and Kane decided to go play major junior after they aged out (although Mueller couldn't get into school any ways), Kessel accelerated his studies to enter Minnesota a year earlier, and Pryor is going to play a season in the USHL while he finishes high school. So it should be interesting to see how this unfolds.

But regardless it's great to have these guys on board whenever they get here.

Here are some links to Simonelli and Mersch when I first found out that they may have committed to Wisconsin.

This is what his Team Illinois head coach Jon Hull had to say about him: "Michael is big and strong, and his physical play opens up the ice for Nick and Danny," said Hull, who played six years of junior hockey in Canada before evolving into coaching and transplanting to the Chicago area.

Chris Dilks (Western College Hockey): "Power forward with good scoring ability."

He also had this to say about him after the USA Select 15 camp last summer: "Finished the week as the leading scorer. Very active player that always seems to be involved in the play. Showed the ability to hit, as well as score points."

Michael Mersch was also invited to the NTDP Tryout.

USHR had this to say about Mersch at the Beantown Fall Classic: "6’1” late ’92 forward Michael Mersch was excellent, a cut above the rest and a hard worker to boot."

Here is Mersch's Point Streak Page.

I have not gotten to personally see Mersch play but he almost seems like a Blake Geoffrion type player. Ability to put points on the board but he's going to hammer it out on the boards too.

Simonelli official, waiting on Mersch

Chris Heisenberg confirms what I had already posted on USCHO late Friday night that Team Illinois Major defenseman Frankie Simonelli has committed to the University of Wisconsin for 2010. He will be on a 90% scholarship. (In hockey this is basically considered a full scholarship)

Simonelli and Team Illinois lost in the USA Hockey National Championship at the hands of Shattuck St. Marys Prep and Wisconsin recruits Derek Stepan and Jordy Murray.

It has not been confirmed yet where Simonelli will be playing next season. He tried out with the NTDP but has not been extended an offer yet. He was also drafted by Cedar Rapids in the recent USHL draft in the 14th round #114 overall. He was 1 of only 7 other's with '92 birthdates to be drafted. He was also drafted by Plymouth in the 15th round of the OHL draft but it doesn't seem that he would go that route.

Chris from the Western College Hockey blog had this to say about him: "I saw him at the Elite League NIT, and he didn’t really stand out against older players, but everyone seems to agree that the talent is there." Chris had him rated as the 8th best available defenseman for 2010. Brandon Archibald from the Honeybaked program, who Wisconsin is also recruiting is ranked as the third best available defenseman.

Here is a link to Simonelli's point streak page which has his stats from league play last season.

I am still trying to confirm whether or not Michael Mersch has committed to Wisconsin yet. He is a late '92 birthday and would be a 2011 recruit.

Latest rumors say Mersch, Simonelli commit to Badgers

There is a rumor going around that Team Illinois Minor forward Michael Mersch and Team Illinois Majors defenseman Frankie Simonelli have committed to the University Of Wisconsin this week. On Chris Dilks Western College Hockey 2010 recruiting board, he has Mersch as the third best available forward recruit and Simonelli as the 8th best available defenseman. (Brandon Archibald from Detroit Honeybaked who has been to Madison for a visit is listed as the third best available defenseman)

I'll do some checking around to see what I can find out on these two men.

Update: Here are a few tidbits floating around the net on these two prospects.

Michael Mersch:

This is what his head coach Jon Hull had to say about him: "Michael is big and strong, and his physical play opens up the ice for Nick and Danny," said Hull, who played six years of junior hockey in Canada before evolving into coaching and transplanting to the Chicago area.

Chris Dilks (Western College Hockey): "Power forward with good scoring ability."

He also had this to say about him after the USA Select 15 camp last summer: "Finished the week as the leading scorer. Very active player that always seems to be involved in the play. Showed the ability to hit, as well as score points."

Michael Mersch was also invited to the NTDP Tryout.

USHR had this to say about Mersch at the Beantown Fall Classic: "6’1” late ’92 forward Michael Mersch was excellent, a cut above the rest and a hard worker to boot."

Here is Mersch's Point Streak Page.

Frankie Simonelli:

Simonelli was also invited to the NTDP Tryout Camp.

Chris Dilks at the same link I just listed said this about him: "I saw him at the Elite League NIT, and he didn’t really stand out against older players, but everyone seems to agree that the talent is there."

He was drafted in the 15th round of the OHL draft by the Plymouth Whalers, 290th overall.

Cedar Rapids took Simonelli in the 8th round of the recent USHL draft, 114th overall. He was 1 of only 7 drafted with '92 birth years.

USHR liked Frankie at the Beantown Fall classic.

Here is Simonelli's Point Streak page.