NHL Draft: Clark Taken In Third, Ramage Fourth

In a draft that provided little in the way of surprises, two Wisconsin Badgers heard their names called right around where they expected.

Jason Clark (pictured), a rangy six foot two forward from the Shattuck St. Marys program was selected in the third round of the 2010 NHL Draft being held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The incoming freshman went off the board with the #82 pick overall to the New York Islanders.

Clark, a skilled big man is expected to be an immediate contributor to the Badgers offense. After losing multiple regulars off last seasons roster, Clark will be looked upon to play big minutes next season.
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A player who may be a little more familiar to the average Badger fan, Johnny Ramage heard his name called in the fourth round. The 6'1, 184 lb defenseman from St. Louis was taken 103rd overall by the Calgary Flames.

Ramage, who was passed over in the NHL Draft last season had a breakout year for the Badgers as a freshman. Paired up with All-American and Hobey Baker finalist Brendan Smith, Ramage was one of the most consistent players on the roster. Ramage saw his stock skyrocket with a Gold Medal performance at the World Junior Championships that saw him play huge minutes in huge spots.

John's father, Rob, who played 16 seasons in the NHL spent parts of two NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames. The elder Ramage recorded 23 points in 80 games while playing in Calgary. Rob finished his NHL career with 564 points in 1044 career NHL games.
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I got this video off of UWBadgers.com and it's a nice interview with Jason Clark after he was drafted by New York. Very nice interview. Also, the UWBadgers.com article had this interesting anecdote which is pretty impressive, "The selections of Ramage and Clark extend Wisconsin's streak to 13 consecutive years during which it had at least one student-athlete selected in the NHL draft. Since Jeff Rotsch was drafted in 1970, only during 1983 and 1997 were the Badgers shutout at the draft."

NHL Draft Linkorama

The NHL Draft starts tomorrow night from L.A. The first round will be shown on Versus, and I believe it starts at 6 PM CDT. A few Badgers could hear their names called this weekend, but it would be shocking to hear any of their names tomorrow night.

Baggot has a post about the Badgers w/ a good chance to be picked:

Winger Jason Clark, an incoming freshman, is projected as high as the third round. Defenseman John Ramage, a sophomore-to-be at UW, is projected between the third and fifth rounds. Winger Brendan Woods, a committed recruit for 2011-12, is projected between the third and fifth rounds as well. Center Mark Zengerle, an incoming freshman, is projected to be a late-round pick.

I didn’t know that Zengerle was eligible; I thought he was too old, since he turned 21 last month already. Anyway, Saturday should be fun to see where the Badgers fall and to whom (if they get picked by the Rangers…). Baggot also comments on the WCHA’s chances in the first round and gives a good summary of the potential players who could hear their name called tomorrow night:

North Dakota (defenseman Derek Forbort and center Brock Nelson) and Denver (wingers Beau Bennett and Jason Zucker) have two, while Coloardo College (center Jaden Schwartz), Minnesota (center Nick Bjugstad) and Minnesota-Duluth (defenseman Justin Faulk) have one each in the first-round discussion.

Forbort and Bjugstad are locks, while Nelson and Bennett have seen their value rise as the draft approaches. If you want to check out more on these future WCHA opponents or a host of other kids who will be picked this weekend, Western College Hockey has a great post of links on the draft.

I haven’t really seen anything on Woods or Clark, but there are quite a few links out there to information on John Ramage. Hockey’s Future lists Ramage as their #4 NCAA prospect (incoming freshman are not included). Inside College Hockey also has him on their list. From HF:

Ramage is a defensive defenseman who plays with an edge. He thrives on the physical side of the game, and with some added size and strength, could become a more dominating player for opponents to contend with. Like the rest of Wisconsin’s defensive unit, Ramage possesses great puck-moving ability. He displays good poise, patience and makes very good outlet passes. Although he may never post many points, Ramage does have some offensive upside to his game. He has an excellent shot and can get pucks to the net. Ramage is a powerful skater with nice strides but will need to improve moving his feet more consistently, particularly in one-on-one situations. He was a key cog on the Badgers penalty-killing unit this season, displaying some terrific shot-blocking and smart defensive zone play.

From INCH:

Scout's Take: "You know what you're gonna get with John—a defensive defenseman in every sense of the word. The first time I saw him, I couldn't believe how physical he was, and he always plays hard. He was good [with the U.S. team] at the World Junior Championship. He might not make the long-bomb pass to a forward, but he'll make a good first pass out of the zone.

"The thing I worry about with John is his skating. If he can lengthen out his stride, he's got a chance to go places. I see him getting taken somewhere between the late third round and the end of the fifth round."

I also found, through WCH, a great link from an Anaheim Ducks blog about Ramage. In case you forget, two summers ago, the Ducks picked Jake Gardiner and Justin Schultz in the 1st and 2nd round of the 2008 draft. The Ducks and their fans have to be happy w/ the way their prospects are developing, and this blogger thinks the Ducks should look to grab Ramage in the 3rd round to add to the collection. It sounds like they’ve watched a few Badger games and had this to say:

Upside?

Perfect Attendance - Ramage is incredibly consistent with a high compete level. His basement value above the shoulders is very high

Movable Part - Despite being the team's rookie stay-at-home defenseman, Ramage did play in multiple situations for the Badgers, showing off an impressive shot and some puck confidence in addition to his defensive skills.

Downside?

Sizable Disadvantage - While not small, Ramage is not the prototypical big stay-at-home defenseman. Martin Madden and Bob Murray were comfortable taking a chance on a diminutive offensive defenseman (Sami Vatanen) in the 4th Round last year, and there may be defensemen with more upside, even in the 4th Round, drawing attention away from Ramage.

A Different Tune - He was still fine tuning his one-on-one skills, and he will have to finish his career at Wisconsin without Osiecki. It's hard to project how his amateur development will proceed.

Lastly, INCH actually has a cool article about the NHL's best and worst NCAA picks since 2003. No surprise, several Badgers net honors as the best for their respective teams:

Carolina: Jamie McBain, D, Wisconsin (2/63, 2006)
Based on a terrific AHL rookie year and a fantastic 14-game stint in the NHL, it looks like the 'Canes got a steal late in Round 2.

Nashville: Ryan Suter, D, Wisconsin (1/7, 2003)
The Preds guaranteed themselves a dozen years of steady play on the blue line by taking Suter and Shea Weber in '03.

Ottawa: Brian Elliott, G, Wisconsin (9/291, 2003)
The second-to-last pick in the 2003 draft has a 46-26-7 record for the Sens, including a 29-18-4 mark this past season.

San Jose: Joe Pavelski, F, Wisconsin (7/205, 2003)
The Polish Prince could never score another NHL goal and still rank as one of the biggest draft steals over the past seven seasons.

One player is listed as worst:

Chicago: Jack Skille, F, Wisconsin (1/7, 2005)
Solid AHL performer can't crack the big club. He went one pick before Devin Setoguchi, who has 51 goals in his last two seasons in San Jose.

To be fair to Jack, the salary cap has been what has been holding him back from cracking the ‘Hawks roster, which INCH obviously doesn’t point out. W/ Buff and others getting traded to Atlanta the other day, I think Skille’s time will start in Chicago next season, he better be ready!

INCH also lists a few other Badgers who recently signed including Brendan Smith and Blake Geoffrion. I think both will acquit themselves well at the next level. INCH must not have gotten the news last summer, since they still list Ryan McDonagh as a Montreal prospect. Newsflash INCH, he was traded to the Rangers a year ago and there has been hoopla about him signing for the past month!

NHL Mock Draft (Woods, Clark, Ramage)

Just saw my first full 7 round NHL mock draft of the off season and it included a few incoming/current Wisconsin Badgers. While the 2010 Draft isn't expected to be significant in terms of high end draft picks for the Badgers, it is expected that Brendan Woods (Muskegon, USHL), Jason Clark (Incoming Freshman), and John Ramage (Current Badger) will be drafted anywhere from rounds three through seven.

The guy putting together the mock draft in this case used some mathematical calculations to try and determine his selections. I'm not going to go out and tell you to use this mock draft as gospel because Taylor Hall will not be drafted third, and Cam Fowler at 20 is an absolute joke. However, it does give us a pretty good idea of where our Badgers will be selected.

First off the board according to this guy is going to be Brendan Woods. Woods is an interesting case because he missed half of his draft year with a pretty severe leg injury. Once Woods came back to his Chicago (USHL) squad, it took him a while to get used to the pace of play in the USHL as it was his rookie year. Woods turned it on at the end of the season recording 6 of his 10 points this season in the last 10 games. This guy has Woods going in the fourth round to Montreal. Woods was selected in the USHL Expansion Draft and will spend next season with Muskegon before coming to Wisconsin in 2011.

The next Badger off the board in this Mock Draft comes just 20 picks later when the Sharks use their 5th round pick to take Shattuck St. Mary's forward and incoming Badger recruit Jason Clark. Clark's size/skill package is going to be intriguing to a lot of NHL teams and it would not surprise me at all to see Clark go higher than the fifth round.

The last Badger player taken in this mock is sophomore to be defenseman John Ramage. Rammer really burst on to the scene with his performance at the World Junior Championships where team USA won gold. Ramage also had a great freshman season for the Badgers playing rock solid defense being paired up with Brendan Smith and also chipping in a few points. This mock draft has him going in the 6th round to Calgary, but I personally think that there will be a team that will step up and draft him higher. Ramage proved at the WJC that he can be a shut down defender against the top players in the world in his age group.

As a point of reference, keep in mind that incoming recruits Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch are NOT eligible for the 2010 draft. A player needs to turn 18 by September 15th and neither one of them will turn 18 until October so they will be in the 2011 Draft next summer. Also, incoming recruit Mark Zengerle is not eligible for the Draft because he already turned 21.

Jason Clark (Officially) On Board

Official Press Release on UWBadgers.com

We've kept our eye on him (okay... Chuck kept his eye on him) for a while, and his verbal commitment to come to Madison next year has now been made official.

Welcome to the fold, Jason!

TW Wins Opener; Clark Wins, Kerdiles Loses

The Team Wisconsin U16's took care of business in the opener in a thrilling 2-1 victory over the #25 ranked Carolina Jr. Hurricanes.

Team Wisconsin who played in the National Tournament last year as well, also opened up with an OT victory if my memory serves me correctly. The goal last year was scored by former Eau Claire Memorial, current USA NTDP-17, and future Badger defenseman Jake McCabe. Tonight's goal was scored by another Eau Claire Memorial product with a Badger connection, Alex Dahl who's older brother Jefferson will be a freshman forward for the Badgers next season. Garrett Clemment from Wausau assisted on the game winner.

Brandon Walls from DePere had the other goal for Team Wisconsin. He was assisted by Ashton Wackym from USM and Ben Scherschel from Oregon. Austin Priebe from Wausau West was a rock in the nets for TW stopping 26 of 27 pucks to earn the victory.

Team Wisconsin U16's next play tomorrow vs #10 North Jersey Avalanche @ 5:00 PM.

Nic Kerdiles, the 2012 forward recruit who plays for the LA Select U16's, who I talked about in the previous post lost 2-0 to the #1 ranked Chicago Mission squad. The Mission, who sent 6 players to the recent NTDP tryout camp are absolutely loaded. Forward Lane King who is from Wisconsin had an assist in the win for the Mission. Kerdiles obviously went scoreless. Kerdiles and the U16 LA Selects next play tomorrow at 12:45 PM vs the Carolina Jr Hurricanes.

Jason Clark, the 2010 forward recruit mentioned previously had a bit better fortune. His #1 ranked Shattuck St. Marys U18 squad beat the Pittsburgh Hornets 2-1 in Overtime. Clark, who will be an NHL draft pick this summer was held scoreless in the opener. Clark and U18 Shattuck St. Marys squad next plays tomorrow at 7:30 PM vs Detroit Belle Tire.

Badger Recruits At USA Nationals

As I noted in the last post, USA Hockey is running it's annual National Tournaments this week/end. Two committed Badger recruits are poised to be prominent players as they lead their teams towards a Championship.

Nick Kerdiles, a 1994 born forward from California is the premier player for the LA Selects U16 squad. Back in February, Kerdiles committed to the Badgers for the 2012 season. He visited the campus for the Culvers Camp Randall Hockey Classic. I interviewed him shortly after the commitment.

Kerdiles and his LA Selects squad advanced to Nationals by sweeping through the Pacific District playoffs going 5-0. The LA Selects are ranked #14 in the Country in the U16 division according to My Hockey Rankings.com. They play the Chicago Mission team tonight at 6:20. The Mission are the #1 ranked team in the U16 division. They have a pair of potential UW recruits with forward Ray Piggozi and defenseman Justin Wade.

Jason Clark, who I mentioned earlier today in my post talking about the NHL Central Scouting rankings leads his Shattuck St. Mary's squad into the U18 tournament. Shattuck St. Mary's is the number 1 ranked team in the country according to My Hockey Rankings.com. Clark, a 2010 forward recruit committed to the Badgers in January. He's had a very nice season for Shattuck St. Marys and is ranked as the #81 best available North American prospect for the upcoming NHL Draft.

Shattuck is having an outstanding season going 35-9-5. They went 10-3-2 in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League featuring the best U18 players from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Shattuck opens up their tournament with the Pittsburgh Hornets at 4:10 PM.

Nick Kerdiles LA Selects Schedule:

4/7/2010-6:20 PM vs Chicago Mission
4/8/2010-12:45 PM vs Carolina Jr Hurricanes
4/9/2010-8:15 AM vs North Jersey Avalanche

Jason Clark's Shattuck St. Mary's Schedule:

4/7/2010-4:10 PM vs Pittsburgh Hornets
4/8/2010-7:30 PM vs Detroit Belle Tire
4/9/1010-2:45 PM vs Mid Fairfield Blues

NHL Releases Final Central Scouting Rankings

NHL Central Scouting released it's final Draft rankings literally minutes ago and there is a handful of Badgers/future Badgers listed. The 2010 NHL Draft will be in held in Los Angeles, California this summer.

The highest ranked Badger is 2010 incoming recruit Jason Clark who is currently playing at Shattuck St. Marys High School in Fairbult, MN. Clark, a 6'2, 180 lb forward is listed by Central Scouting as the #81 ranked North American prospect. Clark had a solid season for Shattuck recording a line of 23-23-46 in 54 games.

The next future Badger listed is 2011 recruit Brendan Woods who is playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL. Woods, a 6'2, 188 lb forward is listed by Central Scouting as the #83 ranked North American prospect. Woods, who has had to overcome a pre-season broken leg, has recorded 10 points in 34 games for the Steel this season. Woods, who's father is Washington Capitals assistant coach Bob Woods looks like a real nice pick up for the 2011 class.

Current Badger defenseman John Ramage is the next player listed by Central Scouting. The 6'1, 184 lb defenseman from St. Louis has had an outstanding freshman season for the Badgers far exceeding expectations. Ramage, who went un-drafted in his first year of eligibility is listed by Central Scouting as the #131 best available North American player. He was ranked #187 during the mid-term rankings. Ramage has put up some numbers, 12 points in 39 games, but the best part of his game is being a lock down defenseman. He's as good or better than advertised.

Also of note, former Stevens Point defenseman and current Green Bay Gamblers defenseman Aaron Harstad checks in at #94 on the latest Central Scouting Rankings. Harstad, a Colorado College recruit is a really, really nice player. He would have looked very good in cardinal and white but it's always great to see Wisconsin born players advancing to the next level, except when they go to Minnesota.

Future WCHA'ers In Madison This Weekend

The Madison Capitols are hosting the 22nd annual Gold Medal Classic this weekend in Madison at the Capitol Ice Center in Middleton. Sixteen of the best Midget Major programs in the country will be in the area over the weekend for the event.

The tournament starts on Thursday and runs through Sunday. Tournament schedule can be found here. The tournament features some of the best under 18 players in the country.

Jason Clark, who recently committed to play for the Wisconsin Badgers next season is a forward with the Shattuck St. Marys squad. They play Thursday at 6:15 PM, Friday at 12:00 PM, and Saturday at 8:00 AM. They also most likely will play in the medal rounds on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Schmaltz, a 2012 committed defenseman will not be in attendance as he was invited to play with the United States U-17 squad in an international tournament.

Other elite players that will be in attendance that are committed to colleges:

Shattuck St. Marys: Joe Basaraba (Minnesota Duluth), Jason Clark (Wisconsin), Kirill Gotovets (Cornell), Jimmy Mullin (Miami), J.P. Lafontaine (Minnesota State), James Polk (Nebraska-Omaha), Brad Robbins (Bemidji).

Team Illinois: Chris Joyaux (Ohio State)

Hats off to MadCityRich for the heads up as always.

Shattuck Pipeline Continues: Jason Clark Verbals

Coach Eaves is going back to the well that never seems to go dry. The well? Shattuck St. Marys Prep School in Fairbult, MN. You've heard about all the players: Parise, Okposo, Toews, and Crosby. The school has also produced recent Badgers McBain, Grotting, Stepan, and Murray.

Wisconsin extended pipeline this week when senior forward Jason Clark from Eden Prarie, MN gave the Badger coaching staff his verbal commitment to play for Wisconsin next fall.

The 6'1, 180 pound Clark saw an opportunity to opportunity to immediately step into the Badgers lineup next season with the graduation of seven senior forwards.

Wisconsin signed five forwards in the early signing period (Jefferson Dahl, Mark Zengerle, Tyler Barnes, Sean Little, and Michael Mersch). Clark would be the sixth member of the forward class for the fall of 2010. The Badgers also have commitments from four forwards that could come to Madison in the fall as well, but will most likely be 2011 recruits unless there are early departures (Tyler Lapic, Matt Paape, Cody Strang, and Gavin Hartzog).

Clark is a shoe-in to be drafted in the upcoming NHL draft this summer in Los Angeles. Prior to his commitment, the only player with Badger ties connected to the draft was going to be current defenseman John Ramage. Clark was ranked as the 73rd best skater eligible for the draft in North America by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau which released it's mid-term rankings this week. Most likely he will be drafted anywhere from the second round to the fourth round.

Projected Wisconsin Recruit Lineup:

2010 Forward Recruits:
Tyler Barnes-Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)-Burnsville, MN
Jason Clark-Shattuck St. Marys Prep-Eden Prarie, MN
Jefferson Dahl-Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)-Eau Claire, WI
Sean Little-Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)-Fond du Lac, WI
Michael Mersch-USA NTDP (U18)-Park Ridge, IL
Mark Zengerle-Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)-Rochester, NY

2010 Defense Recruits:
Chase Drake-Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)-Mosinee, WI
Frankie Simonelli-USA NTDP (U18)-Bensenville, IL

2011 Forward Recruits:
Gavin Hartzog-Bismark Bobcats (NAHL)-Milwaukee, WI
Tyler Lapic-Omaha Lancers (USHL)-New Prague, MN
Matt Paape-Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)-Appleton, WI
Cody Strang-Youngstown Phantons (USHL)-Madison, WI

2011 Defense Recruits:
Troy Hesketh-Minnetonka High School (MN)-Minnetonka, MN
Jake McCabe-USA NTDP U-17-Eau Claire, WI

2012 Forward Recruits:
Corbin Mcguire-Taft Prep

2012 Defense Recruits:
Jordan Schmaltz-Chicago Mission Midget Majors-Verona, WI
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Also of note, a player that Wisconsin had been following for a while, defenseman David Donnellan from Eau Claire recently committed to Western Michigan. Donnellan was a high school teammate of Wisconsin recruit Jefferson Dahl. The two also currently play together for the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL.