Eaves Signs Five, Rumpel Anointed Next Starter

Head Coach Mike Eaves and the University of Wisconsin has announced the signing of five players during the early signing period. Eaves has signed a goalie, Joel Rumpel (Swift Current, Saskatchewan), and four forwards, Tyler Lapic (New Prague, MN), Cody Strang (Madison, WI), Brendan Woods (Palmyra, Pa.), and Matt Paape (Appleton, WI).

Defensemen Jake McCabe (Eau Claire, WI), and Troy Hesketh (Minnetonka, MN) are expected to sign letters of intent during the spring signing period.

Eaves comments from UWBadgers.com

Tyler Lapic (Chicago, USHL)
“Tyler is a power forward, big lad, who brings a nice skill set to the rink. We expect him, hopefully right away, to be a contributor.”

Matt Paape (Sioux City, USHL)
“Matt is a Wisconsin born and bred young man who brings a nice skill set to the game. He has a knack for being around the puck, and the puck finds him. We expect him to bring some offense to our team."

Cody Strang (Youngstown, USHL)
“Cody’s a local boy. He was the leading point getter in his senior year at Edgewood. He’s really a crafty player with the puck and for not being a very big lad, he has the heart of a wrestler. He knows how to spin away, he’s not afraid to go to the hard areas and he’s a good teammate. We expect good things from him offensively.”

Brendan Woods (Muskegon, USHL)
“He’s from a hockey family. His dad [Bob] played in the NHL and now coaches with the Washington Capitals. He can be a power forward for us. He plays at top tempo and gives us good size. He will play hard.”

Joel Rumpel (Penticton, BCHL)
“He brings a nice pedigree related to the Badger family with his uncle, Roy Schultz, who was an All-American goaltender here back in the early 1980s. He’s a really good athlete. He’s a tremendous track and field athlete so he’s got natural physical abilities, and he’s putting those abilities to work in the game of hockey. He’s going to come in next year as a freshman and going to jump right into the pipes and play immediately for us.”

Andy Baggot spoke with Eaves about the recruits and noted that Rumpel is expected to start in goal from day one next season with both of our scholarship goaltenders graduating after this season.

Eaves also noted that he does not plan to bring in another scholarship goalie in the 2011 class, instead he plans on promoting Mitch Thompson, the current walk on third stringer next season. He noted they will bring in another walk on to take Thompson's spot.

I couldn't be more frustrated by this news. While I feel that Rumpel is going to be a very good goaltender for the Badgers, why not take a shot on one of the two transfers that were available this season. Former UMD goalie Brady Hjelle and former Minnesota State goalie Kevin Murdock were both available and would have been perfect. (Assuming they didn't have WCHA transfer restrictions)

Hjelle has recently committed to Ohio State and Murdock, who has posted a 6-3 record with a 2.59 GAA and a .918 save percentage is still available.

chuckschwartz@live.com
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Wisconsin Recruiting: Nice Little Friday Night

Quick little story for you. I love it when media relations people e-mail us with information. So needless to say I was excited when Muskegon's Christopher Heimerman sent me a note to alert me of Brendan Woods big night. Except for the fact that it was at 4:40 this morning. When your e-mail is hooked up for your phone, that's not a fun time to wake up. Just giving you a hard time Christopher, keep it coming.

That said, lets get into a quick recap of our committed recruits from last night. I won't get into all of them but some had pretty nice Friday nights.

Brendan Woods-Muskegon (USHL)
I was semi-concerned when Woods didn't do much in the pre-season and then was held off the score sheet in the season opener vs Sioux Falls. Consider my concerns put to rest for now. Woods bounced back with back to back two point games including a two goal effort last night against Sioux City.

Joel Rumpel-Penticton (BCHL)
Rumpel has picked up right where he left off last season and had another solid performance last night. Rumpel was named the third star and stopped 23 of 25 shots in route to a 3-2 OT victory.

Corbin McGuire-Fargo (USHL)
McGuire is making that tough transition from prep hockey to junior hockey and doing so as a high school junior. After limited action in his first two games, as well as a healthy scratch on opening night, McGuire had a nice Friday night notching his first USHL goal and putting 4 shots on goal.

Tyler Lapic-Chicago (USHL)
Lapic's had a pretty mediocre season in the USHL last year and has already been traded twice in his career. He may have found a home in Chicago. Last night the New Prague forward notched a pair of helpers in a 5-2 win. He now has 4 assists in 5 games this season.

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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

4 Badgers make Final NHL Draft List

The NHL released their Final 2009 Central Scouting lists today and one current Badgers and three future Badgers were among the N. American skaters ranked. In numerical order:

D John Ramage - 97th (87th in mid-term)

F Tyler Lapic - 114th (111th)

F Jordy Murray - 175 (191)

F Craig Smith - 177 (Not ranked)

Nice to see Craig Smith crack the list after his stellar year in the USHL. Unless I'm mistaken, this would be his 2nd year of draft eligibility.

The the 2009 NHL Draft will be held on June 26 & 27 in Montreal. The NY Islanders won the draft lottery tonight and their is a good chance John Tavares will be stuck in that desolate organization.

These rankings don't factor in goalies and European players.

Tyler Lapic Mr. Hockey Finalist

Sometimes with 4 people posting on this blog things get lost. It looks like we forgot to mention that Badger recruit and New Prague high school forward Tyler Lapic has been named a finalist for the 2009 Minnesota Mr. Hockey.

Lately Wisconsin has had decent success with the event. They currently roster two former Mr. Hockey winners with Centennials Tommy Gorowsky and Cretin Durham Hall's Ryan McDonagh. Last season Wisconsin had two finalists in the Mr. Hockey sweepstakes with Burnsvilles Tyler Barnes, and Minnetonka's Jake Gardiner. Gardiner is obviously on the roster this season while Barnes will join the Badgers next fall.

While Lapic certainly isn't the favorite to win the award, its an honor to be nominated none the less. At this point in the game I'd have to say the voters will probably be favoring Eden Prarie's Nick Leddy. In my opinion, this season is more wide open than any other year. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see any one of the ten finalists win the award.

Here is the list of finalists and college commitments thanks to Western College Hockey

Dan DeLisle, Totino Grace (Minnesota-Duluth)
Marshall Everson, Edina (Harvard)
Ben Hanowski, Little Falls (St. Cloud)
Tyler Lapic, New Prague (Wisconsin)
Nick Leddy, Eden Prairie (Minnesota)
Anders Lee, Edina (Notre Dame)
Danny Matson, Holy Angels (North Dakota)
Zach Palmquist, South St. Paul (Minnesota State)
Tyler Pilick, Centennial (Minnesota State)
Max Tardy, Duluth East (Minnesota-Duluth)

Wisconsin Recruiting: Lapic Squared?

It's been said that 2 is always better than 1. In the case of the Lapic brothers, Tyler (senior) and Darren (sophomore), that statement couldn't seem so true.

Tyler, already committed to Wisconsin is the one who gets all the publicity. Darren? To outsiders, he's just been know as Tyler's little brother. That's about to change.

Due to another great New Prague sophomore, Seth Ambroz, deciding to play this season in United States Hockey League, Darren has been provided an opportunity to play on the Trojans top line with his brother and another D-1 prospect, senior Schyler Adams. "Little Lapic" has done little to disappoint this season. He's put up a line of 7-13-20 in 16 games so far this season. The Lapic-Lapic-Adams line has drawn praise from Minnesota hockey circles. Minnesota Sports Preview.com has the line listed as the 7th best in the state of Minnesota. They had this to say about the super soph, "Darren is the younger brother of Tyler and has taken on a distributor’s role on this top line, with a team-high seven assists already. He did score 14 goals last year and was the fourth-highest scorer."

Obviously the Wisconsin coaching staff is fully aware of Darren's talent and there is no doubt that they are keeping an eye on him. Many NHL teams have been around to watch Tyler play, and don't think for a second they haven't taken notice in Darren. While having a brother at a school doesn't always guarantee landing the little brother, (see: Gardiner, Max) I have a feeling that the Lapic situation will work out for the Cardinal and White.

Wisconsin Hockey: Littles and Lapics.

Late night news and notes

Good news Badger fans, Patrick Johnson is probable for this week's series w/ CC. Ratty has missed the past five games due to a knee injury, and I'm sure he will be anxious to get on the ice and own several people. Right now Chad Rau would be the people's choice.

The USHL all-star rosters have been announced and 2009 recruit Craig Smith is of course on it. While Craig was pretty quite last weekend in USHL action, overall he is having a great and hype worthy season. A massive recruit update will be coming next week, something to fill the time w/ Wisconsin on bye, and its been far too long since anyone mentioned 1st Star Zengerle on the blog.

Dplaya over at HIW found this nice article on 2010 recruit Tyler Lapic. Tyler is having a nice season w/ New Prague HS and shares the Captain's duties w/ his best friend. Tyler should be headed to the USHL next season, though at the moment I can't remember who has his rights.

Current and Future Badgers on Central Scouting

NHL Central Scouting released it's mid-term report today and there are (obviously) current and future Badgers on the list. There were obviously some surprises and some that were exactly where I thought they would be. There are also some that weren't included who I thought should be but that's the way it goes sometimes.

The only current Badger on the list is freshman forward Jordy Murray. You all should be fairly aware of Jordy and his history so I won't waste your time. It was fairly surprising that he wasn't drafted last season. He's put up a respectable line of 5 goals, and 5 assists for 10 points in 24 games. Jordy checks in at #191 on the list.

Wisconsin's highest rated recruit is John Ramage at #87. Ramage is defenseman who plays for the USA NTDP and will come in next season. Wisconsin picked up Ramage not long after it became apparent that Nick Pryor wasn't going to be able to get into school at UW. Not a bad replacement eh?

After Ramage, New Prague forward Tyler Lapic makes his way onto the list at #111. Wisconsin caught a lot of flack from un-informed internet posters/bloggers from un-named rodent loving schools when it picked up a committment from Lapic. Most thought it was simply a ploy to gain the respect of Seth Ambroz, another star forward at New Prague. Ploy or not, Wisconsin has themselves a player in Lapic. I got to see him in Eau Claire 2 weekends ago and he was impressive. While I felt he could be more explosive, he just had the "it" factor that makes some players tansition to the next level that much easier.

Like Jordy Murray, future recruit Tyler Barnes was eligible for last seasons NHL draft. Barnes, who hails from Burnsville, MN and is a forward for the Waterloo Black Hawks, checks in at #137. I'm a tad surprised at his inclusion on the list but it's not that he isn't deserving. That opinion is based solely on him not being taken last season. While it's not impossible for a player to be passed over one year and selected the next, (see Patrick Johnson last summer) it's certainly not the norm.

So to recap, Jordy Murray is the only current Badger on the mid-term list at #191. 2009 defense recruit John Ramage from the NTDP is at #87. New Prague forward Tyler Lapic checks in at #111. And 2009 forward recruit Tyler Barnes rounds it out for the Badgers at #137.

You also have to keep in mind that some recruits and (again obviously) there are a ton of players on the roster already drafted. Justin Schultz is the only current incoming recruit that is already drafted. He went in the second round last summer. It's tough to keep drafted players back another year, just ask Patrick Wiercoich.

NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch

NHL Central Scouting has released their list of players to watch for the 2009 draft. All of the USHL players can be found here, and Chris over at Western College Hockey has a more complete but harder to read list here.

From the USHL article:

"A" Players: A player scouts must-see who is predicted to be a potential first or second round draft selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
"B" Players: A player scouts note if they are in the area, a potential selection in the third to fifth round in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
"C" Players: A player that Central Scouting is tracking, a potential late round selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Goaltenders: All goaltenders, regardless of whether they are an A, B or C player, fall into one category.
Limited Viewing: A player that intrigues scouts but, at this time, they have seen very little of. This category is for both skaters and goaltenders.

Players of interest to Badger fans are as follows:

D Chase Drake - "B" Player
F Gavin Hartzog - "B" Player
F Tyler Barnes - "C" Player
G Aaron Crandall - Goaltenders
F Tyler Lapic - Limited Viewing

Unlike the past two seasons, I don't think 2009 will be a big draft year for Wisconsin recruits. Probably a couple guys will get drafted, maybe a few freshman like Jordy Murray or Matt Thurber could go too, but it won't be like past seasons. Personally I don't think this is a bad thing, Wisconsin is still landing a fine 2009 recruiting class, even if they don't have all the top draft pick w/ in.

More on Tyler Lapic

Todd from TCT has more on Tyler Lapic as does Andy over at the WSJ.

Sounds like Eaves and company were rather aggresive on this, which is probably a good idea when recruiting in minnesota. Sounds like minnesota and North Dakota were in wait and see mode, and Mankato offered him as well.

Could we have another Mr. Hockey from the Land of 10,000 Lakes (still less than Wisconsin) on our hands?

Tyler Lapic Commits to UW!

New Prague forward Tyler Lapic has committed to Wisconsin for 2010. Lapic is currently a junior and will presumably play one year in the USHL before entering UW in 2010. Lapic had 71 points last season for New Prague. According to Andy Baggot who broke the STORY, Lapic will be on a full ride at UW.

Chris Dilks at the Western College hockey blog had some good things to say about Lapic in this late 2006 ARTICLE. "Tall forward. Excellent at controlling the puck. Good hands."

The Minneapolis Star Tribune had a nice article back a couple months ago about Lapic and fellow superstar teamate Seth Ambroz HERE.

Here is a LINKto Lapics stats from last season from Max Preps.

Photo from Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune