Zach Stepan to Ohio State

Shattuck St. Mary's forward Zach Stepan, cousin of former Wisconsin forward Derek, has given his verbal commitment to Ohio State. @hammyhockey was the first to tip me off and it has been confirmed by the Chris Heisenberg recruiting website.

I'll post more information as I get it.

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Recruiting: Zach Stepan Keeping Options Open

I'm trying a new feature on the blog this year where we interview a potential recruit every few weeks. We led off with an interview of Verona, Wisconsin native Joey Fiala.

Next up in the series is Zach Stepan, cousin of former Badger and current New York Ranger, Derek. Zach is a 1994 born forward who plays for the Shattuck Prep team. He's considered one of the most elite 1994 born players uncommitted in the country.

Chuck Schwartz: You were given the opportunity this summer to go overseas with Team USA and you guys won a gold medal. Can you talk a little about what it was like to represent your country and play with some of the other elite players from around the United States?

Zach Stepan: The opportunity I was given over the summer is one that I will never forget! It was by far the best experience I have ever gotten not only on the hockey side of it, but on the touring side of it because we got to go to a couple different cities and walk around. It was a lot of fun. Also playing with the players I did get to play with made it all worth while because I knew after our first couple of practices that we were going to be a very talented team in all aspects of the game of hockey.

Chuck Schwartz: Your cousin, Derek made the move from Hastings high school to Shattuck St. Marys and you too have chosen to play your prep hockey at Shattuck. How has your experience been so far and do you anticipate playing your senior season there or moving on to the USHL where I believe Waterloo holds your rights?

Zach Stepan: Shattuck St. Mary's is an unbelievable school and I personally love the experience I get at this school. The hockey as well has been an amazing experience to play with some players that I have. I really do not know what I will do next year, all I can say is that I love this school and I love being here.

Chuck Schwartz: Its widely known that you missed a large chunk of last season due to the h1n1, and then mononucleosis and pneumonia. How nice is it to be back and (I’m assuming) healthy and primed for a big season with the Shattuck Prep team?

Zach Stepan: To be honest it is the most amazing feeling to be healthy again after going through that. That was the worst possible thing that could happen to a hockey player during the season other than hockey ending circumstances. It all happened so fast and it was so horrid to have h1n1 and than right after having mono and pneumonia at the same time. I felt like I would never get my legs back after those illnesses. Now to be back and playing good hockey is a great feeling that hopefully does not go away.

Chuck Schwartz: By the nature of your last name and the success of your cousin (who is doing awesome in the NHL by the way), I would surprised if there wasn’t an added pressure for you to live up to expectations. How are you handling the pressure of the Stepan name?

Zach Stepan: There actually is no pressure with the last name that I have. A lot of people think there is and I can see where they are coming from. I look at it as cool because I get to tell people how much fun it was when we were younger that I played street hockey with him in my driveway and taught him a few things that probably helped him haha. But I looked at it as we are two different people fighting for the same dream and no matter how hard it is to play in the NHL, all I am worried about is making it, not to one up the accomplishments he has acquired.

Chuck Schwartz: By my count, over forty 1994 born hockey players have committed to colleges so far, do you feel pressure to get your commitment out of the way and when do you see yourself making a decision?

Zach Stepan: I do not feel pressure at all to get my commitment out of the way, I want to pick the right school and I know it will hit me when I see the right school, that that is the school I will want to go to.

Chuck Schwartz: In an interview over the summer you mentioned you had interest in Denver, Boston College, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Have you narrowed your list at all and who is on it at this point?

Zach Stepan: That was just a couple I would be interested in. I am pretty much open for anything at this point because there are so many great schools out there that I do not want to keep my mind stuck on just a couple unless I really know deep down those are truly possible places I would like to attend.
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We can't thank Zach enough for taking the time of of his busy schedule to do an interview with us. Very well thought out answers. Best of luck with the Shattuck Prep team this season.

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Pair Of Wisconsinites Make Under-17 Select Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Twenty players who participated at USA Hockey's Boys' Select 16 Player Development Camp have been selected for the 2010 U.S. Under-17 Select Team that will compete at the 2010 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament Aug. 18-22, in Huttwil, Switzerland.

DePere, WI native Tim Davison (pictured), and Balsam Lake, WI native Zach Stepan were the two from the Badger state to be named to the USA squad. Davison, a defenseman recently turned down an offer to play with the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms to return to his high school team, Notre Dame Academy for his Junior season. Stepan, the cousin of former Badger Derek played last season with the Shattuck St. Mary's U16 squad. I haven't heard where he will play next season but he's a draft pick of the Waterloo Black Hawks. If he isn't in the USHL, he would presumably be with the Shattuck Prep squad for 2010-2011.

Both players are currently uncommitted but are most certainly on the radar of the Wisconsin coaching staff. In an interview with College Hockey 247 in April, Stepan had this to say about the Badgers, "I've talked to a few schools, but I've always been a huge Wisconsin fan."

Team USA 2010 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament Schedule
August 18-22 • Huttwil, Switzerland

Date	Opponent	Time (Local/EDT)
Tues., Aug. 18	Czech Republic	4:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m.)
Thurs., Aug. 20	Slovakia	3:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m.)
Fri., Aug. 21	Switzerland	7:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m.)
Sat., Aug. 22	Germany	11:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m.)

Recruiting Update Part 4: Zach Stepan

Sunday night I started making a post of recruiting notes that I've been getting together lately. As I was working on this, the post got very, very long so I decided to break it into posts for specific players. I've got 5 updates and I've programed the site to post an update every two hours on the hour.
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A familiar name has been popping up in the recruiting news lately. Stepan. No not Derek. I'm talking about his cousin Zach, a 1994 born forward out of the Shattuck St. Marys program.

Badger fans should familiarize themselves with Zach as from the sounds of it, it's only a matter of time before he commits to Wisconsin.

In mid-April, College Hockey 247 interviewed Zach after the NTDP tryouts. He did nothing to dispel the rumors that he favors the Badgers, mentioning that he's always been a big Badgers fan, and that he loves the Kohl Center.

Stepan is also considering North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver, and Boston College.

The 6 footer out of Balsam Lake, WI did not get an invitation to the NTDP initially, but it could happen later. Chris From Western College Hockey had this to say about Stepan last weekend:

" If I were the NTDP, I would definitely take a second look at extending an invite to Zach Stepan. He's very similar to his cousin Derek. Maybe not the most physically-gifted kid, but a very smart hockey player that knows when to speed the game up and when to slow the game down. He actually looked like he could handle playing junior hockey next season."

Stepan was also recently drafted in the USHL Futures Draft by the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Black Hawks thought highly enough of Stepan to select him 10th overall. He will go to camp with Waterloo this summer and it would not shock me to see him play there this season although the safest guess is that he will be playing next season with the Shattuck Prep team.

Futures Draft: First Round Is Good to Potential Badgers

Tuesday morning the USHL held it's annual Futures Draft. According to the USHL website, "The USHL Futures Draft consists of six rounds as 15 Member Clubs, including expansion teams Dubuque and Muskegon, will each select six players from the 1994 birth year ago group. The 90 players selected in the USHL Futures Draft will then be placed on the affiliate list of their respective team for the 2010-11 season. Teams retain the rights to selected players for three years and can add these players to the active roster at any time during the season."

Dubuque had the honor of holding the first pick of the draft and selected Riley Barber from the Compuware program out of Michigan. Barber is an uncommitted forward who is listed at 5'10, 170 pounds. Muskegon, the other expansion franchise who is being coached by former Wisconsin assistant Kevin Patrick snagged Garret Cockerill, a defenseman also from the dominant Compuware program.

2010 USHL Futures Draft (1994's) Players With Wisconsin Ties

First Round
#8. Justin Wade (Chicago Mission U16)-Fargo (potential recruit)
#10. Zach Stepan (Shattuck St. Marys)-Waterloo (Derek's cousin, potential recruit)
#12. Tim Davison (Green Bay Notre Dame Academy)-Youngstown (Wisconsin native, potential recruit)
#14. AJ Michaelson (Apple Valley HS, MN)-Waterloo (potential recruit)

Second Round
#16. Alex Roos (Team Illinois U16)-Cedar Rapids (potential recruit)
#25. Ray Pigozzi (Chicago Mission U16)-Des Moines (potential recruit)

Fourth Round
#58. John Feemster (Wausau West HS)-Sioux Falls (Wisconsin native, potential recruit)

Fifth Round
#63. Brendan Vetter (Madison Capitols U16)-Fond du Lac (Wisconsin native, potential recruit)

Keep in mind that all players drafted today could be potential recruits. Don't feel slighted if you, or your son isn't listed as a potential recruit. The players that I have listed are just the ones that I have confirmation that Wisconsin has on the radar. There are many, many more that I'm not aware of, that's for sure.

Pictured: Notre Dame Academy's Tim Davison