jake harrison

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World's Best/Only Hockey Recruiting Overview: 2019
Brian •

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Johnny Beecher skates like a guy much smaller

This is the way hockey scouting works:

  • There's a flurry of it when kids are high school sophomores, because the CHL and USHL drafts grab those guys and the NTDP is chosen from that age group. There's money there, largely because of the CHL, and a cornucopia of sites have sprouted to provide teams, and the more zealous variety of fan, in-depth scouting.
  • Nobody cares much the year after unless you're so high end that you're generating first round NHL draft buzz.
  • In your draft year CSB rankings and various other NHL scouting services will provide a final burst of information.

The 2019 class is in the gap year, and doesn't have a lot of high end guys, so there's not a lot to report that hasn't been on the site in some form already. But you probably don't remember that hockey recruiting blast in a UV from six months ago, so here it is anyway.

THE POTENTIALLY DELAYED

One way that hockey recruiting is weird is that guys will somewhat frequently take another year in junior if the program they've committed to doesn't have room. I can only assume that's a somewhat standard thing to say when you take a commitment, because nobody makes a big deal about something that would be a minor scandal in other sports.

Michigan looks set to do this. I missed Michael Spath's report that Michigan was set to bring in 10 freshmen this year, with some surprises amongst the names omitted and one amongst the names included:

Summers was listed as a 2019 when he committed and is the surprise inclusion. Absences from that list: Jacob Semik, Calen Kiefiuk, Keaton Pehrson, and Nick Granowicz. Most of those surprise me in various ways, except that some guys needed to get put off. Kiefiuk's actually up to 48 points in 60 USHL games to lead his team; Granowicz is 20 and probably on light, if any, money so why not bring him in anyway; Pehrson already delayed a year. Semik's 5-4-9 line and status as an unranked draft eligible might warrant another junior year.

If those guys don't arrive this fall they will be potential 2019 recruits, or potential decommits.

As for Jack Summers—no relation to Chris—your guess is as good as mine. Here is the sum total of scouting I found:

Summers is a bit undersized and not a huge offensive threat yet, but he has incredible footwork and skating that makes him an effective defender and gives him the upside to potentially be a very dynamic player.

Michigan flipped him from Brown. He's got 11 points in 58 USHL games. One thing he's got going for him: Bill Muckalt was his coach last year, when he played a half-season with the Tri-City Storm after coming over from the NAHL. He is from Livonia and can get in-state tuition, so he might be another guy on light money.

In related news, here's an attempted Michigan hockey roster down the road.

[After the JUMP: a fair salvage job]

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