Mel Pearson has his first recruit since taking over at Michigan Tech, and it is...Jimmy Davis. Davis played at East Kentwood High School, in Michigan just outside of Grand Rapids, and apparently caught Pearson's eye while trying out for the Muskegon Lumberjacks a few weeks ago. This is more coincidence than anything, but 20 years ago, Pearson was on the Michigan staff when they recruited another player from Caledonia, Michigan who flew under the radar because he had stayed home to play at East Kentwood High School due to some family issues. That player, Mike Knuble, ended up being pretty good. Actually, he still is pretty good.
Dubuque's Zemgus Girgensons had planned to accelerate his studies to attend Vermont next season, but couldn't get the academic work done in time. That means Girgensons will have to return to Dubuque next season, or go play in the CHL. The CHL import draft is on Wednesday, and it's pretty likely he'll be taken there.
Northeastern coach Greg Cronin left the school last week to take an assistant coaching gig with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's led to a wave of Northeastern commits reconsidering their future, including USHL rookie of the year John Gaudreau and defenseman Garrett Haar, both of whom were NHL Draft picks this past Saturday. Gaudreau has signed a letter of intent, meaning he'd have to play next year in the USHL, or less likely, sign with the Calgary Flame, who drafted him, and play in the AHL next year, unless he can be released from his letter of intent. Whenever he can play college hockey, it's pretty likely that he'll stay with an eastern school. Haar meanwhile, was planning on playing in the USHL again next year, and hadn't signed, so he is free to do what he wants. He's considering a number of WCHA schools, as well as some eastern schools.
Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal had a few Big Ten Hockey Conference nuggets in this editorial. Among them, a proposed Big Ten-WCHA scheduling agreement would have each Big Ten team playing 8 games against their old conference. Somebody else can do the math on how often they'd end up in WCHA buildings.
The other big news is that now that hockey is joining a conference with football and basketball, they'll have to take a backseat to football and basketball. That means the conference schedule will be extremely back-loaded so it doesn't conflict with football, and some series could be played Sunday-Monday, on nights that traditionally don't have basketball games.That back-loading isn't a huge deal, but Monday night hockey is seriously awful.
Mike Eaves name came up in the New Jersey Devils coaching search. This seems all smoke, and really, very little of it, and no fire so far, but is worth keeping an eye. on.
The United States of Hockey does its usual excellent job covering the Americans that went on the second day of the draft.
Hey, Ashton Kutcher kind of sort of works here now.