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UPDATE SUNDAY: Lemieux tweets that he's headed to Barrie in the morning.
In the world of high profile college hockey recruiting, sometimes you need to take risks to land the elite talent. It's paid off in the past for the University of North Dakota, as they've landed future NHL stars like Jonathan Toews.
It's also come back to bite UND lately, as they've lost high profile recruits J.T. Miller, Stefan Matteau, and Miles Koules. All three backed out on previous verbal commitments to UND for the CHL.
It appears North Dakota has lost another high end recruit, as our own Chris Dilks is reporting that 2014 UND recruit Brendan Lemieux is expected to sign with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League.
Hearing a rumor that UND recruit Brendan Lemieux may be off to the OHL.
— Chris Dilks (@ChrisDilks) November 2, 2012
Brad Schlossman from the Grand Forks Herald also noted that it's expected that Lemieux will be leaving for the OHL.
The 1996 born Lemieux made waves when he made his commitment to North Dakota back in February. The son of former NHL'er Claude, Lemieux was adamant when he made his decision that he would stick with the college route.
Lemieux signed a tender with the Green Bay Gamblers to spend the next two seasons in the United States Hockey League before jumping to Grand Forks in the fall of 2014. Lemieux has played in 11 games this season, registering one goal and one assist with the last place Gamblers.
Despite his commitment to North Dakota, Barrie used a fourth round pick in the OHL Priority Selection to nab Lemieux's rights. Looks like that's about to pay off for the Colts soon.
Rory Boylen of the Hockey News tweeted that Lemieux could be in Barrie as soon as next week.
Provided Brendan Lemieux gets his release from USHL Green Bay, expect announcement he'll join OHL Barrie Colts next week.
— Rory Boylen (@THNRoryBoylen) November 2, 2012
On the positive side for North Dakota, at least they have a year and a half to replace Lemieux, unlike when Miller, Matteau, and Koules left them holding the bag late in the game.
We'll have updates for you as more information becomes available.
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