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Top 50 Hockey Recruits Breakdown
A by-team and by-league breakdown of the top fifty list follow.
| Team | Top 20 | 21-50 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | #3, #7, #18 #20 | 2 | 6 |
| Boston College | #6, #8, #19 | 3 | 6 |
| Minnesota | #1, #7, #14 | 2 | 5 |
| Michigan | #2, #4, #10 | 2 | 5 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | #13 | 3 | 4 |
| Denver | #15 | 3 | 4 |
| Michigan State | #12 | 2 | 3 |
| UNH | #16 | 2 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | #5 | 1 | 2 |
| Colorado College | #11 | 1 | 2 |
| Ferris State | #17 | 1 | 2 |
Schools with one player after #20: Bowling Green, Alaska-Fairbanks, Dartmouth, Yale, BU, Miami, Lake State, Michigan Tech.
What jumps out at me: Minnesota-Duluth outdid themselves this year. They're probably an easy choice for the #5 class behind the big four of BC, UND, Michigan, and Minnesota. Maine got completely shut out and BU only landed one player on the list. Expect the recent western (read: WCHA) dominace to continue. Only 13 players on the list are heading to eastern schools and almost half of them are going to BC.
| League | Top 20 | 21-50 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| USHL | #6, #7, #9, #11, #12, #17 | 10 | 16 |
| NTDP | #1, #2, #5, #10, #14, #18, #19 | 6 | 13 |
| Minnesota HS | #3, #8, #13 | 3 | 6 |
| AJHL | #15 | 3 | 4 |
| BCHL | #20 | 3 | 4 |
| Eastern HS | #16 | 2 | 3 |
| OPJHL | #4 | 1 | 2 |
Leagues with one player 21-50: GHJHL, SJHL, EJHL.
The dominance of the USHL is the main story here. It and the NTDP share over half the names on the list. The various Canadian junior leagues supplied 12 names.
I think when this is revisited in a few years the biggest systemic flaw in the list will be an underrating of eastern players. There will be players in the ECAC and Hockey East that will be given major opportunities and flourish with the ice time given them. The problem is I have no idea who those kids are. I'll probably do a final update in a couple months and perhaps by that time I'll have an idea about the eastern players who should be in the later stages of the list.
However, I am quite confident in the top twenty-five or so, and it paints an ugly picture for Hockey East teams not named Boston College. UNH is the only team that can be remotely happy with what they reeled in this year (though Maine has a deserved reputation for uncovering hidden gems).
