Men's Hockey Recruiting Class Ranked No. 1
October 03, 2007 | Men's Hockey
The University of Wisconsin Men's Hockey freshman class is ranked atop the nation in the latest polls put out by insidecollegehockey.com. The No. 1 spot was handed to Wisconsin due to top freshman forward Kyle Turris and defenders Ryan McDonagh and Brendan Smith.
The recruiting class rankings are created after input is shared from college and junior coaches and professional scouts. Recruits however, are ranked on their anticipated performance at the college level, although most have been drafted by a professional hockey program.
Wisconsin is followed in the recruiting class rankings by Boston Univeristy. New Hampshire, Notre Dame and Michigan combine to round out the top five recruiting class spots.
The WCHA has four teams ranked in the top 15 recruiting classes. Denver, Minnesota and North Dakota claimed spots nine, 10 and 11, respectively. The CCHA lead all conferences with six teams in the rankings, while the ECHA followed with three teams ranked and the ECAC had two.
Turris (New Westminster, B.C.) was given the No. 1 spot on the list of incoming forwards. The freshman, who previously played for Burnaby in the BCHL was the third overall pick in June's NHL Entry Draft. James van Riemsdyk of New Hampshire was the second-ranked forward, with Colin Wilson of BU, Riley Nash of Cornell and Tyler Bozak of Denver taking the remaining top-five spots.
The Badgers, who again took the No. 1 spot for incoming defensemen, have three freshman ranked on the top-20. McDonagh (Arden Hills, Minn.) was picked as the top incoming defender in the nation. McDonagh, who was named Minnesota's Mr. Hockey in 2007, was chosen 12th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadians. Brendan Smith (Mimico, Ontario) was nabbed as the 10th incoming defender while fellow freshman Cody Goloubef (Oakville, Ontario) was close behind at No. 13.
Sophomore Jamie McBain is listed as pre-season Second Team All-CHN by collegehockeynews.com, the website released on Wednesday. The defender from Faribault, Minn. was named to the 2006 WCHA All-Rookie Team after last season.
The Badgers open game action against No. 8 Notre Dame at the Lefty McFadden Tournament in Dayton, Ohio on Friday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. CT. The home opener against Robert Morris on Friday, Oct. 19 takes place at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
