Signings and Rankings

• A trio of former Sioux have recently signed contracts for the 2012-13 season. Yesterday David Toews signed with the Bakersfield Condors, where he will team up with Evan Trupp, while today it was announced that Aaron Schneekloth had re-signed with the Colorado Eagles. The Eagles now have three former Sioux on their roster in Schneekloth, Aaron Dell, and Michael Forney. Bakersfield, Colorado, and Mario Lamoureux's Ontario Reign are all in the ECHL's 8-team Western Conference, so they'll be facing off with each other on a pretty regular basis. Also signing today was Kyle Radke, who agreed to terms with the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League. For an up-to-date listing of where the Sioux in the pros are playing this season, check out The Pros page.
• North Dakota received a verbal commitment from Penticton Vee (BCHL) standout Wade Murphy yesterday. There will be more on Murphy when his Recruit Profile is posted.
• Hockey Prospectus released its Top 100 NHL Prospects. Rocco Grimaldi (No. 36), Brock Nelson (No. 67), Corban Knight (No. 69), and Derek Forbort (No. 85) all made the list.
• NHL Central Scouting released its Preliminary Watch List for the 2013 draft, and three North Dakota recruits made the cut. Luke Johnson is an A-List player, while Keaton Thompson and Adam Tambellini are B-Listers. For reference, an A-List player is considered to have first-round potential, while a B-List player is considered to be a second or third-round player. Also of note, North Dakota natives Ryan Callahan (Grafton) and Alec Rauhauser (Bismarck) were ranked as C-List players, which have the potential to be fourth to sixth-round picks, while Waterloo (USHL) defenseman Ian McCoshen is an A-Lister. McCoshen has narrowed his collegiate choices down to Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth, and North Dakota.
• Kevin Allen of the USA Today ranked his Top 10 American-born 2013 Draft Prospects and Johnson came in at number 10. Future Considerations listed 10 players to watch at the 2012 USHL Fall Classic, and Johnson came in at number 10, while Hockey Prospect listed eight players (Johnson included) that scouts will be keeping their collective eyes on at the Fall Classic.
• United States of Hockey recently previewed the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 team, and they had some nice things to say about Thompson.