Toews, Freshmen, & Recruits By the Numbers

• Late last week it was reported that Jonathan Toews would, under the right circumstances, consider playing overseas in the event of an extended NHL lockout. Brad Schlossman expanded on that topic on his blog, while Toews commented on his intentions earlier today. Below are a few excerpts from the full Comcast Sportsnet article:

“Chicago’s my home. It’s where I’ve spent the last five years, the best five years of my life and career. And that’s where I’ll be if everything works out in time,” said Toews on Tuesday afternoon. “But again, I’m a hockey player. And if worst comes to worst, I do need to look for a job.”

 

Toews said he’ll keep options for playing overseas open. “At this point, it’s just an option that needs to be explored and nothing more than that,” said Toews, who added there’s nothing specific right now but he’ll explore the possibility more as Sept. 15 nears. “It’s kind of a wait-and-see type of thing.”

 

Toews was in high school when the 2004-05 NHL season was lost to lockout, and he remembers how frustrated he was to see it happen. “I was a fan of the game and was disappointed to see hockey go through that and I think that it’s disappointing again, he said. “We come full circle and we’re still back here. You think the problems that existed would’ve been fixed, with the sacrifices made by players, and it’s still not good enough.”

 

• The Hockey Guys have published a ranking of college hockey's Top 10 incoming freshman classes for 2012-13, and North Dakota's newcomers came in at No. 8 (No. 2 among WCHA schools behind Nebraska-Omaha).
• We are only a handful of days into September, but a pair of UND recruits have already logged several games worth of icetime this season. The Vernon Vipers (BCHL), featuring North Dakota commits Adam Tambellini and Geoff Crisfield, have competed in five preseason games leading up to this weekend's BCHL Showcase. Tambellini notched four goals while Crisfield picked up one.

Lastly, all of the individual Recruit Profiles have been updated to reflect last season's stats, and for a quick glimpse at where the committed recruits will be playing this season, check out the 2012-13 Statistics page. A glance at the recruit list shows:

• By Position: Forwards (7), Defensemen (5), Goaltenders (0)
• By Birth-year: 1992 (1), 1993 (1), 1994 (3), 1995 (3), 1996 (4)
• By Nation: United States (9), Canada (3)
• By State/Province: North Dakota (3) & 1 each from: Alberta, British Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ontario, Wisconsin.
• By League: USHL (8), USHL-NTDP Schedule (2), BCHL (2).
• NHL Draft Picks: 1-Paul LaDue (6th Rnd 2012 - LAK)