UNO Hockey Recruiting Update (Nov. 2018)

Each hockey season, people ask about the recruits coming to the UNO program in the future. 

While we are always diligent on MavPuck reporting on any new player verbally committing to the school, we haven’t always taken the time to give an in-depth overview. 

Part of that is due to the fact that player recruitment happens earlier and earlier (something addressed on this week’s episode of the Mavpuckcast). That creates more uncertainty as to whether a prospect will ultimately become a Maverick by the time the NLI signing period arrives. 

A recruiting resource I have followed for the past decade is Chris Heisenberg’s exhaustive college hockey recruiting list — an Excel spreadsheet he has dutifully updated throughout the years (housed online in a Google Doc). 

What I appreciate about Heisenberg’s effort is that he tries to be comprehensive, and will even “slash out” recruits who de-committed from a school (allowing fans to see “what might have been”).

Heisenberg currently has the following UNO recruits listed on his site. Some players have switched team/leagues, so I worked to update the information below as much as possible:

2019 RECRUITS

Forwards
Josh Boyer - Madison (USHL)

Joe Abate - Youngstown (USHL)

Davis Pennington - Wilkes-Barre (NAHL)

Nolan Sullivan - Muskegon (USHL)
Noah Prokop - Green Bay (USHL) 

Defensemen
Alexandre Roy - Jamestown (NAHL)

Brandon Scanlin - Brooks (AJHL)

Colby Enns - Central Illinois (USHL)

Jack Clement - Des Moines (USHL)

Goaltender
Isaiah Saville - Tri-City (USHL)

(Heisenberg’s site has Grant Anderson listed as a UNO recruit, but we heard last year that he wasn’t going to be joining the team. Heisenberg also doesn’t include Joe Abate, who is listed on the USHL site as an incoming recruit.)

2020 RECRUITS 

Forwards
Lukas Sillinger - Penticton (BCHL)

Oliver MacDonald - Muskegon (USHL)

Zach Michaelis - Chaska (HS) / Team Northwest (UMHSEHL)

Blaine Warnert - Fargo Force (USHL)

Defensemen
Greg Japchen - Wilkes-Barre (NAHL) 

2021 RECRUITS 

Forwards
Cameron Berg - Omaha (USHL)

Defensemen
Griffin Ludtke - Lakeville South (HS) / Minnesota Blizzard 16U (NAPHL 16U)

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Of immediate interest are the 2019 recruits (currently 10 of them are listed on various recruiting lists). 

Some of you will remember (from my post on the possibility UNO Hockey heavily mines the Canadian junior ranks in the future) a “major junior” player named Zach Goberis, who has been sitting out at UNO, waiting to see if he could regain eligibility from the NCAA (since “major junior” hockey in Canada is basically the equivalent of professional hockey in the eyes of the NCAA). 

A “source” tells us that Goberis might have to wait two seasons to regain eligibility at UNO, so he might not end up on a future roster. 

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

Statistically speaking, here is what the 2019 recruits look like (at the time of this writing on 11/7/18): 

Forwards
Josh Boyer - In 10 games: 2 goals, 2 assists (4th on Madison in points)

Joe Abate - In 12 games: 6 goals, 5 assists (1st on Youngstown in points)

Davis Pennington - In 13 games: 3 goals, 2 assists (6th on Wilkes-Barre in points)

Nolan Sullivan - In 11 games: 6 goals, 1 assist (8th on Muskegon in points)
Noah Prokop - In 13 games has 5 goals, 2 assists (8th on Green Bay)

Defensemen

Alexandre Roy - In 16 games: 0 goals, 7 assists (6th on Jamestown in points)

Brandon Scanlin - In 11 games: 3 goals, 6 assists (17th on Brooks in points)

Colby Enns - In 12 games: 2 goals, 1 assist (13th on Central Illinois in points)

Jack Clement - In 13 games: 0 goals, 3 assists (17th on Des Moines in points)

Goaltender

Isaiah Saville - In 9 games, has a 1.72 GAA and a .931 Save % (stopping 202 of 217 shots)

Only one (1) in the 2019 class is in the top 40 in terms of overall point production in his respective junior league (Abate is 26th overall in points in the USHL). 

Three (3) players are ranked in the top 40 in “goals” in their respective junior league (Abate ranks 18th in the USHL, Sullivan 24th in the USHL, and Prokop ranks 37th USHL). 

Isaiah Saville is currently the “top ranked” goalie in the USHL, has the best “goals against” average (1.72), and the best “save percentage” (.931). 

Fans have yearned for a top-shelf goaltender in net, and I have been told that Saville is the “real deal.”

The question on the minds of UNO Hockey fans is whether the 2019 class will have enough “playmakers” to make a run in the NCHC standings next season. 

Assuming all of UNO’s current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors return next season, the program is looking at 10 newcomers in the lineup. That is an awfully big recruiting class for the Mavericks (which could be bigger if any of the underclassmen depart after this season). 

In my mind, the USHL forwards will likely have the greatest immediate impact on offensive production. I also think defenseman Brandon Scanlin could have an impact on the blue line (and be a key component in the power play unit during future seasons).

That said, we don't see a pair of forwards on the recruiting rolls who put up point totals like former Mavs Jake Randolph and Tyler Vesel did in the USHL in the 2013-14 season (ranking 1st and 3rd in points, respectively). 

Forward Josh Boyer finished the 2017-18 campaign ranked 5th in points (and 5th in goals) in the NAHL. 

To put that in perspective, current UNO forward Travis Kothenbeutel finished 2nd in points (8th in goals) in the NAHL in the 2017-18 season.

The potential jewel of the class will be Isaiah Saville. He is arguably the best junior netminder we’ve had coming in since Dan Ellis in 2000. This program could use a rock in net — something that has been lacking since the departure of Ryan Massa in 2015. 

COMPETE POTENTIAL

Can a youthful UNO team be competitive in 2019-20?

Only time will tell. If you analyze where UNO sits statistically at this point in the season, only one of UNO’s top 10 point producers is a freshman (Taylor Ward is 5th in scoring). We’re only 8 games into the season, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out by the time March rolls around.

Some fans have suggested that UNO won’t have a tournament-capable team until the 2020-21 season. Much of that sentiment is likely built on performance (so far) this season. It also has to do with the fact that our team will have 10 freshman and 6 sophomores on the roster in 2019-20. 

The challenge for Gabinet & Co. will be putting a competitive team on the ice — a squad heavy in underclassmen.

It can be somewhat “befuddling” comparing USHL, NAHL, and BCHL players. As we've learned over the years, success in one league might not necessarily translate into success in another junior league, or at the collegiate level.

Most of the recruits aren't statistical giants, but numbers can be deceiving.  

As this season goes along, MavPuck will try to make sense of future prospects for readers, and keep tabs on any personnel changes that take place.