C.C. Lands Colten St. Clair for 2010

Earlier this fall Brad Schlossman had a great story on how the ages of the recruits in college hockey keep getting younger and younger. Not to be out done, C.C. recently picked up a really good young hockey recruit. Did I mention the kid is only 15 years old (1992) and will come to Colorado College during the 2010 season.

I suppose there is a lot of pressure for these kids to commit to a college when they are young so they can concentrate on playing hockey, however, I think 15-16 years old is just too young to be committing to a school. Don't get me wrong, I have seen this kid play when he was in Grand Forks playing for the Junior Sioux two summers ago. From watching Colton play you can tell that he is definitely a top end talent for his age group, however, what happens if he doesn't get any better or get hurt? Is C.C. committed to him, do they have to honor the verbal. Should other teams honor the verbal?

COLTEN ST. CLAIR COMMITS TO COLORADO COLLEGE

PF Chang’s U18AAA forward Colten St. Clair gave a verbal commitment this past weekend to Head Coach Scott Owens to attend Colorado College and become a Tiger for the 2010 hockey season. While in Colorado Springs, Colorado for a tournament, St. Clair was extremely impressed with the Colorado College hockey program, the coaching staff and the academic environment.

Colten St.Clair said “Playing for the PF Chang’s U18 Midget Major Program has provided me with a great opportunity to compete and further my skill development at an elite level. It has been a dream of mine to play in the WCHA and ever since I was ten years old I wanted to be a Colorado College Tiger. Colorado College will provide me with an outstanding education while playing collegiate hockey at one of the finest programs in the country”.

The Director of the PF Chang’s Hockey Program and Head Coach Jim Johnson said that St. Clair has been the top rated 1992 forward from the State of Arizona and the Rocky Mountain District for the past year and is considered one of the top 1992 born players in the country. In addition this past summer at the USA Hockey 15 Select Festival in St. Cloud, Minnesota, St. Clair finished second in scoring amongst the top 1992 born prospects in the country. Coach Johnson said that after coaching many of elite players in North America over the past 10 years, he feels that Colten is an extremely gifted and skilled player that exemplifies the character, attitude and work ethic needed to be successful as a collegiate athlete.