2008-09 College Hockey A to Z (Trupp)

Inside College Hockey has been doing an A-Z 2008-2009 review where they look at one player from each of the 58 teams; Evan Trupp was the Sioux player that was written about in the article. I am excited to see what this kid can do this year after having a year of experience.

EVAN TRUPP
North Dakota
So. | F | Anchorage, Alaska

Trupp's five game-winning goals included a highlight-reel overtime goal against Minnesota on Feb. 1.

Key Statistics: In 32 games as a freshman, Trupp had 13 points, scoring eight goals and sharing the team lead with five game-winners. He missed the last 11 games of the season after being sidelined by an ankle injury on March 1. North Dakota was 7-1-0 in games where Trupp scored.

What He Does: Trupp has bulked up to 170 after coming to Grand Forks as a 155-pound freshman, and has what his coach terms “wiry strength.” That commodity goes along with offensive instincts and puck-control skills that made him the anchor of North Dakota’s second power play unit as a freshman. With a year of experience, Trupp is expected to play a bigger role in filling the offensive holes in the Sioux lineup.

The Bigger Picture: A three-time state high school champion (for two different schools) and the 2005 prep player of the year in Alaska, there was some pressure on Trupp to play close to home for Alaska Anchorage, or to follow his father’s collegiate footsteps to Fairbanks. Trupp opted instead for the British Columbia junior ranks (where he was rookie of the year in 2006), then admits that an official visit to palatial Ralph Engelstad Arena cemented his decision to play college hockey in the Lower 48. His 2008 injury marked the third year in a row in which Trupp has missed the end of the season due to a medical issue (it was an inflamed appendix in 2007 and a separated shoulder in 2006). As a sophomore he’s striving for more speed, more strength, more health and a fifth straight Frozen Four trip for the Sioux.

North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol on Trupp: “Size and stature-wise, he and Ryan (Duncan) are very similar. They’re intelligent and think the game very well, and they flat-out make a lot of plays. Evan is a money-type player. When you need a big play, he seems to always be there in the clutch.”

— Jess Myers

Wisconsin Recruit Travis Erstad head to Steven's Point Instead of Wisconsin

I saw this over on Western College Hockey and I am kind of surprised by this story. Erstad is a 4Th round draft choice that decided that he would play at UW-Steven's Point this season instead of for the Badgers next season.

True to form; some of the comments of this blog post are kind of entertaining as well. I always laugh at the people that accuse some of the bigger schools like UND, Minnesota and Wisconsin of over-recruiting. It is part of the college game, I personally don't like it all that much either but it is the reality. If your team doesn't recruit enough players and then there happens to be mass defections to the NHL, the coach can be caught off guard if they don't have enough recruits ready to step in. Coaches don't want to be caught unprepared and end up with a line up that isn't deep enough and lack dept. On the flip side if the mass defections do not happen you could end up with players that do not want to delay their college enrollment and pursue other options.

Erstad Opts for D-3
Wisconsin recruit Travis Erstad, a draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, has opted out of playing another year with the Lincoln Stars, and will instead play for Division III UW-Steven's Point.

Erstad is a native of Steven's Point and UWSP's head coach, Wil Nichol, coached Erstad in high school.

Critics of Wisconsin and their recruiting practices will immediately point to this as an example of Wisconsin over-recruiting and screwing over the players they've already committed to. I'm not sure I see it though.

In February of 2007 when Erstad committed, it was reported that his commitment was for either 2008 or 2009. So it's not like Wisconsin sprung the decision to have him play another year of junior hockey on him at the last minute or anything. If playing junior hockey this year was out of the question for him, he probably shouldn't have made the commitment. Yes, there was the possibility of him joining the Badgers this season, but looking at his scoring line--59 games played 9 goals 10 assists, a team worst -10--it's not like his play clearly showed that he was ready for college hockey this year.

Not that I blame Erstad for his decision. He'll be going to a nice situation in his hometown as opposed to the endless hours of travel and being away from home in Lincoln. I'm just not sure that Wisconsin should be villified for pulling the rug out from under a kid when they were just following what they had initially agreed to.