One Commit, One Maybe Commit, One Maybe De-Commit

So as Bob Miller reported on the Yost Post today, goaltending Brian Hogan of the USHL's Lincoln Stars has verbally committed to the Wolverines for the fall of 2007. He came to the Stars from Detroit Catholic Central (think Brandon Kaleniecki and David Moss ripping my high school's team to shreds in the state's final four--seriously, look at that box score!) and posted a very solid 22-12-4 mark this year with a 2.50 GAA and a .916 save percentage.

The funny thing about his commit to Michigan is that he was the goaltender that played incoming freshman goalie Steve Jakiel right out of Lincoln earlier this year (Jakiel had a 3.38/.887 with the Stars this year). Jakiel was traded and performed much better, while Hogan had a very solid season indeed.

So now with 3 goalies out of the USHL scheduled to be on the roster in the Fall of 2007, one has to wonder if the loser of the battle between Sauer and Jakiel this year won't end up transferring. I seem to remember there being some pretty decent teams after Hogan, so I doubt he's walking on, but I don't know that we'll carry 3 scholarship goalies either. Could make for an interesting competition this fall and next.

Western College Hockey heard from a reader that Lincoln defenseman Chad Langlais was listed as a Michigan commit during the Lincoln camp as well. That has not been confirmed, but head to MGoBlog for a fun shot of him plastering an opponent. Brian draws a comparison to Eric Werner based on his size, but in the linked (surprisingly good) article written by Pat Caputo, Langlais says that he "enjoys being the last line of defense"...so there goes the Werner comparison!

As for the potential de-commit, I heard a rumor tonight (from someone with a pretty darn good track record) that one of our recruits is OHL bound. I did not receive a name with this, but my own personal belief is that it is AJ Jenks that we should be worried about. This would, however, mean that he made a 180 from a couple weeks ago, so it's very possible I've got it wrong. We may find out on this one tomorrow. No one on the OHL boards I looked at has made a mention of this, so hopefully the smoke is just Charles Rogers toking up, and not actual fire.