Top 10 NCAA Freshmen

[leafaholix*]

who are the top 10 NCAA freshmen so far?

Click to read more...

 

[Chrisd]

I haven't seen many teams..

but ranking my gophers freshman...

we have 3 studs...

1.Kyle okposo- Has been unreal, love the kid, future nhl star.

2. Jay Baribal- had a great year, big goal last night, little and will need time, but could pan out....maybe....

3. Erik Johnson- I've been satisfied, but not blown away with him, I think he can offer more, but you can see why the scouts love him. Size, great shot, just seems indecisive sometimes.

 

[Pipeandin]

From what it looked like on Television EJ domianted last night. Just controls the play out there and seems to be doing everything well. Barriball is a little fiesty one but looks like he has a knack for the net and pucks just find his stick. I think it will be awesome to see him as a senior. When you watch the games people always generally tend to notice the forwards play because it is on the offensive side of the puck, but if you watch the little things Johnson does as well as Goligoski it is so fun to watch. My top three:
1. Johnson and Okposo...two completely different animals, but dominating in the ways they are supposed to.
2. Barriball- Really finding the back of the net. Fun to watch.
3. Teddy Purcell-plays at Maine, really having a good start. Can really set up and dish the puck well.

 

[Freaky Habs Fan]

From what it looked like on Television EJ domianted last night. Just controls the play out there and seems to be doing everything well. Barriball is a little fiesty one but looks like he has a knack for the net and pucks just find his stick. I think it will be awesome to see him as a senior. When you watch the games people always generally tend to notice the forwards play because it is on the offensive side of the puck, but if you watch the little things Johnson does as well as Goligoski it is so fun to watch. My top three:
1. Johnson and Okposo...two completely different animals, but dominating in the ways they are supposed to.
2. Barriball- Really finding the back of the net. Fun to watch.
3. Teddy Purcell-plays at Maine, really having a good start. Can really set up and dish the puck well.

How was David Fischer?

 

[Pipeandin]

I personally think Fischer is getting better every single game, from what I have seen. Getting more and more comfortable with the puck and is gaining confidence. I see him as a Paul Martin type of defenseman in a few years.

 

[VanW27]

A couple of Denver forwards, on their way to a decent freshman year are Ruegsegger (11pts in 12 gp, only 1 point off the team lead) and Rakhshani (9 pts in 12 gp), not likely top 10 but probably in the next group.

 

[CH Wizard]

Andreas Nodl should be up there...

 

[Kvashinator12]

Okposo and Barriball have been light years ahead of all freshman.

 

[Hasbro]

Brock Trotter with an asterix. He's a freshman by virtue of a medical redshirt. He played 5 games last year.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Okposo and Barriball have been light years ahead of all freshman.

I've seen nearly every Minny game so far and EJ has impressed me more than either. It's harder to stand out as a defenseman, and when he does he just absolutely dominates the ice.

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

I've seen nearly every Minny game so far and EJ has impressed me more than either. It's harder to stand out as a defenseman, and when he does he just absolutely dominates the ice.

Yeah so i hear Fischer is improving. What do you think?

 

[montreal]

Okposo and Baribal have been impressive same with Johnson.

Brandon Wong (Qu) is leading the ECAC in scoring, so he's got to be up there. I've heard good things about Matt Beca (Clarkson) and Tony Romano (Cornell). Ryan Lasch (SCSU) is leading the WCHA in scoring and teammate Nodl looked in the one game I saw.

 

[heygarebear]

I've seen nearly every Minny game so far and EJ has impressed me more than either. It's harder to stand out as a defenseman, and when he does he just absolutely dominates the ice.

thank goodness, because we all know.. we are going to need him to save the Blues.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Yeah so i hear Fischer is improving. What do you think?

As I said from the time of the draft: He's going to be a good one.

He's very, very raw right now but he's learning more each time he plays.

I can't wait to watch him develop after college. He should have a great career in the NHL.

 

[Oilers Chick]

your_rogers_bill:

Do you want to know who's leading the nation or who has impressed me most thus far? I'm asking becasue my lists would be slightly different.

Some of the players already mentioned would be on my lists too: Barriball, Okoposo, Johnson, Ruegsegger, Purcell, Trotter, Romano

Some others that I've been impressed with that I've seen so far: Dion Knelsen (Alaska), Ryan Thang (Notre Dame), Jamie McBain (Wisconsin), Mark Letestu (Western Michigan), David McIntyre (Colgate), Jordan Fulton (Minnesota-Duluth).

 

[Prof_it]

Two others worth mentioning from the CCHA are Jarod Palmer from Miami and Eddie Del Grosso from UNO.

 

[The Exiled One]

Andreas Nodl is now leading all NCAA freshmen in points per game (1.50). Unfortunately for SCSU, he's already declared that his ultimate goal is the NHL and Philly is desperate for RW's right now.

 

[DaveG]

Anyone have the chance to see Bowling Green yet? I'm interested in how local product Kai Kantola is looking so far this year. His stats seem ok for a Freshman but stats never tell the whole story.

 

[Kafka]

Is Derrick Lapoint playing also in a league part of the NCAA? Because he is putting numbers there, but it's hard to evaluate if its that good since I don't know the league he is part of.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Every NJ freshman has exceeded their expectations so far.
-TJ Miller has 8 points in 12 games on the blueline for Northern Michigan.
-Tony Romano has 3 goals and 5 assists in 8 games for Cornell.
-Nathan Perkovich has 8 goals and 3 assists in 12 games for Lake Superior
-Mark Fayne has been Providence's best defensmen has 2 points in 12 games +2.

 

[HOCKEY_GURU]

Is Derrick Lapoint playing also in a league part of the NCAA? Because he is putting numbers there, but it's hard to evaluate if its that good since I don't know the league he is part of.

Hes in the USHL - not part of NCAA

http://www.ushl.com/statistics/index.cfm?id=scoringleaders&id2=Scoring Leaders

 

[Kritty]

This is a classic college hockey post. Everyone highlights the NHL prospects or the players playing for the top college teams. Some that are being overlooked:

Chris Moran, Niagara - leads all freshmen in scoring. I've seen him a couple times and he's looked very good. Gets overlooked because of the big guns on Niagara.

Brandon Wong, Quinnipiac - haven't seen him but I've heard good things. 10 goals in 12 games as a freshman speaks to that.

To be honest, the freshman class hasn't been terribly great this year to this point. They've had stretches of good play (Barriball started hot, Okposo consistent, etc.) but no one has really dominated. Alot of guys doing well.

 

[Oilers Chick]

DaveG: In answer to your BG question, yes I have. Anything in particular you want to know about Kantola?

Kritty: I believe someone already mentioned Brandon Wong. I've would've named Chris Moran too, but Niagara isn't really well known, even in college hockey circles. If we're going to get into top performing rookies who are obscure/unknown, then why not throw in Carl Hudson and Josh Heidinger as well?

 

[PuckFan01]

This is a classic college hockey post. Everyone highlights the NHL prospects or the players playing for the top college teams. Some that are being overlooked:

Let's be honest. There is a big difference in doing well as a freshman (especially a true freshman as opposed to a 20 year old freshman) in a league like the WCHA or Hockey East as compared to the CHA or ECAC.

 

[DaveG]

DaveG: In answer to your BG question, yes I have. Anything in particular you want to know about Kantola?

Mostly how he's being used (3rd line role would be my guess) and how his overall game is comparing to the opponents and the rest of his team. The aspects of his game that are strong at the NCAA level and those he needs to work on. He's the first real prospect to come out of Raleigh so a few of us on the Canes board have been trying to keep track of him through the year.