College Preview - Part I

There are nine players in the Florida system that will spend the year in college, but only seven will be playing for their schools this season, and I suppose it's best to start at the top.

The Michigan Wolverines may not have won the national championship last season, but they top the media rankings for the CCHA and are second only to Notre Dame in the CCHA coaches' poll. The Wolverines, first place finishers in the CCHA last year and Frozen Four participants as well, are also ranked second in the nation in the USA Today/USA Hockey Preseason Poll behind the defending champion Boston College Eagles. Matt Rust returns to the Wolverines as a sophomore on the heels of a 12 goal, 23 point freshman campaign. In August, Rust attended USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp for the upcoming World Junior Championships and will look to make his second appearance on the world stage. Last season, despite playing each game for the USA, Rust was unable to record a point, while the Americans finished fourth in the tournament. The competition among forwards at Michigan may not give Rust an advantage just yet, but as he progresses and seniors leave, Rust's role stands only to increase over not only the next few months, but the next three years as a college player.

Last season, the Denver Pioneers played their final season with Peter Mannino between the pipes. Mannino, undrafted by an NHL club, was the team MVP last season and the Pioneers' all-time shutout leader, breaking a record that had stood since the '60s. While he's moved on and signed with the New York Islanders, his departure opens the door for Sophomore netminder Marc Cheverie. "Chevy", named the Pioneers' starting goaltender for the upcoming season, was the Cats' 7th round selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, and this will finally be his first true test. Experience is the major unknown for how he'll handle the starter's duties, though, as he only appeared in five games as a freshman. Nonetheless, the Pioneers' head coach is very high on Cheverie and expects an eye-opening season from the sophomore.

The Pioneers also recruited defenseman John Lee and he will move to college this year. Lee, who has spent the past two seasons in the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks, comes in as a freshman but is still expected to play immediately. Never one to impress on the scoresheet, Lee's game is rooted elsewhere. The younger brother of Ottawa Senators first round selection Brian Lee, John calls himself a defensive defenseman, and in an article written in April from the Waterloo Courier, Black Hawks head coach P.K. O'Handley wasn't afraid to lavish praises on the 6'2", 185 pound defenseman:

"John manages a game so well. He gets the puck out of the zone, makes great passes and sets guys up. . . John just has tremendous rink management. He knows what he can and can’t do, whether its at home in Young Arena or on the road. . . We wouldn’t be where we are today if we did not have John Lee playing on the blueline."

Denver has an exhibition game on October 4th, and then the season begins on October 11th against the CCHA Coaches' Poll top-ranked Notre Dame. The Pioneers, on the other hand, have been voted by the coaches to be third in Western Collegiate Hockey Association, behind only Colorado College and North Dakota.

Derrick LaPoint has attended Panthers' development camps for the past two years now, although this more recent camp was one in which he saw limited activity due to a concussion he had suffered after being checked from behind in a game against Denver in March. The injury kept LaPoint out of the lineup for the final four games of the hockey season, including North Dakota's eventual 6-1 loss to Boston College in the Frozen Four semi-final. LaPoint spent much of his freshman time as a bottom pairing right defenseman, although he was played in a few key games on the second pairing and even an apperaance or two on the top alongside the 6'7", 245 pound Capitals' prospect Joe Finley. Derrick played in 31 games for the Sioux, although a few were lost to his concussion, and picked up a pair of goals and seven points over the season. This season will be huge for LaPoint. Both Joe Finley and Zach Jones are seniors, and a solid season can earn the still-lanky defenseman a consistent top four role.

I'll put up part II this evening, I just want to give a little more time as I may or may not have something to edit in part two, depending on an e-mail response.