While there was some thought that he might not sign until the April signing period, he indeed signed during the November signing period. The Mavericks announced the signing six days after announcing six other recruits for next fall.
Blueger, a native of Riga, Latvia, had five goals and 15 assists in 15 games playing in the Upper Midwest Elite High School League this fall. Last year, the 5-11, 165 forward helped Shattuck win the national U18 title and finished the season with 24 goals and assisting on 42 others in 54 games. He will be playing for Latvia next month in the World Junior Championships.
With Blueger in the fold, the '12 freshman class has the makings of a darn-good group. Combine it with this year's freshmen — with Jean-Paul LaFontaine, Zach Palmquist, Matt Leitner and Max Gaede, among others — and the future looks pretty bright for MSU.
7 comments:
This is GREAT news! Can't wait to see Teddy on the ice with LaFontaine, Leitner, and a healthy Chase Grant, among others.
Really great news. I think the freshman we have now are only going to get better and more exciting to watch. Our very young D core will be better as we go. We should be real good a year from now with this freshman class for next year (not saying we aren't good now. I still say when everyone is back we are going to surprise some people). With Elbrecht being out it should increase the odds he comes back which would be great since we are losing Cooper. Its too bad that Stern got hurt, he will develope into a really solid D man (Still will just going to take longer).
I hope the previous writers are correct and i'm wrong, but...what if Teddy channels Tyler Pitlick and does a one-season-and-gone routine? I don't get the sense that academics are real high on this kid's list right now.
Puckluck, just for curiosity's sake, what makes you think that? Have you heard rumors about his academic background? Again, I'm not questioning your post. I'm just curious why you say that.
I certainly hope Teddy comes and sticks around for at least a couple of seasons.
I am humored by how you people analyze the future and live through - "what-if"...
The present is what matters and we still have forwards who do not know how to use the points. Shots from the point generate rebounds = goals.
That is what this team needs to do and bloggers need to buy tickets and bring friends.
When this blogger lived in Minnesota, he didn't miss a game. Now that his job has taken him to Arkansas, he only has the opportunity to get back to one, maybe two series a year. If I am lucky enough to land a job back in Minnesota at some point, you better believe I'll go right back to the arena I lived at during past hockey seasons.
As far as your remark about "analyzing the future" goes, I'm not sure I see the problem in it. It's not like we quit worrying about this season. The fact of the matter is, when one's team is constantly an underdog and always towards the bottom in the standings, one is that much more likely to embrace what the future may hold. It's only natural.
The fact that the Mavs have a quality class of recruits coming in next season can't be ignored. Well, I suppose it can, but some of us choose not to ignore it.
We'll continue to dream about what those recruits will bring to the table when they arrive, and continue rooting on our 2011-2012 Mavs in the process.
Ole!
Sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone with my previous remarks.
A couple of things I did wonder about Mr. Brugger are his Shattuck background which frankly, has been an incubator for a number of skilled players who fast-tracked through juniors, college and into the professional ranks.
Second,I have noticed that the European guys playing in the WCHA (possibly elsewhere?) tend not to hang around for more than a couple of years. I can think of instances at North Dakota and St. Cloud where that occurred. Maybe its a mindset of some Euros to use college hockey as a career path rather than the culmination of the amateur experience.
Which brings me to Mr. Brugger. I don't know him or of his career aspirations. All I'm doing here is wondering if he might fit the profile of a high pedigree European hockey player biding his time in the US.
Frankly, I'm looking forward to seeing him play for a long time in Mankato. Four years from now, I hope he scores a hat trick for the Mavs in the NCAA championship game!
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