Amid the notes about the upcoming Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey season, one in particular deserves more than a passing glance: The Badgers sold out student season tickets - which isn't surprising until you learn it's only the second consecutive season that's happened.
The Badgers can't defend ticket sales on the basis of their inconsistent play last season any more than their football counterparts can defend opponents this year. And it's hard to imagine the hangover effect from the 2005 National Championship is in play anymore. Only seven players on the current roster played that year for UW.
That leaves for an explanation that either the hockey atmosphere at the Kohl Center is increasingly captivating - and I can believe that - or, just possibly, that more students realize early what other Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams are bound to find out later: There is an unheard-of degree of talented youth on this team that, if nothing else, is going to be exciting to watch.
The Badgers were able to court three - count them - three players who were chosen in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, including two selected in the top 12. That's an altogether new concept for Wisconsin, which has never had more than one first round pick in its freshman cohort.
In no way are these three players - part of a nine-player recruiting class - easily or quickly going to make followers of the team forget what is missing: four of the team's top five scorers from last season and the best goaltender in UW's hockey history where statistics are concerned.
But Kyle Turris, Ryan McDonagh and Brendan Smith, picks No. 3, 12 and 27, give the Badgers the best-recruited group in the country, said insidecollegehockey.com in newly released rankings. That distinction is based on input from college and junior hockey coaches and scouts, and it projects success at the college level.
Turris is the blue chip of the group, a player who has been described to have exceptional offensive talent and vision on the ice, accurate with his shot and is able to create opportunities in the zone. What's more, he logs major minutes - something the Badgers don't mind reading, since they're trying to escape offensive purgatory.
McDonagh and Smith are defenders and only stand to help a defense that lost its goaltender, the backbone of the team. Life without Brian Elliott involves an unproven junior goalie with good numbers, yet he's never seen extensive playing time.
McDonagh was Minnesota's Mr. Hockey last year and is said to be an all-around player. Smith is a fluid skater and scores more goals than the average defenseman.
The rest of the recruits give UW a makeup that comes to this: 18 of the 27 players are freshmen or sophomores, and only seven of the remaining nine have skated during a game. Half the offense, statistically, has left, and the scoring defense - the best in the conference over the past four seasons - is less than apt to remain that way.
But what's certain is that there isn't much in the way of expectations, the highly respectable coaching is a constant, there's an exciting influx of talent and, for whatever reason, the student fans are backing this team as it moves forward.
E-mail Jon at bortin@wisc.edu to share in his excitement for UW's young hockey team.
