The National Letter of Intent is an agreement between an athlete (a senior in high school) and the institution, where the athlete promises to attend the institution for a year and the institution promises some form of financial aid for that year. So only athletes receiving athletic scholarships sign an LOI. Also, once an athlete signs an LOI, other schools promise to stop recruiting him.

UPDATE: CC is expecting LOI’s from John Moore, Joe Howe, and Dakota Eveland (though he is expected to arrive in 2010, could come next season if CC has early departures). CC obtained letters of intent from Rylan Schwartz, Scott Winkler, and Russell Goodman in the spring. CC coaches can’t comment on recruits until they have received the LOI.

Other recruits lined up for fall 2009 include: Andrew Hamburg, who was named the NAHL South’s player of the week for his five-point weekend, and defenseman Joe Marciano, who is playing with the Omaha Lancers.

Schwartz, who just returned from a silver-medal appearance at the World Junior A Challenge, ranks second among all points-scorers (14 goals, 18 assists in 16 games) in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

Moore, who helped the U.S. Junior Select team capture a gold medal at the Challenge, is in his second year playing for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. Moore (Winnetka, Ill.) is fourth among Steel scorers and second in defenseman-scoring.

Winkler (Asker, Norway) as drafted in the third round (No. 89 overall) by the Dallas Stars last summer. He currently has seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) in his first season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He spent last season with Russell Stover AAA, a midget team based in Overland Park, Kan.

Goodman, who seems to have rebounded well from a pair of serious knee injuries, leads the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 20 games. Goodman hails from Saskatoon, Sask., and was named captain of the Clippers this season.

In his second season playing for the Waterloo Black Hawks, Howe is 3-2-1 through six games with a 3.10 GAA and a .892 save percentage. Howe has played the most minutes of the Black Hawks’ three goalies and just returned from the Junior A Challenge.

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Colorado Springs goaltender Cody Campbell and Superior defenseman Jacob Sloat join St. Clair on the roster.

Other CC recruits in the USHL include:

Omaha Lancers: Defenseman Joe Marciano and forward Dakota Eveland
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders: Center Scott Winkler
Chicago Steel: Defenseman John Moore
Tri-City Storm: Forward Andrew Hamburg
Waterloo Blackhawks: Goaltender Joe Howe

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I was out of the country for the bulk of the NHL playoffs, so I missed that CC alum Toby Petersen was the talk of the Dallas Stars-Detroit Red Wings series.

Here are some links that capture the buzz in Dallas:

And this is also old news, but important nonetheless: Defenseman Gabe Guentzel, a Woodbury, Minn., native and son of recently departed Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel, committed to CC for the upcoming season, the Sioux Falls Stampede announced May 14. Guentzel, who had six goals and 22 assists in 60 games for the Stampede, joins Arthur Bidwill and Joe Marciano as new additions to the defensive corps this fall. Captain Jake Gannon will be the lone senior defenseman and leader of a group that returns six of seven players, losing Jack Hillen to graduation. Nine defensemen will be the most the Tigers have had since the 2004-05 season, when they also had nine defensemen.

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The recruits that are definitely coming in 2008, barring injury or some unforeseen circumstance, are Dineen, Hall, Civitarese and Joe Marciano. Possible additions to that class–resulting from early departures and other roster changes–include Hamburg and Schwartz. If either of those two makes a rapid skill development this season, then that would also earn them consideration for 2008 matriculation.

Coach Scott Owens discusses some of the players below:

F Nick Dineen, Omaha, Neb.
Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
5-foot-9, 190 pounds, 2/28/89
Shoots: Right
Fun fact: Dineen played for the AAA Pikes Peak Miners in 2004-05 and attended Liberty
Owens: “Dineen is really excelling right now. He’s in his third year in the league. He’s a tremendous locker-room guy. He’s a great leader. He can play gritty, he can score. He’s really having a great year. He was one of their top three guys in that (World Junior A) tournament up at Trail (B.C.). He’s all about team. …We knew that he had tremendous character. In midgets he scored a fair amount. His first two years in the USHL, he just scored OK, but now he’s settling down and he’s still pretty young.”

C Tim Hall, Sewickley, Pa.
Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets (USHL)
5-foot-8, 160 pounds, 2/2/90
Shoots: Left
Fun fact: Hall is the second player from the Pittsburgh area in CC history. John Mooney, who played for CC from 1989-91.
Owens: “Tim Hall had 17 goals and 14 assists as a ‘90 (birthdate) last year in the USHL. He’s off to a little bit of a slow start this year, but he played well overseas this summer and he also really played well up at Trail (at the World Junior A tournament). He’s a tenacious, hard-working left-handed forward with some scoring touch. He’s a smart hockey player and he’ll be an asset to us. He needs to get things rolling a little bit now, but no matter what we’re bringing him in next year.”

2008 or 2009

C Rylan Schwartz, Wilcox, Saskatchewan
Notre Dame Hounds (Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League)
5-foot-10, 180 pounds, 1/8/1990
Fun fact: Plays for the same team that produced sophomore defenseman Kris Fredheim and assistant coach Norm Bazin.
“He’s been doing well. He’s only played two, three months of junior hockey. He did very well in midgets. Our original discussion on him was for ‘09. We just wanted him to mature and that’s where we thought he’d fit in nicely for us.”

RW Andrew Hamburg, Phoenix
St. Louis Bandits (North American Hockey League)
6-foot-2, 175 pounds, 6/17/1989
Fun fact: Nicknamed “Hammer”
Hamburg landed with the Bandits after a two-game stint with the NAHL’s Texas Tornado. Originally thought would be playing for Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL, but was one of the final cuts.
“He was a late cut. It’s tough for high school. It’s a learning experience. He ended up in St. Louis, which has a very good North American team and he’s doing pretty well.”

I’ll catch Owens about Civitarese and Marciano later this week.

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A 6-foot-1, 194-pound defenseman playing for the U.S. national under-18 team in residence in Ann Arbor, Mich., Marciano will fill out next season’s defensive corps, which only loses current senior Jack Hillen to graduation. Marciano’s decision came down to CC and Harvard, but he also visited Wisconsin within the last year.

The first CC recruit from the U.S. National Team Development program since sophomore Bill Sweatt, Marciano had a goal in CC’s exhibition with the U.S. under-18 team earlier this season, his only goal in 18 games. Marciano played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, an elite hockey prep school located in Faribault, Minn., in 2006-07, totaling 8 goals and 15 assists in 45 games. Marciano also played for Shattuck’s under-16 team in 2005-06.

Staying with freshman Stephen Schultz on his official visit, Marciano was in attendance for Saturday’s game against No. 9 Wisconsin and watched with freshman defenseman Ryan Lowery.

Marciano joins four forwards in the 2008-09 recruiting class. Coach Scott Owens said he has received four of five letters of intent from the group. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from discussing recruits until they have received a letter of intent.

A quick Q&A with Marciano:

On choosing CC:
“Being from California, it’s a good fit for me and Colorado is close to home. That had a big influence on it. It’s a good school and the WCHA is a good league to play in.”

The California connection:
“I don’t know them (CC’s Californians Andreas Vlassopoulos and Dan Quilico) personally yet, but I know of them. It’s a great program, great hockey.”

How the commitment came about:
“We’ve been communicating back and forth for a while. For the past month or so, me and coach Owens have been talking on the phone a lot and he told me that they were ready to give me an offer. I was actually looking at Harvard at the time and was waiting on my ACT score. But in my heart, I knew I was going to come here anyway, I fit in here well and it was close to home. Anyway, last week I called coach Owens and told him I was ready to commit. He said, ‘It’s good to have you,’ and stuff like that.”

How Marciano describes himself:
“I’d say I’m like an all-around defenseman. I’m pretty good defensively. I can move the puck well and get that first pass up to the guys.”

With just one defenseman graduating, where Marciano see himself fitting in:
“Coming in as a freshman, you’ve got to work to get your ice. I think I have a good chance, but I’ve got to work for it.”

Why, in light of the early commitments among U.S. NTDP players, Marciano hasn’t committed earlier:
“I just recently started getting offers. Last year, I always talked to colleges, but this year, I’ve just been starting to get offers. I wasn’t really in a hurry anyways. Being from California, I’m new to the college process and everything.”

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