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USHL Futures Draft


spfreak

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On the USHL website the Futures draft results are posted. Among those taken were Chris Vandevelde went fourth to, who else, Lincoln, Jon Ammerman went 14th to Tri-City, and Red River d-man Jake Vigen went 22nd to Indiana. Some other intriguing names included.

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Interesting to see teams take chances on players like Peter Mueller who will probably never play in the USHL, but go straight to college.

Is there any news on where Jon Ammerman is leaning?

I don't think it's a question of "where is Jon Ammerman leaning?" I think it's more a question of "which schools are leaning toward JA?"

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It might be a cryptic message meaning the Sioux really aren't that interested.  I'm sure Rick will clarify at some point.

I took it to mean, Ammerman's stock is not as high as some on here think and he is not being sought after by several schools. I tend to agree, he is a good player, but much of his success has come from playing with Lee. He will likely have to spend a year or two in the USHL before any WCHA schools look at him. But then again I would say the same thing about Vandeveldie so who knows.

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Jon Ammerman is still being recruited by UMD and others, but UMD is where he is leaning. UMD is very interested. He is probably not going to UND because although he and Brian Lee are very good friends, Jon does not want to compete against Brian. He will probably spend one year in the USHL, but is coming back to Moorhead for his senior year. Jon is an excellent hockey player and whoever gets him will get a very solid WCHA defenseman.

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I agree, Ammerman is an excellent player. But he isn't at the level of Brian Lee, Zach Jones or Taylor Chorney yet.

If given the chance, many players would like to play for (and lean towards) teams like North Dakota, Michigan, BC, etc. But, those schools might have other players they feel are farther along in their development and tell the recruit that they will stay in contact and watch them over the next year.

Players like Brian Lee, Zach Jones & Taylor Chorney are premier recruits that everybody wants and you need to pull the trigger early if you want to sign them. They have all the skills and have demonstrated that they know how to put the total package together. This type of player gets early full-ride offers from all the top programs.

Brad Miller and Vandevelde are examples of players that also have all the skills, but they haven't figured out how to put the pieces together into a total package. I think the coaches feel they need to get commitments from this type of player early because if they wait till other schools see them play at the next level (ushl, bchl) there will be a lot of competition.

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Jon Ammerman is still being recruited by UMD and others, but UMD is where he is leaning. UMD is very interested. He is probably not going to UND because although he and Brian Lee are very good friends, Jon does not want to compete against Brian. He will probably spend one year in the USHL, but is coming back to Moorhead for his senior year. Jon is an excellent hockey player and whoever gets him will get a very solid WCHA defenseman.

I didn't mean to imply Ammerman will not play in the WCHA, just that he will not play right out of high school. He is a very good player, but MN is very deep in defensemen his age. I think both Hardick and Ammerman will go to UMD, but I don't see Ammerman going until 06 unless Duluth is really hurting at D.

Duluth is also looking at some other Moorhead players. Like usual Duluth is trying to follow UND. :p

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I didn't mean to imply Ammerman will not play in the WCHA, just that he will not play right out of high school. He is a very good player, but MN is very deep in defensemen his age. I think both Hardick and Ammerman will go to UMD, but I don't see Ammerman going until 06 unless Duluth is really hurting at D.

Duluth is also looking at some other Moorhead players. Like usual Duluth is trying to follow UND. :p

No problem. I knew what you meant. :ohmy: However, from what I have heard, Ammerman is considered a better prospect than Hardwick. There are concerns about Hardwick's foot speed, which is not a plus for a defenseman. Ammerman has all of the skills of Lee (great speed, shot, footwork, very good offensive abilities), but Lee is considered more consistent. If anyone doubts Ammerman's abilities, keep in mind that last summer, he was one of only 4 Minnesota kids representing the US that made the team that traveled to the Czech Republic. He also made the US National Development Team in Ann Arbor, but turned it down because he was only 16 and his family felt it was not in his best interests. If you watch Moorhead games (which I know that you do since your nephew is on the team), there is very little that separates Jon Ammerman and Brian Lee. Some games, Jon is the best player on the ice, other days it is Brian Lee. Brian just does not seem to make any mistakes and is bigger, so has a bigger upside. I would love to see Jon Ammerman in a Sioux uniform, I just don't see it happening. The Gophers have also recruited him, but it appears that UMD is his best fit.

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WHAT I HEAR FROM PEOPLE WHO KNOW HIM IS THAT HE PLANS TO STAY AT RR FOR HIS SENIOR YEAR. AS YOU KNOW HE WAS TAKEN BY INDIANA IN THE FUTURES DRAFT AND HOPES TO BE PLAYING IN THE USHL NEXT SEASON. SEVERAL TEAMS HAD EXPRESSED INTEREST IN HIM AFTER THE SELECT 17 FESTIVAL THIS SUMMER INCLUDING A TEAM IN THE CCHA.

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No problem. I knew what you meant. :p However, from what I have heard, Ammerman is considered a better prospect than Hardwick. There are concerns about Hardwick's foot speed, which is not a plus for a defenseman. Ammerman has all of the skills of Lee (great speed, shot, footwork, very good offensive abilities), but Lee is considered more consistent. If anyone doubts Ammerman's abilities, keep in mind that last summer, he was one of only 4 Minnesota kids representing the US that made the team that traveled to the Czech Republic. He also made the US National Development Team in Ann Arbor, but turned it down because he was only 16 and his family felt it was not in his best interests. If you watch Moorhead games (which I know that you do since your nephew is on the team), there is very little that separates Jon Ammerman and Brian Lee. Some games, Jon is the best player on the ice, other days it is Brian Lee. Brian just does not seem to make any mistakes and is bigger, so has a bigger upside. I would love to see Jon Ammerman in a Sioux uniform, I just don't see it happening. The Gophers have also recruited him, but it appears that UMD is his best fit.

I haven't seen Hardwick play much so I can't really say much about him. I watched as many Moorhead games as I could, but most of them were either lopsided 12-0 games or a football game on ice (Alex). Against the weak competition Lee impressed me more, his stickhandling is among the best I've seen. The few games I saw against tough competition were on TV (I just looked their closest home game was a 5-1 win over Alex).

Why didn't he make the U-18 team this year. I found it strange that they gave Lee a spot even though he had a concussion and didn't participate in the select 17 tourny, yet didn't select Ammerman who was also on the U-17 team.

I agree Duluth should be a good fit for him. Hopefully he and a couple others from Moorhead will be in the WCHA in the next couple of years.

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I haven't seen Hardwick play much so I can't really say much about him. I watched as many Moorhead games as I could, but most of them were either lopsided 12-0 games or a football game on ice (Alex). Against the weak competition Lee impressed me more, his stickhandling is among the best I've seen. The few games I saw against tough competition were on TV (I just looked their closest home game was a 5-1 win over Alex).

Why didn't he make the U-18 team this year. I found it strange that they gave Lee a spot even though he had a concussion and didn't participate in the select 17 tourny, yet didn't select Ammerman who was also on the U-17 team.

I agree Duluth should be a good fit for him. Hopefully he and a couple others from Moorhead will be in the WCHA in the next couple of years.

I'm not sure why Jon Ammerman did not make this team. Only 2 kids from Minnesota made it this year, so I think it was because the competition was pretty intense. That only tells you how good Lee is, not that Ammerman is not good. A lot of Moorhead people think that Lee is a future NHLer and will not play 4 years of college. That's a lot of pressure to put on a 17 year old.

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