Prospective Recruits

[siouxfan512]

On 4/10/2026 at 4:43 PM, cberkas said:

DuPont has been following UND since day one, don't assume that we are not in his top two three.

It certainly wouldn't shock me to see UND in his top 3, but we have seen that before. If he were to go to UND, it means he is chasing development and not just money, which would definitely speak to his character. Obviously, that is not to slight development anywhere else, more of a statement that UND isn't competing against Michigan in NIL. Denver is a different beast; no clue what their NIL situation is, but with the success they have had and with Carle coaching, it's hard to fault any kid for wanting to go there.

Would love to land a player like this but am not counting on it. That being said, plenty of other impactful players to be had. I just want to see some splashes soon; the season is over and I'm getting anxious for some news.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

RHD Michael Craig from RMU was a 2 year captain there and 2 year captain in BC as well.

[cberkas]

10 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

RHD Michael Craig from RMU was a 2 year captain there and 2 year captain in BC as well.

Huh?

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Just now, cberkas said:

Huh?

In the portal, potential 8th D candidate

[cberkas]

1 minute ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

In the portal, potential 8th D candidate

Was confused why in the recruits topic 

[nascar99]

Levi Harper (2008, Tampa FL, OHL, Saginaw Spirit) has removed all of his Minnesota Golden Gophers commitment info/posts from his IG.

He follows 5 programs on there: Minnesota, North Dakota, Denver, Michigan, & Boston College. Buckle up

[scpa0305]

Just now, nascar99 said:

Levi Harper (2008, Tampa FL, OHL, Saginaw Spirit) has removed all of his Minnesota Golden Gophers commitment info/posts from his IG.

He follows 5 programs on there: Minnesota, North Dakota, Denver, Michigan, & Boston College. Buckle up

Interesting, he’s really good 

[nascar99]

Just now, scpa0305 said:

Interesting, he’s really good 

The speculation is that he might want to play in the NCAA in his DY for 2026-27, while Larson & staff may want him back in junior to round out the defensive weaknesses in his game. Could be wrong, could be as simple as new staff & old commit not on the same page. Worth monitoring for now.

[brianvf]

Oh my.  
Gopher fans have been pumping both him and Grimes pretty hard for the last year.
Would be crazy if they both de-commit after the coaching change.

I'd be fine with him going to DU if that makes one less suitor for DuPont.    

[scpa0305]

3 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

The speculation is that he might want to play in the NCAA in his DY for 2026-27, while Larson & staff may want him back in junior to round out the defensive weaknesses in his game. Could be wrong, could be as simple as new staff & old commit not on the same page. Worth monitoring for now.

If I’m Nodak I bring him in. Only one year of Junior is dicey but the offense is there. He’d be a true freshman. Although he’s a pp guy, not a ton of room there next year.

[Johnny Five]

5 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Oh my.  
Gopher fans have been pumping both him and Grimes pretty hard for the last year.
Would be crazy if they both de-commit after the coaching change.

I'd be fine with him going to DU if that makes one less suitor for DuPont.    

Couple tough losses for sure.  If Bob is still behind the bench, I'm sure Murr and Henricks aren't on the roster.  Hard to pass those 2 up.  If Larson told them he'd like to see them go back for a year of Juniors and they said "see ya," well that's college hockey in today's landscape.  I've also seen that Maceo Phillips has been pushed back a year.  

All of that considered, perhaps the Tarin Smith rumors have a little steam in relation to these moves.

[brianvf]

2 minutes ago, Johnny Five said:

All of that considered, perhaps the Tarin Smith rumors have a little steam in relation to these moves.

That was my next thought as well. Harper and Smith are both more offensive, if Smith is confirmed I could see wanting to push back Harper and risk losing him. 
Having never seen Smith play, I wonder how many of his points are due to DuPont working his magic out there?

[Johnny Five]

2 minutes ago, brianvf said:

That was my next thought as well. Harper and Smith are both more offensive, if Smith is confirmed I could see wanting to push back Harper and risk losing him. 
Having never seen Smith play, I wonder how many of his points are due to DuPont working his magic out there?

Yeah I'm not sure on the points thing either.  But in relation to Harper, Smith is also over 2 years older, 3 inches taller and 15-20 pounds heavier.  Perhaps more of an immediate impact.  

Of course he would need to officially commit, but something has to give.

[beastandco]

23 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

Levi Harper (2008, Tampa FL, OHL, Saginaw Spirit) has removed all of his Minnesota Golden Gophers commitment info/posts from his IG.

He follows 5 programs on there: Minnesota, North Dakota, Denver, Michigan, & Boston College. Buckle up

Wow.

Assuming his decommitment is due to being pushed back, I’m not sure how many open spots those teams have. I believe Michigan and BC are nearly full. This one might be one to watch closely.

[burd]

On 4/10/2026 at 4:43 PM, cberkas said:

DuPont has been following UND since day one, don't assume that we are not in his top two three.

In the era of NIL, I suppose recruits will show a visible interest in other blue bloods they are less serious about as a tactic to increase bargaining leverage.   Whether it works is another matter. 

[fsioux]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

If I’m Nodak I bring him in. Only one year of Junior is dicey but the offense is there. He’d be a true freshman. Although he’s a pp guy, not a ton of room there next year.

The way the PP looked at the end of the season we can use any help we can get.

[nascar99]

18 minutes ago, fsioux said:

The way the PP looked at the end of the season we can use any help we can get.

It's just another good option to have if others on the market like Carels, DuPont, & Rudolph either commit elsewhere or remain in the CHL.

[beastandco]

It looks like UND will be after Harper. Bryn just followed him. 
 

Side note, his brother is committed to Michigan. 

[Fratt Mattin]

4 minutes ago, beastandco said:

It looks like UND will be after Harper. Bryn just followed him. 
 

Side note, his brother is committed to Michigan. 

Not sure Harper moves the needle a ton for me if the plan is to bring him in this year. I don't see the need for small, young, offensive defenseman on this roster

[beastandco]

16 minutes ago, Fratt Mattin said:

Not sure Harper moves the needle a ton for me if the plan is to bring him in this year. I don't see the need for small, young, offensive defenseman on this roster

I agree. I’m not sure what the market will be for blue bloods willing to take him this year. If you have to take him next year, you probably do it. That’s if you know that you will strike out on Carels, DuPont, and Rudolph. Pretty significant drop off between those three and Harper, imo.

[brianvf]

18 minutes ago, beastandco said:

I agree. I’m not sure what the market will be for blue bloods willing to take him this year. If you have to take him next year, you probably do it. That’s if you know that you will strike out on Carels, DuPont, and Rudolph. Pretty significant drop off between those three and Harper, imo.

Completely agree.
You only take a run at Harper if you miss out on all three of the remaining CHL Big Guns.

[Fratt Mattin]

4 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Completely agree.
You only take a run at Harper if you miss out on all three of the remaining CHL Big Guns.

Yep, which is why I'd be mildly concerned if we're seriously recruiting him. Not saying we should be sounding any alarms, just think it's something to watch

[brianvf]

2 minutes ago, Fratt Mattin said:

Yep, which is why I'd be mildly concerned if we're seriously recruiting him. Not saying we should be sounding any alarms, just think it's something to watch

I'm hoping it's just Bryn keeping all options/avenues open.
He did say earlier that he liked to have options A, B, C, D, etc. just in case.    

[.357]

4 minutes ago, brianvf said:

I'm hoping it's just Bryn keeping all options/avenues open.
He did say earlier that he liked to have options A, B, C, D, etc. just in case.    

You mentioned after meeting his parents in LV that they said Bryn had a few aces up his sleeve (paraphrasing, but you said something similar to that). Am assuming that Boser was not one of those aces they were alluding to.

[brianvf]

5 minutes ago, .357 said:

You mentioned after meeting his parents in LV that they said Bryn had a few aces up his sleeve (paraphrasing, but you said something similar to that). Am assuming that Boser was not one of those aces they were alluding to.

Yes, for sure.  I'm guessing Harper wasn't either since his Gopher IG posts were still active this morning (assuming the Murr news caused him to rethink things with UMN).
I'm confident that those aces were in reference to some more CHL studs to be named later.