På djupfryst Blog

En tillflyktsort för den undernärda hockeyn

De bäst mest kalla dagarna warm min hockeyhjärta

InsideCollegeHockey.com ranked Jackson’s first recruiting class the 13th best in the country,a ranking that this morning appears modest. The early season Irish scoresheet is glutted by big numbers from the newcomers. The class Jackson’s hauled in for next autumn, by all appearances, will be ranked either no.1 or no. 2 in the country. He’s tapped into his deep roots with the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he served as national coach and senior director upon the program’s founding in 1996.

Jackson went into CCHA enemy territory and secured commitments from Michigan natives Brad Phillips, Ian Cole, and Teddy Ruth â€â€� all three elite talents and part of the U.S. Under-18 national team. Goaltender Phillips has been described by his teammates as possessing “ridiculous” talent, while Cole is one the best American blueliners of his birth year. And the blue-chip talent pool is growing exponentially: U.S. Under-17 forward Patrick Gaul of Pittsburgh, an Irish commitment for the 2008 class, is described by Ron Rolston, head coach of the Under-18 team, as “one of the best in his recruiting class.”

“As far as [Jackson's] reputation in the game and ability to coach and win championships,” Rolston said, “just having somebody of that stature will help recruiting. And the name â€â€� everyone knows in Canada, the States â€â€� everyone has heard of Notre Dame.”

But the real head-turning recruiting victory occurred on September 19, when Jackson secured a commitment from high school freshman Cam Fowler, whom some scouting services have ranked as the no. 1 player his age in all of North America. The Notre Dame Observer student newspaper last month called Jackson’s recruits for 2007-09 the “Magnificent 7.”

The worry and woe among CCHA foes this fall is palpable. Jackson’s team this year was forecast to finish no better than middle of the conference pack, but seniors David Brown (Penguins), one of the top five goalies in the country, and big-bodied blueliner Wes O’Neill (Islanders) are off to strong starts, and the freshmen are scoring in bunches and playing with the poise of upperclassmen. Jackson is aggressively and successfully recruiting in regions Wolverines and Spartans thought they’d had wrought iron fencing around, and a big-time infusion of game-breaking talent is on its way to campus.

The Fighting Irish hockey program will never shoulder aside the big game on the South Bend campus, but it’s long been viewed as possessing tantalizingly untapped potential. Jackson is making full use of its allure: his hockey recruits are seated in the big shrine on autumn Saturdays, witnessing up close all the dazzling drama scripted by Coach Weis. For the rest of the CCHA, the thought of the miracle worker at Lake State today armed with the vast cachet of South Bend has to invite the disquieting sense that a sleeping giant has been awakened.