Every Tuesday, FanHouse discusses the top NHL prospects found in college hockey.As the college hockey season gets underway, freshmen are often just trying to get some game experience and adjust to the speed of the college game, which is much different than the high school, prep school, or junior team they came from.
For North Dakota forward Mike Cichy (NHL rights: Montreal), you couldn't have scripted a better start to his college career.
The Connecticut native picked up three points in two Fighting Sioux wins over Merrimack. Cichy assisted on both of North Dakota's second-period goals on Friday before putting the Sioux ahead for good with his first collegiate goal Saturday.
Cichy was a forgotten man in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, going 199th overall to Montreal. The Canadiens have a chance to leave Cichy in college for a couple years, but early returns seem to indicate that they'll have a nice prospect on their hands soon.
His draft day adventure was chronicled in a story for The Hockey News.
1:26 p.m. – You just got picked by the Habs, congratulations!Cichy does need to put on some more muscle. He had some room to skate against Merrimack, a school that put up a fight over the weekend, but hasn't had a winning season since they joined Hockey East in 1989. That room will likely diminish greatly as the Sioux open their Western Collegiate Hockey Association schedule Friday and Saturday against rival Minnesota.
- Wow, ha ha, thank you! Shock for me right now, wasn't expecting it at all.
- You gonna call some people, celebrate?
- Ha ha, it's possible. I think I'm going to spend some time with my mom, she deserves it.
Generally, he looks like a player who will continue to contribute for the Sioux, who were picked second in the WCHA in pre-season polling by both the league's coaches and media. However, you can see the need for more strength, and no one really knows how he'll respond to the physical pounding skilled players take on a nightly basis in this league.
Surely, he'll experience tougher weekends than this one. Freshmen always do. However, this was a fine start to his college career, one that has to raise at least a couple eyebrows in Montreal.
Other Players to Watch
Two potential All-American defensemen had huge weekends. Northern Michigan junior Eric Gustafsson (undrafted) scored two goals and assisted on two others in a weekend split of non-conference games in the Superior Showcase. Gustafsson is an impressive puck-moving defenseman who might be a bit undersized, but isn't afraid to mix it up and can win physical battles. He could be a top free-agent once NMU's season ends. The Wildcats lost to Michigan Tech 5-3 on Friday before beating Minnesota Duluth 3-1 Sunday. Meanwhile, North Dakota's Chay Genoway (undrafted) had three assists against Merrimack.
Michigan State was awful last season, but their season was largely defined by a January night in Ann Arbor, where two of their players carried out a heinous on-ice assault of a Michigan player whose only crime was throwing a clean hit. One of the involved Spartans, Corey Tropp (Buffalo), was reinstated to the program after last season ended, and he got his junior year off to a good start. In a weekend sweep of Clarkson, the forward scored once and assisted on three other goals. Perhaps more importantly, Tropp was only penalized once, a holding minor in Friday's game.
Senior forward Nick Fanto and junior Rich Purslow (both undrafted) had four-point weekends (two goals, two assists) for Nebraska-Omaha, as the Mavericks won the Icebreaker Tournament in Omaha. Playing for the first time under new head coach Dean Blais, UNO beat Army and UMass-Lowell to claim the title.
Notre Dame had to settle for a split against Alabama-Huntsville, as the Chargers scored with five seconds left to win Friday, 3-2. The Irish rallied to win 3-1 Saturday. Freshman Kyle Palmieri (Anaheim), a 2009 first-rounder, scored once in each game for Notre Dame, while senior defenseman Kyle Lawson (Carolina) scored the game-winner Saturday and added an assist.
It was a great start to the season for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats swept a two-game set at Ohio State, winning 4-2 Thursday and 3-1 Friday. Senior center Eric Lampe (undrafted) had a hand in four of QU's seven goals, scoring three and assisting on another.
