Thursday reading: Michigan, Jablonski, NCHC, Civitarese, Guentzel

Former Tiger David Civitarese made quite an impression at the recent prospects camp. Thanks to CC statistician Victoria Thomas for providing this image.

Here is a list of Michigan college players who signed pro contracts so far this offseason including Michigan Tech’s Jordan Baker going to ECHL Colorado.

Injured high school hockey player Jack Jablonski is making considerable progress.

Here is an update on CC’s $27 million in renovations at its El Pomar athletic complex, which will include a new varsity weight room and synthetic ice shooting room for the hockey program.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference added two to its league office staff.

And from the How Did I Miss This? story department, here are two older articles on former Tigers. David Civitarese was happy to miss the Calgary Stampede last month. Gabe Guentzel made a good first impression during his first partial pro season.

Anyone traveling to Omaha later this month may want to check out this hockey game fundraiser that features former Nebraska Omaha players and current NHLers.

Dineen will sign with ECHL Elmira

Former Tigers captain Nick Dineen, pictured shooting against Minnesota Duluth, used the past couple weeks to heal and focus on finishing his economic degree at Colorado College.

Former Tiger captain Nick Dineen is flying to Elmira, N.Y. Thursday morning to sign his first professional contract and start his career with the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals, the Atlantic Division champions.

Dineen said the coach told him to plan on making his debut Friday against the Reading (Pa.) Royals in the first of the final two regular-season games.

“It all happened pretty quickly from 8 p.m. (Tuesday) on,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “Elmira called and needed a center. They are a first-place team and need me to play right away. I felt I was ready to go. It was an easy decision.”

Dineen said the amateur tryout deal lasts for the rest of this season, meaning he will be a free agent against this offseason.

Dineen was slowed by a tweaked knee sustained during his first shift on March 2 against Michigan Tech, he said, but now feels ready to resume playing. The economics major also used the last couple weeks to finish up his classwork.

“I feel a lot better,” he said.

Dineen is the fifth of the six Tiger seniors to move on to the pros. Arthur Bidwill (CHL Allen), David Civitarese (AHL Hershey), Gabe Guentzel (AHL Syracuse) and Tim Hall (ECHL Alaska) have all signed deals.

Dineen recorded 67 career points (34g, 33a) in 140 games as a Tiger, including 26 points (14g, 12a) in 34 games as a senior.

Saturday reading: J. Schwartz, Guentzel, Hall, playoff recaps, previews

Here’s a preview of tonight’s St. Louis at Tampa Bay game when former Tiger Jaden Schwartz will make his NHL debut. (TV: 5 p.m. Mountain FS Midwest, SUN Network).

Expect Gabe Guentzel, pictured at left, to make his pro debut Saturday night for AHL Syracuse against Adirondack and former CC teammate Mike Testwuide. Guentzel will wear No. 10 judging from the roster.

Tim Hall made his pro debut for ECHL Alaska in a 3-1 loss at Colorado. It reads like he played his defensive role well, drawing two penalties.

Here’s a lot of good information on CC and its available personnel next season by the Gazette’s Brian Gomez: CC wing Dakota Eveland will not play next season after offseason neck surgery this Tuesday. Look for one or two more 2012 commits or one of the 2013 players to be brought in a year early.

North Dakota could be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, judging from the latest Pairwise rankings, if it wins its third Broadmoor Trophy in a row against Denver tonight in the WCHA Final Five championship game. ( TV: 6 p.m. Mountain ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain). Here’s plenty of recap and preview notes.

Western Michigan cruised past Miami in the CCHA semifinals on Friday. Top remaining seed Michigan defeated last-place Bowling Green State 3-2 in double overtime to end the Falcons’s memorable run at an NCAA berth.

In Hockey East, Maine downed Boston U in one semifinal while Boston College ended No. 7 seed Providence’s Cinderella run. Maine plays BC at 6 p.m. Mountain (TV: NBC Sports Network).

In the ECAC, Harvard kept its NCAA hopes alive by advancing to tonight’s championship against top seed Union. Harvard is rated at No. 19 in the Pairwise and must win the automatic berth to move on.

In the Atlantic, Air Force will take on No. 3 seed and host RIT tonight (Radio: 1300 AM, 5 p.m. Mountain)

Update: Watch Hall make ECHL debut Friday night against Colorado Eagles

Former Tiger forward Tim Hall signed an amateur tryout agreement on Thursday for an unspecified amount of time with the ECHL defending champion Alaska Aces and will join the team in Loveland for Friday and Saturday’s games at the Colorado Eagles.

Hall will make his pro debut Friday night in a road game against the Colorado Eagles. The Aces contacted him Wednesday and he jumped at the chance to show where he could fit into a team that features former Tiger and NHLer Brian Swanson as captain and all-time ECHL career goals scorer Wes Goldie.

“I’m going to be a third or fourth line guy,” he said. “They have a lot of skill on this team so they have their offense taken care of. I’ll come in, provide some energy and hopefully chip in a few points.”

The Aces are affiliated with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues organization and Peoria of the AHL.

The Aces can clinch the Mountain Division title with a win this weekend.

Hall finished his Tigers career with 40 points (16g, 24a) in 135 games including five goals and three assists in 34 games this past season.  However long his time with the Aces last, Hall is hopeful he’ll be able to take advantage of his chance.

“It’s a great place to start,” he said. “The Aces are a great organization. I hope I do well this weekend and make the most of this opportunity.”

That makes him the first of the six seniors to sign a pro contract. Gabe Guentzel will sign a deal with AHL Syracuse on Friday.

No NHL debut for Jaden Schwartz tonight

A link to the full article is at the bottom of this post.

Jaden Schwartz experienced the first day of the rest of his NHL life at the United Center on Tuesday. The newest member of the Blues, who was playing college hockey three days ago, skated through his first professional practice.

The tempo certainly was a little more rapid than what he was accustomed to at Colorado College. Afterward, Schwartz looked like he had run a marathon. But he enjoyed every sweaty second.

“You’re definitely pretty nervous,” said Schwartz, the team’s No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL draft. “I was excited but obviously really nervous. So I tried to control that as best I could and tried to have fun with it.”

Schwartz will not be in the lineup tonight when the Blues play the Blackhawks and coach Ken Hitchcock wasn’t sure when the 19-year old — who signed with the team on Monday — might make his debut. But Hitchcock indicated it would be sooner rather than later. He thought Schwartz looked comfortable.

“He’s a pretty confident guy,” Hitchcock said. “I guess when it’s his turn to play he’ll be nervous a little bit. But I think the one thing is, he’s comfortable around the guys. It’s not like he’s walking in new here. He’s been around the organization a little bit at various levels. He knows management, knows some of the players, so I think he’s comfortable there.”

Schwartz is likely to play on the current Blues swing, which takes the team to Carolina for a Thursday game and Tampa Bay for a Saturday game before it returns home.

“You can’t have enough good players at this time and I think with the style of game he plays, with him being such a confident 200-foot player … you never know,” Hitchcock added. “You’re going to be using these guys if we don’t get (Alex) Steen and (Matt) D’Agostini back … He’s going to be a necessary add come playoff time.”

Forwards Steen and D’Agostini remain sidelined by concussion symptoms.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/morning-skate/schwartz-practices-with-blues-stewart-promoted/article_e5b31a92-6d46-11e1-bc06-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1p29DR7L4

CC’s Jaden Schwartz will sign pro deal with Blues

The Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting that CC sophomore Jaden Schwartz will sign a pro deal with the St. Louis Blues as early as Tuesday. Here’s the story:

Sophomore left wing Jaden Schwartz is leaving Colorado College for a professional deal with the St. Louis Blues that he’s expected to finalize this week. And his departure opens the door for his older brother, Rylan, to also abandon the Tigers for the pro ranks.

Jaden Schwartz will sign with the Blues – the team that drafted him in the first round in 2010 – as early as Tuesday, sources familiar with Schwartz’s decision told The Gazette. The Blues have had discussions with Schwartz, sources said, since CC suffered a season-ending defeat Saturday to Michigan Tech in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs. Neither Schwartz nor CC coach Scott Owens returned phone and text messages.

If Schwartz sticks with the NHL-leading Blues for their playoff run, his contract would pay $700,000 a year, and if he winds up with the Peoria (Ill.) Rivermen of the American Hockey League, it would net $250,000 a year. Either way, his contract would be prorated based on the length of time he’s on the roster – a contract being negotiated by an adviser to Schwartz, whose NCAA eligibility is gone once he signs a pro deal or hires an agent.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/jaden-135026-blues-schwartz.html#ixzz1ovUHWV2v

In the pros: Bachman update; Sweatt feature

Bill Sweatt’s agent posted this feature on the brothers Bill and Lee Sweatt. Like the Photoshop work.

Former Tiger Richard Bachman will be a big piece of the Stars’ plans going forward according to this beat writer.