Earlier this week, the Boston University men’s hockey team became the sixth college program to land a ’04 recruit. That player is Bridgewater, New Jersey native Devin Kaplan.
Kaplan is described as a right shot power forward who shows great effort on both ends of the ice.
Last season he put up 39 points in 31 games in Bantam Majors for the New Jersey Avalanche. He is expected to join 2021 recruit Jeremey Wilmer on the 16U team for the Avalanche.
https://twitter.com/devin_kaplan/status/1035252238921420801
A warm welcome to our newest and youngest recruit!
I know they have to do it to stay competitive, but getting commitments from 14-year-olds is a real crapshoot.
Fourteen is crazy young. I think even Eichel was 15 when he gave JP his VC. I think BC’s Wahlstrom gave his VC to Maine when he was 13.
I remember taking my nephew to hockey games when he was 14 (Do they call that bantam still now?) . While watching him in warm ups I heard a woman next to me talk about her son who was on my nephew’s team. She said that “he is going straight to the pros and not “bother” with college”. I watched her son. I saw he would have had trouble getting on many prep schools starting lineups. Yes, this 14 year old stuff is not good for the player at all. That said our coach must do this to compete.
Yes, it is still called bantam
I’m trying to think, and I welcome the input of all: Going back these past ten or so years, are there any 14 or 15 year olds to whom we have offered hockey scholarships and they turned out to be busts as far as hockey players? I remember D’Angelo was at that age when he committed but he decommitted (thank goodness) well before arriving at BU and played OHL hockey instead. When I think of crazy early commits, I think of Eichel and Keller … both one-and-done but both led the team in scoring during their brief BU careers.