Recruit Update: The 07-08 Freshman Class

Here are my profiles and up to date information about Kane Lafranchise, Winston Daychief, Brad McCabe, Jeff Carlson and Tommy Grant; next seasons incoming UAA Seawolf freshman class.

Kane Lafranchise
Defenseman 6' 1" 195lbs (Shoots Left)
Edmonton, Alberta
Turns 19 on May 27th 2007

The kid with one of the great sports names of all-time is currently in his 2nd season with the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL. In his 1st season Kane played in 60 games, scored 7 goals and added 13 assists. In his first 38 games this season he has scored 10 goals and added 19 assists more than doubling his point per game output. Interpreting the "scouting" information that is available indicates that Kane is an outstanding skater. His stats make me believe that he has become more of a team leader this season. The UAA press release regarding his signing contains the following comments from Spruce Grove coach Steve Hamilton,

"Kanie is an outstanding skater who has developed into a prominent offensive player for us this season and has played strong on both sides of the puck. He contineues to lead our defensive corps on the backend and will play an important role on our team success this year."

Coach Shyiak's comments:

“Kane is a very good puck-rushing defenseman who can jump in on the rush as well. He’s a good skater and has developed into a solid power-play point man at the Junior A level. His skating ability should aid us as we try to get more offensive production from our defense"

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Winston Daychief
Forward (RW) 6' 1" 187lbs (Shoots Right)
Standoff, Alberta
Turned 19 on November 23rd 2006

Winston is in his second year with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL. He is currently 10th overall on the B's leader board with 20 goals and 31 assists in 37 games. Winston is another player who has doubled his point per game output from his first season. 13 of his 20 goals have come on the power play. In his first season he scored 20 goals with 23 assists in 60 games. An email from a Cowichan fan indicated that Winston is skilled, very rugged and a fan favorite. Winston will play in the BCHL All-Star game on January 17th for the Coastal Conference team. The UAA press release regarding his signing has these comments from Cowichan coach Scott Robinson;

“Winston is a very good possession player who has great touch around the net. He goes hard to the net and can play in traffic. Winston competes hard every game and plays with a tremendous amount of passion and energy."

And Coach Shyiak's comments;

“Winston has good size and has the ability to create scoring chances. He’s a good power-type player who can play both the physical and finesse game.

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Brad McCabe
Forward (Center) 6' 200lbs (Shoots Left)
Gearhart, OR
Turns 19 on July 15th 2007

Brad is in his first year of Junior A hockey with the Wasilla based Alaska Avalanche NAHL team. He scored 31 goals with 30 assists in 31 games with the Ft. Vancouver Pioneers of the North Pacific Junior Hockey League in 05-06. This season has been injury shortened and with only 16 games with the Avalanche, Brad has scored 11 goals and added 5 assists and is the team current goal scoring leader. Brad is still out of the lineup nursing a medial collateral ligament injury. It's possible he could return to the team near the end of January. When Brad signed with UAA, Avalanche coach Dean Larson had this to say:

“Brad is a great athlete who likes to win at everything. He’s a strong power forward who possesses good speed and skills. What I like best about Brad is his competitive nature. He competes every shift and wants to get better.

Coach Shyiak's comments:

“Brad is a character kid who is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. Dean Larson and Corey Millen have done a great job in developing his overall game. Brad can skate, play with speed and also play physical. He will certainly fit in with the style of play we stress.”

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Jeff Carlson
Defenseman 6' 2" 200lbs
Richfield, MN
Turns 21 on May 19th 2007

Jeff is one of the two verbal committments that UAA isn't allowed to comment on. He is in his second year with the Southern Minnesota Express of the NAHL. Jeff is currently the 2nd leading scoring defenseman in the league with 9 goals and 16 assists in 32 games this season. Last year he scored 9 goals with 27 assists for the Express in 56 games. His numbers are obviously good news. Last season Jeff had interest from a couple of other WCHA teams according to Chris at the Western College Hockey blog. Apparently there was some sort of academic issue which prevented him from entering a school but all indications are that those have been resolved. Chris also indicated to me that Jeff is a "really talented player". His maturity should mean that he'll be able to step in at UAA and contribute right away. If my memory serves me he is the third UAA Seawolf with that name.
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Tommy Grant
Forward 6' 2" 175lbs (Shoots Left)
North Vancouver, BC
Turns 21 on August 21 2007

Tommy is the Westside Warriors leading scorer with 15 goals and 21 assists in 33 BCHL games. He began the season with Quesnel but was traded to Westside after 11 games. His 1.1 points per game average is nearly 3 times his output from his first two seasons in the "B" with the Victoria Salsa. 8 of his goals this season have come on the power play. Tommy is reputed to be a fast skater with a hard wrist shot (maybe "Tommy Gun" is his nickname?). Westside isn't one of the higher scoring teams in the league. His 36 points so far put him at #37 overall in the league. My interpretation is that he is a classic B.C. power forward.