Austin Coldwell from the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL has verbally committed to attend UAA. The 20 year old blueliner from Vancouver, Washington is currently the 2nd highest scoring defensemen in the league and leads the team in scoring with 6 goals and 12 assists; was selected to the 2010 USHL All-Star game.
There can be no doubt that Austin had more than a couple of D1 opportunities, offers or options with regard to where to play hockey next. So the fact that UAA got him should in that sense be viewed as a bit of a nice win for UAA's recruiting staff.
In the May 2009 USHL Entry draft, Coldwell was taken 2nd overall by Des Moines. He spent the two previous seasons as 17 and 18 year old in the NAHL with Bismarck and then Springfield. His production in every one of his junior season has steadily increased. From 19 to 27 to 36 and this year is on pace for the low 40s.
Here's what the USHL Prospect Blog said about him during the off-season ...
Austin Coldwell (Des Moines) is the only offensively focused defenseman I wrote about in this article, and he should be in line to lead the USHL in scoring for defensemen next season. He hopes to improve on his rookie campaign where he spent a lot of ice time on Des Moines' potent powerplay, where gained 23 of his 36 total points. Of those 36 points, 12 were goals and 24 were assists. Coldwell is arguably one of the best powerplay quarterbacks in the USHL and that is where he gets noticed quite a bit by scouts. Now Coldwell is one of the few players on this list that doesn't have a college commitment yet. If Coldwell continues tearing it up offensively in the USHL and can improve on his defensive skills, that will change and he will be headed to college.Des Moines is coached by UAA Alumni/former Captain and Assistant Coach Regg Simon. Regg had this to say in the USHL Press Release ...
"Austin has bought into becoming an all-around defenseman. It's a big reason why he's received so much interest as of late and has ultimately earned a scholarship. His offensive production is important for our team, but so is his ability to play in our end as well. That's where his most significant improvement has been."
So welcome to the fold Austin. You'll be happy with your decision; you're going to be part of a team that is on the upswing and it looks like from your resume' that you'll add something positive to it.
11 comments:
Wow, sounds like a great recruit! I am really liking the talent level that is coming in the next couple of years! Great job coaching staff.
Suze: Instead of, "Good job coaching staff," I think you should be saying, "Good job Regg!" When was the last time UAA had so many recruits in the USHL, let alone getting the 2nd leading scoring defenseman? This is a big recruit for us but I think we'd all be kidding ourselves if we didn't think we got some outside "help" on this one.
A USHL recruit, who is a powerplay quaterback, and scores a good amount of his points on the power play!!!
Anonymous is right. Glad we have someone that is a alum, former captain and former assistant coach still helping the program.
Anon, just off the top of my head I would say the last solid D man to come out of the USHL was Shane Lovdahl. He was the highest scoring defenceman two years in a row before he came to UAA.
I am sure Reg has a hand in helping us get Coldwell, but you need to give credit where credit is due. Look at the BCHL recruits like Mellor.
Interesting side note: Coldwell fought Grant Arnold in a USHL game on Oct 31, 2009. Derek Docken (another UAA commit) fought Grant Arnold in a USHL game on Dec 31, 2010.
The young future Seawolves already have something in common... (couldn't find how they fared)
The plot thickens!
Zack Rall (yet another UAA commit) also fought Grant Arnold in a USHL game on Nov 28, 2009.
LOL. Maybe we should be recruiting Grant Arnold?
Noooo! Arnold sounds like a cheap hack. :p
Lovdahl was either underused or he underachieved. He had a rocket of a shot, but other than that he was a bit slow and never really materialized as a consistent contributor. Hope this kid has more upside than Shane.
I think Coldwell will come out of the gate ready to play and have the shortest time to adapt to D1 of any of the recruits.
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