2008-09 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH RECRUITING CLASS

Jack Connolly (Forward •5-8 • 155 • Duluth, Minn.) -- Certainly made the most of his one year-stay in the United States Hockey League last winter ... landed the USHL Rookie of the Year Award and was an All-USHL First Team selection after tying for the league lead in scoring with 72 points (26 goals and 46 assists) while centering the Sioux Falls Stampede's top line ... was also finalist for two other league honors -- Player of the Year and Forward of the Year ... placed first among his teammates in power play goals (10) and finished second in plus-minus rating (plus-18) ... skated for the U.S. at 2007 World Junior A Challenge in Trail, British Columbia ... is a 2007 graduate of Duluth's Marshall School ... paced the 2006-07 Hilltoppers in scoring with 37 goals and 40 assists for 77 points in 31 games ... was a member of the 2007 Minnesota State Class A All-Tournament Team after helping lead Hilltoppers to a second consecutive runnerup finish at the event ... earned All-Lake Superior Conference first team, Duluth News-Tribune All-Area second team and Associated Press All-State honorable mention acclaim as a senior ... starred on the pitch as well at Marshall and was the 2006 Duluth News Tribune's All-Area Boy's Soccer Player of the Year.

Mike Connolly (Forward • 5-8 • 175 • Calgary, Alberta) -- Has established himself as one of the Alberta Junior Hockey League's top snipers the past two seasons ... currently holds down the No. 2 spot on the Camrose Kodiak scoring charts with 37 points (14 goals and 23 assists) in 18 games and is a team-leading plus-26 to boot ... finished as leading scorer (11 points in just five outings) at the 2007 World Junior A Challenge earlier this month en route to being bestowed with the tournament's Most Valuable Player Award ... his spirited play helped propel Canada West to the World Junior A Challenge title ... accumulated 18 goals and 30 assists during the 2006-07 regular season, which was the fourth highest figure turned in by a Kodiak ... went on to rack up a league-leading 20 points for the AJHL playoff champion Kodiaks ... played a significant role in Camrose's conquest of the 2007 Doyle Cup (AJHL/British Columbia Hockey League playoff championship) ... strutted his stuff with the South Team at the 2007 AJHL All-Star Game ... played for the Calgary Buffaloes (AAA Midgets) in 2005-06 ... is the latest Camrose product to enlist his services with the UMD program, joining the likes of current Bulldogs MacGregor Sharp and Evan Oberg as well as 2006-07 All-WCHA winger Mason Raymond, who signed with the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks in March 2007 after a sensational sophomore season, and two-time team captain Matt McKnight, a 2007-08 senior

David Grun (Forward • 6-1 • 195 • White Bear Lake, Minn.) - Became much more of an offensive force in his second go around with the United States Hockey League's Sioux Falls Stampede last season ... skated in all 60 regular season Stampede games in 2007-08 and responded to that ample ice exposure by collecting 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points -- good enough for the No. 4 spot on the team's scoring charts ... also pumped in five power play goals and was a plus-3 to boot ... was a 2007-08 puckmate of fellow Bulldog recruits Jack Connolly and Scott Kishel ... scored nine times and assisted on six other regular season goals as a USHL rookie ... added six more points during Sioux Falls' run to the Clark Cup title (USHL playoff champion) ... began the year at Cedar Falls before relocating to Sioux Falls after the opening week of play ...is a 2006 graduate of White Bear Lake High School ... captained the Bears as both a junior and senior and was an All-Suburban East Conference and Associated Press All-State honoree both of those years.

Brady Hjelle (Goalie • 5-10 • 175 • International Falls, Minn.) - Bypassed his final year of eligibility (2007-08) at International Falls High School, where he stopped pucks in record-breaking fashion, by signing on with the United States Hockey League's Cedar Falls RoughRiders (the same franchie which produced current UMD junior goaltender Alex Stalock) ... made quite a splash as a USHL newcomer -- finished third among all league goaltenders in regular season saves percentage (.921) and shutouts (3) and fifth in both wins (he was 22-14-4 overall) and goals against average (2.50) ... took part in the 2008 USHL Prospects All-Star Game and was a member of the 2007-08 USHL All-Rookie Team ... was a finalist for both the USHL Rookie of the Year and Goalie of the Year awards ... patrolled the RoughRider goal mouth in 41 regular season games l ... landed the first two USHL Goalie of the Week honors in 2007-08 ... competed for the U.S. (along with fellow UMD recruit Jack Connolly) at the 2007 World Junior A Challenge last November in Trail, British Columbia for U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic two months earlier ... turned in the best overall saves percentage (.934) of any Iron Range Conference netminder while facing a whopping 943 shots -- an average of nearly 35 per game -- as a junior ... posted three shutouts and gave up only one goal in eight other contests ... holds a share of the Minnesota State High School League record for saves in one game (74) which he set against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton in 2006.

Scott Kishel (Defenseman • 5-11 •160 • Virginia, Minn.) - Made his 2007-08 hockey home in Sioux Falls, S.D. ... generated three goals and 11 assists for the Stampede of the United States Hockey League ... skated in all but three of Sioux Falls' 60 regular season engagements last winter ... is a 2007 graduate of Virginia High School ... was a three-year fixture on the Virginia-Mountain Iron-Buhl blueline ... contributed a career-high 48 points (14 and 34 assists) to the Blue Devils scoring coffers last winter ... was a two-time member of the Associated Press All-State Team (honorable mention) ... earned Duluth News-Tribune All-Area second team recognition as a senior .. served as a team captain in 2006-07 ... played with former Bulldog defenseman and current Dallas Star Matt Niskanen during his sophomore season at Virginina-MIB... also was a standout on the prep baseball diamond (pitcher, first base and outfield) and football fields (quarterback and safety) ... received Virginia High School's Athlete of the Year Award for 2006-07 ... was selected in the seventh round (192nd pick overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2007 National Hockey League draft.

Brady Lamb (Defenseman • 6-1 • 215 • Calgary, Alberta) - Holds the title as the Alberta Junior Hockey League's reigning Outstanding Defenseman Award winner ... put the wraps on his third season with the Royals this past winter by setting career highs for points (32, good for second place on the team's scoring charts), goals (10) and assists (22) while skating in 58 regular games ... ranked fifth among all AJHL blueliners in regular season points en route to receiving the W.G. Scott Memorial Trophy as that league's most outstanding defenseman ... captained the Royals during his final year of competition ... took part in the 2008 AJHL All-Star game and was a member of the South Division Top Prospects Team the previous season ... was chosen the Royals' Most Valuable Player in 2007-08 ... racked up 12 regular season points as rookie with Calgary in 2005-06 and finished with eight goals and 18 assists in 47 outings the folllowing year.

Travis Oleksuk (Forward • 5-11 •185 • Thunder Bay, Ontario) - Spent the last two seasons enhancing his game with the United States Hockey League's Sioux City Musketeers ... racked up the fourth highest scoring total on the club (44 points on 14 goals and 30 assists -- all career highs -- in 60 games) during the 2007-08 regular season ... over a third of those points (three goals and 12 assists) were registered on the power play ... closed out his USHL debut year with six goals and 16 assists in 56 regular season engagements ... his father, Bill Oleksuk, was a standout left winger for the Bulldogs from 1978-82 and held the UMD record for most goals in a season by a freshman (30) before a fellow by the name of Brett Hull came along and shattered the mark six years later.

Note: All signings are contingent upon admission to the University and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Clearinghouse.