Pryor Not Madison Bound

(I was on The Pipeline Show last night to preview the QMJHL season. Here's the interview.)

This summer, the University of Wisconsin has been in the recruiting news a lot. They have been gaining recruits and they have been losing a couple. Put another one in the loss column for the Badgers. Nick Pryor, a defenseman, who will be playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers this season has de-committed for the 2009 season. He spent the last two seasons with the National Team Development Program.

No one really knows the reasoning because he has told different people different things. The Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets Blog reported it was because of low ACT scores.

He was not able to get the proper clearance from the University to gain admissions for the fall of 2009. Pryor cited a low ACT score as the reason that he will not be admitted.

However, he told the Badger Beat that it wasn't about academics.

He denied rumors that his decommitment had something to do with academics. "I could have gotten in if I wanted to," he said.

It will be interesting to see how he plays in the USHL Fall Classic this weekend. He has gotten calls from other schools.

On whether he's heard interest from other schools: "I've gotten calls. I'm keeping my options open right now. I don't have my mind set on anywhere right now. I'm just going to play - I've got a tournament coming up this weekend, the USHL Fall Classic, and see how everything goes after that. Nothing too serious at all right now."

My thoughts is things changed. Pryor committed when he was 15 and was still playing high school hockey in Minnesota. I have never seen him play but maybe his progression as a player has slowed down. He probably sees who they have on defense on the roster now and won't see as much playing time as he would like as a freshman. Maybe some kids will have second thoughts before commiting before they can go to drivers ed.

There's good news for Badger fans as they received a verbal commitment from a right winger Matt Paape for either the 2010 or 2011 season. In 24 contests with Appleton United last season, he had 31 goals and 20 assists as a junior. That's also another in-state recruit for the Badgers.

That's My Take

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)