Hockey Recruit Leads USA To Gold At World Championships

If Sunday's gold medal game at the 2012 Under 18 IIHF World Championships is any indication of how incoming UW hockey recruit Nic Kerdiles is going to play in big games while at Wisconsin, Badger fans have something to start getting excited about.

Kerdiles, widely considered the top forward on the United States under 18 team helped secure gold for the red, white, and blue over the weekend, thanks in large part to a two-goal, three-assist performance in a 7-0 gold medal game thrashing of Sweden.

The 6'2, 200 pound C/LW finished the tournament as the top point producer for the United States, with 9 points in 6 tournament games (4g, 5a).

The Irvine, California native certainly helped his draft stock over the past week, which was already in solid standing. Kerdiles was recently ranked as the #29 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, placing him firmly on the bubble to be drafted somewhere between the late first, and early second round at the Draft this summer in Pittsburgh.

Kerdiles is considered one of, if not the #1 forward recruit in the nation for the class of 2012. He will join fellow Badger recruits Morgan Zulinick (Salmon Arm, BCHL), Eddie Wittchow (Waterloo, USHL), and Kevin Schulze (Omaha, USHL) in Madison in the fall.

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