 |
| New PSU signees Amy Petersen (second from left) and Laura Bowman (fourth from left) at a signing event at Minnetonka High School Wednesday morning as the NCAA's early NLI period opened. |
With the NCAA's early National Letter of Intent signing period opening today, Penn State has made official the second-ever NCAA signing class for the women's progam.
Given that we've already been tracking three of the four announced players for months, the release is more confirmation than news, so I'll direct you to previous posts written at the time of commitment for more on those players.
Minnetonka (MN) HS F Amy Petersen
Minnetonka (MN) HS F Laura Bowman
Edina (MN) HS F Sarah Nielsen
The fourth player is Buffalo-area native Kelly Seward, a blueliner who looks to add some much-needed presence to the Nittany Lions' back end. Here's what the PSU release said about her:
Kelly Seward
Defense // 5-9 // Left // Williamsville, N.Y. // Nichols School/Buffalo Bisons
Before Penn State: Has played for the Nichols School since 2009 and the Buffalo Bisons club team since 2010...With Nichols, helped lead the team to the 2009-10 and 2011-12 North American Prep Hockey Association league titles, while also leading the 2011-12 squad to the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association title...Served as team captain in 2011-12 and 2012-13...Invited to two USA Hockey Developmental camps in 2009 and 2011...Guided the Bisons to the New York state championships in 2010 as 14U, 2011 as 19U and 2012 as 16U...The 2011-12 16U squad earned runner-up honors at the national tournament.
Personal: Kelly Cecelia Seward was born June 7, 1995 in Buffalo, N.Y. to Mark and Jacqueline Seward...Has two older siblings, Meghan and David, who plays for the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Quoting Seward on Penn State: "After visiting many college campuses, I feel that Penn State is a great school to attend. Even though it is a huge campus, it has a small-school feel. It is the perfect fit for me."
Quoting Coach Brandwene on Seward: "I am very impressed with Kelly's consistency and well-rounded game. She possesses great height, strength, foot speed, on-ice vision and puck distribution skills, complemented by a terrific point shot. She'll be a defensive force for us."
The "W Current Commitments" page has been updated to include Seward, as well as signing date and new biographical information for all four players. Of course, all will be tracked throughout this season via the Commit Cycle series.
I have no clue about women's hockey below the collegiate level, but to the untrained eye, this seems like a pretty solid 4 player class. The next couple classes will be interesting to watch as coach attempts to balance out classes. Didn't we sign 17 freshmen in the last class?
ReplyDelete