From: USHL.comMatt Tabrum (5'10 189 lbs) has committed to play collegiate hockey at the University of Denver following his USHL career. Matt began playing youth hockey in Colorado Springs while his father was an assistant coach at Colorado College and later worked for USA Hockey as the Director of Coaching Education.
Tabrum has tallied 12 points (24 games-10g, 2a) in 30 games this season. The recently turned 20-year-old was acquired from the Sioux Falls Stampede in early January. He has three multi-goal games this season, including a hat trick on November 6th vs. Youngstown. Tabrum made his USHL debut during the 2009-10 season, playing two games with the Stampede until an injury ended his season.
Tabrum's father Mark was an assistant coach at Colorado College from 1993-99.
2011 Recruiting ClassD Scott Mayfield (Youngstown, USHL)
F Zac Larraza (U.S. Under-18)
F Garrett Allen (Fargo, USHL)
D Joey LaLeggia (Penticton Vees, BCHL)
F Larkin Jacobson (Janesville Jets, NAHL)
D Wade Bennett (Wichita Falls, NAHL)
F Matt Tabrum (Omaha, USHL)
2012 Recruiting Class
D Matt Van Voorhis (U.S. Under-18)
F Tyler Pham (Colorado Thunderbirds-U18)
D Dakota Mermis (U.S. Under-17)
D Josiah Didier (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
F Daniel Doremus (Sioux Falls, USHL)
2013 Recruiting Class
F Brad Hawkinson (Colorado Thunderbirds-U18)
31 comments:
Ok D.G. What's the skinny on this guy?
The "body language" is suspect. He's already 20 years old and nobody has recruited him at this late date.
Im sorry to sound negative but I have much higher expectations for DU hockey. I truely dont understand why we have picked up Jacobson Bennett and now Tabrum. What am I missing here? I understand Bennett to some extent. Do these guys have huge upside potential or sometghing? I get depth players but these guys are uninspiring even as depth players. I am so friggin pissed right now someone help me out here.
Tabrum, if you can give me two goals in your next game ill feel a little better. If your gonna play for DU you better step it up and get nasty that goes for you too Larkin!
Looks like he'll start out as a role player like Chris Knowlton, Jarrod Mermis or Dustin Jackson were as Freshmen.
Most likely a good character guy with a high hockey I.Q. since his dad was a coach.
First guess is he's taking the spot of Justin Jones who departed last week.
Fans have to understand that DU only has 18 scholarships. These non-scholly role players are terribly important to play on the 3rd or 4th lines and fill in when injuries occur. Look at Jerrod Mermis last weekend. Huge weekend and his stats in the USHL were similar to Tabrums.
I think the Recruiter for DU knows what he is doing - not to mention the coaching staff is terrific and can spot a diamond in the rough and turn them into great players.
dg is exactly right. these guys are filling out the roster and will be 4 year players. Jackson, Ryder, Nutini, etc.
The landscape has changed. High end talent and scoring now comes from under-classman before they leave the program for the pros. You rely on these unheralded upper-classman to lead the team in other areas than shows up on the stat sheet. they know the systems, they know how to succeed in the classroom and the ice, they have no amibition of the NHL so they are loyal and dedicated to the program, etc.
The intangibles that these unheralded players bring to the table are necessary to build a championship quality team.
Tabrum is the son of a high level coach, so I think he's a depth player/grinder (small scholarship) who can likely play a smart game on the third or fourth line.
We didn't win the 04 National Championship with guys that had superlative, NHL caliber type talent. We won it with grinders, blue-collar kids who knew how to play hockey. A lot of the guys from the 04 and 05 teams are playing in the ECHL, AHL, and Europe. We did have a couple of guys who made it big - Carle, Stastny - and some guys that tasted the show - Berkie, Manno, etc. I'm not saying that these guys are going to lead us to the frozen four every year, but they might be players who stay for 4 years. We need those types of kids too, guys who don the Crimson and Gold and prefer it to bussing around in the juniors.
Here's my list of some of the Top 10 recruited walk-ons, lightly regarded "diamonds in the rough" or transfers that Miller & Gwozdecky uncovered.
1). Ryan Dingle
2). Matt Laatsch
3). Chris Nutini
4). Luke Salazar
5). J.R. Ryder
6). J.P. Testwuide
7). Dustin Jackson
8). Brandon Vossberg
9). Chris Knowlton
10). Steven Cook
I realy hope one of the forwards in next years class is a diamond in the rough because it's not looking good on paper right now. The D looks solid. I guess the redline ranking (4th) makes me feel a little better. I like to get ecxited when I see a big name pop up as a new recruit and the last 3 have been hole fillers. I guess ill look ahead to 2012s any good news there?
Here's something else to consider.
The Minnesota Gophers have 19 NHL Draft picks on their Roster. They haven't finished higher than 5th in the WCHA in the past three season and are heading for another mid-pack finish.
Why? NHL draftees aren't very good role players. They aren't good around the boards and they don't relish the dirty work that needs t be done.
How often does DU recruit a Tyler Bozak, Paul Stastny, Matt Carle or Jason Zucker? Guys who basically go directly to the NHL from college.
About one player every two years.
When you think about it, the last decade has been very kind to DU recruiting.
I agree DG I just want it to stay that way! Im not a recruiter and half the time I dont know what im looking at so i need to have faith. It's nice to have a place to vent and get some clarity. I guess i would rather go in with low expectations and be pleasantly surprised. So which one of our 2011 forwards is going to be the man.
No problem.
Defenseman Joey Laleggia is the big star of DU's recruiting class next season. He's going to score a ton of points.
Here's the deal. Puck moving defensemen are the biggest weapon in college hockey. Get a great one and your team will score a ton of goals.
Matt Carle, Patrick Wiercioch, Matt Donovan & David Makowski get tons of assists and make guys like Anthony Mainai look great with easy tap in goals.
I'm thinking Bennett's sophomore season improvements will be similar to those that Colborne experienced. From not quite living up to the hype, to being one of the top forwards in the league. Actually, Drew Shore-esque too.
I think he'll play a big role in helping the offense deal with the losses of Ostrow, Maiani, and any underclassmen that leave (probly Shore, maybe Zucker)
If Zucker goes pro after this season, it will be a huge blow to the offense.
I'm not so sure Shore is going to leave. I guess we'll find out.
I have complete faith in our recruiting approach. As someone said, the "game" has changed. Elite programs now anticipate kids will play 2 years then go pro. This year we lost Colborne, Wierchoch and Cheverie early and haven't missed a beat with Zucker, Shore, Donovan and Brittain.
To keep some stability and consistency teams need 4-year leadership "team guys" to keep things from being shaken up too much every year as the NHL draft picks go chase their dreams before graduating.
Of all the teams that D.U. has skated in the past ten plus years ,the 04 team is clearly my favorite.Bull,Ulanski,Dora etc. --all grinders with huge hearts. It was always exciting to watch them lay it on the line every single game. They would have beaten R.I.T. last year.
Exactly. Last year's team was too talented, if that's possible. They would have beaten RIT 20 times in a row if they had played with the same passion RIT showed.
After the Wisconsin series I said "these guys are gonna be just fine". Going through that early grind and getting swept at home by BC was the best thing that could have happened.
Let's hope Ostrow and guys from last year are able to keep this team's very talented core more focused then last year's team come March and April.
Also, you have to remember that the coaching staff needs to prepare for the unexpected. In other words, when you have some freshman that you think are going to stay 2-3 years, they might leave after their freshman season. Its happened before (although mostly unsuccessfully - ask BU's Chris Bourque who played one season of college hockey and has pretty much turned out to be a lifer in the A and has since gone over seas which means that his NHL dream is over). Zucker and Bennett are high draft picks and will start to get some chatter from their NHL clubs to sign a quick deal, make a signing bonus today with the promise of playing on a top line in the AHL to get them prepared for the show. I, for one, certainly disagree with this theory because I dont think that Carle would be where he is today without the three years he spent as a Pio. If one of these freshmen were to make a jump, then they have the bodies to complete a line up. If not, these role players remain on the practice team and it doesnt hurt the team as far as players or scholarships. My guess is that the coaching staff is preparing for the unexpected because they have such a crop of highly talented underclassmen. Make sense?
At the end of the day the NCAA Tournament is still a one and done format. Look at how many good teams are outside the Top 15 Pairwise Bubble right now that would likely give DU trouble.
Miami, Maine, BU & SCSU. These are teams who wouldn't make the Tourney if it were held today, but would be very difficult opponents for DU.
Look at the teams who are ranked lower than DU and most likely will make the Tournament. BC, Michigan, Sconnie, Notre Dame & New Hampshire.
This year's Tourney is going to be a beast.
OMG, I already like this kid after 3 minutes of reading. Y'all are missing one critical point already - open your eyes! His own friggin Dad wouldn't let him go play for the Tigers.... what does that tell you? I know it - and you know it....CC sucks! Every father wants his kids to do better than he did - which is why Matthew is coming to Denver!!!
Just looking at the dates that Mark Tabrum was at CC it was during the Lucia Era. So Scotty and Mark would have been on the staff together.
Funny stuff.
Mike B, that makes sense to me....I'm all for loading up the practice team with options, guys that might grow in to WCHA caliber players. How many guys can a team take as non scholarship options? I still feel like we need one high end forward to complete next years class. Does anyone think there is any scholarship $ in case we get lucky last minute. I would love to see a European or a Canadian with some style come out of the woodwork.
Talk to me about Laraza, I'm figuring him as a wild card, is this kid improving? I get the feeling that he's soft.
Allan put up nice #s last year.....what's going on with him. I had high expectations for him this year and he has kind of dropped off the charts with the exception of that tournament he played in.
College hockey recruiting classes are built years in advance. Keep Zucker on the roster next season and he'll be better than any recruit you could of ever hoped to sign.
Larraza scored a goal on Saturday night against Quinnipiac so that's a good sign.
The fact that Boston College, Michigan and Michigan State were after him is another good sign.
The best way to read his potential will be the NHL Draft this summer. Be interesting to see where he goes. He's projected to be a mid-round pick.
Be cautious about thinking that Tabrum was guided to DU over CC over for pure hockey reasons. Maybe CC didn't have roster space, or schollie money, or an academic major that he was interested in, or maybe he didn't have the grades for CC...We never know all the factors that determine the final choice.
Tabrum's father knows better than almost anyone exactly what's involved from all of these factors, and I am glad his son is coming here,,,
If Tabrum can evolve into a solid role player who plays hard and throws his weight around, a la Steven Cook, I'll take it.
Steven Cook was a starter at the Air Force Academy before dropping out. His playing time dropped dramatically when he came to DU. I would hope that Matt would play a more significant role than Steven did.
Tabrum with an assist tonight
Steven Cook was a solid role player for DU. Played physical, was intelligent, solid on the PK etc. Nobody expected him to pump in 25 goals per season.
Thanks for the update on Tabrum's assist last night. :-)
2010-2010 USHL STATS
Tabrum, Matt - 38 games 10g, 3a
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