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If there's any negative recruiting going on with regard to Jerry York's age and how many years he might have left as BC head coach, it doesn't appear to be working very well. Jerry York and the staff continue to stockpile elite talent on the recruiting trail. The latest: '98 born stay-at-home defenseman Michael Campoli. BC won a fairly high-profile sweepstakes for Campoli, a dual US/Canadian national currently playing for the USNTDP Under-17 team.
98 D Mike Campoli (@usantdp) commits to Boston College. Our #21 uncommitted in December, big shut-down defenseman from Quebec. QMJHL target.
— Over The Boards (@OTBPuckWatch) December 21, 2014
The 6-foot-2, 185 pound blueliner born in Pointe-Claire, Quebec has four assists in 26 games this season for the US U-17s. Though he was one of the top prospects in this year's QMJHL draft, he was only selected in the 4th round, likely due to the fact that he is considered very likely to go the college route. Campoli has said in interviews with local newspapers in Quebec that he greatly values education and hopes to become a lawyer at the conclusion of his hockey career.
Campoli is draft eligible in 2016 and turns 17 in January, so it's possible that he could arrive as early as next season, though another year with the USNTDP in the USHL is certainly not out of the question. BC is set to welcome a huge freshman class next year. While most of the big guns are coming in up front, Casey Fitzgerald and Josh Couturier are coming in on D.
BC currently has 8 defensemen on the roster if you count Danny Linell. Linell and Jeke graduate this year, and Michael Matheson is widely expected to go pro; it would be a little unusual to add 3 defensemen and have 8 highly regarded defensemen on the roster at the same time, so I suspect at least one of these guys will hold off until 2016—unless the staff thinks they may lose Noah Hanifin or Ian McCoshen to the pros early.
Welcome to the Heights, Mike! And congrats to the staff on another big pickup.