Inside College Hockey (INCH) has named Gophers sophomore center Jordan Schroeder to it’s preseason All=America team.

Here is what INCH said about him:

He was the nation’s leading freshman scorer last year and recorded at least one point in all but five games he played in for the Gophers. Schroeder ended the season with an eight-game point streak during which he tallied 11 points. He was expected to be a high pick in the NHL draft but slid to the later stages of the first round. Could that provide the motivation to avoid a sophomore slump?

In 44 games, Schroeder had 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points. Let’s see, doing the math, he averaged almost exactly a point per game.

One other WCHA player was on the first All-America team, senior defenseman Chay Genoway of North Dakota.

Three other WCHA players were either on the second or third All-America teams.

Gophers sophomore defenseman Cade Fairchild (9-24-33) was on the second team, while St. Cloud State senior forward Garrett Roe and Denver sophomore defenseman Patrick Wiercioch were on the third team.

The WCHA did not fare that well on the three All-America teams, landing only five out of a possible 18, but the conference cleaned up looking at the incoming freshman.

Four WCHA players were on the all-rookie team, forward Mike Cichy of North Dakota, defensemen Nick Leddy of the Gophers and Dylan Olsen of UMD and goalie Mike Lee of St. Cloud State. INCH said when looking at rookies, those singled out on this team were not necessarily the best, but were the freshmen expected to make the most impact.

Then INCH rated the top rookies by position.

Six WCHA forwards made the top 20. Gophers forward Zach Budish was 19th, low in my opinion.

Others: 5. Drew Shore, Denver; 6. Mike Cichy, North Dakota; 8. Dan Kristo, North Dakota; 11.Craig Smith, Wisconsin; 13. Ben Hanowski, St. Cloud State.

The WCHA really dominated in rookie defensmen, with eight in the top 20, including the top four. Leddy was first, followed by Olsen. Seth Helgeson, another Gopher, was 11th.

The others:

3. Justin Schultz, Wisconsin

4. Matt Donovan, Denver

7. William Warren, Denver

17. Andrew McWilliam, North Dakota

20. Lee Baldwin, Alaska Anchorage

INCH only listed 10 rookie goalies and the WCHA had only two, but they were Lee at No. 1 and Kevin Murdock at Minnesota State at No. 3. Both should get chances to start as freshmen.

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