NCAA Recruits to Dominate 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game

 A total of 20 NCAA Division I men's hockey programs will see some of their future players skating in this season's 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. The contest, which will feature some of the top players in the United States Hockey League, the sole Tier I Junior "A" circuit in American hockey, will take place on Jan. 10 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

According to USHL.com, 35 of the 40 players selected to participate in this, the fourth iteration of the event, were named to the National Hockey League Central Scouting Preliminary List last month, including three A-rated players in forwards Shane Bowers (Waterloo Black Hawks) and Eeli Tolvanen (Sioux City Musketeers), and goaltender Maksim Zhukov (Green Bay Gamblers). Bowers has committed to Boston University, while Tolvanen has signed with Boston College.

A total of 32 of the 40 players chosen for the game have already committed to NCAA Division I schools. The list of universities with players involved includes BC, BU, Connecticut, Cornell, Denver, Ferris State, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan State, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Providence, Quinnipiac, Union, Western Michigan, Wisconsin and Yale. BC, BU, Denver and Minnesota-Duluth all boast the most recruits participating, with three apiece.

The full list of participating players is available here.