University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Hockey Signs Five to Letters of Intent
11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
The University of Minnesota men's hockey team has announced five National Letter of Intent signees during the recent early signing period. Three of the players are currently playing in the United States Hockey League and the two others are playing Minnesota High School hockey.
Seth Ambroz, Max Gardiner, Eric Haula, Justin Holl and Nate Schmidt all signed with the Gophers during the early signing period.
Ambroz, a 6-3, 205-pound forward from New Prague, is playing with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL and has seven goals and three assists for 10 points in 12 games. Ambroz, who turns 17 years old in April, also played last year in Omaha and totaled 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points in 60 games. He played for New Prague High School in 2007-08 and amassed 68 points with 22 goals and 36 assists as a 14-year old. Ambroz will be the third Division I hockey player in his family as his sister, Kacy, is a sophomore at Minnesota Duluth and his brother, Matt, is a junior at Nebraska Omaha.
Gardiner, a 6-3, 176-pound forward from Minnetonka, totaled 45 points with 15 goals and 30 assists for his Minnetonka High School squad last season. A two-year captain, Gardiner was an all-conference selection last season. He also has participated in select under-15, under-16 and under-17 national festivals and made the final 40 invites for the USA development team in Ann Arbor. As a sophomore in 2007-08, he compiled 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists. Gardiner's brother, Jake, is a sophomore defenseman at Wisconsin.
Haula, a 6-0, 175-pound forward from Pori, Finland, currently ranks second in scoring for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 14 games. A seventh-round draft choice (182nd overall) of the Minnesota Wild last June, Haula competed for Finland in the under-18 World Championships the past two years and notched three goals and an assist in last year's event to help the team to a bronze medal. He played last season at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. and totaled 79 points with 24 goals and 55 assists in 49 games. In 2007-08, Haula played with Assat in the Finland under-20 junior league and tallied 22 points with seven goals and 15 assists in 40 games.
Holl, a 6-2, 170-pound defenseman from Minnetonka, collected a goal and nine assists for 10 points last season at Minnetonka High School. He was also one of the top scorers in the Elite League this past summer with six goals and five assists. Holl is a team captain this season at Minnetonka and participated in the USA select camp the past two years. He played four games with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL earlier this year and plans to re-join the team following his high school season. Holl is an "A" Honor Roll student and scored a 34 on his ACT exam.
Schmidt, a 6-0, 197-pound defenseman from St. Cloud, led St. Cloud Cathedral High School to a fourth place finish at last year's Minnesota Class A State High School tournament. He earned all-tournament honors and was a second-team all-state selection by the Associated Press after ranking second among the state's defensemen in scoring with 25 goals and 28 assists for 53 points in 31 games. Schmidt is currently playing with the Fargo Force of the USHL and has four goals and six assists for 10 points through 13 games. He is a teammate in Fargo with incoming Gopher recruit Nate Condon, who signed last fall. Schmidt helped the USA select under-17 team earn a silver medal at the Five Nations Cup in the Czech Republic in 2007.