Consider it a belated Christmas present Gopher hockey fans.
↵Earlier today one of the top American 16 year-old hockey players, Hudson Fasching, tweeted this:
↵↵↵Committed to the Minnesota Golden Gophers #MN
↵— Hfasching22 (@Hfasching22) December 26, 2011
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↵Fasching is a Burnsville native who currently plays for the United States National Team Development Program's under-17 team in Ann Arbor. Before that, he spent two seasons at Apple Valley playing with future Minnesota recruit AJ Michaelson. The 6'3", 190 lb forward has six points (2 goals - 4 assists) in 14 USHL games (the USNTDP U-17 team schedule is a mixture of international tournaments and USHL games).
↵Besides being one of the most coveted 1995-born hockey players (he has been projected to be a first-round pick in 2013), Hudson has had a unique family life which was the subject of an ESPN feature. Both of his siblings have a rare cell disorder which left unable to walk or talk and made the decision to leave Apple Valley that much harder.
↵Although it remains to be seen which year Fasching will begin at Minnesota, it is more than likely that he will come in 2013. Regardless he is the jewel-piece of a talented 1995-born Gophers recruiting class which includes Gabe Guertler, Taylor Cammarata, Lou Nanne and more.