Michigan Tech has gained a commitment from one of the best young hockey players the state of Wisconsin has to offer in Tristan Rostagno. The 6’1″ sophomore defenseman, who plays for Arrowhead High School, is set to play the 2012–13 season for the Warhawks before joining the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Muskegon selected the Rostagno in the 5th round of the 2012 USHL Futures Draft and he is penciled in to join the Huskies in 2015 after two seasons of junior hockey.
It is a quite a coup for Michigan Tech to get a commitment from a talented player from Wisconsin at such a young age. With continued development it’s quite likely he would have found interest from the Wisconsin Badgers and many other high-profile programs. In the end, Mel Pearson and his coaching staff were able to grab the Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native before other programs took a closer look. As a freshman, Rostagno was named to the Classic Eight All-Conference Team and was the Arrowhead Warhawks’ varsity defensive MVP. Rostagno also played for Team Wisconsin U16 last year where he put up points against some quality opponents including Shattuck-St. Mary’s and Chicago Mission.
Rostagno becomes the first recruit to commit to Michigan Tech for the 2015–16 season and he will be well worth watching as he grows as a hockey player. The skills are there to potentially get drafted by an NHL team when he becomes eligible and Rostagno will have a great chance to be remembered fondly in Houghton well after he moves on. If you want to keep an eye on him yourself, you can follow him on twitter, @TristanRostagno. Stay tuned to Tech Hockey Guide as we catch up on other recruiting news from Fall 2012.
EDIT: THG has learned that Rostagno was already talking to other programs. In fact, Rostagno visited Notre Dame and had spoken with a few Big Ten schools. Shortly before his commitment, the list of interested schools continued to grow. Michigan Tech won this recruiting battle because Tristan wanted to play for the coaches at Michigan Tech more than anything, especially with the up-tempo, creative and physical style Mel Pearson is implementing. It shows you how important Pearson and his staff are in the recruiting process. A program like Notre Dame with its brand new facilities couldn’t compete with the connection Rostagno felt to Pearson, Muckalt and Whitten.
Tim is a 2004 graduate of Michigan Tech. He is a co-founder of both Mitch’s Misfits and Tech Hockey Guide. With recent additions to the staff, Tim is again able to focus on his passion, recruiting. He currently works as an environmental engineer and resides in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Area.
