ASU men's hockey announced Thursday its fall class of recruits for the 2017-18 season, featuring five players, three of whom are ranked in the top 50 nationally in their class.
According to Sun Devil Athletics, NeutralZone.net ranked three of ASU's new commits among the nation's top 50 players in the 1996 birth year, and the entire five-player class was ranked as the No. 13 recruiting class in the country.
"Every recruit in this signing class legitimately has a chance to come in and make an impact from day one," head coach Greg Powers said via a team press release. "Their successes and results speak for themselves, and most importantly, 'Be The Tradition' genuinely means something to all five of them. I know I can speak on behalf of entire coaching and support staff in that we are all very excited to welcome them into the Sun Devil Hockey family."
Related: Last year's recruits - ASU Hockey recruiting class features draftee, players from overseas
Making up the class are two players from the United States Hockey League, one from the North American Hockey League and one from the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Currently, ASU hockey carries alumni from all three of those leagues.
Here are the players who committed to ASU men's hockey this week:
Patrick Kudla
Kudla is a 20-year-old left-handed defenseman from Guelph, Ontario who was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the sixth round of this year's NHL draft. This season, with the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints, Kudla has tallied 2-6-8 with a +2 rating in 14 games.
#Coyotes select defenseman Patrick Kudla at No.158. Kudla is committed to ASU for next season.
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) June 25, 2016
Last year, he had 13 goals in 50 regular season games and posted an impressive eight points in 11 playoff contests.
Kudla's NHL draft profile states that he models his game after San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns and that he was once named Defenseman of the Year in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Johnny Walker
Though he's been playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL, Walker will be returning to his hometown of Phoenix when he joins the Sun Devils next year.
Add this deke to the Johnny Walker highlight reel #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/Tz1TaZp0wb
— USHL (@USHL) October 20, 2016
With the Steel, this 6-foot-2 forward already has nine goals and three assists in 14 games this season.
Walker also has experience playing in the NAHL on both the Topeka Roadrunners and the Minot Minotauros.
Jacob Wilson
Wilson is a right-shooting blueliner now in his third season with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers. Last season as an alternate captain, Wilson had a whopping 99 penalty minutes and a -19 rating with 20 points in 45 games.
This year, though, he sits at a +12 rating with six points through 10 games.
According to Sun Devil Athletics, Wilson committed to ASU last summer, but elected to remain in the USHL for one more year.
Gvido Jansons
Jansons, a native of Grobina, Latvia, joins current Sun Devils Jakob Stridsberg and Georgy Gorodetsky as recruits born outside of North America.
A defenseman, Jansons played for both the NAHL's Aston Rebels and the Latvia International Juniors teams last year and has scored 5-9-14 through 17 games this season with the Rebels.
On Sun Devil Hockey's Twitter page, Jansons was endearingly referred to as the "Latvian Locomotive," the nickname of fellow Latvian and Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons.
Tyler Maltby
Maltby is a 6-foot-2 forward from the AJHL's Sherwood Park Crusaders. Playing in his hometown, Maltby had led the league with 41 goals last season, and had 26 assists and 184 penalty minutes in 54 games.
In three seasons with Sherwood Park, Maltby has 129 points in 134 games.
Tallying 129 points in 134 AJHL games ain't bad...welcome Tyler Maltby (@mops_18) to the Sun Devil Family! #BetheTradition #ASUSigningDay pic.twitter.com/GIwPNCGgPf
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) November 11, 2016
