Andrew MacWilliam heard all about the UND-Minnesota rivalry; and in December, he got to see it for himself.
In a year or two, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound defenseman from Calgary will be part of it.
MacWilliam, a physical, stay-at-home defenseman, gave a verbal commitment to UND this week. He will join the Sioux in fall 2008 or 2009.
"It's pretty unbelievable how the whole town gets pumped up for games," said MacWilliam, who visited campus in December during the rivalry weekend. "I was told that (Sioux-Gopher) was the weekend I should come down. And it was great.
"Grand Forks is a great city, it's a great campus and the rink is unbelievable. I also got along really well with the coaches and that made my decision a lot easier."
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The 17-year-old from Calgary had offers from Colorado College, Denver, Boston University and Boston College. He ultimately chose UND over Denver.
MacWilliam plays for the top-ranked Junior A team in Canada, the Camrose Kodiaks. Despite not racking up a lot of points (no goals, 11 assists in 43 games), he was selected to participate in this weekend's Alberta Junior Hockey League All-Star game in Grand Prairie.
He's also ranked as the No. 59 North American skater prospect for this summer's NHL draft by the Central Scouting Bureau. That means he's projected to be a second- or third-round pick.
"I'm more of a stay-at-home guy who will get the odd point," MacWilliam said. "North Dakota has a good mix of guys in the back end. They have guys like Joe Finley, who are just monsters and love to play physical, and they also have their speedy goal scorers like Chay Genoway."
MacWilliam is UND's sixth defenseman recruit. He and Corey Fienhage (2008 or 2009) are throwback, physical defensemen. Joe Gleason (2008 or 2009), Nick Mattson (2010) and Garrett Clarke (2010) are offensive defensemen, while Ben Blood (2008) is a mix.
Reach Schlossman at 780-1129, (800) 477-6572 ext. 129 or bschlossman@gfherald.com .
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