Luverne High School's freshman forward standout Jaxon Nelson verbally committed to play college hockey for the Gophers on Thursday.

Nelson, born in 2000, is already 6-1, 180 pounds and scored 91 points (44 goals, 47 assists) in 28 games as a ninth-grader at the small high school in the southwest corner of Minnesota. As an eighth-grader, he scored 74 points while leading Luverne to its first state tournament appearance.

It'll be a while before Gophers fans see Nelson in the maroon and gold on the ice at Mariucci Arena. His first college hockey season will likely be 2018-2019. He's the first player from Luverne to earn a Division 1 hockey scholarship.


Here's a list of the Gophers' recruits courtesy of gopherhockeyhistory.com:

Verbal

Baker, Tarek

F

Bloomington Thunder (USHL)

Verbal

Edquist, Ryan

G

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

Fällström, William

F

Djurgården U18

Signed

Gates Jr., Brent

C

Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)

Signed

Halladay, Logan

G

Bloomington Thunder (USHL)

Verbal

Hults, Mitch

W

Madison Capitals (USHL)

Verbal

Lindgren, Ryan

D

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

Maniscalco, Josh

D

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

McManus, Brannon

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

Mittelstadt, Casey

F

Eden Prairie HS

Signed

Norman, Ryan

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Signed

Novak, Tom

F

St. Thomas Academy

Verbal

Pitlick, Rem

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Signed

Ramsey, Jack

W

Penticton Vees (BCHL)

Verbal

Reedy, Scott

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Signed

Romanko, Darian

F

Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)

Verbal

Rossini, Sam

D

Burnsville HS

Signed

Sadek, Jack

D

Lakeville North HS

Signed

Schierhorn, Eric

G

Muckegon Lumberjacks (USHL)

Signed

Sheehy, Tyler

RW

Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)

Verbal

Wait, Garrett

F

Edina HS

Verbal

Zuhlsdorf, Ryan

D

Edina HS