Gophers pick up verbal commitment from Luverne's young hockey star Jaxon Nelson

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

Verbal

Edquist, Ryan

G

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

F

Djurgården U18

Signed

Gates Jr., Brent

C

Signed

Halladay, Logan

G

Bloomington Thunder (USHL)

Verbal

W

Madison Capitals (USHL)

Verbal

Lindgren, Ryan

D

Verbal

Maniscalco, Josh

D

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Verbal

Mittelstadt, Casey

F

Signed

Norman, Ryan

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Signed

F

St. Thomas Academy

Verbal

Pitlick, Rem

F

Signed

Ramsey, Jack

W

Penticton Vees (BCHL)

Verbal

F

Shattuck-St. Mary School

Signed

Romanko, Darian

F

Verbal

Rossini, Sam

D

Burnsville HS

Signed

D

Lakeville North HS

Signed

Schierhorn, Eric

G

Signed

Sheehy, Tyler

RW

Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)

Verbal

F

Edina HS

Verbal

Zuhlsdorf, Ryan

D