The University of Maine men’s hockey program has received a verbal commitment from a 6-foot-4 ½, 225-pound winger who is considered the “prototypical power forward” by his coach.
Fifteen-year-old Baron Thompson has 10 goals and 14 assists in 33 games for the Omaha AAA U-16 team in Nebraska.
He will be a scholarship player when he eventually enrolls at Maine.
Thompson had four goals and an assist in the USA Hockey Select 15 Festival last summer.
“It’s a big win for Maine,” said Thompson’s coach, former NHLer and two-time U.S. National Junior Team player David Wilkie.
“He’s big and powerful and has an absolute cannon for a shot,” said Wilkie. “He can play the game any way you want to play it. He’s like a freight train. He’s a very high-end player.”
Wilkie said Thompson is a good skater for someone his size.
“He’s very coordinated. He needs to work on his acceleration, but it takes bigger players a little longer to develop [their speed]. It will come with time,” said Wilkie.
Thompson is a native of Lakeville, Minnesota. He had four goals and six assists in 28 games for Omaha last season. He could have played Bantam hockey but elected to play up an age level, and his Omaha U-16 team won the bronze medal in the USA National Tournament.
Thompson was drafted in the third round in the Western Hockey League’s (Major Junior A) Bantam draft by the Victoria Royals. If he goes that route, he would be ineligible to play NCAA hockey because Major Junior players receive money to play and are deemed professionals in the eyes of the NCAA.
Thompson said when he visited Victoria, he was “100 percent” sure that he would go that route.
“But then I visited Maine, and now I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” said Thompson.
“I was really impressed with Coach [Red] Gendron and the coaching staff. They were awesome,” said Thompson. “And I really liked the campus.”
He also enjoyed the atmosphere at Alfond Arena as he visited during the weekend when Maine lost to Boston University 3-1 and honored the members of the 1998-99 NCAA championship team.
“It was a lot of fun. The fans were crazy. I loved it,” said Thompson, who feels the Maine coaching staff would develop him so that he could play at the pro level.
Wilkie said Thompson is hoping to make the roster of the United States National Team Development Program’s Under-17 team for next season or land in the United States Hockey League.
Thompson said his immediate goals are to work on his speed and his shooting accuracy.