Gophers land out-of-state recruit in Wausau 's Condon

As the Gopher Hockey Blog first reported, Wausau West's High School's Nate Condon committed to Minnesota late last week. The senior forward will finish out his four years for Wausau and then play a year in the USHL before joining the Gophers in the fall of 2009.

In addition to the Gopher Hockey Blog's coverage, Wisconsin Prep Hockey has some more info, including some quotes.

A 6'0, 180 lb. forward, Condon currently leads the Upper Midwest High School Elite League in scoring while playing for Team Wisconsin, who take on Russell Stover, a midget AAA team, for the league championship today. The Gopher Hockey Blog reported that Condon was also considering Notre Dame, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Dartmouth, and Wisconsin.

He is the first Wisconsin-born player to join the Maroon and Gold since Phil Kessel in 2005-06. US-NTDP member Grant Scott, a forward from Pennsylvania, is the only other current Minnesota recruit not born in the land of 10,000 lakes. This current season and the 1999-2000 season have been the only years under Don Lucia's watch where the Gophers didn't have a out-of-state player on the roster.

Condon was rated an "A" prospect by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau, and was a fifth round choice by the expansion Fargo Force, led by former North Dakota head coach Dean Blais, in the recent USHL Futures Draft.