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The season may be over for the Ohio State Men's hockey team, but the recruits keep on coming in.
Tuesday morning, Ohio State got a commitment from Chicago Steel left winger Brendon Kearney. The twenty year old is a native of Northville, Michigan and is a product of the Honeybaked junior program. He's spent all of his time in the USHL with Chicago, being appointed an alternate captain for 2014-15, and spent 16 games with the Langley Rivermen of the BCHL prior to his time with the Steel. He also has spent six games playing for the United States U17 national team and another six with the USNTDP Junior team.
He stands at 6' even, 185 lbs. and is a left handed shot. Kearney just turned 20 on March 12, so he should be fully developed physically by this point. He may put some weight on once he gets into a major college hockey program in terms of strength, but don't expect any growth spurts out of Brendon.
Kearney doesn't look like a fantastic offensive specimen as he hasn't put up a point per game since his time as captain of the Honeybaked U18 team in 2012-13. He only put up two points in 16 games in the BCHL and 0 in his 12 games with the USNTDP and U.S. U17 team. With the Steel, he at least stepped it up to some degree, putting up 19 points in 43 games during his first season and 29 in 52 games during his second. During his first season in Chicago, he did only put up a solitary, lone goal though he got up to 16 in his second season, with his assists dropping by five.
Kearney will be coming to Columbus for the 2015-16 season, joining more heralded recruits like Dakota Joshua and Miguel Fidler up front. He seems to project as a bottom six winger with the potential for more offense to develop if you assume his 16 goals weren't a fluke or lucky this season. There won't be much playing time in the lineup next season with only a few players leaving from the forward group, but with lesser heralded recruits like Matt Weis and Luke Stork making a big impact this season, Kearney is one to watch for as he's already physically developed.