Star Tribune – August 31st, 2017
The Gophers men’s hockey program received commitments Thursday from two Gentry Academy student athletes who are believed to be the youngest commits in team history!
Chaz and Cruz Lucius — 14 and 13 years old, respectively — from Gentry Academy in Vadnais Heights gave their commitments to Don Lucia and the Gophers on Thursday, according to the high school’s Twitter account.
Gentry Academy is “A new generation accredited private school … providing excellence in academics, leadership and athletics,” according to its bio.
The Lucius brothers are written about often on hockey blogs that monitor youth tournaments. Chaz was featured in a 2013 article on youthhockeyhub.com with the headline: “The Next Big Thing.”
Hockey writer Nate Wells pointed out Thursday after the Twitter announcement that Gophers assistant coach Scott Bell tweeted: “Landed two big ones today! Welcome to the #Gophers!” While somewhat generic and without names, the timing was enough of a confirmation to get Gophers hockey fans excited on social media.
Jake Ratzlaff, a 15-year-old from Rosemount, committed to the Gophers earlier this year. These three players are believed to be all in the top 10 youngest commits for the Gophers.