Wisconsin got a big verbal commitment today when defenseman Patrick Wiercioch said he'll play for the Badgers.

Wiercioch, a 6-foot-2½, 178-pound 17-year-old from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, hasn't played for Omaha of the USHL since Nov. 30 because of a broken thumb, but he said he's close to returning to the lineup.

He visited Madison last week along with UW recruit Matt Thurber, a teammate in Omaha. Wiercioch was a teammate of UW freshman Kyle Turris with Burnaby of the BCHL last season.

Wiercioch is expected to join the Badgers either next season or in the fall of 2009. That likely will depend on whether Wisconsin loses any defensemen to early departures.

Wiercioch, who also visited Michigan and Denver, was ranked 119th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings for the 2008 entry draft.

Check Monday's TCT for more.