It appears Wisconsin's incoming freshman class does not include only the six players announced by the Badgers last month as having signed a National Letter of Intent.

I just got off the phone with Chris Hickey, who said he's in the process of signing and returning an NLI to join the team this fall.

Hickey, a forward from Mendota Heighs, Minn., gave Badgers a verbal commitment a little more than two years ago, and it was believed at the time that he would join the Badgers in the fall of 2008.

He spent last season with Tri-City of the USHL, posting 31 points in 55 games. But it appeared that Wisconsin coaches wanted him to spend another year in the USHL next season.

That changed after Hickey and UW coaches talked about the situation, the 19-year-old said. He said he never got to the point of thinking about decommitting and looking at other schools.
So now the incoming class includes seven players -- forwards Hickey, Matt Thurber, Derek Stepan and Jordy Murray and defensemen Jake Gardiner, Ryan Little and Eric Springer. Tom Bardis, a transfer from St. Lawrence, is eligible to play next season.

That's eight players in with only five known to be leaving the program -- the four seniors (one forward, three defensemen) and forward Kyle Turris. That makes for a 29-person roster as it stands. Are other players leaving the program? I'll check on that.