Peterson is a 5-11, 190-pound right wing who is in his third season with the USHL's Lincoln Stars. He originally signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Notre Dame in the early-signing period (November) of 2009. A fast, aggressive two-way forward with excellent speed, Peterson plays with an edge to his game. He just returned to the Lincoln lineup after missing the first part of the season due to shoulder surgery. In his eight games since returning to the lineup, Peterson has six goals and two assists for eight points and is +1 with 12 penalty minutes. The Stars are currently second in the USHL's Western Division with an 11-7-1 record. A product of the Team Illinois Midget AAA program, Peterson was a first round selection of Lincoln in the 2007 USHL Futures Draft. In 2008-09, he helped Lincoln to the USHL West Division title with seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points and 104 minutes in penalties. Last season, Lincoln was last in the West Division and Peterson had six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 56 games with 120 minutes in penalties. He was a teammate in each of his first two seasons with current Irish freshman David Gerths. Peterson was a member of the 2008 USA Under-18 Select Team that participated in the Ivan Hlinka tournament in the Czech Republic in August of 2008.
Right wing Garrett Peterson is off to a hot start with the Lincoln Stars this season with six goals in his first eight games.
Jackson on Peterson: "Garrett (Peterson) is coming off a major injury that required surgery this season. We've always admired his skating ability. We like where he is at in his game. He's an older freshman who is well built and strong physically. I expect him to add energy to our forward unit in whatever role he fills. Garrett will add depth to our forward lineup and can play a variety of roles in our offensive attack.
Russo is a 5-11, 183-pound, right shot defenseman who is in his second year with the USA National Team Development program in Ann Arbor, Mich. A strong, puck-moving defenseman, Russo is an offensive-minded blue liner with good hands and outstanding hockey skills. A teammate of current Irish freshman T.J. Tynan with the Chicago Mission Midget program, Russo has the skills to quarterback the power play and be an offensive force on the ice. He was ranked 10th by NHL Central Scouting in their preliminary rankings on Nov. 16 of skaters in the USHL and with the USA Under-18 team. In 25 games this season with the Under-18 team, Russo has two goals and nine assists for 11 points with 16 penalty minutes. In international play, Russo helped the U.S. to a gold medal at the Four Nations Cup in Sundsvall, Sweden as he tied for third in the tournament in scoring with two goals and four assists for six points. In the gold medal game, he scored once in regulation and then twice in the shootout to help the U.S. beat Sweden. With the Under-17 team in 2009-10, Russo played in 52 games with seven goals and 24 assists for 31 points while picking up 58 penalty minutes to finish second in team scoring and first among defensemen. He helped the U.S. to a first-place finish at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Timmins, Ont., where he had five points (three goals and two assists) with all three goals coming on the power play.
Jackson on Russo: Robbie (Russo) is a player that we've coveted for three years now. He has the vision, the instincts and the offensive puck skills to give us a real threat from the point on the power play. He skates well and makes great decisions with puck. He can find the open guy in transition and off the break out and will give us a boost from the offensive side on the blue line.
|