DATE: Nov. 28, 2005
USHL veterans Tyler Lehrke, Chris Peluso, John Vadnais to join BSU roster for 2006-07

BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Bemidji State men’s ice hockey program today announced the signing of Tyler Lehrke (Park Rapids, Minn.), Chris Peluso (Wadena, Minn.) and John Vadnais (Stillwater, Minn.) to National Letters of Intent. Both signed during the fall early-signing period and will join the Bemidji State program for the 2006-07 season.

Peluso was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round of the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft with the 194th overall pick. He becomes the second NHL draftee to join the Bemidji State program since it moved to Division I in 1999, joining Andrew Murray. Murray was drafted by the Columbus Bluejackets in the eighth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

All three signees are Minnesota natives and all are United States Hockey League veterans: Lehrke is in his second season with the Green Bay Gamblers; Peluso is in his second season with the Sioux Falls Stampede; and Vadnais is in his second season with the Des Moines Buccaneers and third year in the USHL.

“We’re excited to be adding three talented players to our program,” BSU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ted Belisle said. “All three have shown leadership qualities throughout their careers and could prove to be strong members of our program in the future.

“All three of these guys are proven players who have been through the junior ranks and have the potential to have a bright future in our program,” Belisle said.

• Tyler Lehrke (F, 5-8, 165; Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids H.S.) - Lehrke will join Bemidji State after completing a two-year career with the Gamblers. Through 21 games this season, Green Bay’s captain is fourth on the team with 7-9=16 points, is second on the team with nine assists, is tied for third on the team with one power-play goal and has scored one of the team’s three short-handed markers.

Green Bay is currently 9-10-2 overall and sit third in the USHL’s East Division.

Last year, Lehrke scored 4-8=12 points for the Gamblers in 59 games played. He also had one short-handed goal.

“Tyler has emerged as one of the most-respected leaders in the USHL,” Belisle said. “He has done a great job of developing his game with the Gamblers. We’re looking forward to having him and are excited about having him in our program.”

Lehrke originally signed a National Letter of Intent with Bemidji State during the 2004 spring signing period, but was deferred for one year of junior hockey experience.

“This past year has allowed Tyler to further develop his game and make him into a more-complete player,” Belisle said. “He has learned to play defensively and to play within systems. He’s taken advantage of the opportunity to fine-tune his game in one of the premier junior leagues in North America.”

Prior to his year in the USHL, Lehrke assembled a standout prep career at Park Rapids (Minn.) High School, setting school career records for points scored (192) and setting single-season records for goals (34), assists (45) and points scored (79) as a senior in 2003-04. In 2004, he won the Minnesota State High School League Hobey Baker Character Award and earned All-Section and All-Conference honors.

• Chris Peluso (D, 5-11, 180; Wadena, Minn./Wadena H.S.) - Peluso will also join the Bemidji State program after a two-year USHL stint with the Stampede. He has played 19 games this season, and already has nearly matched his scoring output from a year ago with 1-5=6 points. Each of his two career goals scored have come on the power play.

Peluso has helped Sioux Falls to a USHL-leading 16-3-0 record. The Stampede currently hold an eight-point lead over Omaha for the West Division lead.

In 2004-05, he scored 1-7=8 points for the Stampede with a +2 rating in 53 games played. He also had 54 penalty minutes.

Peluso played for Brainerd (Minn.) High School, where he scored 11-33=44 points as a junior in 2003-04.

“We’re excited to work with a player of Chris’s ability and potential as a defenseman,” Belisle said. “He can handle the puck and makes good decisions; he’s a very cerebral player.”

Peluso is the nephew of former New Jersey Devils standout Mike Peluso. Mike Peluso was New Jersey’s 10th selection, and was the 190th player taken overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played 192 games for the Devils from 1993-97, scoring 9-35=44 points with 619 penalty minutes.

• John Vadnais (D, 6-0, 200; Stillwater, Minn) - Vadnais is in his second season with the Buccaneers and currently ranks third in the USHL in scoring by a defenseman with 5-8=13 points in 14 games played. He has a +11 rating with one power-play goal and one short-handed goal.

Vadnais has helped the Bucs to a 13-3-3 record and a two-point lead in the USHL’s East Division over Cedar Rapids.

He was the USHL Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 31 after scoring two goals and two assists and posting a +3 rating after a pair of Divisional wins which helped Des Moines take over first place in the East.

Vadnais is in his third season in the USHL, starting with the Waterloo (Iowa) Blackhawks in 2003-04. He played 20 games for the Blackhawks, scoring 1-4=5 points, before moving to the Lincoln (Neb.) Stars. He played 12 games for the Stars and scored no points, hten started the 2004-05 season in Lincoln. He scored 3-1=4 points in 20 games before playing the seaon’s final 40 games with Des Moines.He scored 4-11=15 points for the Bucs and racked up 84 penalty minutes.

He was one of 16 players signed into USA Hockey’s National Team Developmental Program for the 2002-03 season. He scored 1-9=10 points with 50 penalty minutes in 62 games played for the NTDP.

“We believe John is just scratching the surface of his potential,” Belisle said. “He’s a very talented player, and if you take a look at his statistics he’s amongst the USHL leaders in all categories for defensemen. He’s a junior-hockey success story.”

Lehrke, Peluso and Vadnais are the sixth, seventh and eighth fall early-period signees for Bemidji State since the program made the jump to Division I in 1999. That group includes current sophomore David Deterding, who signed early in 2003, and current BSU freshmen Matt Allen and Mark Soares, who both signed during the fall 2004 early period.

The signings also continue BSU’s recent history of heavily recruiting USHL players. The Beavers have six USHL veterans on their current roster, and in total have hosted 29 players with USHL experience since 1999.

Bemidji State is off to an 8-2-0 start and leads College Hockey America with a 3-1-0 mark in league play. BSU is off to its best start in 21 years, and enters this weekend’s CHA series against Niagara with the nation’s second-highest winning percentage (.800). Opening faceoffs for the Niagara series are slated for 7:35 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 and 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at BSU’s John S. Glas Fieldhouse.

--bsu--