Lakers sign two forwards and two defensemen

For the second straight year, the Lake Superior State hockey program has signed the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's leading scorer. Current SJHL scoring leader Michael George of the Battleford North Stars is among the recruits who signed a National Letter of Intent to play hockey at LSSU next season. Other fall recruiting period signees include Stouffville Spirit defenseman Simon Gysbers, Fort Williams North Stars defenseman Ryan Baird and Chicago Steel forward Nathan Perkovich. George, a 6-1, 190-pound left wing from Battleford, Sask., has 20 goals, including three short-handed goals, and 23 assists through 28 games this season. The 20-5-1 North Stars currently lead the SJHL's Itech Division. George finished second in the league in scoring last year behind Troy Schwab, who is currently the Lakers' top scorer. Perkovich, a 6-5, 180-pound forward from Canton, Mich., was drafted in the eighth round (250th overall) by New Jersey during the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but missed a year of hockey due to a knee injury. He played midget hockey in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and always hoped to return as an LSSU player. This season, he is 14th in the United States Hockey League in scoring with nine goals and seven assists in 19 games. "We are losing guys like Colin Nicholson, Steve McJannet and Nathan Ward up front - guys who have played a lot," LSSU coach Jim Roque said. "These two forwards will help keep us going in the right direction. They have good size and good skills." Gysbers, a 6-4, 190-pound defenseman from Richmond Hill, Ont., is an assistant captain for the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League's Stouffville Spirit and has been mentioned as a "B" player on the NHL's Central Scouting Service list of players to watch. He was named the OPJHL's Most-Outstanding Defenseman in 2004-05. This season, he has three goals and 11 assists through 21 games. Baird, a 5-10, 180-pound defenseman from Thunder Bay, Ont., is 10th overall in scoring in the Superior International Junior Hockey League with eight goals and 21 assists in 20 games. He is the team captain for the Fort Williams North Stars, who are leading the SIJHL with a 19-1-0 record and recently earned a No. 14 Canadian Junior A national ranking. Last season, he was named most-valuable player of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup, which is Ontario's regional qualifier for the Canadian national tournament (Royal Bank Cup). Baird and Elmira Sugar Kings defenseman Chad Swartzentruber are the top-scoring defensemen in their respective leagues. Swartzentruber, who is playing in the Midwest Junior B League, is on a deferred status after committing to LSSU last spring. "All three defensemen have real good mobility," Roque said. "They are good puck handlers and are skilled. That type of defenseman is going to be valuable to us now because of the way college hockey is changing. These guys can move well and are good offensively."