Brock Montpetit was 14 when he made an unofficial recruiting visit to check out the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey program.

He had just turned 16 in June 2006 when the small-town kid from Somerset committed to UW.

But when the time came for Montpetit to sign his national letter of intent last week, he called UW coach Mike Eaves with startling news.

Montpetit, now 18, isn't coming to UW after all.
He won't be joining six others — winger Tyler Barnes (Waterloo, U.S. Hockey League), goaltender Aaron Crandall (Des Moines, USHL), center Derek Lee (Victoria, British Columbia Hockey League), center Keegan Meuer (Waterloo, USHL), defenseman Justin Schultz (Westside, BCHL) and winger Craig Smith (Waterloo, USHL) — who comprise the bulk of the 2009-10 recruiting class.

"A change of heart," Montpetit said Wednesday. "One of the toughest decisions I'll ever make."

Montpetit said there was no specific development that triggered his decommitment, although he'd been thinking about it since the spring. That timeline roughly coincides with a discussion he had with Eaves in which it was decided that Montpetit would return to Waterloo of the USHL for another year of development instead of coming to Madison.

The current group of UW freshmen includes wingers Jordy Murray and Derek Stepan, who were linemates with Montpetit at Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) High School before Montpetit moved on to  the USHL.

Montpetit downplayed having to wait the extra year — he was originally projected to come in for 2008-09 — saying he and Eaves made the decision together, but offered that it was "hard watching some of my best friends playing (at UW)."

NCAA rules prohibit Eaves from publicly commenting on recruits until after they sign a letter of intent. He can't address the Montpetit situation because Montpetit remains an uncommitted prospect.

However, Eaves said after practice Wednesday that the recruiting window for next season could still be open.

"We have to sit back and see how we feel about things right now," he said.

Montpetit, who has 3 goals, 6 assists and 9 points in 14 games with Waterloo, is the third UW prospect scheduled for 2009-10 to renege on a verbal commitment. Their reasons vary.

Acting on the advice of his family adviser and Ottawa, the NHL team that drafted him in the second round last summer, defenseman Patrick Wiercioch decided to accelerate his college career. With no roster space at UW, he signed with Denver. Meanwhile, multiple sources say defenseman Nick Pryor changed course due to academic concerns.

In retrospect, Montpetit said he was too young when made a commitment to UW.  John Montpetit, Brock's father, agreed.

"A lot's happened between now and then," John Montpetit said. Montpetit said he stared at the phone for 20 to 30 minutes before he worked up the will to call Eaves with the news Friday. He said Eaves was caught off guard.

"There were a lot of thoughts back and forth," Montpetit said, adding that Eaves tried to talk him out of it to no avail. "It was hard."