Leitner out for 2010-11 Season

You may have noticed a fairly significant change to the Minnesota State men's hockey roster recently. 

Early last week Matt Leitner - a top incoming recruit - was no longer on MSU's active roster. I immediately sent out a few emails to see if I could get the scoop.  The lack of response surrounding the issue threw up a red flag. Something was wrong.

Earlier this evening, Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press and author of Puckato shed some light on the subject with this tidbit:

Leitner is academically ineligible to play for the Mavericks this season, something that was a concern for the coaching staff since the California native and United States Hockey League standout committed to MSU last year.

Leitner's ineligibility is a big loss for the program, but he is enrolled in classes at the university and working to improve his GPA.  He remain's hopeful that he will be able to hit-the-ice next year, 2011-12, and re-join his former Fargo Force teammates and current Mavericks Corey Leivermann and Chase Grant.

The California native is a tremendous hockey player and has a bright future in the NCAA if he can regain his eligibility. Last season, in the United States Hockey League, he scored 66 points in 54 games (25 goals, 41 assists).

I had the opportunity to watch Leitner play in Sioux Falls last winter.  You can read a few of my initial thoughts here. In March, CollegeHockey247.com ranked Leitner 42nd among the Top-50 recruits for the Class of 2010.

Leitner will be missed this season, but should be an extremely valuable asset next year if he puts his mind to it.