A top incoming freshman has changed course, backing out of his commitment to Notre Dame to play major junior.
Defenseman Jarred Tinordi has signed with the OHL’s London Knights, that team announced Wednesday.
Tinordi, who made a huge jump in the rankings to go to Montreal at No. 22 in this year’s NHL entry draft, captained the USA Hockey National Team Development Program’s Under-18 team last season.
After being picked at the draft, Tinordi explained why he was going the college route at that time:
“I thought that was one place where I could really develop my body and get bigger and stronger and really work on the different areas of my game,” he said. “School is also very important. A good education to fall back on, that’s important as well.”
It’s another offseason blow to Notre Dame, coming on the heels of a down season. The Irish were 13-17-8 last season, then lost three players early to pro signings.
Two of those — Ian Cole and Teddy Ruth — were defenseman who would have been seniors.
Here’s video of Tinordi meeting with the media at the draft, including his thoughts at the time about choosing the college route over major juniors:
