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One of the more controversial selections in our Top 25 Under 25 was Dillon Simpson at #15. Our writers ranked him as high as 12 and as low as 21. The vote was all over the place and when Scott Reynolds profiled Simpson for the Top 25 Under 25, he noted the same:
"I think that Dillon Simpson is one of the more divisive prospects in the system right now. There are some people who have him very high on the list, while others wonder what the fuss is about."
The commenters were furious with our final ranking, especially because Simpson, an NCAA kid, was ranked in front of a couple of WHL (read: hometown) boys.
My personal reason for thinking so highly of Simpson is focused around his age. Simpson is still 19 years old and already has 72 NCAA games under his belt. In a league filled with 22 and 23 year olds (Philadelphia's Matt Read was 24 when he began his final season at Bemidji State), a 17 or 18-year old starter is a rarity, especially on defense. But is Simpson SO young that it's worth noting?
Simpson is set to begin his Junior season at North Dakota. The Sioux's roster* has 26 players listed this season, including 10 sophomores and 5 freshmen.
| Name | Yr. | DOB |
| Maris, Tate | Sr | 11/18/1988 |
| Saunders, Clarke | Jr | 9/9/1989 |
| MacMillan, Mitch | Jr | 11/24/1989 |
| Panzarella, Andrew | So | 2/13/1990 |
| MacWilliam, Andrew(C) | Sr | 3/25/1990 |
| Gleason, Joe | Sr | 4/1/1990 |
| Rowney, Carter(A) | Sr | 5/10/1990 |
| Kristo, Danny(A) | Sr | 6/18/1990 |
| Rodwell, Derek | Jr | 7/8/1990 |
| Knight, Corban(A) | Sr | 9/10/1990 |
| Pattyn, Stephane | So | 1/27/1991 |
| Gaarder, Connor | So | 3/8/1991 |
| Sanderson, Coltyn | Fr | 5/26/1991 |
| Senkbeil, Dan | So | 9/7/1991 |
| Mattson, Nick | So | 10/25/1991 |
| MacMillan, Mark | So | 1/23/1992 |
| Parks, Michael | So | 2/15/1992 |
| Forbort, Derek | Jr | 3/4/1992 |
| O'Donnell, Brendan | So | 6/25/1992 |
| Gothberg, Zane | Fr | 8/20/1992 |
| Chyzyk, Bryn | Fr | 11/5/1992 |
| St. Clair, Colten | So | 11/22/1992 |
| Grimaldi, Rocco | So | 2/8/1993 |
| Simpson, Dillon | Jr | 2/10/1993 |
| Schmaltz, Jordan | Fr | 10/8/1993 |
| Caggiula, Drake | Fr | 6/20/1994 |
*Thanks to College Hockey News for the data.
Dillon Simpson is STILL the third-youngest player on the team.
Is his age significant on a wider scale? There are 317 players listed on WCHA rosters. Only 38 of them are younger than Simpson, and only 8 of them are Sophomores. And Dillon Simpson has already played 72 games.