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Dillon Simpson Is So Young... (How Young Is He?)

Dillon Simpson's age adds to his already impressive upside.

Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn via US Presswire

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.