Brighton High School forward Jake Crespi commits to Lake Superior State

By @MichaelCaples -

There is some big news in the high school hockey community today, as a Brighton Bulldog has committed to Lake Superior State.

Jake Crespi, a senior at Brighton High School, has verbally committed to the Lakers’ hockey program.

“I chose LSSU because they were the first school to show serious interest and trust in my abilities and I’m really grateful for that,” Crespi told MiHockey. “The hockey players [at LSSU] are well known around campus and having that support from your school is going to be very exciting. The tradition of Lake State is very appealing and I’m very excited to be apart of a program like that.”

Crespi’s future coach is a former high school hockey standout himself; Damon Whitten lettered at Brighton for four seasons before playing in the NAHL and the OPJHL and then at the Division 1 level with Michigan State.

“It’s really cool having an alum as a coach,” Crespi said of Whitten. “He is a very good coach and expects a lot from me, coming from a high school hockey background he knows what sort of standards he needs to hold me to and is really making sure I hold myself accountable to them as well. He has close ties with my coaches and it’s really awesome to be able to have a hometown guy like Coach Whitten around the rink with us.”

While he certainly won’t be the first high school hockey player to play college hockey, few players are extended offers to play for NCAA Division 1 programs while they are still playing in the MHSAA; most end up committing after moving up to the junior ranks after high school.

So far this season, Crespi has 12 points in 6 games for the Bulldogs. He was named a regional player of the week on Dec. 4.