MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves has announced the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent.
 
The five include forwards Dan Labosky (Edina, Minnesota), Martin Sundberg (Linköping, Sweden) and Max Zimmer (Medina, Minnesota), as well as defensemen Tony Stillwell (Green Bay, Wisconsin) and Jere Astren (Helsinki, Finland).
 
"They are going to make us better," head coach Mike Eaves stated. "We are bringing in some things that we need in size, skill and mobility. We get a little older with these guys, so I think there are some really good things."
 
Dan Labosky
Labosky, a 5-7, 160-pound forward, will arrive in Madison from the USHL's Tri-City Storm, where he currently serves as assistant captain. Through eight games in 2015-16, he has two goals and six points. A high school teammate of UW junior forward Grant Besse at Benilde-St. Margaret's, Labosky originally attended Colorado College in 2014-15, playing in two games before leaving school. A left-handed shot, he is in his fourth season with Tri-City, posting 56 points on 17 goals and 39 assists in 101 USHL games prior to this season. He posted seven goals and 24 points in 2014-15, while also adding a pair of playoff goals.
 
At Benilde-St. Margaret's, he scored 47 goals and 188 points during his four-year career, including 58 assists and 72 points in his final season before skating in one game for Tri-City in 2012-13. An honorable mention all-state skater, Labosky was a Minnesota Mr. Hockey finalist in 2013.

Labosky also boasts international playing experience, having skated for the U.S. Select 17 Team at the Five Nations Cup in the summer of 2011.
 
"He is actually a former teammate of Grant Besse," Eaves said. "They won a state championship together, but have taken different paths. Dan was at Colorado College, then went back to the USHL. He felt he went to college too early. He is an older, mature person and I think that will help with the mix that we have. He's a very talented forward who can skate and see the ice, but it is his maturity that will be a big plus for us."
 
Martin Sundberg
Sundberg, a 6-4, 190-pound forward, will be the second-ever Badger to hail from Sweden. The native of Linköping, Sweden currently plays for the Janesville Jets of the NAHL and is in his first season of hockey in North America.
 
Despite having to make the transition to the American game, the left-handed Sundberg has had almost immediate success with the Jets. Through his first 15 games, Sunberg is the leading scoring for Janesville with 13 points on a team-high eight goals to go along with five assists.
 
His best game of the season so far came in a 7-0 Janesville win over the Coulee Region Chill on Oct. 17. In that game, Sunberg recorded a hat trick along with two assists.
 
He came to Janesville from Linköping HC J20 in the Swedish SuperElit league, where he had five goals and 10 points in 18 games played during the 2014-15 season.
 
"Martin is a 6-4 forward who moves very well for his size," Eaves remarked. "He has a nose to be around the net and is an aggressive player with good skill and ability. We are hoping he will come in and have an immediate impact."
 
Max Zimmer
Zimmer, a 6-0, 170-pound forward, will come to Wisconsin by way of the Chicago Steel of the USHL. Zimmer has two goals and seven points in 16 games played so far this season for Chicago, which is tied for 10th among USHL rookies.
 
On Tuesday, Zimmer was chosen to play for the U.S. Junior Select Team that will compete at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge from Dec. 13-19 in Whitby, Ontario.
 
This past summer, Zimmer competed for Chicago in the 2015 Junior Club World Cup in Yekaterinburg, Russia and excelled, scoring five goals and helping the squad to a bronze medal.
 
Zimmer was a high school teammate of current Badger Matthew Freytag for two years at Wayzata High School in Minnesota, but the left-handed shot has spent the last three seasons in the USHL. He played briefly for the Sioux City Musketeers at the end of the 2013-14 season, and has been with Chicago for the last two seasons. Zimmer played eight games for Chicago a year ago, tallying one goal.
 
Prior to his time in the USHL, Zimmer scored 10 goals and 23 assists as a sophomore at Wayzata.
 
"Max is a high school senior this year playing with the Chicago Steel of the USHL," Eaves said. "He's a very dynamic forward with great skills, mobility and vision, who competes hard and has gotten off to a really nice start here in the USHL. He should be a nice addition for us."
 
Jere Astren
Astren is set to be the second-ever Finnish skater to join the Badgers. Currently playing for the USHL's Chicago Steel, the 6-2, 176-pound left-handed shot has one goal and one assist in 14 games.
 
A defenseman, Astren skated for Jokerit U20 in Finland before coming to North America to play this season. In 2014-15, the Helsinki native scored five goals and 20 points in 41 regular-season games, before tallying one assist in six playoff games. He played the 2013-14 seasons for HIFK U20 after spending 2012-13 with HIFK U18.
 
He also owns international experience, having skated in four games with the Finnish under-17 national team during the 2011-12 season.
 
"Jere is a very talented defenseman and plays well with and without the puck," Eaves said. "He plays with great energy and passion and I think, again, will be able to come in and have an immediate impact."
 
Tony Stillwell
Stillwell, a 5-8 and 161-pound defenseman, has three assists in 14 games this season for the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks.
 
The 2015 Wisconsin Mr. Hockey award-winner, the rear guard put up nine goals and 22 points in 19 games as a senior at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay. The left-handed shot finished the season scoring goals in each of the last four games of the season.
 
Following his high school season, Stillwell joined the USHL's Madison Capitols for the remainder of last season, where he registered five assists in 17 games played.

He helped Team Wisconsin U-16 to a USA Hockey Tier 1 national championship in 2014, scoring the game-winning goal in the fourth overtime in the championship game.
 
"Tony is a very skilled defenseman out of Notre Dame Academy," Eaves commented. "He's a very agile skater, he sees the ice and can make plays. Though Tony isn't the biggest guy, he doesn't lose a lot of one-on-one battles. He gets his body in great position."
 

NAME	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown	Current Team
Jere Astren	6-2	176	Helsinki, Finland	Chicago Steel (USHL)
Dan Labosky	5-7	160	Edina, Minnesota	Tri-City Storm (USHL)
Tony Stillwell	5-8	161	Green Bay, Wisconsin	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
Martin Sundberg	6-4	190	Linköping, Sweden	Janesville Jets (NAHL)
Max Zimmer	6-0	170	Medina, Minnesota	Chicago Steel (USHL)