AJS

Anyone but 11 & 13?

No disagreement here. I said it many times, last year was a complete disaster on every level. I put the entire mess completely on the Coaching staffs shoulders. Personally, choosing to flush it. I'm also paying extra special attention to this off-season. Talent, Talent, Talent. This could be a very good team next year. Every move that happens this off-season is crucial.

Conceivable, yes, but I doubt it. Hedquist has proven enough where he should be here next year. Hope he is as well.

At CC Basse was sub .900, this year he was at .911. Count me in on hoping Berry and staff are after Persson. Just seems like he's going to be the guy.

26 did improve, but I would argue he was misused as well. I'm dying on the hill that the line combinations did not even close to maximize last years ceiling. Can anyone explain what 11, 13, 20, 29 did better than 21? Can anyone explain why giving 10, 19, 27 those type of minutes made that team better by the end of the year. This is why I'm making potentially a bigger deal about 13 than I should. 13 and what they decide to do in a weird way tells me what kind of program Berry wants. It's important also to take a step back (me telling myself). Let's see what the next domino is.

I completely agree with this. Here's my "fear". Berry coached scared. He picked safe over development. Down the stretch his goal was to win games 2-1. I don't think anyone is going to argue that style of play, having offensive black holes on each lines is a winning formula when recruiting high end players. Losing talent this way is different than what Minnesota went through last year. To go back. I also believe this team can be better next year. A lot starts with the Coaches. I posted this in the other thread. There's definitely a way where this off-season comes off a big success. It could go sideways as well.

I feel the same way about 18 as I did with 6 hitting the portal. So inexcusable for a program that at one point was one of the leaders in development. Those two have talent and were completely misused this year. This past year was a complete failure by the Coaching staff on every level. Culture! This program seems to be at a fork in the road right now. There's still a pathway where this offseason is a success, but man, it could really go sideways.

Was listening to Ottawa 1200 TSN this morning and their discussion on Kleven. They had NHL analyst Mike Johnson on and he was talking about how Ottawa's defensive situation (especially on the left side) was not ideal for Kleven. Doing some minor digging, this doesn't appear to be a one-off type of opinion. It might make sense for him to either get traded or go back for his Senior year and then pick where he plays the following year. Not predicting he will, but it's worth following.

I’m sure he does, but if he comes back, he’ll be a roster lock. The lineup will be less talented and won’t reach its full potential. I’m really interested to see what Berry does here.

Fall, once school starts. You’ll know it well before then though.

Correct, he has two left. I'm not anti-Albrecht. Senior class, he was honored, thanks for your contributions. I would much rather see 18, 21 or Emerson get that spot. This team has the talent, play them.

What other questions will we get answers to this week? Will 15 Sign or return? (Return) Will 17 Sign or return? (Return) Will 28 Sign or return? (Return) Will 13 be given the opportunity to use his 5th year (@ UND)? (No) Will 18 Hit the Portal? (No) Those are the five questions I have currently. In parentheses is what I'm hoping happens.

Hope Berry and Co get back to trying to Coach up talent next year. Here's one of my many issues with the Johnson situation. He grew so much from the beginning to end of his Freshman year. He was solid, playing big minutes. This has been the first portal exit that I absolutely hate how it transpired. There's still a few more that could fall into this category. Edit: Was he huge defensive liability by the end of his Freshman year? I don't remember that. Absolutely no worse at that point then what we saw fairly regularly from 1/2 the D-man on this years roster.

You would think so, but it's surprising how often this hasn't been the case. Calder wasn't until 04/08, Budy 04/26. I do think you start to feel better after a week of it being open though.

This is a good move by the Coaching staff. Hedquist / Portal Goalie is the way to go next year.

What was this in regards to?

Injured players not included.

8 is not a Top 6 talent imo

Updated ideal off-season for the Forwards. • Lose: 10, 13, 19 • Keep / Return: 17, 28 • Incoming: Emerson, Perron 15F, replace grit w/ skill. Don’t worry, there are guys currently on roster who can play that shutdown roll. Overall, much more talented group. Also, this would handcuff the Coaches a bit with having to actually play talent. Give them less room for questionable lines, etc.

I really do believe this. If this Coaching staff can get out of its own way, they will be good next year. Still convinced talent was never the issue with this year's team, the Coaching staff just did an unbelievably awful job of utilizing it. Starts this off-season when constructing the roster.

Coinciding with the team not being able to score? I don’t dislike either 13 or 28. I also believe you can easily have those two spots covered next year. I would rather see Emerson play than having to watch either one take up that roster spot. This team has talent, play them. Recruit and develop. Really interested in this off-season. I’m sure those who want 13 & 28 back will get their wish. If it happens, it’ll be another step in the wrong direction for this program imo.

The team was playing better at the end of the year, but I don’t think this teams best version was ever able to be seen. All due to Berry’s coaching decisions. Not only the lineup, but also minutes, situations given. What an all around awful job he did this year. Hope he learns from it, but I’m not optimistic.

This is one I’m watching. Will tell me a lot if Berry has learned or not. This is a clear case of someone who cannot come back.

Look at the Sophomore class as a whole. I've never seen anything remotely like it. It was a class I wasn't super high on coming in, but I thought they were pretty solid last year. By the end of the year completely outperformed my expectations. There's not a single one that took that next step, I would argue there's not one that is even performing at the level they were at last year. Pretty crazy that every single one is performing worse than last year. Edit: This is my concern with bringing in portal guys / 5th year guys. It really can hinder development for others. I just wish the rule of thumb was do not keep a guy for his 5th year when you have others on the roster that are more than capable of filling that position. Same with Portal guys.