AJS

This was the most pessimistic I ever was going into the playoffs. The entire coaching staff and this group deserves so much credit for punching above its weight class for the year. It was so apparent the last few weeks that the deficiencies at Forward, from an overall talent standpoint had finally caught up to them. The PP was broken, so much to the point that scoring was not realistic, you had to worry more about giving up a SH goal. I still like a lot of the pieces, but talent aside, they picked the wrong time (starting against CC, so entire playoff) to go ice cold.

I think this D-core is borderline elite next year if only Sanderson goes. Looking at the regional line chart, where would you want a portal guy to fit in? Kleven (JR) - Frisch (SR) Jandric (GR) - Bast (SO) Moore (JR) - Johnson (SO) Ferner (SR) This seems like the perfect position to bring in a Freshman.

I'm reserving strong reactions until I see if the portal comes into play. If Hain staying then means another current (bottom 6) Forward to the portal, then I can get behind that. Hain is a great bottom 6 guy. This team NEEDS guys that are legitimate Top 6 NCHC Forwards and Hain is not that. Edit: I used the Term Top 6 / Bottom 6, but. For UND, you want to go Top 9 / Bottom 3. Most guys can play a solid two way game. This forward group needs more skill.

This will be an interesting off-season, because from my point of view, this seems like a very easy puzzle to put together. You have a lot of great pieces currently on the roster as well as signed to come in. You put them together and you have a team that will contend for a # 1 seed. Leaving: Seniors: UND needs to move on from the Seniors that took place on Senior night (Senden, Hain, Ford, Driscoll). Some have eligibility, some don't, but like last year, those that took part that was their moment. Early Departures (NHL): Sanderson. UND needs to keep the list at that. This is another crucial component. Others will have offers. Transfer Portal: I won't name the name, but there's one Forward that clearly sticks out as someone who never materialized into the roll he was brought in to play. Hope that a fresh start does both well. Total: 4 Forwards, 1 Defense, 1 Goalie Incoming: Forwards: Blake / McLaughlin / Strinden / James. Very straight forward. 3 guys that will be brought in as Top 6 potential and a very good bottom 6 center. Defense: Not sure where they go here. I would prefer to go with a Freshman. Returning so much, you'll be able to bring him along slowly. Goaltending: Coaches call. I've been wanting Hedquist, but the Portal for goalies is pretty enticing. If those pieces come together, you have a team that will be a #1 seed and has a realistic chance as any at a Championship. Talking out loud here, but that being the case, I might start to lean towards going after a proven goalie from the portal. If you can grab one of the Top proven goalies (CC / MSU goalie), that solidifies that position.

I'm guessing every single team in the Albany bracket is ecstatic they are there. I wouldn't necessarily go 25% chance across the board, but I think all four teams would have somewhat the same odds of making it to Boston.

Miller alluded to it in his mailbag, but looking at the defensive front 7, they should be really good next year. D-Line Lickfeldt Hudson Seguin LB Turner Urwiler Larson Haas Shannon The above list are guys that were on the roster last year, but aren't in Spring ball. I did cross out Hudson / Haas, because they either never played last year or unfortunately in Haas' case only played 1/2 a game. D-Line: With the mid-year switch of Pierre to NT, this team returns all 4 (Morrison, Beach, Pierre, Orlando) NT's from last year. Pulling up a random depth chart, they return Johnson / Lennon on one side, lose Seguin, but McNaboe saw a lot of game time. I did like Lickfeldt as a solid depth guy. For a positional group that uses a lot of bodies, losing 1 off the 2-Deep and 1 solid depth guy isn't bad. Prediction: They were solid last year, but this group will be better this year. ILB: Lose a four year starter in Larson, but return everybody else. Krzanowski is excellent, White has been in the 2-Deep for years, I thought Kelley was outstanding and really looks the part. McNeal / Pedigo are exciting young players. Prediction: This is a perfect example of a situation where yes, you do lose a big time starter, but when you return all the other pieces, you'll be able to absorb that hit. I'll be a little conservative and predict they will match last years output as a group. OLB: This one we'll really have to dig into. They return 2 of the 4 on last Falls 2-deep. Navratil / Mullin. Lose your best OLB (Turner) and a very solid back up to him in Shannon. Urwiler was one of the guys in the mix as a depth guy last year. You lose three. Remember, this positional group was hit really hard with injuries last year. Navratil was out for a few games, so we really got to see some depth. Plug in Navratil / Mullin on one side. MVJ who started to play more and more at the end of last year I thought was really exciting. Cooper who I would argue as a Grad transfer will be more valuable next year then Urwiler would have been (just talking next year only). Do you feel comfortable with MVJ / Cooper on the other side? Miller wrote that Koshiol is moving from Safety to OLB, a move which has paid dividends in the past for UND. Might not be right away, but that should help add depth. Prediction: Take a step back from last year. Potential concerns (I really have no idea) about depth after the 2-Deep, although I think the 2-Deep is fine. Overall: Better on the line, same on the interior and will take a step back on the outside. All things considered, I don't think we see this Front 7 take a step back from last year. I think we're looking at a good MVFC Front 7. All eyes then move to the secondary. Especially when it comes to how many you need to bring it, it makes it manageable if you really only need true help in select spots.

I would guess very average.

The only two positions where weight changed was TE / WR.

Here is a list of who was on the Fall 2021 Roster, but is not on the Spring 2022 Roster. DB Holm Galvin Nelson Robertson Canady D-Line Lickfeldt Hudson Seguin LB Turner Urwiler Larson Haas Shannon O-Line Langstaff Ghadaksaz Waletzko RB Clemetson Weah Arel TE Bohenkamp Riviere WR Boltmann Richter Odom Overby QB Postler ST Stage Hinders Total of 28 Edit: Added Shannon and Seguin per 360

The two biggest surprises to me are. Ty Shannon (Graduate Student) Quintin Seguin (Graduate Student)

Not any head coach in any sport, but Berry. Yes really. You can name another time where he said injured player X would be back that weekend and they didn’t end up playing?

The Spring 2021 Offense was solid and they took a pretty big step back Fall 2021. The only difference in personnel was losing 3 O-Line starters with virtually no off season. With Christian / Lavell returning, my indicator will be who is starting at Guard this Fall. If those spots are taken by the transfers, I'll take that as a really good sign that this unit will be taking a step forward. How is RB a question mark?

I don't ever recall another time where that situation has happened, does anyone? I found that so strange.

CC is pretty bad. It wasn’t so long ago that UND swept them playing 5 on the blue line the entire weekend. UND will sweep, but very interested on who will return to the lineup this weekend.

Just to get a little conversation going. What is everyone's expectations for this team offensively next year? A unit that was very inconsistent. From what we know so far, they lose the following from Fall 2021. O-Line (3): Waletzko, Ghadaksaz, Langstaff RB (2): Weah, Clemetson TE (1): Riviere WR (3): Boltmann, Richter, Odom It all starts up front as everyone knows. I think they did really well in the transfer portal in the interior as well only losing three from last Fall. Do others think that outside of RB, that every other offensive positional group should be better Fall of 2022 then it was Fall of 2021? Note: I would give nod to 2021 for RB since Weah is that good, but I still look at the 2022 RB room as a strength.

Miller mentioned Clemetson (RB), Langstaff (OL) and Lickfeldt (DL) as players who were no longer on the roster.

No, that's just my opinion. I look at it as you have a guy in his 2nd year of Juniors (1 AJHL / 1 USHL). Most likely a 3rd / 4th round pick this summer. 2nd in rookie scoring in the league (Tied 32nd overall). Already playing on the top line in Sioux City. I don't look at his body of work and think he needs to prove more. He very much could see value in staying in the USHL and hopefully dominating (Think Top 10) and then step into a bigger roll potentially as a Freshman. We'll see on that. The Morrow situation is pretty fresh, I would just really hate to lose a guy because he doesn't want to spend another year in Juniors and who could blame them.

I think we can all agree that Jammer / Ness / Albrecht can fill the roll of shutting down opponents. What I mean by short sided is you're saying you'd rather keep Senden / Hain for one year and lose McLaughlin (Top 10) and Strinden (Top 15) in USHL points who could be phenomenal 3 and 4 year guys? I'm confident in saying that Blake / McLaughlin / Strinden and I'll include James will be playing college hockey next year. Really hope it's at UND. I'm also a big believer in balancing the classes. The NCAA tournament is such a crap shoot that losing 5/6 guys every year and cycling that way is the best formula to be consistently good. Note: It will be at UND. Senden / Hain / Ford will move on and my guess is you'll see one guy hit the portal.

I'll never understand this type of short sided thinking.

Through February. Blake (03) - Chicago: 19-42-61 (43GP) *3rd USHL in points* / +11 McLaughlin (03) - Sioux City: 21-32-53 (43GP) *Tied 6th in points* / +8 Strinden (02) - Muskegon: 21-23-44 (44GP) *Tied 15th in points* / +25 James (03) - Sioux City: 15-21-36 (43GP) *Tied 32nd in points* <2nd Rookies> / +6 Spicer (04) - NTDP: 12-13-25 (38GP) / +4

Senden / Hain won't be back. Two major reasons, (1) Berry knows he needs to increase the talent level of the Forward group, they are signed are ready to come in (2) Guys on the current roster that have proven they can play the Senden / Hain roll effectively. The first three that would come in to back fill Senden / Hain / Ford are Blake / McLaughlin / Strinden. I really want to emphasize the need to bring in James as well. They cannot lose him because he doesn't want to be pushed back a year. Need to find another spot. Mods: You can probably move this discussion.

Isn't that the truth. Odd looking through the stats, Sanderson potentially doesn't have to play another game and could end up the year in the Top 3 in team scoring. Also, kind of surprised that UND is 18th in the country in total goals scored this year. Thought it'd be lower.

Singleton ('04) - 57 points (20 G 37 A) in 56 games (21st in AJHL in scoring) Hedquist ('03) - .913 SV %, 2.46 GAA Slipec ('05) - 31 points (15 G 16 A) in 42 games (including 13 in last 10) I would think Hedquist would come in next year, but I agree Singleton won't. Slipec would be too young. What's your definition of struggling pretty good lately?

Over who? These days you need to clarify that who knows how they will end up, but are you talking about Cade Ahrenolz (16 points in 38 USHL games as a late '02) and Carter Bachelder (8 points in 39 games as an early '03)? Those are some mediocre to awful numbers. Stats aren't everything, so I'll take your word that UND really missed out.

@Walsh Hall kind of nailed it. You follow recruiting for a long time and what you learn after awhile is really wait until the year before that player is expected on campus to really evaluate. If your definition of "blue-chipper" is first rounder, there are only a handful each year. What happens here though is everyone that commits elsewhere at that time is this gigantic loss. Take Cooley out as he's as unique of a guy as there every has been. Some turn out to be, but most don't. I think it's safe to say that recently Flemings trajectory is not what was expected when he committed to Notre Dame. It's just so odd that when you look at the Top 20 in USHL scoring, that UND has the most with 3 on the list. That does not include the NTDP guys, where I think you'd have 5 or 6 really high end, but still, I don't know how you look at next years Freshman class and think that recruiting is a concern. Going back to my original statement, it's tough to really get an accurate read on a guy in his first year in Juniors, but we'll see how Strathmann / Perron / Slipec end up next year.