AJS

I put way more of the blame on Berry than Shaw for last years power play, because I think the construction of the forward group was mostly to blame. I mean Johnson spent time on the PP and he might be the worst forward playing D1 hockey. Even though I feel Shaw kind of got thrown under the bus, clearly a move had to be made. I really like the KG hire as does everyone else.

Tom Miller posted a week ago that phone interviews were taking place last week. Any guesses on (1) When we'll hear who the finalists are (2) When UND will name the head coach?

Very, it's fun to look how things have played out since then. Couple things that stuck out. Nailed their Top 3 Caulfield ranked much higher than he would be now Cole Caufield at 45 Bobby Brink at 65 Overall though, a pretty solid list looking back at it

Everyone probably does it a little different, but I have always broken it down into the following categories: I'll use this years freshman class as an example as it fits pretty perfectly. Cornerstone (Top End): Pinto Top 6 Talent: Blaisdell Quality Depth: Caulfield Depth: Albrecht It's not an exact science obviously, but there's a difference between Quality Depth and Depth. Using last years team, I would put the likes of Hain, Senden and Smith (as well as Hoff as I stated) under the quality depth category. Guys who would fall into the strictly Depth category would be Johnson / Yon. You can be a Top 6 talent and not be in the top 6, depending on the structure of the team. Likewise as we saw last year, you can have guys play in the Top 6 that aren't true Top 6 talent.

I agree Hoff leaving isn't an addition by subtraction. I put him in the "quality depth" category. I wouldn't have slotted him into the 2-4 line role if the roster was fully healthy, but he would be my first guy in, in case of injury. Having him play the first fill in type role would have been very helpful to this team next year. I do agree that he could have then fit almost anywhere on the roster (3rd / 4th lines especially) without a set back in talent. As far as addition by subtraction, there are a couple of players on the roster that would definitely fall into that category, but Hoff isn't one of them.

I know there's been discussion about the Hoff signing in the early departures thread, but I thought I'd add some comments on here. First of all, best of luck to him in the future. As it relates to next years team, we all knew something had to give in regards to the forward position next year. We are pretty confident we'll see 5 new forwards (4 Freshman and 1 Grad Transfer) and there were only 3 Seniors graduating. I look at it this way, if you made a list of the forwards that are returning / coming in, looking at different variables like (1) Play / production during their UND career (2) Players Grade (3) Upside for returning players and the usual for incoming forwards, you could make a list of which players would hurt the most leaving. Not only that, but what kind situation it might cause if that player leaves (i.e. Seniors pushed out with no other options). Taking all of that information into account, Hoff signing a pro contract in his home country was definitely the smoothest option. By that I mean the player that had an option to sign that would hurt the least. From a talent standpoint, there are a couple players (also going to be Seniors) that everyone would have preferred, but would have been left with no options (I would guess). In my hypothetical lines for next year, I didn't see Hoff starting, but would have had him as the first option in case of an injury. He also had the talent to insert himself into the lineup and there not to be a drop off in talent on the 3rd or 4th lines. This will hurt from a quality depth standpoint, which was one of the things that plagued this forward group last year. The forward number is now 16, my question is will we see another person exit?

I've stayed clear of this conversation since I know so little about any potential candidate that I have nothing to provide. From an outsiders view though, if we're talking who would bring the most excitement / hype with the hire, it'd be Boschee for me. I think that would be really exciting for UND Men's Basketball, a real shot in the arm.

Or the more important question, how does the 2020 ND class stack up talent wise?

I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but looking at defensive pipeline I'm starting to wonder if there's room for everyone, for the year they should enter college. It's incredibly stacked with talent for guys that could come in after next year. There will be two Seniors graduating (Poolman / Peski) and at least two guys who could leave after next year (Kierstad / JBD), but still. Here's the list: Bast (+1 from HS graduation): Already delayed a year, 3 years of Juniors under his belt. Highly offensively skilled, (see @siouxforce19 report above) Sanderson (---) Does anyone know what grade he's going to be next year? He has one of those B-days where he could go either way. I believe he'll only be a Senior in HS next year though. It's still a year out, but I believe he's currently slated as a 1st round pick. Unless he somehow considerably drops (based on his production this year, it's doubtful), he has to be a guy that UND gets to try to accelerate. A 1st / 2nd round pick isn't going to hang out in the USHL another year. Kleven (True Freshman) - He'll be another guy that given his draft status will be coming in. He's probably slated as a late 1st / round 2nd type guy right now. I'd put him in the category given his size / skating ability that he's more likely to rise than fall next year in the draft. Moore (+1 from HS graduation): Ranked 86th right now (NA) and will be playing the USHL. I don't see a mid-round draft pick getting delayed after playing a year of Juniors Miller (True Freshman): The guy makes every All-Star team that's he been eligible to play on. Will have two full seasons of the USHL Reid (True Freshman): He'll have 3 full years of Juniors under his belt. Defensively, this will be truly one of the great classes I've ever seen. It'll be a group that will be incredibly fun to watch their progression next year. Especially from an NHL Draft type speculation. Given how everyone outside of Bast and Moore (drafted) will be a Senior in HS next year, you have to hope that some are willing to delay one more year.

Agreed, I noticed that as well, he definitely had one at one point and then I checked after the game and it was switched. Also, during one game, I know the score sheet had Singleton with two goals, when someone on Twitter had him with 2 goals and an assist that game.

World Selects Invitational finished up today: '03 Blue Army won the '03 Division '04 Minnesota Blades lost in the semi-finals '04 Western Canada Selects lost in the quarter-finals '03 Blake - 03 Blue Army - 3G 3A 6Pts (8GP) '04 Singleton - 04 Western Canada Selects - 5G 5A 10Pts (7GP) Ausmus - 04 Minnesota Blades - 2G 5A 7pts (8GP) Spicer - 04 Minnesota Blades - 4A 4pt (7PG) Leading scorer for '03 Blue Army had 8 points (three way tie) Maddox Fleming (17 points) / Issac Howard 13 points lead the way for Minnesota Blades Ausmus / Spicer were held off score sheet the last 3 games Singleton lead his team in scoring, next closest had 6 points (three way tie) Uneducated, looking strictly at points, I would have put the recruits in the following categories for this tournament: Great Singleton: Pretty commanding leading in scoring for his team, which made it to the quarter finals Solid Blake: Really picked up his scoring after being shut out his first 3 games. Very respectable performance being two points off the team lead on the Championship team Ausmus: Tougher when looking at points for a D-man. Started out on a tear, still finished with a solid point total, but held off score sheet for final 4 games Blake : 03 Blue Army - 2G 2A 4Pts (6GP) Respectable Spicer: Tied lowest scoring forward on the team, but also handful at 5 / 6 points. Did play one less game then them as well.

Phase II of the USHL Draft started this morning: 4. Cooper Moore (Lincoln) 8. Cameron Rowe (Des Moines) 60. Caleb Johnson (Cedar Rapids)

03 Blake - 03 Blue Army - 2G 2A 4Pts (6GP) '04 Singleton - 04 Western Canada Selects - 5G 5A 10Pts (6GP) Ausmus - 04 Minnesota Blades - 2G 5A 7pts (6GP) Spicer - 04 Minnesota Blades - 4A 4pt (5PG) '03 Blue Army play in the Semi-Final tonight '04 Western Canada Selects / '04 Minnesota Blades play in the Quarter-Finals starting this afternoon Singleton increased his team lead with 2 Goals today, three players tied for 2nd on the team have 6 points

Final day of pool play, quarterfinals start tomorrow. Looks like all teams with UND recruits will be moving onto the knock out rounds. 03 Blake - 03 Blue Army - 1G 2A 3Pts (5GP) '04 Singleton - 04 Western Canada Selects - 3G 5A 8Pts (5GP) Ausmus - 04 Minnesota Blades - 2G 5A 7pts (5GP) Spicer - 04 Minnesota Blades - 4A 4pt (4PG) Notes: Maddox Fleming leading scorer during pool play (04 Minnesota Blades) - 4G 9A - 13 Pts Howard Issac 11 Points (UMD Recruit) Jimmy Clark 8 points (UND target) Singleton lead his team in scoring

03 Blake - 03 Blue Army - 0 points (3GP) '04 Singleton - 04 Western Canada Selects - 2G 2A 4Pts (3GP) Ausmus - 04 Minnesota Blades - 1G 5A 6pts (3GP) Spicer - 04 Minnesota Blades - 1A 1pt (2PG) Notes: Maddox Fleming leads the '04 Blades and the Tournament with 11 points (3G 8A) Jimmy Clark (has been talked about here) -- second on Blades with 7 points Leading scorer for 04 Western Canada Selects currently has 5 points

It's all about birth year, so the upcoming U-17 the youngest a player could be is Dec, 31, 2003. Year they turn 16 I believe.

World Selects Invitational - '03 and '04 Divisions started yesterday in Philadelphia. I believe the only recruits of those birth years that aren't taking part are Panzer ('04) and James ('03). '03 Blake - 03 Blue Army - 0 points (1GP) '04 Singleton - 04 Western Canada Selects - 1G 1A 2Pts (1GP) Ausmus - 04 Minnesota Blades - 2A 2pts (1GP) Spicer - 04 Minnesota Blades - Didn't appear to play in Game 1, but is on the roster

Looking at a few dates from the past seasons: Colton Poolman named Captain on May 9th of last year Austin Poganski named Captain April 11th, 2017 2018/19 Freshman Class named May 30th of last year 2017/18 Freshman Class named June 22nd, 2017 Poolman will clearly be the Captain again, but we should find out the Alternates in the next couple weeks. Still have a ways to go for the official incoming freshman list.

They’ve really improved their graphics this year!

Bowden Singleton goes 43rd in the WHL Bantam Draft to the Vancouver Giants. You would think the UND coaching staff would have to be really pleased with that. That's a pretty significant drop for a guy that was a Top 10/15 lock a week ago, prior to his commitment. A couple Michigan commits still went in the 1st round, you would think that wouldn't be a great sign.

Great get by the coaching staff! As far as WHL Bantam Draft hype, this reminds me of Ethan Bowen. What's everyone's feelings about the new recruiting rules that are starting tomorrow? I was kind of on the fence at first, but the more I think about it, the more I'm on board. Not only on board, but I really can't find any negative aspects. It's going to be so nice for everyone involved (schools and players) to not be in such a rush, give everyone time to really think it over. My original hesitation was over the Major Juniors, but Ryan Kennedy (THN) had a great point. This will weed out the players that just commit looking to deter certain teams from drafting them. Every commitment that takes place going forward will feel stronger (that could just be me). From a selfish standpoint, does anyone else think this new rule will ultimately help the UND's / Minnesota's / Denvers of the college hockey world? It basically gives everyone an extra year (or two) to watch players develop. Of course, there will still be misses, but the more time and information everyone has the better. There will be less risk involved and a higher chance of that player to succeed. To be honest, I'm surprised the majority of schools would want this. Right now, the earlier recruiting means more misses for the big schools and a chance for the others to wait and pick up players that are more developed. Won't be that easy anymore.

Correct, NTDP goes by birth year, once your birth year "graduates" from the U-18's, you're done with the program. I've always found it odd that they go by birth year instead of a date that more coincides with that players grade (i.e. Aug 1st). Does anyone know the reasoning for this decision? I'm guessing it specifically is tied to certain tournaments (thinking U-18) that they don't want players to age out of.

Felt like I'd be cheating since we already know who's most likely coming in. For departures: Yon Johnson

@stoneySIOUX Question re Rizzo, you use words like peaked and leveled off. I'm with your assessment for the most part, but I'm not really following those two words. As a guy looking strictly at stats, he went from .78 PPG as a 16 year old to 1.08 PPG as a 17 year old. Nothing crazy, but a pretty modest progression I'd say. For the record as long as this was a mutual decision, with Michaud coming in, I actually really like him going back to play another year. I think this will end up being best for everyone involved. Next year's class, given the size is so crucial. Having Rizzo / Bast as +1 guys (from HS) would be a fantastic start. Two guys that most expected to be here next year at the beginning of the year.

I'd like to see this topic gain some traction. I'm really interested to get everyone's opinion, knowing what we know how (I think we all have a pretty good feeling at who's coming in), how this roster is going to shake out. Players who are eligible next year (not counting Stratton), the new players will be Michaud (SR), Pinto, Blaisdell, Caulfield, Albrecht and Frisch. Incoming: 5 Forwards / 1 Defenseman Departures: 3 Forwards / 1 Defenseman We're locked in at Goalie and Defense, but what's going to happen at forward? Do people feel UND will carry more Forwards than they do normally? Or will we see a couple players (depth guys), not be on the team next year?