AJS

Duluth will be interesting to track this offseason. Sandelin said he does want his Seniors back, so that's an interesting wrinkle as outside of one-off guys, I haven't seen another program that has brought back a majority of their Senior class. I bring that up, because for the rest of the NCHC it's important that some of those key guys leave. Swaney / Jackson Cates is a nice start. One and two on the team in points. Hoping Koepke and Noah Cates aren't far behind.

What are they doing in the NCHC then?

Really surprised by the pushback from my post. I thought that would have been the general consensus. For those against it, is it both Bemidji and Mankato for Western / Miami? Would you support a Miami for Mankato switch? The NCHC was formed to compete with the Big 10 as the fear at the time was you would have big schools with big budgets and they would basically take over power in college hockey. That never came to fruition. The Big 10 is on the upswing, but we have enough data to know that the original fears will never truly materialize. Let's start over with Miami for Mankato. Who says no (outside of Bemidji and Western)? UND is trading one flight for a bus trip. NCHC Tournament there's one more team within close proximity.

Here to emphasize Win and You're in. This has been the perfect scenario for UND. Not only looking at Spring Football and the playoffs, but also ahead to Fall. You get a month off to heal and collect yourselves and then back to live action. From a total number of "regular" season games, 6 seems more manageable in the Spring than 8. Win and you pick up momentum. Playoffs. It's a very important game.

My ideal scenario would be Western / Miami goes to the new CCHA, Bemidji and Mankato replaces them in the NCHC. Who (outside of Western) says no? Waive any type of exit fee. It just makes sense. It would be more financially viable for all schools. Creating for the most part two bus leagues. Travel costs goes down, you'd see a slight uptick in ticket sales as easy road trips for the majority of schools fan base. If Western doesn't want to leave, then keep them and replace Miami with Mankato. It just makes too much sense for everyone to not do it.

12. With Seniors / Early Departures, that is how many players the coaching staff had to replace. The Coaching staff has done a magnificent job navigating this. I've said it before, but the transfer portal (being so active), could not have come at a better time for UND. You cannot bring in 12 Freshman and have that lopsided of a class. Ferner is absolutely the exception to the rule, but he makes sense as they needed someone to replace the Rieger roll. The other three fit this really rare formula that I wanted to see. Are they legitimate (1) Top 6 Forwards (2) Top 4 Dman (3) Starting Goalie on a Championship contender. Ford / Jandric / Driscoll fit that mold. In the entire portal so far there's maybe been 10F / 5D / 3G that fit that criteria. I also like the split between Seniors (Ford / Driscoll) and Juniors (Ferner / Jandric). What I'd like to see moving forward. Use the transfer portal to replace your early departures (2 F / 1 D / 1G). Again, Ferner (Rieger) being the exception. That would mean one more Forward from the portal. Also, I'm in the Schlossman camp that no Goalie recruits are ready, so I would prefer another Goalie from the portal as well. The additions from the portal has brought this team back to neutral. I think they are really playing with house money right now. Be picky with that extra forward / goalie. If they can bring in another Top 6 forward, that could tip the scales for next year. Not necessarily as important as Driscoll, but having a safety net that's proven at goalie is also very important.

Sanderson (L) - Kleven (L) Jandric (L) - Frisch (R) Moore (L) - *Morrow or Johnson* (R) Bast (L) - Ferner (R) That’s how I see it. One spot left and it’s either Morrow or Johnson, you could make an argument either way. Which ever one will be in the Top 6.

Both Morrow and Johnson are right handed shots. It’ll be one of them.

Add Grad transfer Brady Ferner. This appears to be Rieger's replacement. If that is the case, I really like the move.

Driscoll single-handily changes the expectations for next year. What I found interesting about Schlossman's article this morning is he doesn't feel Hedquist or Johnson are ready to come in yet. The absolutely ideal situation is if there's a talented Goalie in the portal who has more than a year remaining. You can sell in backing up Driscoll this year and being the guy the next. There might not end up being a team in the country whose expectations will change more for next year than UND's because of the portal. I'm getting greedy. My updated wish list. Chris Jandric Grant Cruickshank Goalie #2

Highlights would be. All WCHA Rookie Team Lead Alaska Dman in scoring both years Fr: 15 Points (5th on team) - Leading scorer 24 So: 22 Points (3rd on team) - Leading scorer 33 Coaches Pre-Season All-WCHA Team for 2020-2021 (which Alaska ended up not playing)

Chris Jandric would be very interesting.

Heard anything about a transfer portal goalie?

Looking into some of the names, he would definitely be at the top of my wish list.

The Forward / Goaltending list was a lot easier to pick out "The big names". Nobody in Schlossman's original article really jumps out at me. Will Cullen was an All-WCHA First-Teamer at BGSU, he might top the list. Are there any D-man in the portal that would be Ford quality gets?

Completely agree.

Do you think the Coaching staff feels this way? If they did, I don't think he'd be in the Transfer Portal. Just complete speculation, but it wouldn't make sense if they expected / thought he could be a Top 6 guy next year.

Reminds me of Wilkie, talented, but just never found his groove. When it comes to transfers, my mindset is no current UND player is looking to trade up, like you might see elsewhere. There will never be a situation where a key guy, who is producing and getting big minutes will transfer. This isn't saying Blaisdell isn't talented or can't contribute elsewhere, but what I am saying is it looks like the coaching staff feels like they can overall improve their roster with this move happening. I wish Blaisdell nothing but good luck moving forward! Edit: @InHeavenThereIsNoBeer I like the Wade Murphy comparison a lot better than Wilkie. Edit II: I was hoping we'd see this, just wasn't thinking Blaisdell. I like the process. The Coaching staff sits down and really evaluates each player, the expectations and what gives this team the best chance to be successful.

Johnson was initially named, but believe he’s injured.

Hopefully!

Here's my guess, using Sic's template: Forwards: Portz Schmaltz Ford (transfer from BGSU) Costantini Bowen Defense: Bast, L Morrow Johnson, B Unknown portal player Goalie: Johnson, K Driscoll (picked up off portal)

Some of the main takeaways. No Seniors will be back Hennessy talked about Thome and basically being down to UND and Bemidji and Berry kind of skated around it talking about the Portal and Thome, but I got the feeling at that time Thome was not going back to UND (that was pre-Berry saying no Seniors would be back) Looking for a player or two in the Portal. Emphasized how they really pride themselves on development, but if you can get a guy or two that embody UND hockey you have to take a serious look.

Couple things. Could really go for confirmation about Ford from someplace other than CHN Are all our eggs in one basket for a Goaltender next year? (Driscoll) Non-UND related, but also haven't seen confirmation about Cruikshank / BC since it was posted on CHN yesterday

I'm not entirely sure, but what I've gathered is once you get on a plane (or bus), you can no longer make an argument against close contact. At school, it might be the only true close contact would be people you live with (or at least that's how it can be spun). Is that how others see it?