Wilbur

If Jones ends up at UND than I'm guessing that Mr. Gleason will end up spending time as a forward as long as the defensive corps stays healthy. He's proved he can get it done at both ends of the rink, and is a very valuable part of the team in whatever role he takes. If we're talking about who possibly sits for Gleason to play up front then depth won't be an issue. This is a good thing. It does mean that Jim and Pattyn likely sit in the stands for quite a few games.

I loved watching him run back into the tunnel to see the replay, and then run back and whisper in Hak's ear before the reffs came over. It put the officials at such a disadvantage...

http://740thefan.com/upload/timh.mp3 Interesting interview with TH about the move. Sorry rumor lovers, just pretty straight forward hockey talk.

Okay, so lets pretend nobody had an affair, Blais didn't back Steve Johnson, Dane Litke didn't piss people off in Bismarck, Dave Hakstol isn't using Eades as a scapegoat, and Seth Jones wanted Eades out before he commits to UND. Maybe, just maybe, Hak wanted to get a coach on staff with more of a defensive background. But I guess when something like this happen skeletons need to be dragged out and good people need to be stabbed in the back.

I'm a huge Eades fan, and thank him for everything that he's done on and off the ice for the program. Big loss. Its only fair to speculate about possible replacements. Here is my list. ~Dane Litke (Defensive specialist) ~Jason Herter (Defensive specialist) ~Brad Berry (was here....left, don't think he'll be back) The team is clearly looking for someone on the defensive side of things. I think either of the Johnson brothers would be good for the coaching staff, but probably not in the particular role that Eades was in. I love Karl Goehring the goaltender, but Karl Goehring the coach probably needs a few years behind the bench at a lower level before he's ready for college.

Would be nice to see the Sioux sign Morelli and have a third generation kid on the team. Everyone knows about Reggie, and his father Matt was with the Sioux for a bit (can't remember exactly how long, or how much he got to play). A year with the Tauros and then the Force will do the kid extremely well. Plus staying in state always helps when it comes to recruiting.

Its almost worthless to really think about the "what could be" with some of the early commits. I mean a kid like Keaton Thompson is going to be an unbelievable defenseman by the time that he graduates from high school and comes to UND, but until then he'll be continually pushed by a major junior team for the next two years to sign. Heck, he could have a bad week of school in Ann Arbor, and decide for himself that he doesn't want to do school and hockey at the same time anymore. We saw it with J.T. Miller. The kid says on the NHL network that he can't wait to play for the Sioux....then....gone in a heartbeat. Like I said, I'd rather have the Sioux get a 21 year old four year role guy from the SJHL, USHL, BCHL, etc. than a big game name 16 year old kid.

Wish the kid well, but I don't see him doing a lot in Medicine Hat. I'd rather have the team get 21 year olds out of the SJHL than 18 year old flash in the pan kids that back out of commitments.

Did not go to the game, but I have a friend who is a season ticket holder/huge Sioux fan that texted me afterwards and was pretty excited about Zane's performance. Shots don't always tell the story, but when you get outshot like that at home, you're goaltending needs to be superb to keep you alive. I saw LaDue and Johnson play earlier in Fargo this year and both impressed me. LaDue is just so steadily good on the blue line, and so good with the puck, and making outlets out of his own end. Johnson...well you can tell that he has been around hockey his entire life, and been coached up a wee bit as well. I think it was already said...extremely good awareness of where he's at at all times, and just tenacious on the forecheck. He creates a ton of chances for not only himself but his linemates.

Zane Gothberg was simply amazing in the nets last night for the Fargo Force. A Lincoln team that completely dominated his Fargo Force squad had to go to OT to move on in the USHL playoffs, mainly due to Zane. I believe he made 46 saves or something like that in just a little over 65 minutes.

Instead of two and a half checking lines and one scoring line?

I'm betting that they have him visit a game at the Rose Garden, as they play a good number of their games there. The memorial coliseum is a dump....don't know why a kid would want to play there.

I'm surprised that Danny is going to be back, but he will be a huge part of the team, and play a huge role for the squad. You could put a lot of guys on that top line with Knight and Kristo, maybe even a possible Grimaldi sighting on the top unit.

By the end of his four years he'll have turned into a 29 year old goon Canadian hose head. Great signing. A four year guy that will be a significant contributor by the time his senior year rolls around. I like the role player signings.

Regardless of whether he is here next year or not, I'm extremely confident in the defensive corps that the team will have. Sioux hockey isn't about one guy, its about a collective unit of guys that all buy in. Jones is a tremendous talent, but if he doesn't end up playing for the Sioux I'm not going to lose any sleep. I decided that after the whole Miller thing I'd rather have guys at UND that are 100 percent on board, than guys who are second guessing themselves and thinking of the junior hockey route.

*Edit* Didn't give Portland State enough credit. Looks like they had a decent season last year. But a game the Sioux should win at home.

I just took a quick peak at the schedule, and I would say that a 8-3 season is a real possibility. The first two games are pretty much layups (they should be layups, although I know nothing about Portland State), and after that they have some very winnable games. South Dakota Mines-Win Portland State-Win San Diego State-Loss Sacramento State-Win Cal Poly-Win Eastern Washington-Kind of a toss up, but I think the Sioux can beat this team. Northern Arizona-Win Montana-I'll give them a loss in this game. Montana State-On the road, this is a loss probably. Southern Utah-At home, a win. Northern Colorado-Has to be a win. So basically losses to the Montana schools and San Diego State. If they upset one of those Montana schools we could be talking about a possible postseason appearance. Kind of a stretch, but this team has the talent.

I think that regardless of who the starter is we'll see both QB's play into the mix this season. One guy will struggle, and the other will come in for a quarter or a game to try and get the offense rolling. Hopefully the two do a good job in the fall of mentoring the young man from Detroit Lakes in the fall. I'd say by this time next season we'll be talking about how Mollberg has a great opportunity to take the starting reigns from Bradley.

Its not like UND is the only school that gets their athletes into easy classes. When I was at UND it made perfect sense that Zach Parise, Brady Murray, and a couple of others were in the mind boggling intro to music class, or Travis Zajac and Matt Smaby among a handful of others had made their way into a Dr. Munski class. Yeah, you'll have your guys like Eidsness and Bruneteau who are going to overly excel in the classroom, but I'd say 70% of the time they are trying to get the players into layup classes that will keep them academically eligible.

Jeez....imagine if Knight had sat out or had the hand casted....... That would have made the lines.... Nelson-Kristo-McMillan Parks-Rowney-Gleason Pattyn-Lamoureax-Gaarder ...Jim...

Did Willert play this last season anywhere? I looked on USCHO website earlier this year to see how he was doing, but didn't see his name on Omaha's roster. He was a junior the year before, so I assume he may have taken a year off because he would have no eligibility left had he played somewhere.

Great points. To answer the bolded points (of course IMHO), depends on who the midget team is playing. I think a North Dakota midget AAA team could get a lot of great teams on their schedule like Shattuck, or the Notre Dame Hounds, etc. Did playing at Shattuck make Parise or Toews better? Hell, they could have played in Fiji and been amazing with all the God given talent and drive they have.

I like the idea of having a midget team run out of Grand Forks. I think it could hurt the local Grand Forks teams more than anyone when it comes to high school hockey, but at the same time you're developing and exposing some local talent that would otherwise maybe not get the chance to get the weight lifting/off ice conditioning they'd get in a normal situation.

I would nominate a young fiery Canadian that went by the last name of Hakstol, but according to some he's the reason that the UND hockey program is in such a tremendous swoon lately. I don't think you can choose a best captain ever. Too many great young men to choose from. I think my favorite captain of all time would have to be Matt Greene. To be a captain in the NHL is a pretty special thing. Nice that Toews and Parise share that honor as well.

Geaux_Sioux said it best. I wouldn't count out the Mcmillan boys playing together the second half off the season. Usually the Sioux don't get their lines truly figured out until February. PS: Wow did Oshie make an amazing play against San Jose today.....wow....