SpudsSioux

And so many of them weren't even committed (some the recruiting process hadn't even started), by the time Jax took over. To hit on all of those with such little time to evaluate, get to them, etc, was remarkable. I'm sure a lot of that had to do with BC already having some of that evaluating work done from being a GM. Kernan, Spunar, Reschny, Verhoff, Engal, Josphefson, all being recruited in that short turnaround is remarkable. Excited to see what this staff can do with more time!

It's funny but that game seems SO long ago. It was one, if not the worst, games of his career. Many on here wanted him in a suit the next game and I think many of us watched to see how Jax would handle it. Would Ben get a free pass being a senior and captain? Or would a tone be set. He didn't sit him, but he did bump him down to the fourth line the next game and Ben responded by scoring his first shift. He hasn't looked back since. I think it shows two things. One, that Jax wasn't all talk. He showed very early that there weren't going to be free passes this year. It also shows that Ben is the type of leader we want and need. He didn't pout; he found another level. When Jax talks about there being a clear delineation between the type of guys that chose to stay and the type that chose to leave, this example sticks out to me.

Don't both Pilgrim and A. Schultz have another year of eligibility? i believe you have to be 20 or under as of December 31. Ashton will turn 20 next October and Pilgrim won't turn 21 until February. Not saying they'll want to defer them as both are looking like they'll be ready, but I think they do have the option.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I wouldn't mind Brooks. I actually think his game translates better to the NCHC than the B1G. He's also the type of guy this staff seems to like to build around. Big and strong, wins an unbelievable amount of draws, good defensively, no nonsense. He's like a mini Matt that will likely over achieve his whole career by just doing the little things right all the time. You need those players anyway which they've shown they want (Brock Schultz). Why not take one that also has the added benefit of two high end skill guys coming with?

Swanson’s game absolutely requires him to be playing with a stud to utilize him. He’s not going to burn past defenders or create a ton on individual efforts. The beauty of his game is that he gets guys the puck in space and in scoring areas better than almost anyone (a lot like what Shaugabay does). If Swanson was playing with the Plantes, you’d see the same numbers out of him). He has shown his best chemistry with Zellers IMO ( when they get together on PP, 6 on 5, etc). I get you probably can’t put those two with Reschny and not be a defensive liability (at least this early), but I do think he needs to play with one of them to best use his skillset.

Could not agree more. Not only does this team not have any full lines in tact from last season; they only have one line that even has two on it that have played together before this year (Croal and Littler). Funny that line is the one that showed chemistry the earliest. I like that DJ is letting them settle in a little bit and build some chemistry. That first weekend the 4th line carried them offensively, but by this weekend the Rickwood line looked to be building some chemistry. I said before the Saturday game that the optimistic part of this team is that so far I really felt like they were winning games solely on grit and being hard to play against; they really hadn't been overly sharp yet chemistry-wise. That will get better as the season goes on, but being able to start 3-1 while they're still figuring it out gives me a lot of optimism for this group.

I thought Emery looked a lot better that period. He really struggled in the first but seemed to shake the rust off. He had a couple great defensive plays

Felt this way too. For a 7th D with protected minutes I’d prefer to get the guy with the higher ceiling reps. That being said, if there’s a plan to rotate early and this isn’t the status quo for the year I’m ok with it. With how many D they could lose this year, keeping and developing Strathman, Laurila and Jubenvil is going to be important.

That’s true. The “3rd line” listed for them last night was their top as far as skill goes. I would think lines 1 and 3 are their top 2 though so still impressive for our 4th to take it to them like that.

The thing that really caught me off guard was who the 4th line scored their goals on. I figured our depth may create some mismatches this season where other teams’ 3rd and 4th lines struggle to hang with our 3rd and 4th. But I think all 3 goals were against UST’s top line. First one for sure was against their top line and top D pair. Zakreski’s was against their top line as well. Pretty impressive

Haha correct. I think Emery is going to take a huge jump this year. Older, put on some weight, and the game should have slowed down for him. I wasn’t advocating for him being out like Oxbow was. I was just reiterating I thought Laurila was very good first game (as was Strathman). I would be shocked if they don’t run 7 most games

I think they’ll have to use the extra skater as a D when they’re all healthy. They’ll want to develop the young guys for future since they could lose a lot after this year. I know it was just exhibition but not sure how you sit Laurila after that game. His breakouts and transition were so good. Seemed like every time he touched puck it was tape to tape going the other way in a hurry.

Thank you!

Can you tell who is playing together? What’s re the lines looking like? And PP options?

Yeah could be nothing to it or just that he was originally projected to come in for 2025 and didn't so that's why he's in red. Still hope he figures it out and makes it here. Lifelong Sioux fan and the Warroad guys have been some of my absolutely favorite to watch at UND.