hockeytherapy13

I kind of want at least one from the portal and not just the CHL. Because from the portal they've at least had a year of NCAA under their belts; unless we are talking a really good CHL player and not someone that's adequate. I know the CHL is good but NCAA has more men in it. But couch coaching hasn't made me anything yet so I might be completely off-base haha.

I hate to say it but I have this eerie feeling that Zmolek will get injured in the first half next year. Not sure all of his surgical parts can withstand the game.

So many people here assumed that he would totally take the job if offered just because we are UND (and it was a bonus his wife was a UND grad) which is ridiculous. He’s been at auggie for 2 years, has a brand new rink, has money backing the program (obviously not as much as UND) has already had success building a team from the ground up and is likely to see that through further. Then there are non-coaching aspects like laying roots down and just getting plugged into life there as a family. We needed to get a grip and read the room that the likelihood of him coming was and is minimal. But our desire for him spiraled into assumption undeservedly. In conclusion, It should never have been a surprise that he isn’t interested.

Still surprises me so many people thought we could just magically drag him away from what he’s building in a great situation. But that was like 3 days and 500 posts ago when I gave my feelings on that matter lol

I'm still like 5 pages behind on the thread so I apologize if this has already been brought up. But they penalty kill was lights out the last 2 months of the season. Don't get me wrong, it was horrendous and the worst we've seen the worst 3-4 months. But not having Zmolek combined with having several freshmen defensemen learning the system, and also combined with missing Berg and Jammer as regular PK forwards, it was the imperfect storm. There was nearly a 180 deg turnaround and that's attributable to him getting through to young players adjusting. I'm not saying let's make him king, but let's not be shortsighted on the personnel available this year. And all things considered, our PK has been notably good this past decade thanks to Jackson. This PK situation was an outlier.

Idk how others in the forum feel, but with UND out, I’m all for western the rest of the way. Make it happen.

The level of bravado we have sometimes is insane. Don’t forget he’s a young guy who now has roots which will play a role in that kind of decision. Especially since he’s not on a sinking ship.

I’ll be happy to eat a mountain of crow if I’m wrong on this, but I don’t see Raboin coming here right now. He’s building a program and creating a legacy that he’s already started to leave his mark on. He has a new building and enough money to do some damage (yeah yeah I know it’s not the money we have). I’d love it if we got him and I’d love to be wrong. I just don’t think it’s going to happen.

I actually think that BB thought he could turn that kid into a better person and man. And honestly, maybe being surrounded by a staff that would give him that opportunity and a second chance instead of getting written off would have turned his life around. That’s pretty optimistic thinking, but I think Brad truly believed he could rehabilitate that kid. And maybe it would have? But that’s neither here nor there haha

I was pleasantly surprised that Schloss picked western to win yesterday when he published his game day article. It was refreshing haha

Definitely would like to see Smaby and Chyzyk on the bench. I really like the idea of Nick Fohr in the mix. Not sure if he’d be at all interested but he’s someone who is probably an enticing option.

I had the exact same thought

Dang, it would appear I was not searching for deals well enough haha

I finally bought my tickets last night for the game today. Does anyone else feel like the NCHC thought they would sell a lot more tickets and therefore ended up pricing some people out? I realize it’s inflamed with having zero Minnesota teams making it and maybe I’m just cheap haha, but the prices seemed high to me.

Agreed. And If we lose, I want us to get beaten by a better team that played a great game. I don’t want us to beat ourselves like we’ve done via bad penalties, poor D zone coverage, blind passes or wide shots that result in rushes the other way, etc etc etc