hockeytherapy13

This is always a fun game and interesting to see how it actually shakes out Gaber-Schmaltz-Blake Kunz-Costantini-Caulfield Hain-Jammer-Senden James-Mclaughlin-Portz (James and mclaughlin will soon be high on the depth chart IMHO) Albrecht-Ness-Strinden Montgomery Kleven-Frisch Moore-Farmer Jandric-Johnson Bast-Sidorski DeRidder Hellsten Johnson I really want to see Costantini in the top-6 on a regular basis after the freshman year he had but I also see 3 of the 4 incoming freshman forwards making offensive impacts (much needed after losing Sanderson and Ford) by Christmas. We have some great depth forwards and should have a solid group of backcheckers. With our D corp and goaltending I see us as a hard team to score against. We may have one of the best top-8 D corp in the country. I think Denver and St cloud are solid there as well but we have a group of guys with a lot of experience at the NCAA level

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/7978470-ushl-fall-classic-whitehead-shines-for-lincoln-goals-galore-on-day-2 Little segment on Boisvert in this article.

I just realize Sic commented on this haha. I really think they use Jandric defensively because it was clear he doesn’t have the offensive prowess in the NCHC that he did in the (former) wcha. That’ll give Johnson the ability to roam a bit while Jandric stays home

I agree. And I like Jandric with Johnson too because Jandric is good defensively (I think he was 2nd best in plus/minus last year) and may give Johnson a little more of a green light to move the puck up the ice and jump in more often offensively

I know these are very preliminary and experimental lines, but I have a feeling Kunz is going to end up in the lineup most nights and maybe even top 6 or middle 6. With his size, speed, and puck retrieval abilities, this seems like a year for him to make a big jump.

I wonder if we will actually see Strinden play center off and on throughout the year. If the freshman acclimate to the college game fast and can be smart defensively, those top 2 lines could be wicked. We just badly need someone on a line that can help Gaber to reach the potential that he has offensively. I’m also a big fan of that 3rd line as a great shut down line with size that also has the potential to score. Jammer seems to be our best faceoff guy going into the year but maybe that’ll change.

https://www.waterlooblackhawks.com/news_article/show/1221248 Waterloo article about him from a few months back, gives a little info about him and what some of his attributes may be. Waterloo gave up their first round pick to snag him

Yeah for his save % to be as good as it was last year with a mediocre team ahead of him is a great sign. And whether some want to admit it or not, the big 10 was good last year and had some offensively gifted players, therefore, he’s stopped skilled guys. So once this goalie settles into how ours guys play in the D zone, I think he’ll prove to be a great snag from the portal.

Fully Agree. I think we may have the best defensive depth in all the land. Maybe we don't have a high end offensive D unless Moore or Johnson blossom, but we are well-rounded. If we can keep Gaber going, have him on a line with other offensive threats with some actual top-6 scoring talent (which ended up lacking at the end of the season last year), this team is going to be hard to play against.

https://www.nhl.com/news/dylan-james-hoping-to-develop-into-consistent-two-way-player-for-red-wings/c-335184346?tid=277729154

This is going to be a season where we never have to cringe or be worried about a certain line or defensive pairing on the ice. Especially once the freshmen get acclimated to the college game. Having so many new and young players last year that got plenty ice time is going to pay dividends for us this year. I know little about Sidorski but when we have a guy like bast as our 7th defenseman, and guys like Ness, albrecht, or even strinden as the first forwards out of the lineup, things aren’t too shabby.

We went 3-1 against them last year and all 4 of those games were without Sanderson. We swept them in Duluth and didn’t even have Gaber for the Saturday game. I think we are ebbing and flowing ok for now.

https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/matteo-costantini-looks-to-apply-lessons-learned-at-sabres-development-camp-with-und/article_e5f9a982-1293-11ed-a209-632eb5520ef2.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

I liked Albrecht's progression a lot but I think we will see Kunz over Albrecht this year due to Kunz having a higher ceiling. Although that Portz-Ness-Albrecht line was great defensively toward the end of the season last year. Senden plays center well positionally but his faceoff numbers are brutal so I'm wondering if he end up playing wing more often? Kleven and Frisch are going to be a top D pairing in the NCAA next year defensively. And together neither has to play on their off-wing. I know Kleven can play the right side well like he did last year but our D pairings match up perfectly with 4 lefties and 4 righties All considered, I think this UND team is going to be one of the best defensive teams in the NCHC and if the freshman contribute early on, we are looking to be a top-8 team nationally since we have an older team with proven goaltending in DeRidder. Going to be a fun season since we will have more offensive firepower coming in.

Agreed. He's a very responsible player defensively and would be good on a shutdown line that could provide some threat to score. The only reason he was top 6 last year was because we lost so much from the year prior and didn't have enough skill guys for top 6 roles. Like you said, Gaber is the only true top 6 talent we had offensively, although I think Costantini was a pleasant surprise who should also end up as a top-6 guy this year. Interested to see if Costantini sticks with wing or plays center like he was originally recruited to play.

The reason their assist totals were so low is because we didn’t have enough pure goal scorers last year to help drive the bus for them. Which is one of the reasons why I have offensive freshman ending up higher on the chart especially by mid-season). Our goals dried up in the frozen faceoff and regionals because we didn’t have a line that could really generate offense when needed because once they could shut down Gaber they were in the clear. Especially without Sanderson on the back end to help get it started from our Own zone. I agree on Kunz, I’m hoping he gets higher on the chart because he had great ability to retrieve pucks and is a great physical presence who maneuvers his size well. But draft status doesn’t always carry over to success. Although I know want teams to trust us with their draft picks.

I have been running this through my brain too and our ideas are very similar with only a few tweaks. Gaber Schmaltz Blake James McLaughlin Costantini Hain Jammer Caulfield Senden Ness Portz extra Kunz I’m wondering if they will have an elite playmaker like Blake play with Gaber. However my top line doesn’t have a ton of size or grit on it which may pose a problem. McLaughlin and James played on a line in juniors together so I wonder if they try to maintain that chemistry with either Costantini on his off wing or maybe Caulfield on that right wing for some added size. the other idea I had for top 6 could be James Schmaltz Gaber Costantini McLaughlin Blake then no one plays on their off wing in the top 6 but we all know Gaber can play the left side really well so that may be a moot point. I’m not so sure Caulfield should be top line with the scoring skill we having coming in. He’s got great size and maybe ends up on the power play again for net front but he can’t keep pace with the type of speed Gaber needs. I agree 100% with your D pairings. Unless they decide to swap Moore and Jandric to balance stay-at-home guys with an offensive defenseman. And I think DeRidder will be the number one guy since he has so much experience as well as a great save % on a crummy team last year Also, we can’t have Jandric on the power play anymore. He doesn’t have the puck moving skills required in the NCHC. Power play D should be Moore, Johnson, and Frisch. Then maybe we have a power play unit with 4F and 1D. Love Kleven and his rocket of a shot but I think we need faster puck movers on the PP this year