hockeytherapy13

I think the energy is there but the lack of offensive chemistry is what the concern is for now. They can’t enter the offensive zone with momentum or maintain pressure there. The first game always has rust but I’ve been watching other teams’ first games this weekend and a lot of them are looking sharp against other D1 teams. Either way I love some adversity in the exhibition game cuz it gets them working harder

Jake schmaltz on the power play….this is seriously concerning that we didn’t learn from last year

Something tells me those 2 are going to be fighting hard for that 4th line spot. Also guessing one or the other will be the extra skater some nights. But Jubenvil will likely be extra skater too some games. Glove that these guys have to battle hard to get into the lineup

Yeah these are looking great. Hope they can get some chemistry with these. Wilkie must be scoring a bunch in practice because you know Swanson is going to be paired with a pure shooter

I love hearing this. I know it's only a scrimmage but these are 2 players that I'm interested to see how they do with a full slate of NCHC play. Wilkie was exceptional in the AHA at a point per game but will he crack 25-30+ points with the daunting schedule we have this year? And with Emery being a string bean (albeit a highly athletic, lean-muscled bean), will he face injury problems late in the season due to facing heavier bodies all year? Excited to see it play out.

I really think Strinden will be on one of the top 3 lines in more of a scoring role than he has been in previous years. Guessing Croal or Littler could be more appropriate grind guys on a line with Jammer and Schmaltz.

Yeah I think this team is going to be setup as a top-9 to bring that constant matchup against teams. So I totally agree that Wilkie will be either 2C or 3C but some of those top 3 lines will be interchangeable for minutes depending on who is running hot. Guessing he or Berg will be the go-to guys that are needed for an important faceoff whether it's D zone late in the game or to win the faceoff on the power play to gain fast possession. Really hope that depth carries over early so that we can get through the gauntlet of non-conference opponents.

And by this you mean: if we see Schmaltz in a top 6 role and frequent power play minutes we are in trouble… cuz he he could be awesome as a 4th line center to give this teams lot of depth; let’s not try to turn him into something he’s not

We may have a pretty good idea of whether or not our guys will make the NCAAs after the first month. We have an absolute battery of a non-conference slate which could make or break our pairwise. BU obviously is a top-4 team, Cornell might be top 7-10 and providence top 10-15. Mankato will be no slouch either since they are older and heavy. Bubs set us up with a beast a few years ago when putting this together haha. With the NCHC being deeper than ever, we need to make hay non-conference. However, if we come out of those first 4 weeks cleanly above .500 that will be a solid start and a crazy way to acclimate freshmen to what the big boys looks like.

Always hard to tell online if this is sarcasm or not haha. But if it’s not: their Ironman is a series of challenges UND does preseason to test strength, speed, endurance, etc. I believe there is a point system for each challenge. With Perron finishing so high this year I’m hoping they means he starts to go through guys while carrying the puck more often. We badly need him to get closer to his potential to fill some of the gap from Blake leaving.

Duluth is coming in with what may be the best freshman class in the country. By the time the conference games are started, those guys will have played some good teams for the first month of hockey and will be close to acclimated. That, combined with a healthy Dominic James means they will be playing at a higher clip than most expect and I really don’t think they will finish as low as 7th.

I think you’re correlating 0 Nattys with diddly squat and I’m not so sure that’s accurate. I’m no fan of the teams in the Big 10 but there is a Big 10 team in the frozen four almost every single year, sometimes more than one. So even though they didn’t win the big one, making the F4 is still a solid accomplishment.

Ha When I was figuring out my rankings I did 3 tiers and grouped them the exact same as you. So it has to play out that way, right?

Here’s my preseason guess for the NCHC 1) DU 2) CC 3) Nodak 4) Duluth 5) Western 6) Clown 7) Omaha 8) ASU 9) Miami Seems like 2-8 might be a blender because any of those teams could get in a log jam. Guessing Duluth makes a big jump compared to last year. Also thinking Arizona had a tougher-than-expected welcome to the NCHC due to their youth and finishes bottom 3.

We just need some of them to eat a few protein bars and hang out with Pooly. Emery is a string bean (172 lbs won’t cut it even if it’s all lean muscle) and will need to be bulking up big time over the next 2 years. He and Boisvert can hit the weights and dining centers together. Still excited to see how Emery uses that long reach to kill plays, though.

I actually had that same setup for top 6 in my first 3 drafts (except Omac starting at center) and I just couldn’t decide haha. I knew I wanted a playmaker like Swanson with a shooter like Perron but I had a hard time deciding where the rest of the top 6 would fall

Yeah we seem to be set up for better depth this year. Our top end is lower initially without Blake and gaber but we have the guys that can grow into it very well. If the 3rd line ends up being some semblance of what I had, that would be a top 6 on most teams.

Well it’s time to start guessing lineups again because I want the season to be here. What do you all think of this? Boisvert-Berg-Kunz Swanson-Omac-Perron James-Wilkie-Strinden Croal-Jammer-Schmaltz Andrew-Monty-Littler Livanavage-Zmolek Wiebe-Emery Strathmann-Macdonald Jubenvill-Komzak Semptimphelter Hedquist Johnson Seems like Kunz will be playing top 6 (or top 9) mins this year for sure based on what Bubs said in the Captain’s article from the Herald. Every forward line has 2 separate guys that can play center. I could maybe see Wiebe playing with Strathmann to start the year since Wiebe can play on the right side well.

Reading some of the reviews our guys have had at these types of camps/games over the summer, reminds me how big of a transition it can be jumping to the next level of competition. Reading strathmann struggled, Emery eventually did well after a slow start, and Swanson was decent enough all tempers some of the expectations I may have had going into the season. We play a really tough non conference schedule in the first month and can’t get buried in the pairwise too early as we also have a brutal conference schedule ahead of us. Duluth will be notably better this year, we see Denver twice, and we only get the cellar dwellers of Miami once. I’m not trying to put the cart ahead of the horse, but these boys need to grow up really fast. Blake played a role in 40% of our goals last year between goals/assists; and 34% of our goals are gone from Blake Gaber, and Johannes. I think we have good depth at forward and definitely expect offensive jumps from Perron, James, and Kunz (assuming he plays a bigger role most of the year). Adding in Wilkie will be solid but it’s unlikely he is a PPG guy in the NCHC like he was out East. With a very young d corps and some learning curves to expect, I hope we aren’t trying to play catch up in the 2nd half in a conference schedule that could eat us alive. That being said, I think having Simmer in the mix makes a huge difference for the defense and I’m not going Chicken Little on the season 2 months before it starts. I’m just reminding myself to not get my hopes too high. This team could be decent or very good this year and it is one season away from being scary good as this team ages up with our stellar freshman class coming in this fall. sorry for the TL;DR opportunity here 61 days

I'm guessing Croal is going to be an absolute pest with a heck of a motor, will be excellent on the PK and a great 3rd/4th line player. This incoming freshman class seems to have a lot of potential and will hopefully be rolling strong by December.

Here’s to hoping we have a 20-goal freshman

Heck even if he ends up being solid on a shutdown I think that would be great. I also would rather he not get many reps on the power play again, but maybe I'm missing something haha

I really think that mantra right here should be the mindset of the team this season. And here's to hoping Schmaltz gets more than 1 goal this season.

Similar pace is exactly what I was going for here because I completely agree with how we’ve balanced lines somewhat incorrectly before.

Mine is not terribly different from some of the others. Omac-Berg-Perron James-Boisvert-Swanson Kunz-Wilkie-Strinden Schmaltz-Jammer-Croal Andrew-Monty-Littler Livanavage-Zmolek Macdonald-Emery Strathmann-Wiebe Jubenvill-Komzak Semptimphelter Hedquist Johnson What I have above would be a #1 line with a lot of experience and potential. We need one line loaded to get points reliably each night. Boisvert at center due to his grip strength, size, and high ceiling seems right while moving Omac and Schmaltz to the wings. The 2nd line would be a combo of guys that play with great speed/pace together while the 3rd line is very heavy and hard but has scoring threats. IMO the 2nd and 3rd lines are interchangeable as far as TOI goes 4th line would be a great shutout and high energy line with guys that play solid 200 foot games. Sounds like Croal is an absolute animal and competitor, even though he’s not huge. I’d see Littler challenging him for the other slot on the 4th line Regarding defense, I think the 2nd and 3rd pairing would be similar for TOI but Wiebe is solid on the right side and is comfortable there even for a lefty which is why I have him in that side. Also guessing Jubenvill get plenty of reps, I can see him and littler being the extra skater a lot of games this year