hockeytherapy13

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

Yeah this team will stumble a bit at the beginning of the year (and I really hope Berry let's them struggle and grow the way they need to) but this is a group that will be very good come playoff time. And looking even farther to the future, this year's and last year's recruiting class will pay even greater dividends when everyone has had another year under their belts. Really looking at an extra year of Perron, Livanavage, Zmolek, Mclaughlin, Wiebe all being guys that take more leaps this coming year and the year after.

Dalton Andrew with a 4-goal game. After watching those goals on Twitter, it’s pretty apparent that he’s not playing against opponents that are challenging him enough. Interested to see if he can break his way into the lineup next year, although I’m sure he knows he’s a depth guy. He’s got a heck of a shot but the game speed of D1 hockey be an eye opener for him.

Based on the article in the Athletic (Goon posted in the Commits page) that talks about Boisvert needing work on his faceoffs, I’m guessing (and really hoping) we see him at 3rd line center with a decent finisher. If these lines are built correctly this team could be rough to play against. But if we see Schmaltz in a scoring role and other guys get buried that have a higher ceiling and should be getting developed, then it could be unnecessarily frustrating.

I'm actually glad to not see the gophs on the schedule this year. I may be in the minority on that but I like a variety of non-conference teams. I'd like to see BC or some other big-name Big 10 teams like Wisconsin. But I think a year off from UMN makes the years we play them even more fun.

I said this in an overly long post above, but Kunz is primed to go 25-35 points this year if he’s with the right guys. He went from 5 points as a sophomore to 19 points as a junior and really only played top 6 minutes half the year. Put him in a top 9 role and have him play with skilled guys. Then we are looking at a guy that could be similar to Malone or Vandevelde in regards to point production in his senior year

I think if we are going top 6 and bottom 6 this looks really good. But like some have said, this team has the chance to have a top 9 and go for goals with 3 lines rolling a lot. With that in mind, I’d flip Kunz and James around so that Kunz can add some size to the line with Boisvert and OMac, and then James can add more speed to the Wilkie and Strinden line. This year Kunz is primed to be a 25-35 point guy if he’s with the right players. He took a big jump from his soph to junior years and he seems like he’ll make another jump this year. But I agree with others in that we HAVE to keep Boisvert in a top 6 role so that he can develop and hit his ceiling faster. But since he’s still a string bean (as is OMac) then having a guy like Kunz can really help give that line some strength. All things considered, if this team goes with a top-9 approach and plays like they are down a goal all the time, they will be able to wear teams down. Plus our 4th line, if it looks the way you have it above, will make it even more frustrating to play against as they could really shut things down.

Yeah RIT's strength of schedule was rated 53rd this past season (as per CHN) so I'd be happy if he ends up being a 20-30 point guy in the NCHC. Let's just hope he can win some D-zone draws unlike the rest of our team the last month of the season.

Guessing Boisvert will get some reps at center too. Interested to see how he’ll be in the faceoff dot

I actually think he may be a better fit for pro hockey than Blake is at this current point due to his physical capabilities

I'm not putting it on Pehrson either. I'd say Persson had a big deal to do with it, though. I almost never blame a goal on a goalie because there are almost always 5 other guys on the ice that could have been around to help out. But that tying goal at the beginning of the 3rd could have been very avoidable if Ludvig either covers it or pushes at a different angle. I'm still not giving the goalie 100% but that was the only goal in the game and maybe only one of the few the entire month that the goalie botched the play.

Ludvig shoveling the puck into Pehrson's skate which deflected it into our own goal didn't help either.

Wait, who? lol

Blake's turnaround from December to March was impressive. He went from being a constant defensive liability to becoming reliable almost all of the time. Sure he was easy to knock off the puck if someone got contact. But his 200 foot game improved big time this season.

Yeah I’d rather have a faceoff specialist like Wilkie. We have guys coming in that can score and make plays. We badly need a reliable winner in the dot.

I wish I could agree with you but I’ll argue that if Pitlick stays, the gophers might have one of the deepest forward groups in the country, if not the deepest.

If he gives the coaching staff an ultimatum that it’s college this fall or he’s going to a different team, you can bet the house they will bring him in. I think our freshman class coming in this year is crazy good and if he came too it would be unreal. The youth and size might be a problem but you have to think they’d be cooking strong by the end of the season.

I think it’s important that he stays 4th line center because he really is a reliable defensive forward. Let him kill penalties too but there is no excuse for him being on the power play as late in the season as he was. It took until the 2nd to last home game (thankfully we were at home for the playoffs) for him to get a goal. That type of impotence has no business being on the power play of a team with hopes to go deep in the NCAAs.

If I remember correctly, he ended up playing in that game against the gophers this year because Pehrson was hurt . And although he had limited minutes, he did well with the time he had. Kept it simple and physical and didn’t have any glaring gaffes

I remember Schloss saying that Wiebe actually likes playing on the right side. He did do it quite a bit this year too so I’m guessing he will be one of the right-sided guys next season. He’s a guy who really developed well defensively this year and I’m excited to see how his offensive side develops

We were also only playing with 5 defenseman who were getting tons of reps

Sorry to say it but we are the new gophers that we all used to pick on. It’s painful to think and idk that it really soaked in until last night.