They might not be the annual team to fear, but they return Slukynsky and Ferschweiler keeps turning nobodies into dudes. No one would have thought anything of Owen Michaels before 2024-25, then he turned into their 2nd best forward. Replacing Bump's production will be a challenge, but guys keep stepping up for the Broncos.
Western Michigan will be great because of Slukynsky in net and Ferschweiler's ability to turn nobodies into dudes. Denver is great because of Carle & their usual solid recruiting, but will be interesting to see how they look offensively without Buium. I could see Nebraska Omaha as high as 3 but as low as 8, likely same with Colorado College; the conference will be very fun to follow overall.
As we've mentioned since the coaching change and addition of a GM, programs need 3-4 year guys who will go to war to help the team win, invested in the year to year results. With how Penner has progressed over the past calendar year, I am confident that he can be a solid middle/bottom pairing defenseman for North Dakota in a few years.
The problem with going back to Shattuck is that we don't have a better idea of how his game translates to higher levels. Would have liked to see him in junior (whether it be in the USHL or the Dub) for his 16 year old season, but understand why he's going back to Shattuck.