nascar99

83 GF in 22 GP = 3.77 goals per game Very good goal numbers so far this season. Averaged 3.24 goals per game last season, so fairly substantial improvement. Credit to Chyzyk and Jackson once again!

He fits the Michigan arrogance stereotype, so that tracks. He's a very good recruiter and made sure things didn't fall apart in the short term after Pearson was forced out, but everyone has been skeptical of his coaching prowess, culminating in last year's tournament miss. I will say that Naurato has done a very good job with Michigan this year so far, didn't expect them to be this good this season.

Naurato staying at Michigan for awhile

I probably commented about this pages ago, but we're much more likely to see quieter August 1st through October 1st first time eligible commitment periods going forward. The top US players might still have interest in committing that early, but with a much larger player pool opened up now via the Canadian Hockey League, coaches can recruit hundreds of older junior players with more track record of production/easier projection to do. Recruiting 15 year olds coming out of minor/prep/HS hockey is extremely hit or miss due to having to do a 4-5 year projection outward of what these guys will be. Going up to Brandon to watch the Wheat Kings play the Saskatoon Blades for example, you're recruiting guys in junior who are years older in most cases, and projecting outcomes from junior to the NCAA is much easier than minor/prep/HS to the NCAA. As we saw last August 1, very few Canadian 2009s committed during that window, and that allows for coaches to track them in junior and see the progression (or lack thereof) before offering them. NIL in some cases will also play a factor, but that's mostly for high end potential recruits.

Wouldn't want to play Minnesota Duluth either

This year feels more wide open for the tournament. Ivankovic out for Michigan, Michigan State still hasn't gotten over the hump & gone deep with Nightingale; Penn State, Denver, & Western Michigan up & down. Perfect year to make a run

Would think 5-6. There are 3-4 on that roster that seem like obvious portal candidates, and nearly every team has 1-2 per year who surprisingly enter, so it'll be 5-6 total for the Goofers

That's a frustrating one. Gotta rebound tomorrow

Don't deserve to win when you can't score on a PP at the end of regulation & beginning of OT, sorry, that's how it usually goes

Olivers Murnieks (2008, Saint John Sea Dogs) commits to Boston College

Gotta give Jackson/staff, the players, etc a ton of credit for what we've seen lately. Winning 12 of 13 in any season is extremely impressive. After the coaching change, players lost to graduation/portal, & clear roster holes, not many would have been able to fathom a winning stretch like this one.

If he's made above the monetary threshold playing pro, then he's ineligible for the NCAA. Unless the Clearinghouse miraculously lets him in (or we get proof he's made less $ than the threshold), my assumption is that Ivar Stenberg is ineligible for NCAA Hockey

Cameron Schmidt hasn't gotten his ELC from Dallas yet, and while it would seem he'd get that soon, the Stars are smart enough to know that most guys making the insanely large jump from junior to pro at 20 years old don't succeed as well as expected, usually bust out entirely or take forever to be NHL ready. Schmidt would look very good for a number of programs including the usual suspects such as North Dakota, Denver, & Michigan. I just don't know if Schmidt and Dallas have interest in him developing against older, but age appropriate NCAA competition for 2 years.

Joe Gramer (2005, Moorhead MN, Nebraska Omaha) has left to go to the Dub to finish the season with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Wasn't playing much for the Mavericks, I guess he hopes to get an NCAA roster spot somewhere else next year

They're going hard in the Dub specifically. Head Coach Dennis Williams was the Everett Silvertips head coach before going back to his alma matter. He has all of the minor hockey & major junior hockey connections across Western Canada.

Yes it was. Kleven just hasn't been great this year for the Senators compared to his level of play he showed in the playoffs last year

Terriers need a spark, this was their move, we'll see how Lawrence does.

Still wild to me how much Boston University has underachieved/disappointed so far this season. Hutson the only one above a point per game, Eiserman and Boisvert well below where I thought they'd be and Yegorov well below average in net.

Kleven brutal turnover tonight for the Senators. Senators fans not happy with him. Wonder how long he'll be there

The Rangers have gotten a bit smarter. They know their prospects development in both New York and Hartford has not been great for a long time now. Their best players have developed elsewhere and/or spent longer periods of time in the NCAA. The Rangers Director of Amateur Scouting said when they drafted him that they weren't going to rush Emery and were prepared to keep him in Grand Forks for at least 2, but potentially 3 years. Emery needs a 3rd year, or otherwise he's riding buses to Utica, Syracuse, Springfield, etc.

Spunar watched the Chiclets video, nice!

Wasn't ready for the NCAA. Until you really produce in junior or have a super adaptable/Swiss Army knife style, you're not ready for the NCAA (at least 90% of the time).

Dumpster fire who is still able to recruit pretty well somehow

They are giving anyone who made below the $ threshold that the NCAA has set. Most believe that is $75-80k. So basically every ECHLer and many AHLers coming out of the CHL have been given NCAA eligiblity if they've applied