beastandco

Zakreski underwent surgery yesterday on his lower body injury. He is expected to be out a couple of months. Given that he hasn’t been ruled out for the season, I would guess it’s a broken bone and he’s back after Christmas. Wishing him a speedy recovery. He’s going to be a big part of this team at some point in the future.

Wiebe, Livanavage, etc. It seems to be really good for their development. Hopefully this becomes a trend. There is a couple of guys projected to come in next year that I would like to see in juniors for another year.

What a find by Bryn. Many NCAA teams wanted him for this season. He stayed another year in juniors to go to UND. Puck preps had him as a top ten defenseman in the WHL last season. He is going to be a stud.

Unlike Sacha, Perron, and OMac, most of Minnesota’s core has local ties to their program. I would be really surprised if one of their core players hit the portal unless Bob is canned (he won’t be). The grass would not be greener for them, imo. Blue bloods generally do not lose players to the portal unless it’s off-ice issues or coaches being fired. Sacha probably stays if Berry is still here. With the other two, there probably was more to the story than the public is aware of.

They will have to either load up in the portal or get a couple of CHL guys this offseason. Their projected freshman class next year is not very good. Their LJ Mooney hype was hilarious. This was supposed to be year 2 of Logan Cooley according to many gopher fans. Maybe Bob should have spent more time in Canada this offseason instead of cruising around Lake Minnetonka.

Cody Croal’s hustle to the net/corner on Ollie’s goal is textbook. Coaches are going to absolutely love that in the film room. Seeing stuff like that tonight was so refreshing.

This team plays so much better in front of Spoon. It’s his net for the foreseeable future. I thought nearly everyone was good tonight. I cannot wait to watch these freshmen grow.

Yeah Ollie is really good. Really, really like his game.

That guy is a clown. He said something about UND always bringing in more players than they need. Are they supposed to run 2 lines like a peewee team? Ollie will likely be a top 6 center for UND in the future. Is he playing as much as he would in Red Deer? No. Everyone, including Ollie, knew he would be playing in the middle 6 when he committed. That “scout” is a major !@#$%!.

A split seems likely. UND’s key to winning both nights will be to shut down their top line. Easier said than done. If they do that, they’ll be fine.

Fitzhenry and Schnieder are must gets for Minnesota. At this point, I think they both go to Michigan. UND could potentially get in on Fitzhenry. There is not a ton of information out there about him but his instagram following is Michigan and Minnesota.

Brayden Willis is a name to keep an eye on. He’s been one of the more productive players on the UTDP U17 squad this season. He is from the Phoenix area so getting him away from ASU might be tough.

That report was definitely true but in Bob’s defense, the ones that have to reach out are probably not that good. I’m sure they kicked tires on a few top guys but were shut down pretty quick. If Bob didn’t even kick tires, that’s a fireable offense in itself the way this team looks so far.

Levi Harper is the only guy I would make an effort to steer away from gophers. Everyone else is either local or not very good. I wouldn’t say the locals are that great either.

Minnesota is in deep, deep trouble if the vision for their program does not change. Adapt to the CHL opening up, or die. There is no excuse for the product that is on the ice right now for them.