beastandco

My three biggest takeaways tonight were: 1. Rickwood is so solid. What a sneaky big get for this team. 2. Wiebe has looked really good. He just keeps getting better. 3. The game was much more enjoyable when I had the commentators muted.

5-2 UND Zellers, Strinden, Menghini x2, and Wiebe

The recruits that contacted Bob about coming to Minnesota were likely no better than what they already had. I’m sure Bob had caught wind of how much it costed to get the blue chip CHLers and opted to save the money. The fact that they brought in McLaughlin, Pritchard, and the division 3 transfer over any CHL player is odd. Pritchard and McLaughlin are fine recruits but I would think he would want to start to build relationships with players and programs in Canada because the CHL is not going anywhere. I just think having a McKenna, Verhoeff, or Martone is so big for future recruiting.

That’s definitely a possibility, UND has not played yet and the gophers have time to get better. I just think Minnesota could have used a couple CHL contributors. UND didn’t really have a choice whether or not to dip into the CHL with their departures up front. Minnesota had the choice but decided to stick to their guys.

I think they are stuck between a rock and a hard place with recruiting. They definitely have pressure to keep recruiting local but they do not have the money to land all of the top guys. With the CHL opening up, they cannot afford to lose a Fitzhenry or Schneider to other schools but they may not have the resources steer them away from other programs. Other teams are getting better by dipping into the CHL and they are being left behind. It has been obvious through their first three games.

LJ Mooney reminds me of Jayden Perron. Lots of turnovers trying to do too much.

After being listed as week-to-week a last week, Cooper Williams was back in the lineup on Tuesday night. He picked up an assist and has been playing center this season, which I think is interesting.

The McKamey injury is an interesting situation. He had a solid year with exceptional status in the BCHL last year. He is committed to UND to come in for his draft year. Obviously he is a special talent but he clearly will not have a long run way to get ready for next season and make the jump to UND. I still think he ends up coming next year for his draft year unless it is his choice to push back his arrival. Hopefully he plays well when he comes back and it makes the decision easy.

It would be cool if St. Thomas was able to land him. I bet that he ends up at Michigan. If he was staying home and going to Minnesota, he would have committed a long time ago. Just my opinion.

I would guess that Vehoeff is a two year guy based off of him turning 17 a couple of months ago and how beneficial that extra year has been for defensemen in the past. Especially when Artem Levshunov signed right away and played the whole year in the AHL. If he has a great year and leaves after this season, I will gladly take that. That would mean he is everything as advertised and some.

I wasn’t able to watch a lot of the game last night. Who was on the power play units? Did Verhoeff get any power play time? It seems like the Swanson-Reschny-Kernan line has some good chemistry.

That is definitely a creative way to generate money to the hockey NIL fund. It’ll be interesting to see how much is contributed from those two nights.

I cannot wait for Saturday nights exhibition game. It’ll be interesting to see what the line chart looks like. I am honestly more curious about what they do with the bottom six forwards than any part of the lineup. Also, out of Livanavage, Verhoeff, and Wiebe, who gets to play on the power play units?

I would say Smith being over a full year older than Verhoeff and having similar production is the main reason why Verhoeff is rated so high compared to Smith. Also, as you said, being a right shot boosts his stock a little more. I also think he outperformed Smith on the same u18 team this year as an underager.

Anyone know where to find their full press conference?

Minnesota and North Dakota should be flipped. After struggling against real teams last year, Minnesota lost a ton and their additions are underwhelming. If North Dakota’s underclassmen forwards can generate offense early in the season, they should climb up quickly.

I read that a few teams wanted him for this year and the Oil Kings were thrilled that UND wanted him to wait a year. He will be one of the top defensemen in the WHL this year.

It’s crazy how little attention people are paying to Zellers this season. He was excellent in the USHL last year. He will have some growing pains but he projects to be a very good college player.

I think we’ll have to wait and see what he looks like when healthy to completely rule him out for next year. If he is as advertised this year when he gets healthy, I still think we bring him in. The chances of him getting pushed back a year definitely just got a lot bigger, which I do not hate. If he is pushed back a year, I am confident that this staff will bring in a quality piece with that open spot.

Definitely I think most guys that plan on going to college already have their list narrowed down to a couple of schools. Once their season is done, they will likely commit soon after since most of their recruitment has been done. Also, they’ll likely get more NIL if they wait until the spring.

I am sure players and their representatives are thrilled about CHL officials and management dragging their names through the mud. I’m sure current players are seeing it as well. This will not end well for these teams. The first ones to adapt will be the ones to thrive.

This is kind of funny, honestly. He wouldn’t commit if college hockey was a back up plan for him, especially with how many guys are still uncommitted heading into their draft year. I do not know what the GM of the Blades is supposed to say given that question. The interviewer essentially answered the question for him. He isn’t going to say that Cooper is going to continue to develop in the NCAA after this season when he still has CHL eligibility.