beastandco

They are holding out for somebody, probably Desnoyers. Pridham is the most likely guy to fill the last spot, in my opinion.

I heard something similar about him walking around in UND gear at the gopher regional game. Maybe the new staff did not offer him?

My source within gopher circles said that Zimmerman was a UND lock as of this spring around the coaching change. A lot can change since then.

I’m hearing Zac Zimmerman and Colin Grubb are two American names to watch on Friday.

Looking at guys like Martone and McKenna, they got their big NIL deals because they give their program a huge boost for the upcoming season. You are not doing very much projecting with those guys. Also, offering a 16 year old a full ride scholarship to a big time university is hard to pass up in itself.

I honestly did not know that teams have been able to have contact with these players since January 1st. I feel like most of these guys will commit right away if their plan was always to the NCAA route. I doubt NIL is really in the picture until the kid gets closer to campus. Promising a 16 year old money is a huge gamble.

At first glance, I think a lot of these top guys on this list are headed to the Big Ten. I think UND will have a lot more success in Canada. There are so many talented players available in this cycle.

I briefly followed him to see because I was curious. Other targets like Carson Carels and Landon DuPont have liked some of UND’s recent posts as well.

He put up good, not great numbers in the OHL last season. After his decommitment, he said he wants to try to play at the pro level or go back to the OHL. He wasn’t all in on going back to the OHL, like I had previously thought. He hasn’t signed his ELC yet. He is nowhere near NHL/AHL ready. He could be one of the better players in the OHL next season or be a contributor on a good college team for the next 2-3 years. Side note: He has been liking all of UND’s recent posts on instagram since he started following them.

I am not sure how likely Pridham is to commit but he would likely be a good top 6 winger for us next year. He is exactly what we need in terms of being a right handed winger with potential to stay a couple of years. He probably doesn’t want to leave the OHL unless it’s for a big time program. Once BU committed Ritchie and Pridham decommitted, Bryn could’ve started his pitch.

I might have to eat my words on this Pridham take and I hope I do. He has followed Bryn and UND in the last week or so. I saw Bryn last week but he must have recently followed UND as well within the last week.

He could be. It would only make sense if the reason he decommitted from BU was because of Ryder Ritchie coming in. If he truly wants to play in the CHL, he isn’t coming. His CHL has also cut a player or two because of him returning so I would be surprised at this point if he changed his mind again.

Carter Casey to Minnesota. Makes sense, not sure if he was much of a fit here with Spunar and Heil

Multiple bat signals on Friday? That would be exciting. Especially because the possibilities are endless.

Bryn and Mathis Preston have recently followed each other on instagram. Preston, who has been mentioned on here before, is a top 5-10 prospect in the 2026 NHL draft. He is one of, if not, the top 2008 left on the board. He does not follow UND hockey but follows BC and Penn State.

He has a picture at a UND game on his instagram as well.

There are lots of uncommitted guys out there that would look GREAT in those new uniforms.

You hit the nail on the head. Bryn’s bat signals and social media presence is huge for the program and engagement. I have friends that are huge fans of other programs and they absolutely cannot stand the bat signal. It’s a really good way to promote the program.

I still have PTSD from the “this is your captain speaking” captain announcement. I never was a fan of Jamernik.

I did not know that only one player can wear a “C” in college. I would prefer James but would be cool with Livanavage too.

I would like to see Livanavage and James as Cs and Wiebe and Zmolek as As.

Could be captains as well. Wiebe, James, Livanavage, and Zmolek are in the photo.

Definitely making an announcement of some sort. My guess would be jerseys

Eventually it will iron itself out. A year ago these kids were not even eligible and there are already a handful of projected 2026 first round picks headed to college hockey this year or next year from the CHL. I’m sure a few more top 2008s will commit in the coming months.

Pridham recently decommitted from BU and returned to the OHL. I saw today that Bryn follows him and he follows Bryn. I’m pretty sure that is recent, but I could be wrong. Doubtful on Pridham though.