Rick

UND is fortunate, in that many of it's former hockey players donate money back to the school. Erwin Martens is also at the Presidents Cabinet level and Grant Paranica is at the Presidents Club level. I believe Eddie Belfour has sent checks for facility improvements at the old REA. I'm pretty sure quite a few others are donating back to the university also. Just about all of the former hockey players are very loyal and are a great resource for the recruitment of students to UND. The phone at the hockey office is ringing all the time from hockey alumni around North America. They are calling to see what the latest is with Sioux hockey. The hockey program has several alumni reunions every year. Coach Blais has commented before on the huge number of former players who travel across the country to attend these gatherings. That is in stark contrast to the Gopher program that can't get former players to travel across town to attend a 75th anniversary Golden Gopher hockey reunion.

Crosby got $150,000 deposited into an education account when he went major junior. The money sits in the account for 6 years. If he doesn't make it to the NHL in that time, he can then access the money to go to college. I believe his total package was close to $300K.

I agree. UND should sweep this weekend. I was just making the point that Brad had predicted a much better season than they're being picked for. Brad's a good guy. Hopefully, there will be a couple bumps in the road for SCSU this weekend. With the defensemen we have, as the season goes on, it is going to be harder and harder for teams to get within eyesight of the UND goal. First, opponents have to get the puck away from Bochenski, Murray, Parise, Fylling, Lundbohm, Prpich, McMahon, Canady, Stafford & others. And then, once they do get the puck and start heading down ice, they know they're going to get leveled at the blue line, so they have to dump it and head to the corner with Greene, Schneider, Smaby or Jones beside them. I didn't mention Fuher and Marvin because they are the "light-weights" of the group. They're 6' 2" & 6' respectively, but they're not quite 200 lbs so those two will only maim you for life. Whereas, Schneider and Jones will maim you and then turn around and score at the other end. And of coarse Greene and Smaby, well, maybe it's best not to mention what will happen there. BTW, I was talking with a scout last weekend, and he said that Marvin would be the number 3 defenseman on the Gopher team. He said that shows the talent of the Sioux defense because Marvin has a difficult time even cracking the lineup at UND. On Tuesday, Blaiser mentioned that he's been feeding Prpich raw meat. He said Prpich is the only guy he knows that, when you punch him in the nose, he just smiles at you. If Prpich is getting raw meat, I wonder what he's giving Greene and Smaby?

On October 16th, one day prior to SCSU's opener with Wisconsin, I was talking with Brad Wilner about his team. He was surprised that they were picked 8th, but he said they did lose quite a bit, but they also had some great players returning and were very pleased with their new players. He said the chemistry on this team is better than it's been in past years. He didn't feel they had a weakness on the team. Everyone was on the same page and he felt their depth was good. He was very confident, more-so than in past years. The last thing he said to me was "just wait till the we get down to the last month of the season....you'll be surprised who is still hanging around." Despite what we think of Dr. Roy and SCSU, Brad is a terrific guy, he's one of the nicest coaches you will ever meet. So far, Brad has been pretty accurate in what he was telling me. It will be interesting to see if they are still hanging around in the top five at the end of the season. Other than in the SCSU coaches offices, they're certainly the surprise of the league so far.

Of coarse I know more about coaching than Blaiser. That's why he has my home, work and cell phone numbers....so he can call me at anytime to get my expert opinion on the transition game, power play, penalty kill, line combinations, goalie rotation, recruiting and pinochle. RING....RING....RING, oh there's the phone, I suppose he wants to ask me how to improve Bochenski's shot now. Or else Denny and Butch are cleaning up in a card game.

There were quite a few NHL scouts at the REA this past weekend when SSM played three games against Team North Dakota, SW Minnesota, and NW Minnesota. The Montreal Canadians and NY Rangers were very interested in Chorney, Toews, Genoway and others. One scout told me that Taylor Chorney is one of the best prep defenseman in North America. JP Parise told me that Chorney is the best '87 defenseman in the country. They said there isn't a weakness in his game. He moves the puck extemely well, he is a great skater, is very patient with the puck and has a very good shot. If he adds another inch or two, he will be a very high NHL pick. All the top programs were after him. I was told "the Gophers were all over him". Another scout told me that Chay Genoway is farther along in his development than Colby was at a similar age. Colby is a good skater with great skills, but his brother has better hands and is a better skater. He has two years to develop at SSM and should be ready for college hockey right out of high school. Jonathan Toews is very young, but is considered the top '88 in Canada. Hopefully, he will decide to go the college route, but, as with Sidney Crosby, there will be a lot of pressure on him to play MJ's in Canada. I was told that he will most likely get a similar deal to Crosby's. Crosby got $150K deposited in an education account. The money stays there for 6 years, so if Crosby doesn't make it to the NHL within six years he can then withdraw the money to pay for college. His total deal was worth approx. $350K. Ryan Duncan was clearly the best player on the ice. He has tremendous skills and controls the game when he's on the ice. His only drawback is that he has David Hoogsteen size, but he also has David Hoogsteen skills. I'm surpised that Tom Ward came out and said that UND is recruiting him, but it's no secret that it's the Duncan family's dream to have Ryan play for the Sioux.

The NAHL Showcase Tournament is this Wed, Thurs, Friday & Sat at Blaine, MN. All 22 NAHL teams will be playing 4 games each. Some players of interest are the Ludwig twins from the Texas Tornado, and the Lamoureux's from the Bismarck Bobcats. So the week looks something like this..... Wednesday & Thurs - NAHL Showcase at Blaine Friday 2:30pm - Shattuck vs. Team North Dakota @ Ralph Engelstad Arena Friday 7:30pm

It's all the fault of the Lawyers. I say we get rid of the attorneys on the message boards. Scott & kr, you're outta here.

They were going to allow 2 walk-ons(3 if you count Ranfranz) to try out for the team this year. But it's best if they remain nameless, otherwise the "ha**y twins" will be on here ripping Blaiser (for cutting them) if they don't make the team.

I haven't seen him play, but I've heard that he is considered one of the top three '87 defensemen in the country.

He is Colby's younger brother. He probably won't have Colby's size, but he would be rated much higher than Colby at the same age. He will be a very hot college prospect with much better hands and skating skills. It will be interesting to see how he does with SSM this year. He, along with Jon Toews who is also from Manitoba, should make quite an impact on the SSM team. Between Genoway, Toews and Duncan, there won't be a shortage of goal scorers for Shattuck. Sioux fans should check them out when they play at the REA this winter.

UND fans will have a chance to check out several "possible" future Sioux when SSM travels to The Ralph this fall and winter. SSM will play Team North Dakota at Engelstad on Oct 17, 18 & 19. This is the same weekend that Boston College comes to town....not bad planning. REA is also starting the Grand Forks Midget Tournament on Dec 12, 13 & 14. SSM will be at that tournament also. This is the same weekend that the Sioux play UMD. It will be really interesting to see which AAA Midget teams play in this tournament. It will be a great tune-up for the MAC's Tournament in Calgary over the holidays.

I can't say what my justification was, but since Foyt was at the team orientation meeting on Tuesday afternoon and registered for classes, it looks like he will get a tryout. Scott Bjugstad is high on the kid and coached him at Blaine, so that is a good endorsement. Scott highly recommended Bochenski a few years ago and that turned out pretty good.

The coaches aren't allowed to talk to the kid yet. He's too young. But don't worry, once contact can be made, UND will be there. They're allowed to send e-mails at this point but that's about it. It might be too late though if the kid decides to go MJ in the next couple of weeks. He has offers like Sydney Crosby was faced with. It's going to be difficult for him to turn it down.

I think some wrong news has gotten out here. It might be that Foyt wanted to walk-on and play for the Sioux, but I doubt it will ever happen. As it stands now, the Sioux defense will consist of the players dagies named, minus Foyt and Dahlen.

Murray has been very impressive at the Canadian camp. It is my understanding that Brady is rated the 5th best forward on the Canadian team. Not too bad for a kid who hasn't even played in a college game yet.

I agree with Dagies.... Time after time we read posts from the ha**y twins (and others) who continually rip Blais. Yet, when you get right down to it, anyone who remotely knows, observes, or compares the two, can easily see how much alike they are. If you rip Blais, you are also ripping Brooks. The Brooks family paid a great compliment to Blais when they asked him to be a Honorary Pallbearer at Herbie's funeral. It shows how much Herbie thought of Dean. When judging Blaisers coaching, you need not look any further than Herbie, Andy Murray and JP Parise. Who would these guys want coaching their son's at the college level? Who did they think would best prepare their kids for the future. I think I would put more credence into what these guys thought than some jealous internet poster.

An interesting thing about Radke is who made it to his "final two". He was at the top of everyone's list. All the top schools in the WCHA, CCHA and HE were after him, with his last official visit going to UMD. The Gophers made landing a top end Canadian recruit a priority and offered him a full ride. The Gophers also offered Jonathan Sigalet a full ride, as did most of the top programs. Radke's final two came down to UND and Western Michigan. Sandy, Rohlik and Davidson are landing top Canadian recruits at UMD. They might be the surprise of the WCHA in the next couple years.

As is the case with many former Fighting Sioux, Jason Ulmer is in Grand Forks this summer working out at the REA and playing some golf.

"We feel that he could probably play in the National Hockey League this year," Regier said, "but it would be in a limited role, and in all likelihood he would be best served with the continuation of his development at the University of Minnesota." Translation.....We're not going to offer you the $1MM signing bonus this year. You need to go back and play another year of college hockey to work on certain aspects of your game. I'm sure Vanek wanted to sign this summer. You'd be a fool not to take the contract and signing bonus if they offered it to you. They're trying to make it sound like it was his choice, but if they had said "we want you", and they offered him the money, he would be gone by now.

I posted this on uscollegehockey, but I will post it here also: Fighting Sioux hockey camps drew over 1200 kids to Ralph Engelstad Arena this year. Many of the kids are from North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. But quite a few kids came from the Mps/St. Paul Metro area. In addition to that, there were a lot of kids from Alaska, Texas, Montana, South Dakota, California, Wyoming, Wisconsin, and several other states and Canadian Provinces. Some kids flew in on private jets. If a kid is flying to camp, Coach Blais picks them up at the airport. Parents are really amazed when they call the office to make arrangements for lodging and airport pickup. They think they will have to make arrangements for a taxi or hotel shuttle (if they are staying at a hotel), or a UND shuttle (if they are staying in a dorm) to pick up their kids at the airport. Then they are told that Coach Blais will be picking them up when their flight arrives. If Coach Blais is unable to make it, then Assistant Coaches Dave Hakstol or Brad Berry will be picking them up. Like everything else they do, the hockey camp is a first class operation. Women

I also know that it was being done at UND in the early '70's.

Who is "we"? You must be talking about present day "hammy" and the past "Scott" social worker guy back in '98 who would never reveal his sources when he was challenged. Then it turned out he didn't have the connections he claimed to have and that the garbage he was spewing was incorrect and couldn't be verified, so he went through "the change". You remember him, don't you hammy. He was a social worker back then (at least that's what he claimed to be), I'm not sure what he is today.....postal worker, astronaut, fireman, cowboy?

I have no trouble admitting when I'm wrong. After reading all hammy's posts, I stand corrected on his degree and where he obtained it. He's not a social worker anymore, he's a lawyer, and he didn't receive his degree from NHCC, it came from Dunwoody.

Back in '97/'98 when he went by the name "Scott", he was a social worker. I guess I'm not sure what he is now. I could be wrong on the NHCC degree. Maybe he never graduated. I haven't checked out the POI board for about a year, nobody must be listening to him over there anymore so he's spouting off on this board now.