iramurphy

What was the "Kelly crackdown"?

Lydia Rutten from New York Mills is also one of the biggest names returning. Pryor thinks she can be a starter next year.

I agree we want to have the best players. We have arguably the best fan following in the nation but its easy to be good fans when we are always winning. The band wagon population changes shift to shift sometimes. Lets see how our fans react to a tough year like this. Our hockey facilities are as good as any college program in the country. How do our athletic dorms compare? I think you follow sports closely enough to know other teams have upgraded their facilities so the gap isn't what it was. Our pipeline to Shattuck was huge for us for a number of years. How is Shattuck doing and where are those kids going? With the emergence of UMD, St. Cloud , Bemidji and Mankato it is tougher for the Gophers but also tougher for us. You can be a good coach and have down years. Coaches don't all of a sudden get stupid in a year. Developing the top program in college hockey was difficult, takes time and Luck ($100,000,000 donor). It is often very difficult to stay on top and almost impossible to make the FF every year. This was a down year but we barely missed the playoffs and still had a winning season. The great thing about our program is that the coaches, players and fans are not happy with a year like this.

"I'm thinking" I would puke on this "food for thought". I am sure, like everyone else (except Bill Gates, Warren Buffet etc), I can't match your W-2 so my opinion wouldn't mean as much as the GOBC. If I recall, you didn't think Hakstol could coach and his teams got us to the Playoffs virtually every year and frequently to the Frozen Four. Berry's team wins a "Natty" and misses the playoffs and he has to go??? Hakstol was an excellent coach and Berry is an excellent coach. So is Sandelin. Most of us would be happy with any of the 3. If you start firing coaches every 2-3 years you will run this, or any other program, into the ground. Contrary to what some people think, UND doesn't have the facility advantage we had when the Ralph was built. Since that time many programs have outstanding facilities. We have a strong tradition and no one has better facilities, but kids aren't always going to make a decision on what we did in the past. Look at how well Mn and Wisconsin have been doing lately. They have excellent facilities, a strong tradition and outstanding academics and have been struggling recently. Coaches who are good can coach. When the team doesn't always perform up to expectations, or kids leave early, or we have injuries, or team chemistry needs to be improved the answer isn't always replace the coach. Berry is a good coach and he has a good staff. They have some very good kids committed to the program. If the team can't get back to the playoffs and contend for the National title in 2-3 years then I will have your "food for thought" for dinner. In the meantime, if kids and their parents don't know who the coaching staff will be year in and year out you will be facing an uphill recruiting battle regardless of facilities. Too many people have never had to lead an organization, company, business, team and had to manage time, personalities, illnesses, injuries, personality conflicts, budget issues.and all of the other factors which are difficult to control. In addition these coaches need to have a strategy and system that puts these players in a position to be successful. Hakstol did it. Berry has done it and Sandelin has done it. You start rumors that a coach who wins a National title a couple of years ago is on the hot seat, you will give opposing recruiters ammunition to use in the recruiting wars. What are you thinking???

I think you are correct in that Juniors make a difference for a lot of kids. I am not convinced it makes a difference whether they start juniors while still in HS or graduate then do a couple years of juniors. I am not a believer in kids leaving high school early. States where there is no high school hockey is different.

You make some good points concerning the Elite league at least allowing kids to play their fall sport. I'm not sure it's a good idea to play HS FB or soccer Friday night then play 2 or 3 hockey games the next 2 days. We had trouble keeping track of one of our HS FB player's concussions when he was playing the Elite league. My question is: are there kids who don't get to play college hockey because they didn't leave HS early? I realize the decision is up to the kid and the parents but I contend the kids would end up playing juniors after HS and eventually play college hockey anyway. The kids may play for a coach who doesn't get the best out of them at whatever level they play. At RR or Central, the Fargo schools, Bismarck schools, and many of the Minnesota schools they have the facilities and opportunity to continue to better themselves without having to leave HS. I know the game experience and quality of competition is a factor, but I am not convinced it is that important to the kid. Can't they continue to develop at home and play in the Spring hockey select teams for a couple of months and another couple of months on a select team in the summer? They will need to adjust to the speed of the game in Juniors but if they continue to work on their fundamental skills and spend the necessary time in the weight room/ speed strength training, is it even necessary or beneficial to leave HS? By the time the kid gets to college he should have been able to adjust to the bigger, faster, stronger competition at juniors. Ok, I don't want to screw the dead horse. Just some ramblings instead of going to St. Paul for the Frozen Four. Good discussion.

You are correct about the Elite league schedule. I think it was part of the response when Glen Sonmor and Lou Nanne were pissed cuz the Gophers had gone too long without winning a National Championship They lobbied the MSHSL to add more games. They were convinced that the Boston schools and other eastern schools were having their successful run cuz many kids out east were playing 60 games per year and our HS kids were playing 18. The tough thing for me is: what is best for the young athlete? Guys like Dr. Mike Stuart, Chairman of Sports Med at Mayo (who had 3 sons play in the NHL), Dr. James Andrews one of the most respected Sports Medicine orthopedic surgeons in the world and many others are trying to get kids and their parents to stop playing only one sport and also to stop playing one sport year round without taking breaks because every study shows these kids have more injuries than kids who are multi sport athletes. I do not believe these kids are any more likely to play college hockey because they play Juniors before they finish high school nor do I see any real benefit for the kids to play in the Elite league in the fall. These physicians and others are also trying to eliminate checking from Bantam level hockey, which I think should have been done years ago when they eliminated checking in Pee Wee hockey. We might need some beer and Pizza to continue this but I applaud all kids who stay in high school to play with their teammates. They can play summer select team hockey to play against "better competition" but I don't believe they need to play in the Elite league or Juniors before high school graduation to get a scholarship to play college hockey. Playing on the NTDP team has advantages to kids with that the Elite League and Juniors don't have so I would understand kids who take advantage of that opportunity. Anyway food for thought.

Can anyone think of a kid who declined to play either in on the NTDP, the fall Elite league or Juniors before finishing high school who should have played in college but didn't make it? I think the NTDP is an opportunity that I would consider allowing my kid to leave home before finishing HS in order to take advantage of those opportunities. I would not support my kid leaving early to play juniors. If he is good enough to play junior while still in HS he can play juniors after HS. I believe the fall Elite league should be disbanded. Too many kids miss HS soccer, FB or other HS sports and those kids typically are going to get to play juniors or college hockey regardless of the Elite league. Does anyone one have an example. The thinking is these kids need this to play against better competition. If they are good enough does it really benefit them to leave HS early? Not sure this conversation should be here, but it fits this discussion. I would like to see Kunz play for his HS team then go to Juniors. The NTDP is a different opportunity than Juniors or the Elite league. Thoughts?

I believe we have a good recruiting class coming in but I doubt they are or would be "ahead of her". She had showed she can play and play well at this level. I heard her younger sister may be better than she. If so we may not have a great chance of signing her.

I believe they also want a National Championship and his message is he needs to focus on himself and getting better. There is way too much talk about championships before the necessary work in the weight room, on the practice field, in the film room or the recruiting is done. Now is the time for them to do what they can to make themselves and their teammates better. Day at a time, then a play at a time, game at a time etc. Too many people get bent out of shape with what someone says or doesn't say rather than what they do, and these two have spoken loudly with their play on the field. As fans, what can we do to improve the program and help these kids get better? Actions always speak louder than words.

I think the latest is that it is no longer April 1st.

Did the guy gets arrested for driving drunk on his way to teach a class??? Would he have been OK to teach a class while intoxicated? I can think of some of my professors over the years that may have been more interesting had they been liquored up but why should he have been allowed to resign rather than be fired? Lets see, he was arrested in Sept. 2015, pleads guilty, wasn't fired in 2015, but given stipulations that he didn't follow, and he found an attorney that thinks the University should pay him??? That is one of the reasons some people have lost respect for our legal profession. He claims he missed classes because he had a doctors appointment. Which College professor teaches class from 8AM to 5PM daily?? He should be able to schedule his medical appointments around his classes. The reason some thought he should be allowed to resign is so he might find a job somewhere else where they don't do a thorough background check. Employers often cite the data privacy act when asked for details of a former employee so he might be able to find a new job and continue his miserable and dangerous conduct while getting paid. This guy is one of the reasons some criticize our teachers/professors. He should have been fired in 2015 after given due process when he admitted he was driving drunk on a morning he was scheduled to teach a college class. You can't make this stuff up. I wonder if the committee members would have recommended they allow him to resign had their family members been killed when he was driving drunk.

He doesn't have to do pull ups, he needs to skate and score. He has shown he can do that. He will need to get stronger but I doubt anyone cares that much about his pull ups. I believe that most coaches at the HS and Pro levels are more concerned about his core strength, reflexes, quickness, speed and toughness. HS hockey players at a lot of schools don't do a good job of getting in the weight room. I think that is one of the reasons Hakstol wanted kids to stay out for football instead of play hockey year round. Most HS HS FB teams get their kids in the weight room.

For what ? Moser kid from Perham maybe.

I think Poolman's play speaks louder and better than his comment about "hopefully". I believe Gardner and Poolman will make excellent team leaders regardless of who wears the A or the C. The best leaders keep most of what they say behind closed doors addressed to their team/family. We may want to be part of the inside circle and we get bits and pieces but the fact of the matter is we don't really know based on what we hear from friends or what we read or hear from the media. I might be wrong but I think these guys will wear the C/A and both are excellent choices.

Touché . This didn't used to happen at UND games and shows the same lack of class we are complaining about except the " who's he? he sucks s____" is worse and makes our students sound like ignorant morons instead of the hockey savvy fan base we are known for. With the success of our program, we are going to get kicked when we are down. Solution is what Dick Vinger, the GF Central BB coach used to say: "When you win say little, when you lose say less" then recover and get back up on top of the college hockey world. St. Could is very good and they have fans who are dumb asses just like we do, who show the same lack of class our fans do when other teams lineups are announced.

Any college coach who would consider "politics" when they decide who plays shouldn't be coaching. Their careers depend on success of their team. Who comes up with this stuff???

That sounds like the crap we here from parents of Pee Wee and high school teams. Anyone who thinks a coach at this level is going to play a guy cuz of who his Dad is hasn't a clue. Whether or not you agree with the coaches decision to play a kid is another matter, but you lose credibility when you believe anything so stupid.

Keep this crap off the fan board. None of our business regardless of the facts and too many rubes on this board know someone who heard something and pretty soon we are talking about it. When you have 25 guys who are together as much as these guys are, they will have issues off and on. Team captains need to stay on top of relationships between teammates. Happens on HS teams, college teams and pro teams. If we don't know that, we haven't played on a team that spends this much time together.

Keep rumors off our fan board.

Doesn't matter, they won Gold. Hakstol's players liked him and respected him but didn't win a National Championship so obviously, how the players feel must not be important. On the other hand maybe you can be a great coach and your teams don't win a title or you can be not such a good coach and win Gold. Go figure.

I thought all that mattered with coaching was Championships??? Some folks here claimed Hakstol's teams hadn't won a National title, so he wasn't a good coach. We only count "Natty's". With that line of thinking, in Staubers world they only count " Gold's". I would think based on that criteria, those same people would want Stauber to keep coaching. I thought he was an idiot not to have played the twins in the third or paired them in OT. Not to have them shoot in the 5 shot shootout didn't make sense to me. Now that he has won Gold I guess I am the idiot because that is the only criteria some think we judge a coach on. Stauber obviously proved me wrong.

Burgum is an NDSU guy. He also loaded his committee to review the SBoHE with NDSU people.

Will they pull her scholarship for this???

Heidlebaugh wasn't. They talked about him as an athlete from the beginning and a possible TE.