I Ranger

I always wonder if the knee injury and surgery causing him to miss pretty much his entire freshman season really hurt his development. I was told the previous year playing for the U18 team that he was consistently the best player on the ice in games against NCAA competition. I didn't see it with my own eyes but was told by many who not only watched but played against him.

In my opinion, Olson is the first forward I would sit. Sure he brings a physical presence but to me nothing else. His skating holds him back drastically. He's the slowest guy on the ice and I thought Wilkie was starting to play quite well before his injury. Just needs to get the monkey off his back as well and pot a couple.

I was at the game last night and watched Johnson closely. Definitely a talented player and an elite skater but invisible when he doesn't have the puck. Floated back on the backcheck, did nothing in the D zone and rarely went hard after the puck on the forecheck but if he got the puck with speed through the neutral zone he was gone. Sad to say but these are habits that are built by playing inferior competition in Class A high school hockey. I think he will need to prove himself for a year or 2 in juniors and learn to play in all 3 zones to be successful at the next level. Which is what he will have to do if he wants to play in the USHL. No doubt he is a talented player though and I think he is much more talented than Loven at this point.

I will still say Jason Pominville for that prize. $5.6M cap hit for three more years for a player who should have been in the press box before Vanek and Zucker Saturday night. I hope they can buy him out after this season.

Yes I agree. I separated mine during my playing days and tried to come back after a week and got checked from behind and was out for a couple weeks after that. Even though the shoulder felt fine I was very hesitant to make any contact thinking I would reinjure it again. Not much fun.

Anyone have any insight as to the who the potential recruits on the bench before the games were this weekend? I believe there was one Friday and two Saturday.

I don't think you will see the Chyz, Simo, Pogo line broken up anytime soon.

Brad has said end of February a while back for St. Clair. Hopefully he is ahead of schedule on that timeline. On Tomek, I have not heard good things on that front.

That's not exactly lighting the world on fire in high school hockey for a possible first round pick. Tufte is 22 goals 15 assists for 37 in 12 games played for comparisons sake. Again I haven't seen him play just have heard from a few people that have.

Surprised to see Mattson jump up. I have heard he hasn't had the greatest high school season so far and has been very inconsistent.

I certainly want the US to win gold and now bronze but selfishly all I want is for Schmaltz and Boeser to come back healthy and ready for the second half! I would be alright if Wilson decided to bench the two for the third.

I wonder if having a brother playing his first professional year in the AHL after playing 3 years in college will be beneficial to Nick. I would imagine Jordan would be the first to tell him that playing in front of 12,000 a night at the Ralph is much better than a few thousand in the AHL travelling on a bus quite often. I think this could be to UND's benefit.

I think they both could use at least another year to build strength. Just look at the difference between year 1 and year 2 for Schmaltz. One year of building muscle at their age is invaluable. Boeser is extremely talented but he still gets bumped off the puck rather easily. Schmaltz is much stronger on the puck this year but another year wouldn't hurt his development.

This is my biggest pet peeve on this site. So many posters on here act as if Hak coached the team to dump and chase the puck even if they had an odd-man rush or a breakaway. Every team will dump and chase many times throughout a game. That's just the way the game is played unless you want the other team storming at your defenseman constantly throughout the game since you never get the puck in deep and keep turning it over at the red or blue lines. I don't disagree that Berry may coach with more offensive freedom but the dump and chase is all dictated by the opposition and numbers. If you don't have numbers or keep getting stood up at the blue line, the puck will need to be dumped. Berry would not be happy if our forwards kept trying to stick handle through defenseman and kept turning the puck over leading to odd-mans the other way.

Especially on the PK. St Clair is a terrific penalty killer. And will help out on one of the lower lines with his aggressive forecheck. I like his game. Simple but effective.

I hate this whole nickname fiasco but have been wondering the exact same thing (and I'm one of the non-voters because I hate how the entire process played out). How many "Fighting Hawks" voters would have voted for just "Hawks"? Let's not kid ourselves, "Fighting" is winning the nickname vote not "Hawks".

What about Kierstad? I've heard he has been turning some heads in the USHL this year but haven't seen any projections on where/if he gets drafted.

If you head over to Superior, the Thirsty Pagan is also supposed to be a good spot for pizza and local brews.

Yes that's who I was thinking of. Looks like he's only played one game so must be hurt. Wonder if he is a possibility to come in next year?

Looks like only one of the two Finn's in Sioux City would be able to come in next year as one is a 1999 and the other a 1995. Anyone here anything more on the kid who played at Maine last year and now playing in the USHL that has apparently visited already (can't remember his name)?

And the Mets were 5 games worse than KC. It's a marathon regular season but the postseason is the sprint that matters. Just get in!

I think Yon would have to come in based on his age and I think you can discard Cakebread as a commit moving forward. Can't imagine he ever makes his way to campus. I would think one of Keane and Bowen comes in next year depending on departures. I think Mattson is one of those whose draft position may dictate one way or the other where he plays next year although a full year in the USHL would be beneficial.

And he seems to be a guy the coaches trust to take faceoffs as well. I don't know how St. Clair isn't slotted in as that 4th line center/PK guy when he gets healthy. With the way injuries have gone so far, who knows what could happen by the time St. Clair gets back.

I agree as well. Lines something like Boeser-Schmaltz-Gersich, Caggs-Johnson-Wilkie, Chyz-Simo-Pogo like we had before the injuries/illness makes us more potent and deep offensively. That 3rd line could really do some damage with speed and grit. You could switch Pogo and Wilkie and get similar results. Also, Gardner seems to have played himself into the lineup. Would be interested to see who sits when everyone gets healthy. I've never been big on Sanderson so that would be my choice with JJ-Gardner-Olson on the 4th line.

I mentioned this to a buddy at the game Saturday night as well. It's the only thing I can think of illness wise and not injury wise that would keep someone out an extended period of time. Not good if this is the case.