Just Curious

Going back to the local talent, I also haven't heard much about Jeff Foss from Moorhead. I see he recently signed to the USHL for after the high school season. He's listed pretty high on Heisenburg's site, so I would have thought we would have heard something by now. I think that the Wurden/Foss combo would be a great 1-2 punch on the blueline for alot of clubs. I know UND is low in available spots, especially with an extremely young corp of D-men, so I am most likely wasting my time; still it will be interesting to see where those 2 end up.

Does anybody know if Danny Wurden is on anybody's radar for 2008 or 2009. I know, I know the comment about him being local being the only reason I am asking, but the Fargo Forum ran a nice article on him the other day and he is getting some attention from the NHL and going to the USHL after the state tourney. Good 2-way player, being a defensemen with some offensive weapons, could be a good addition to any DI team I think. Any info out there on where he is leaning and who is looking at him?

I had really wanted a USHL team in Fargo the years I went to school there. Now though I am concerned about the survival of both the FM Jets and the USHL team. Are there plans to get rid of the Jets? Good to see Fargo get a decent arena for junior hockey and see Blais back in the region though, I hope it all works out.

There are separate audio and video links when the page pops up, click on the second one down and that should be the video one. Last time I looked they weren't labeled, but one is audio one is video.

This probably belongs or already is in another thread, but Heisenberg has reported that Cichy has left the development team and may or may not be headed for the QMJHL "Finally, North Dakota recruit Mike Cichy has indeed left the NTDP program. I just emailed Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, and he confirmed it, though he wasn't entirely convinced that he was going to the QMJHL. More should be known by the end of the day." http://westerncollegehockey.blogspot.com/ What does this mean for his future at UND??

Don't be so sure about UND making the NCAA playoffs. I am not trying to be a nay-sayer or imply that the team doesn't have the talent. With the automatic bids and teams in other conferences playing as well as they are UND could be left out. Mankato and Duluth won't score to many pairwise points, even if UND sweeps them, which isn't a lock. St. Cloud and Denver will be tough, and it will probably take 6 of 8 points there to help UND out. This year has seen teams separated by far less than previous years and the WCHA is not dominating in all aspects as well. The other conferences have some tough competitors out there and they will continue to challenge UND for a spot. Now, that being said I still do think UND will make it, but I would not go around calling it a lock by any means.

You gotta remember how hostile the crowd was to Lammy last year when they played there. This is just his payback, while not the most classy thing to do, its understandable.

Whoever is working on the Bina goal movie will get it up when they get it up, please don't upset them and ruin it for all of us. We will be patient and enjoy it when its up.

I apologize if this has been posted elsewhere, and also I am not supplying direct links; but if you go to YOUTUBE and search for 2007 NHL Young Stars, you can view both of Zach's goals and his pre and post game interviews. He basically dominates the Young Stars video clips available so far.

Does anyone have any details about Gregoire's injury? All that I heard was that is was lower body, but he was out for an awful long time. Good to see him back though, 10 points in the 5 games he's played in this year (not sure if that counted last night's game) that is pretty good. Is he still on everyone's radar, or will the injury set him back a year? Has he made any visits?

Even though UND got swept, I saw alot of positives from the games this weekend (namely Saturday). Some of the other players picked up their game and both games had extended periods of great and dominating play. Had a lesser goalie been in the net rather than Elliot, things would have most likely come out in UND's favor. I think that loosing some players to the junior's is a good thing. It gives some of the other guys a chance to prove themselves, for example, Hunter Bishop didn't dress all weekend, and in my opinion he has showed some real presence the chances he has gotten in previous series. He is a hard working, physical forward that will most likely produce some turnovers in the opponents end. Martens played great on Saturday and even though he didn't put up any points, he worked hard and had some chances. The massive amount of negativity on this board lately has made me physically ill. I didn't know Sioux fans were just fair-weather. I know the team doesn't read this board, but you have to think that they hear it second hand, and personally if I were a player and heard some of these comments I would be saddened. Fact of the matter is all of these boys have more talent than anybody on this board (or you would still be playing and not watching). We should support UND through the good and bad and keep hope alive. They have the talent, its just a matter of time before it comes together. Maybe we have a losing season, maybe we don't; but that shouldn't affect our support. Wisconsin was a much better team than their record, so I don't think the sweep is horrible, I mean I would have liked to see some points, but its not the end of the world. All this talk of firing coaches and cutting players is ridiculous, I think we forget these at 17-20 year old kids that will make mistakes from time to time. That being said, I think Tech is having more problems than UND right now, so I am optimistic that UND will come out of this next weekend with 4 points and the surprising play from some players that we didn't expect it from.

I have tried to hold back for the most part, and I will acknowledge up front that my own personal bias is going into this, but here it goes...... There are alot of people who are eager to place blame on one or two individuals for the poor play of the team. Granted there are those that are pointing out overall weaknesses, and I agree with those people. First, I will start off by defending Lammy. While he is not playing the best hockey he has ever played, he is also not playing poor hockey. Recapping the 4 goals allowed last night: 1st goal- Lammy makes a good save on a puck that he didn't see till the last minute, he was screened by a Wisconsin player and 2 of his own guys. The rebound that popped out should have been cleared, but Porter basically fanned on it. Allowing the goal on the rebound. 2nd goal - Bad luck, Lammy was in position and played it textbook, but it trickled funny and went through his arm, these things happen. 3rd goal- this is the only goal that really should not have happened. A 3 on 1 isn't a good situation, and you have to balance your focus between the guy with the puck and his options. Hindsite is 20/20, but I know many great goalies that would have played it the same way. 4th goal - wow---just really poor defense. Lammy makes a good initial save, but the D just couldn't help him out there, two defensemen miss opportunities to get Ford away from the net. Bottom line, not a bad performance, but also not outstanding. I think he was pulled to shake up the team, not because Hak didn't have faith in him. I thought offensively UND played outstanding most of the night, facing a defensive team with an outstanding goaltender. Defensively the team was poor and made bad judgements, didn't hustle, and took stupid penalties. I think that Hak saw this because he started to play with D-men combinations, usually he just mixes up the forward lines. Instead of trying to call out individual players for poor performances, which may or may not be valid, especially coming from a group of individual's who may or may not know anything about hockey, its time to recognize that only a few individuals are giving their all. I would say that Oshie, Duncan, and Bina right now are the only players that are really pushing themselves. They always hustle and 99% of the time play physical two-way hockey. Overall the team needs to find its spark, its motivation. Players are bond to make a mistake or two in games, no one is perfect, but its how you shake off those mistakes and atone for them that really matters. This team might need to lose a few more games until they reach that desparation point. Personally I think they can do it, but its up to them not us. Let the coaches and players do their jobs. I have not given up on the fact that I will be watching UND in the NCAA tourney.

I would tend to lean toward the fact that UND may not have really "lost" the recruiting battle to UW (if indeed Murray commits) but more that UND in a sense beat themselves. I think with all the new recruits of high end talent that UND will probably start to look less attractive to players who either don't want to wait a year or think that they should be on the first 2 lines with lots of playing time immediately. Bottomline is that there is only so much room (talent level regardless) and that at some point we just can't take anymore.

Is there any concern that while the Sioux are there playing that there may be some negative acts visited upon the team? I wonder if the team is going to bring extra security, I hope that Dartmouth students show some respect to the individuals on the team.

From "southpaw" in response to my original post "perhaps we can bring him in for the 2nd half of the season, since so many fans want grieco cut. once hakstol realizes that grieco sucks and cuts him in the next week, then we'll need a third goalie to play behind walski. the goalie must also be a local talent, because i don't think we've ever had a goalie do well when they're not a local kid." I am not sure how this reply needed to have my original post quoted since it did not mention Grieco, put ok. My post was meant for a third goalie for when Lammy leaves, not saying we should boot Grieco. I said 2008 because that is when the kid will graduate, but as I stated in my original post, I think he needs a year in the USHL to build, which means the earliest I would say he should be at any D1 school is 2009....... and guess what, that is when UND will be looking for a 3rd goalie b/c they loose Lammy to graduation. Next time you feel you need to vent, either choose an appropriate post to quote or read the post thoroughly before you fly off the handle.

Does anyone know if UND has been keeping an eye on Sean Diechart of Fargo South for a possible 2008 goaltender? Yeah I know, I know, he's a local kid and that is the only reason I bring him up right......well kinda, but he had an outstanding performance against White Bear Lake last night, shuting down several D1 recruits allowing only 1 goal on 36 shots. He is a senior this year, but would need at least a year in the USHL. He has been a very solid goaltender for South and with some work could make the jump.

Again, I don't want to sound like I am routing for the local boys, only b/c they are local, but...... Last Friday I saw Jordan Willet play for TriCity when they played Sioux City, he didn't have a great game stats wise, but he played very good two-way hockey. I thought he was one of the better players on that team. He is still listed as one of the good recruits out there, but to my knowledge he hasn't committed anywhere yet. I know we have alot of talent already and more to come, but I think he would be a great pickup for 08 if he was interested in waiting another year. He could turn into a solid, 4 year player that could possibly anchor and lead an organization with lots of talent that doesn't stick around more than 2 years at a time. Just a thought.

UNDintheNHL its called sarcasm....look it up!!!!!!!!

I agree its a little too early to get really concerned. I think the coaching staff will work on some lineup changes, which will hopefully start to put some more points on the board. I am concerned with the defense. For as much "talent" as we have on the blueline, they sure aren't playing like it. We can't go all year giving up 30+ shots a game. Nothing against the Seawolves, but if there was a team in the WCHA that they should have been able to defensively stiffle, it was them, and yet they allowed around 25-30 shots both games. I think if they can tighten their belts defensively, mix up the lines, and start cycling the puck around the boards like UND is famous for, things will turn around. Only time will tell.

So, this is slightly off topic, but I was looking at the NHL NA rankings that went out recently and I noticed that Jordan Willert is ranked in the 'B' players, which is still pretty good. Anyone know if any D1 schools are looking at him as it currently shows him not committed to anywhere. It would be nice to see a native ND player make good. And I am not saying the Sioux should be recruiting him simply b/c he is native, I just wonder if they looked at him or who has looked at him. His stats are similar to Mario's.

I am sure Hak will take Lammy's health into consideration, but I have a feeling that the goalies' performance in practice is going to be the deciding factor. Personally, I would like to see Lammy get the start at least Friday night, if he is healthy. I know that Grieco has played very well, but I don't know if he is ready to be the go to guy right now, like Lammy is if he's healthy.

I never imagined that the few comments I made would set off such a debate. I have never once tried to imply that only USHL has good players, as I stated in my last post, there are great players in every league and all the leagues possess a good amount of talent. My main point was that overall, the USHL is a more competitive league. That is to say if you took an average talent player from the USHL, he would generally be a better player than the average player from other junior leagues in the US. Also, that on average the speed of the game and the play are a little better in the USHL, again there are exceptions both ways, I am not taking that away. But SkateShattrick, I think if you expect me to accept your exceptions to the trends you should be willing to consider mine. You can throw all the names at me you want to, and you may have your points, but I also have mine. I have been to games in both leagues, I grew up watching and playing hockey so I understand what I consider to be a talented player, which is not to say that I don't have my own set of criteria. Maybe with time and watching more games I will change my mind, but for now the play that I have experienced at the NAHL level is not up to par with that I have seen in the USHL. I think everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, but the numbers do not lie, and I thank those posters who have been gracious enough to supply stats to both sides of this argument. I think when it boils down, the numbers are what we need to look at and whose to say that those ratios won't change in the near future, but I stand by my original statement about the USHL vs NAHL. As far as the Fox article is concerned, you are just as capable of finding it as I am, if you think I am lying then look it up and prove me wrong.

I think the purpose of this board is to have the ability to voice your opinions even if you know that it is going to strike a nerve with some people. I have watched both USHL and NAHL games, and in my opinion, which is just my opinion, I think the USHL has an overall better talent base. I realize what the main purpose of the USHL is and that they cater to kids still in or just out of high school, looking to commit to a college program if they haven't already. As far as Fox is concerned, I took my opinion from an interview with him that I read in the Forum I think. He stated that because of playing time issues and some trouble adapting to the speed of the game he chose to leave. He did say it was his choice and he was not forced out, but he admitted to having problems at that level. I have watched Bismarck play both the jets and NDSU's club team. Now, while I admit I have never seen the Storm play, I doubt very much that the Bobcats could contend on a regular basis. Again, just my opinion, but as far as organized play and some very basic skills, I would say the Bobcats, at least the team the last 2 years, is about the level of a decent high school team, not much more. Needless to say, all those individuals are more talented than I am, and yes there are talented people in all of the leagues and personal choice factors in to the decisions this kids make, but what I caution people against is thinking that stats in one league are the same no matter where you play. The fact of the matter is that leagues, not just the NAHL and USHL are on average different caliber, and while they all may contain very talented individuals, an individuals achievements should be taken with a grain of salt. Talent is talent and that takes watching and evaluating, not just statistics.

I don't doubt that Moreland is a great player, I just don't see the Sioux saving him a spot the next year or two. He may be better off trying to get other offers. I am surprised the Sioux are looking at Phillip, he is good, but not the best player on the team. Does anyone know if Echtnernach has been looked at or is committed anywhere. I think he may be the best player on that team. Personally I would like to see all 3 in D1 hockey, just not sure its going to be in the green and white. We also need to remember, that while NAHL is junior A hockey, its not as competitive as say the USHL, look at Fox last year, who couldn't cut it in the USHL and came back to the Jets and lit it up.

The forum reported that Moreland did not have enough credits to continue to play for the Sioux. While he has been lighting it up for the Jets, I don't see him back in a Sioux uniform anytime soon, especially if we keep bringing in the talent, there just isn't room for him.