crosby_87

Agree with the Schneekloth thing. For whatever reason, I never really liked him.

Who are some juniors coming up that should be high up in stats or good defensemen or goalies next year that are juniors this year?

I liked Kevin Spiewak a lot too. Great speed, incredible worker.

Well said, I agree. Once again, to any Team ND boys reading this, congratulations guys.

It was also nice to read in the Bismarck Tribune that Air Force helped Jacques find Northern Michigan. After they rejected him at least they helped him out by talking to other teams.

Jonathan Toews is my most liked because he's so damn good. He is honestly the best all around freshman I have ever seen play at UND(sorry Zach and TJ). Andy Kollar is my most hated because, well, he just sucked. He looked like a Bantam B goaltender some games.

Piper I got two words for you. Holy, Cross. Nice to see you're pretty worried about a game that happened over a year ago. Oh by the way, congratulations on the 4th place finish. That banner should look nice in Mariucci.

Nope I never took any shots at how poorly i thought the team would do. How would I know how they would do, I've never seen them play or any of the other teams they were going to play. I wasn't there for the tournament so I didn't know how the game went. I think this is great for ND hockey. They took 2nd and that is just great. The 2nd best team in the country at that tournament, that's just awesome. I wasn't trying to put down how good team North Dakota did. But I know for a fact I never put the team down before the tournament. I just think that they would have won if they had that extra bit of offense in the guys I listed earlier. I might be wrong though because I don't know how that would effect team chemistry and we all know you need to have some role players on any team who will give up their body for the team. Sorry you took my statement the wrong way.

Well I guess that's nice to hear. Nice job guys. Looks like they set a new standard for North Dakota high school hockey. These guys probably would have won if weisgarber and galt and tom campbell and willert were on the team. But they did good with what they had.

I'll try to paraphrase the interview: HF: Was it tough to choose between college and major juniors JT: Wasn't sure what he wanted to do until the last minute and looked at the pro's and cons. Talked with friends. Very tough decision. He liked being a student-athlete and wanted to continue. HF: Why did you choose North Dakota JT: It's two hours from home, easy for his parents to watch. Likes the coaches and great opportunities. Had 8 or 9 guys that he gelled with that went to Shattuck. HF: What's it like playing with Lee, Stafford, Zajac, 1st round picks? JT: Sort of Nervewracking in the summer last year and wanted to try his best to get ice time. Thinks he earned his ice time. Helps when you have older guys to teach you. HF: What expectations did you have for the year? JT: I view myself as an offensive player who can play both ends of the rink and be a reliable player. From the start of the season til christmas he wanted to score about a point per game. After the WJC's I had a great rest of the season. He exceeded his expectations. HF: What type of role will you take next year since Zajac is gone? JT: As a young guy this year all he had to do is go out and play. He wants to have a bit more of a leadership role and make big plays and get physically bigger and stronger. HF: Coming out party was at the U-17's, and won Tournament MVP. How much did that tournament help? JT: It was a great experience. First time wearing the Canada Jersey. Had a good team. One of those tournaments where all the best players your age are there. Tons of players that will be playing in the NHL were there. He met a lot of good friends there. HF: Same with the world juniors? What did you think of your role there? JT: It was such a good time. Nobody expected us to go that far. They believed in themselves. Everyone expected US and Russia in the gold medal but they stuck to what Coach Sutter told them to do. They stuck together and played their roles. It is his best hockey memory so far. HF: Are you excited that you can have 1 or 2 more trips to the WJC's? JT: Looking forward to it next year. May not be the same since it won't be in Canada, but I'm looking forward to it. HF: How would you describe your style of play? JT: He loves to score and set goals up. Work hard in the corners. I'm not a big hitter but I want to work on that. I want to take care of business in the defensive end. HF: I saw you were a +20 this year. JT: I had to be much more responsible the second half of the season. HF: Do you view your draft status as training motivation? JT: Anything can happen on draft day. It definetely motivates me to keep working. I'm looking forward to it. HF: Do you look at where you will end up, seeing where you will spend the next 10 or 20 years? JT: Always dream of playing in the NHL but don't know where you're going. I am very excited and we'll see what happens. HF: You were born and raised in Winnipeg, was it tough to see the Jets leave when you were young. JT: I was always a big fan of Wayne Gretzky and when the Kings would come to town I would love to watch. So it's too bad when they left. HF: Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup. JT: Maybe Calgary, Detroit, or Carolina. HF: Thanks for doing this Jonathan. JT: No problem, my pleasure. Comment from the interviewer-"He already interviews better then most NHL'ers"

Toews coming right up.

Also they have had this "pick the prospect" game going on where they give hints, and after two hints i'm almost positive it's Drew Stafford. They said "He was taken in the first round, his team that drafted him is still alive, and he has played 3 years in the NCAA"

They have talked about him a couple times though regarding the draft.

C-Fabian A's-Bina, Porter

Jonathan Toews will be talked to on Hockey's Future Radio today at 2 PM central time to talk about a variety of subjects.

I have no idea what Jack is doing, but Carolina can't be too happy with him. I think him being at Michigan AGAIN will hinder his development. That's very questionable.

St. Louis, Please take Kessel. Thank you.

Oshie and Toews were linemates for a bit. I don't remember how they did. But I'm guessing if Chicago picks Toews it has nothing to do with Porter. Porter will never make the NHL(IMO), but I hope I'm wrong about that.

I expect this team to be awesome next year. So many talented freshman, now with experience . I would say that can only mean good things.

Really nobody knows I don't think. He wasn't suppose to be one of the big time recruits we brought in. Sure he was good, but THIS GOOD? I'm sure Lucia had an eye on him, but Warroad is only 2 hours from Grand Forks so I'm sure that factored in. Probably just a personal preference is all.

Jonathan was better than his brother at the same age though.

Great work, great read. I just want to point out what I think on some of the things. First, you ripped off Kozek by giving him a 6 on physicality. He was one of the hardest hitters all year, I would have given him a 9. Love your 4th line there. This line would be a high scoring, huge hitting, very very fast line. The only thing I have questions on is if the coaches will give Kozek a look on one of the scoring lines. I wouldn't mind switchting Porter and Kozek. I think Kozek has more offensive skills then Porter, but Porter is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. I would give Porter about a 4 in the Playmaking department. Hakstol is going to have a tough job putting these lines together and get the proper mix of skill and hitting. I am very excited for the upcoming season. I would have the 3rd line as Fabian-Watkins-Kaip and a 4th line of Vande Velde-Zajac-Porter. I think those look about right.

Parise-Unknown Stafford-Buffalo or their farm club Spirko-Slovakian pro league This is where they would play. I don't think Spirko will be leaving though. I do think the other two will.

God I hope he recovers...he's got about 4 or 5 months to recover so I would think he'll be good to go.

Haha I'm going to play the Devil's advocate and say HE IS GOING! I don't want him to either, but there's no way he stays.