Vegas

I suggest that Zajac gets put on the Toews/Duncan line early based on the fact that Toews and Zajac will probably have had a few skates together this summer. They may even be workout partners now that they are playing on the same team and therefore will have the same workout plan (at least you would hope that that is the case). Based on what I've heard and understand, Zajac has a mean streak which will compliment Duncan and Toews. Don't get me wrong, I like Porter a lot but I just think Hak will notice in tryouts that Zajac and Toews seem to have an understanding. I also know that Toews and the Zajac family have had a long hockey history, i.e., Toews played for Zajac's dad when he was coaching the Junior Jets in peewees. Zajac is two years older than Toews so they've never really played on the same team together but I'm sure they would have had plenty of skates together over the past few summers.

The Staal that is being referred to in this year's draft is not a defencemen. He is the younger brother of the D-man that played in the WJC. Jordan Staal is the same age as Toews and has actually played in the same league as Toews when they were bantams, i.e., the Manitoba AAA. Toews should go higher than Staal based on the fact that he has always been a superior hockey player and he did play in the WJC. Jordan Staal did not play in the WJC and has never performed at the same level as Toews when they have played with each other or against each other, whether that was in league play or at the national level. Why he is suddenly rated higher than Toews by some of these scouting organizations is beyond me.

Not related and I have never coached Jon nor do I stand to gain in anyway shape or form if Jon makes it big some day. I have ties to several people that have coached or played with Jon and I know based on their comments what a tremendous young man he is. Bottom line is that "Skill and Will" is what separates Jon and TJ from a lot of other guys. I don't just comment on Jon by the way. There are other kids that I have suggested through these posts who should be considered as future Fighting Sioux. Again, I may have some insight because I do hear and see a lot of these kids at the rinks and do talk to their coaches and peers from time to time.

Toews is from Canada and was born in 1988 which means that kids born in 1988 are his peers. You don't normally have someone born in 1987 in the same grade as someone born in 1988 Canada. The only way that happens is if the kid was held back or his parents specifically requested that their kid be started later when they first start school. Toews is probably more than 8 to 10 months younger than a lot of kids that are still in Grade 12 in the US. He was born in April. He will likely be the youngest player on next year's team as well. Toews did 3 years of high school in 2 years at Shattuck. He was a straight A student in Canada and was obviously a good student at Shattuck as well. Toews is a very special person not just a hockey player. He is a student of the game and has obviously adjusted very well. This is not unexpected by those people that know Jon. Enjoy the kid while you have him. He will more than likely be back next year but only because of his age not his talent.

Heisenberg's list has captured a good chunk of the best 1989 born Manitoban's. Shows that NCAA College Hockey is really starting to be the number 1 option for a lot of these guys since Toews decided to go that route.

I hate to post anything negative on this site but I am guessing that he will not get drafted. I love the kids enthusiasm for the game but he is a very raw defencemen at this point in time. He does not have a very good feel for reading the forecheck pressure and seems to get caught going the wrong way on several occassions. That is one of the reasons why he rims the puck more than the other D. Over time I expect that he will turn out to be a good college defensemen but Brad Barry has a lot to cover with this kid with respect to where and when to go on the ice with and without the puck.

Both Potulny and Irmen are undersized forwards when it comes to the NHL. 6 Foot and 190 plus pounds just isn't big enough unless you have skills to burn. They are both rated at 6.5 B which means they have the potential to make it but aren't expected to play on anything but the third line. Zajac and Stafford are rated at 7.0 B which means they will play on the 2nd or 3rd line. They are both 6 foot 2 and 200 plus pounds which means they are more likely to be able to handle the long season. They are also both 1 year younger than Irmen and Potulny and are on schedule to play in the AHL in their 20th year. Irmen and Potulny are a year behind most of their peers that are going to play pro hockey somewhere.

ok. Now I have to respond. Suggesting that Kessel is the best 17 year old in the world is a real stretch. First of all, Kessel isn't 17 years old. He is 18, born in 1987, which means he has one more WJC that he can attend. IMO he is likely the 3rd best 1987 born forward or 18 year old in North America at this time, right behind a guy named Crosby and Gilbert Brule of the Vancouver Giants. Only time will tell if Kessel is in the same league as Crosby and Ovechkin (who is or is approaching 20 years of age), but I am not going to hold my breath. The guy is smallish and doesn't look like he is going to get a whole lot bigger, he is relatively one dimensional, and he doesn't use his linemates effectively against better competition as witnessed during the WJC. The NHL guys study players tendencies for hours and hours. If you don't know how to use your teammates you will be dead in the water. Kessel appears to see about 5 feet in front of him, because he is looking at the D-man's feet to see how he will be able to dangle it between his stick and skates instead of seeing the entire ice surface like Gretsky and know where everybody else is. Both Crosby and Brule are shorter players with respect to NHL standards but they are not small. They have mass to them similar to St. Louis in Tampa which is what you need if you want to survive at that level and they know how to use their teammates. This is likely a result of playing against stiffer competition throughout their careers where bad habits, like holding on to the puck too long and not seeing your linemates as an option was punished.

Maygar Mauler is correct with his historical facts as posted in the above link. Magyar of course means Hungarian in Hungarian (if that makes sense). Transylvania is an extremely interesting part of the world from a historical point of view. It's basically the area were Christianity stopped the spread of Islam (Turks) and several wars were fought in that area for a couple of hundred years. The recent problems in Yugoslavia are also connected.

It's the Romanian Championship. Commentary is in Hungarian indicating that the feed is from the Hungarian part of Romania. I am betting that one of the teams is Hungarian and one is Romanian. That is why they are probably trying to beat the snot out of each other.

Noticed Justin Guttek on this site and he is still available: Justin Guttek-D Salisbury Prep 5'10 185 2-8-88 2004 Western U-17 Team Extremely good skating defencemen. A little on the small side but can beat just about any forecheck you can throw at him. I'm sure Toews would love to play with one of his old teammates.

Toews has been a center since he was 6 years old. The first part of this year was probably his first real experience at the wing position and it showed based on what I observed. He seemed tentative and was not really himself, especially in his own end. He is much more comfortable at center as shown from his most recent statistics. It will be interesting to see how he does in the playoffs. Jon is a very determined young man. He apparently had a slow start at Shattuck when he went there at 15 years of age. He turned it on at the end of the season and finished with just over 110 points as a 15 year old playing AAA midget. Shattuck, however, did not win the national championships in his first year and I can tell you that he was not going to let that happen again. The following year he led Shattuck to the national championship as a 16 year old. Enjoy Jon while you have him because he is a very special player.

Jason Gregoire is from Winnipeg. He was Colin Wilson's teammate in AAA Bantam. Jason was the leading scorer on that AAA team and is maybe a shade better than Colin Wilson who is also a very talented young player.

Great goal by Kozak. Fantastic break-in. Force the guy to commit then send it to the slot. Get away before the goalie can adjust. Super!

Toew's quality is starting to show now that he is playing his natural position. I think he is going to be amazing next year.

Got another potential recruit for UND for 2008. Heard it through some older teammates that Jason Gregoire has indicated that he is interested in going the US College route. He is a 1989 born Winnipeger currently playing for the South Winnipeg Blues Junior Team in the MJHL. Jason has 45 points in 50 games (22 goals and 23 assists). He has gained a great deal of respect from some of his older teammates who think he is a fantastic teammate with a great down to earth attitude. That should sound familiar to some UND fans, i.e., Zajac and Toews. If UND could recruit both Jason and Colin Wilson that would be 2 out of the top 3 1989 born forwards out of Manitoba going to UND. Not a bad recruiting record and it would certainly send a message to Major Junior Hockey in Canada that they may have to start trying a little harder if they expect to keep these top recruits.

I take the ISS rankings over McKean's any day based on what I know about these guys and how they have actually performed against one another. Toews has always outperformed Mueller at pervious tornaments. Staal actually played in the same Bantam AAA league as Toews and although Staal was very good he was not at Toew's level. Heck, I would even rate Ryan White who plays for Calgary Hitmen ahead of Staal but that is probably based on my own bias. I just think guys that win World Championships should get the edge when rankings come out but what do I know.

Both tnt and siouxperstar are right. The defence in my opinion just seems out of sink with the forwards. The D make life difficult for themselves and the forwards by not taking that extra step or working just a little bit harder to skate to open ice and make a direct pass as opposed to a rim that forces either the forward or the D partner to fish the puck off the wall. They have to start making these simple plays or nothing good is going to happen. I also agree with tnt that the D or somebody has to move the puck to the middle in order to take a shot. The D seem very reluctant to drag the puck to the middle and actually take the shot. I know sometimes you can't shoot when guys are in the in the shooting lane but come on, some of these young D don't even go to the middle as their first option. It always seems to go back down low to the corner. Some more savy at the blue line is necessary.

Agree with this post. Picture quality has been great up here. Only get the left channel from the original broadcast but it is clear and there is no popping. Playing back the recorded game, however, will give you both channels on play back. I'm guessing that my recorder fixes the single channel to play back on both channels.

I think the St. Cloud D are better than the Sioux D at this point in time so it makes some sense that they have come in here and swept the weekend series. They have a lot more savy especially at the O Zone blue line. Everytime I watch a Sioux D at the O Zone blue line I get the feeling that they are playing with a grenade. I think the Sioux D have an awful long way to go. Hopefully they can make some progress over the next month or so but I can't see it happening.

I know most people are high on Jones for his energy but his passing in his own end has to improve. That bank pass to his partner that was 3 ft above the ice off the wall is a baisc mistake. He is also constantly rimming when he can make a direct pass. This part of the Sioux's game has to improve if they want to go anywhere.

Goalies have to stop shots from outside the dot. Lammy creates a lot of his own problems IMO. He tends to get into the blue ice too early and he also tends to hold on for a faceoff when he should get the puck moving. Having a young D doesn't help either.

Did anyone get the final scores in this tournament? I'm curious. I noticed that Shattuck lost to Team Illinois 5-4 the following day. It should also be noted that the Shattuck team is signficantly older than the Winnipeg Team. There are 5 players on Shattuck that would not be allowed to play Midget in Canada since they were born in 1987. In addition, even the best 1988's are not playing midget hockey in Canada, they are either playing Major Junior or they are playing in a Junior B circuit such as the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Kelly Zajac is a smart little hockey player, but he isn't really even in the top 5 out of the Manitoba 88's. He probably falls within the top 10 Having said that, he is one of only two or three 88's at this level who are still available for the college route. The other player that comes to mind is Justin Guttek who is playing for Shalisbury (sp?) on the East Coast. If UND were smart they would start looking for some 89's out of Manitoba that might want to consider college and make sure they don't compromise their options.

international scouting service rankings TOP 15 '06 PROSPECTS 1 E. Johnson USA 2 J. Toews UND 3 P. Kessel UMIN 4 J. Staal PET 5 P. Mueller EVE 6 M. Frolik CZE 7 N. Backstrom SWE 8 J. Sheppard CB 9 J. Degray BRA 10 B. Little BAR 11 B. Sanguinetti OWE 12 K. Okposo DSMN 13 A. Vasyunov RUS 14 D. Brassard DRU 15 N. Williams USA

No the most priceless moment was right after that when the Canadian D-man told him "Nice Move!" as he was skating to the bench