sagard

This sounds a lot like the position Paul Martin was in last year. There isn't going to be enough money offerred to make the decision a no-brainer ala Parise, but it may be his best chance to compete on even footing for a roster spot. If he goes back to UND and others come in and play well, he may not see NHL ice nearly as quickly. In my opinion that is what led to Martin's signing.

I think the whole original six thing is a joke as well. Primarily due the fact that the NHL had been playing games and Stanley Cup championships for over 25 years before the "original" six formed the league. I'd say the "pre-expansion" six would be a lot more fitting. Funny how things looked originally. http://nhl.com/hockeyu/history/fstand10s.html

Mix in some crucial injuries and you could be sitting at 2-7-1. The humanity! I wouldn't sweat it though, the Sioux will likely be as good or better next year than this past season. Nobody needs to worry about the Sioux overall schedule strength next year, three games on the road with the eastern power houses is certainly a good non-conference schedule. And it give the Sioux a good chance to earn the RPI "bonus points."

Gwozdecki (sp) seems like a solid coach. He does not seem like he will ever lose any games for the Pioneers. The WCHA is absolutely loaded with quality coaching right now. Here they are in general order. Blais/Lucia - Both have multiple WCHA League/WCHA Tourney and NCAA titles. Gwozdecki - Has at least one WCHA League/WCHA Tourney and NCAA title. Owens/Sandelin - Both have had success and great teams. Dahl/Jutting/Hill/Eaves - Eaves looks poised to get to the Owens/Sandelin group. Mich Tech's coach. I'm guessing Dahl and Jutting will still put out decent teams every now and then, but it is going to be a lot tougher with UM/UND/UW all paying attention. Not to mention UMD/DU/CC. Of course Hill takes UAA to the Final Five for the first time as well. As good as the players are in the WCHA, the coaching is every bit as good.

We will see how this plays out. In '05-'06 Murray/Stafford and Potulny/Irmen will likely be the best players on their respective teams.

Come on, your selling us short! Look at the right hand column! I'm clearly in a 22 way tie for #142. I rock. And you, a dominating performance leading to a strong 34 way tie for 107th. Oh well, like the teams we root for I've got a lot of offseason work to do if I want to remain an elite prognasticator.

I think this DU is taking far too much crap for being a trap/clutch/grab team. This team was not like the thugs of two years ago in the games I watched them. Teams would frequently put up 30+ shots on Berkoel. In fact, in WCHA play only the bottom three AA, MSU and MTU gave up more goals. To me the boring trap teams this year were CC and UW. DU did play tenacious defense in the tourney and certainly got extremly "lucky" with opposition goals being waved of in both the semi-final and the finals. The only game in their tourney run I got the impression they were playing a superior opponent was the UND game. These guys just stepped it up and capitalized on the breaks they received.

Does anyone have Maine or DU? If so, kudos.

The only way that it would make any sense is if his "family advisor" has a commitment from a NHL team to draft him in the top ten. If he waits and performs well, he will no doubt improve his draft position.

I knew the UMD radio guy should have kept his mouth shut about the 25-0-1 record when leading going into the third. I just UMD could have had that effort against the Gophs, instead of the dominant one they displayed in GR.

I was totally with you. Let me know when you find some good crow and I'll take my turn.

I think you guys are over simplifying the situation. If Blais/Lucia/Red/Eaves or anyone makes an unconditional verbal offer of a scholarship to a player for a season, it should be honored. In this case, I highly doubt the offer was completely unconditional. I suspect that the Sioux are basically full with or without Greene next year and that we have only heard and will only hear one side of the story due to restrictions on talking about recruits. My fellow Gopher fans would be wise to hold their toungues as the Gophers are recruiting more and more young players and things may not always work out with all of them.

This is a sad situation for all parties. To me it all comes down to what was promised by each side which few people outside the principles will likely ever know. If Blais promised this kid a scholarship position for '04-'05, in return for a verbal commitment to play hockey at UND, Blais should honor that commitment. He can certainly advise the kid to play another year of juniors, and/or make it clear to him that scholarships are on a year-to-year basis and give other hints that he really needs to work harder. But in the end if Blais promised the kid a 50% scholarship for a year, he should live with it. Now if what was really on the table was an offer to play at UND in '04-'05 if some early departures occur, and '05-'06 if everyone returns and no scholarship details discussed, then certainly UND has some leeway. I don't and won't really know what the offer was or is, but if Blais starts doing this other coaches will follow if they haven't already. I really wish NCAA hockey would move away from verbal commitments, let the kid make his decision with two or three LOIs in hand.

Toot toot. I'll pat myself on the back for this one. Sometimes the fans of the team I cheer for can be sooooo predictable.

Parise being an NHL player, I would think would be prohibited from playing minor league hockey in the Devil's system during the lockout. I really don't have any idea though.

Shep- All your points are good points for those who are border line. Parise like P. Martin and D. Hale will never see minor league ice unless there is a lockout next year. Even then, I'm guessing he is a player that would be considered "locked out".

I sure hope this clown is a Gopher troll who know's of a verbal.

Not only that, but remember '01-'02 and the eight seed for the WCHA playoffs. Sure Zach left before winning a title, but if Murray, Stafford and Smaby lead the Sioux to a title, Zach certainly will have contributed.

Your probably right, it seems everyone else shares your opinion. I'm just spoiled from watching Leo and Martin. Those two guys were just as good without the puck as they were with it, and I just don't feel that way with Ballard.

I made the initial comparison between Ballard with Roche, Crowley and Murphy. I stand by it. The only thing Ballard has on those guys is about 15lbs, if you believe the current heights and weights provided by the Gophs. I'm a huge fan of Ballard, but I truly only think he has around a 25% chance of playing in the NHL. His defensive play has not dramatically improved as I hoped it would this season. Maybe next year. Also, if guys like the above would have a place in the NHL, the game would be a lot more entertaining.

I wouldn't read to much into his statement. His comment about the 1980 Olympic comparison was way overblown, don't let this go that direction. He realizes that his NHL career may not have started this year had UND advanced, so he is making the best of what had to be a heartbreaking loss. He is only nineteen and doesn't think about all the ways his words will be interpreted.

I think it will truly depend on how each organization feels about Ballard and Vanek. If those two are truly viewed as future stars, the teams may pay up now in hopes of retaining them long term. They are both top 11 draft picks, so I doubt the money is really going to be that different, especially in Vanek's case. I can't tell what to make of Ballard getting traded twice. He either is coveted by many or his current teams don't think he will ever be worth #11 pick money. I'm really not sure, but in my opinion similar but better players such as C. Murphy, T. Roche and M. Crowley never made it so I don't have that much faith that Ballard will make it. My guess is that Vanek will go play professionally somewhere next year, and Ballard may be sent back to the Gophers. Not really his choice.

I completely agree with this. For the Gophers Grant Potulny will go down as one of the greatest Gophers ever. Many other far more talented Gophers will come and go, few if any will accomplish what GP did.

The Virg's picks were worse than mine! Not by much. http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/s...ota/8280023.htm He did pick Maine, but he had that bracket wrong.

I fully expect Ballard and Vanek to leave if they are offered.