Irish

I get it now, but after last season this is exactly where we are weak. It would not have needed a smiley a few years ago, but now?????

I don't think we disagree on what we want - just slightly on how to get there. I think that we can agree that last year's team played the opposite of what you want. Play for 60 minutes? From what I saw, we set a modern day record at UND for leads given up, goals given up within a minute of scoring, and missed open nets. As for short, crisp passes - chipping it off the glass doesn't count. It sounds like almost everyone wants us to step up the recruiting from certainly the soon to be Junior class that gave us the lack of puck skills we saw up front last year. Blue Chippers by definition should have skills coming in. You don't have to look further back than the passing clinic goal against Miami to see short, crisp passes in action. Touching the puck in that sequence were Boesser and Schmaltz, two Blue Chippers, and Caggula and Stecher who seem to be the kind of player you desire. I submit that we need a mix of both and the great experiment of getting more grinders and fewer top talent because they might leave early has left us short. We need both high enders and players who develop into high enders in College. We need to recruit like we are the top program in the country (which we are). I loved Rizzo's comments about our program. Blue Chippers are certainly not all that matters, but they do matter a lot.

Rudolf somehow thinks this "strategery" will somehow flummox the defense so they won't know how to stop our 185 pound running back from going up the middle. He's a typical case of an idiot who knows just enough technical things to be a menace.

Great news - nice job staff - watch and see how much he contributes to our program. Hopefully another Boesser. Let's keep our roll going.

I'm in for Nashville

First Rounders, second rounders, third rounders - either way as long as we don't return to the "we need more grinders" philosophy that gave us our Junior class.

I don't disagree with what you are saying but I was referring to a couple of years of no Blue Chippers - 6-7 players per year times two. Do I like second rounders - absolutely. Do I want us to be a top school that top talent wants to attend because of fans, tradition, and player development - absolutely again. We need to get back on top and soon.

Don't get me wrong - I really like some of the guys we have coming in. However, by your math, if we go a couple of years without a Blue Chipper that means that the top 12 -14 rated players available during that time are going elsewhere. This is not where I think our program should be on a regular basis. We used to be one of the main "go to" schools for these guys. I hope we will be again.

Agreed that we had a spectacular D corp. However, we needed the strength up front also. Watch the title game and see the Caggula, Schmaltz, and Boesser clinic. Not only were they high end talent, but they were tenacious off the puck and worked their butts off. After last year, most fans are concerned that A - we make the tournament this year and B - we don't add a third straight year of no Frozen Four appearances. And what do us non-insiders have to talk about in the off season - recruiting. Remember, through the 16 Championship season we have had a great run of Blue Chippers. Is this the only way to measure recruiting - of course not. Have we been missing out on desired studs and losing them to other teams? - no one knows. Has the recruiting philosophy changed? No one knows. Do we have the mix that the coaches are looking for? Probably, but too soon to tell. Is it getting harder and harder to predict who will up their game in College and who will fold? Probably. My point is that during the off season this is what we have to talk about. After last season, especially up front, a reasonable conclusion is that we need to up our recruiting game. Blue Chippers are not the end all, but sometimes are seen as an indication that our program is still on top. We used to be seen as THE school to go to as a step towards the Pros. And sometimes a slow drip of Studs signing with other teams provokes an over reaction. Not every wish for some Blue Chippers is a condemnation of the players we have recruited.

I never said or implied that we were a bunch of talentless hacks. I just stated that in my opinion we need some bona fide blue chippers in our mix. We are the team of Oshie, Parise, Boesser, Toews, Schmaltz, etc. We have had numerous first rounders here (5 at one time, I believe). No reason we shouldn't continue to recruit them heavily. I like a lot of our talent coming in, but one true Blue Chipper could be the difference in a championship much like Boesser was.

We have one Blue Chipper in recent history leave after 1 - Jost. Boesser was one of the engines that drove the train to number 9. Not sure why this board has turned against getting Blue Chippers unless it is just sour grapes. High end studs need to be in our mix.

Let's get some of these guys.

The fact that this hasn't crept into Rudolph's brain so far is just unbelievable. The fact that Bubba hasn't forced it into his skull so far is even more unbelievable. Hopefully this year will be different.

Yes on rusher - we have the talent as long as we don't try to pick it up 1 yard up the middle at a time No on receiver - it would be nice though and with a new QB coming in it isn't out of reach.

I agree this was a big factor that is often forgotten - although the missed open nets alone was enough to drive me to drink.

I stand corrected, but still maintain that at times this was a tough group to watch.

You are correct on several points - we are bringing in a tremendous D corps. Having said that, I think there are some things in play that worry some fans - not saying they should be worried, but anyway - the first is the noticeable drop in drafted players - too lazy to look it up but significantly down from the championship year (which we want repeated). The second is the misfire of our soon to be Juniors - an underwhelming group. Third was the eye test - it was hard at times to watch our offense in action - we had a tough time with the puck, shooting at open nets, breaking out, and the power play. Only three forwards had a Plus rating for the season, and one was only +1. I agree that it is very hard to evaluate recruits until they have a season or two under their belts. I think we have some good talent coming in. But I think it is safe to say there is not a Jost, Boesser, or Schmaltz in the group. We are used to pulling in those surefire NHL talented kids starting with Parise and on down to Boesser. I hope we can continue.

My opinion - yes we will be better - last year was a perfect storm of injuries, lack of development for the Sophomores, locker room issues, early departures, and lack of a killer instinct/leadership. This year should be much better. As to a Natty - my opinion is we will be good in the next couple of years - especially on the defensive end - however I think we are a couple of blue chippers away from a title - think of our championship team without Boesser and Schmaltz. I think Berry needs to pull in some top talent to get us another championship - Actually, I am surprised he hasn't. Next year will still have some passengers on the roster who get us no offense at all - too many to be a serious contender in my opinion. Others on this board disagree with this assessment and think the blue chipper count is overrated. I think not - we are the team of Oshie, Toews, Parise, Schmaltz etc - and in my opinion the top program in the nation.

The decision to change a community golf course that was gifted to the University into a pasture is one of the most stupid I have ever seen. Acres of proof that those in charge of the University only listens to a few inner circle yes-men. Not much community input. Kennedy seems just fine with this decision.

Time for Kennedy to go - the board made a huge mistake hiring this self-promoting tool instead of Steven Shirley from Minot State. Under his watch anyone with any institutional memory has been unceremoniously booted - The purge is almost complete. Moral could not be lower among the faculty. No one trust the provost who self-admittedly likes to blow things up, just because. Almost every day I drive by the ultimate monument to his arrogance and stupidity - he turned a wonderful community golf course which was gifted to the University and was making money into a poorly maintained pasture. News flash - no one is building a Dinky-Town there - even if someone wanted to, an environmental study with the coolie there would take years. To start a conversation with our biggest donor with "I could sue you" would be almost funny if it wasn't so vintage Kennedy ego. Time for him to hit the road. He is so short of having the leadership our Flagship University needs it is scary.

Great - staff and players have made leadership decisions - now lets work on team unity and set the goal for #9. We need hard work and focus and are capable of doing it - hopefully ending last season early doesn't sit well with this team.

Great - A top program needs to pay top money - especially if we expect top results. A nice step forward.

In order to run the 1 yard plunge effectively and consistently you need to be able to run it from a variety of looks with a variety of different blocking schemes. Otherwise it just becomes a wasted down.

Cole Sheppard, Aiden Hreshchuk, Ryan St. Louis - so there is recruiting going on now - I was told I was an idiot when I hoped for good news on the recruiting trail.

I agree that we have some great talent in the pipeline with the d-men. Usually nothing is as good or as bad as the fan board paints it. I admit to being one who has expressed frustration with our recruiting on offense. I truly hope this idea is wrong. Where did it come from? First, looking at last year's team we had a marked decrease in the number of drafted players - I know, I know - Caggula, but no one appeared to be upping his game last year. Second, our sophomore class - with the number of early departures this group was expected to step up and fill in and for the most part was a bust. Third, the eye test - it was tough watching us fight the puck, chip it off the glass, and not be able to hold leads (to say nothing about our power play). The missing high-end skills were pretty visible. I hope this narrative is only fan over-reaction, but seeing not only Denver, but St. Cloud and Duluth pull in good talent sent a collective worry through many fans. Remember, we are used to NHL talent playing here. Could this be an over-reaction from me and other fans - sure. To be honest, we've had such a good run it is hard to know what to make of the last season. Will Berry right the ship - I really think he will. Should we as fans hope for some more firepower - absolutely.