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#20 Keaton Verhoff, D (2026 NHL Draft "I know it was against Denmark, but… maybe Canada should keep Verhoeff in for another game. He looked confident, and while his positioning was a bit suspect at times, I thought he made a positive impact just about every time he hit the ice. He kept playing more and more as the game wore on and I feel like he was Canada’s best defenseman in the third period. It’s not easy stepping into game action midway through and thriving, so I liked him today." ________________________ If anyone knows his TOI tonight, please post it.

Saw an "*" by Michigan St. & Michigan in the NPI listings. They're the only 2 teams thus far that have used this grace feature. It means: *Team's NPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating weak opponent.

You know you've gotten a good player when you win a recruiting battle with DU, seeing as Carle has a knack for bringing in winners. Plus he's projected as a mid- to late-rounder, meaning there's a good chance he'll be around for 3-4 years & won't require a boatload of NIL money before he steps on campus.

Klimpke probably verballed before the season is over because it sounds like he'll be completing his 4-year commitment with Saskatoon; or until he ages out. Others, like Carels & Lin who are projected 1st-rounders & who will be leaving their CHL clubs early, will wait until their respective seasons are over.

Interesting, in the article it stated that Cooper Williams & Klimpke, teammates in Saskatoon, will likely come to UND together in the fall of 2027. Thought previously that Williams was coming in next year.

Augustana drops in NPI from 11 to 17 after loss to Omaha at home.

They both came from junior programs & are quite familiar with that style; so that shouldn't be a reason. Maybe it's either nerves from being on the big stage or a developmental issue (game hasn't slowed down for him yet). Will see tomorrow if Verhoeff looks more comfortable in the second exhibition game.

If Carels wants to come to UND, pretty sure the coaching staff will roll out the red carpet & make room for him.

It looks like he'll have to wait a few days to see whether Dickinson joins the team. A little surprised Carels & MacKenzie looked more comfortable out there compared to Verhoeff, considering Verhoeff has had 2+ months of faster & stronger competition in the NCAA compared to them. Maybe it was first-game jitters or Carels & MacKenzie are a little further along in their (mental) development of seeing the game better.(interesting that the 2 D from the NCAA--Verhoeff & Smith--had the weakest showings last night compared to the other D who are mostly in the CHL). From what I've read, Verhoeff is still raw, & 3 more months of college hockey probably won't be enough time for him to be NHL-ready. Will see in the next exhibition if was just a case of nerves in his first game or if he's a little behind the other D in terms of development. At any rate, regardless if he makes the team & is mostly a healthy scratch, he's still gaining valuable experience which will help his time with UND in the second half.

Would be more beneficial for NHL scouts to have Verhoeff make the team over Smith, so they can see how he performs in the most pressure-filled games of his young career in front of all of Canada before his draft. To see how much value their future widget could bring to their team. Provided that he performs well in the exhibitions, of course. Plus he's a R-shot which would balance their lines more (Smith is an L-shot).

Line-up for Canada-Sweden game: F McKenna-Hage-Martin Bear-Reschny-Cootes Desnoyers-Luchanko-Greentree Vanacker-O'Brien-O'Reilly D MacKenzie-Parekh Aitcheson-Verhoeff Reid-Smith Carels G George (full game) _________________________________________ UND's contingent will no doubt be treating it more than just an exhibition. Some players who are locks, like Martone, aren't playing.

Not sure where you're getting that, maybe you meant to say Sam Dickinson from the Sharks, who still haven't decided if they'll loan him out. From the article, it sounded like MacKenzie, Carels & Reid all had a better chance at making the team over Verhoeff; which would be somewhat surprising, as Verhoeff has had 2+ months of better competition than those three. In an interview a couple days ago, MacKenzie was described by the team's defensive coach as being a complete player, quite the praise; whereas Verhoeff was described as a mature player who is {insert compliments here} but could polish his game some more. Reading between the lines from that coach's statements, it sounds like MacKenzie may be further along in his development than Verhoeff at this point. Snippet from the article: "On the back end, Jackson Smith and Keaton Verhoeff are the most likely to be cut. I’d guess that Smith is more likely the odd-man out (Canada has five lefties and four righties in camp, and so cutting Smith would give the team an even split), but it also sounds like they think Verhoeff has some work to do to polish his game, and he turned over some pucks in the scrimmages this week."

And MI would be 4 under the PWR. At a glance, it appears that the teams with the most significant drops in the top 16 after the conversion to NPI are UND & Northeastern; who fell from 13 to 17. Both teams lost to ECAC schools, UND to Clarkson & Northeastern to Harvard.

UND is carrying 15 F this year. If they go with the same # next year & no one transfers out or leaves early, that would leave the following: Bottom 9: 7 locks: Kernan, Croal, Littler, Klee, Zakreski, Menghini, B Schultz, (2 of the following: A Schultz, Andrew, Sanderson, Williams, O'Neill, Pilgrim) Top 6: Swanson, Josephson, Zellers, Reschny, Simpson, (high-end transfer transfer/CHL) I put Williams in the bottom 9 because, according to @beastandco 's synopsis of Schlossman's podcast yesterday, it sounded like UND would be looking for a F from the portal or CHL who could play up in the line-up, & that wouldn't be Williams, because Williams was mentioned separately as maybe coming. Granted, this is a very rough draft, & projected rosters like this today can mean nothing at this level come April. But there's quite a logjam for the bottom 9 as it currently stands.