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Ten years ago, you'd probably have quality guys like Littler, Klee & Strathmann staying all 4 years at UND. Now you'll probably have 2-3 players like them entering the portal every year because they can't get the minutes they need to develop their games. Some leaving voluntarily & some probably being pushed out. All because of the flood of talent from the CHL; it's a buffet for coaches at the top schools. UND brings in a very good batch of talent every year, but some are destined to be spit out & fed to the programs lower in the food chain, while taking their top players in return. The cycle of life in D1 hockey.

From Google...Untracked:Sports (Slang): Informal usage describing an athlete or team that finally finds their rhythm or escapes a slump.

Players will be reporting to campus in the next week or so. Does anyone know if they'll stay on campus straight through to the start of the season, or is this just a temporary meet-up so the players can do some team-building activities & they'll leave again after that before school starts? Putting in Simpson as the x-factor for next year's team. The goalies, defense & bottom-six/checking lines should be fine. But to keep pace in the NPI & be a true threat in the FF, will be vital for Simpson to get untracked & be a legitimate scoring threat; providing an extra layer of scoring to offset opposing teams' focus on Zellers, Reschny & Swanson. He could be the difference between ties/barely winning games and 3 or 4-1 wins. Hard to be as productive as Wyttenbach was at QU last year due to the structure of the NCHC, but it would be a pleasant surprise if Simpson could put up similar numbers to A. Bump in his freshman year at WMU (14g, 22a), almost a ppg for Bump that year. With the right linemates & confidence, it's not a reach. Perhaps the coaching staff has the same expectations for him as they didn't bother bringing in another elite forward.

Carels may be underestimating the grind of the NCHC & NCAA hockey as a whole. Both Reschny & Verhoeff noted in recent interviews that playing guys 3-6 years older than them made it a lot more difficult than the WHL; but Carel's learning curve may be shorter than Verhoeff's due to his elite skating & the way he processes the game. Will trust the UND staff to give him honest feedback regarding his development next April. Maybe someone here knows the last time a defenseman played only 1 year at UND & excelled in the NHL. The only UND player that I can think of who did very well after only 1 year was Belfour, but he was a goalie.

Tommy Bleyl was supposed to play in Moncton this year, but is instead going to East Lansing a year early. Perhaps because they were unable to get DuPont, another righty. Interesting to see how Nightingale keeps all these egos happy without there being any resentment for not getting more TOI/pp1/pk1 time. Seems like most NYers in the past went to either BC or BU, but not him.

Cooper Williams is another one who plummeted, even moreso than Preston. So much so that Connor Davis, who was previously not projected, passed him.

You're probably right, but listening to Carels do media interviews post-draft leaves a lot to be desired from a UND fan's perspective. He's basically been insinuating that if there's a good chance of making Calgary's team this year he would be taking that path. A month ago had him pegged him at 90/10 UND this year; listening to him now, 70/30 odds of being at UND.

With McKenna going to PSU last year, was expecting that would smash open the door for them as far as getting other big-name recruits in the future. So far this year, notta. They weren't contenders for Carels, Rudolph, Lin or DuPont; & they haven't had any other big additions, as in studs, this off-season that I'm aware of. Thought there would be a tidal wave of big names going there, especially with their deep pockets, but not even a ripple. At least to date.

Used to think of NIL as mostly getting recruits on campus; but it seems like it's also an incentive for players to delay going pro. At Michigan, Perron appears to be staying for his senior year & Hage for his junior year. Without NIL, there's a good chance those two would have already left school. Perhaps guys like Zellers, Reschny & other important cogs could be enticed to stay an extra year for the right amount, like Michigan appears to be doing.

Regarding Verhoeff, noticed on his IG that he's done some advertising for Chipotle. Because there's no Chipotle in Grand Forks, this sounds like some national advertising that he's doing. If so, imagine that it would be a good boost to his NIL reserves.

Herald didn't mention Fitzhenry's timeline to be on campus. EP & Valley News Live listed him as 28-29.

Good point. Was basing my assessment in part of how well Carels & MacKenzie did against the best U20 players in the world at the WJC this year. Would put Verhoeff in the category of Emery in that it may take a little time for the game to come to him. But once it does, watch out; he could be dominant next year. Very good ambassador for the program, oozes character; & would guess that he played a part in selling UND to Carels because the two are pretty tight. Would put Carels in the category of Laurila in that they both have ice running through their veins & don't get flustered as easily in high-pressure situations. If the freshmen D next year can be as ready-to-go as Laurila was last year, the learning curve should be small. Having talent is one thing, what you do with it is another: Simpson has a big task in getting them up-to-speed as quickly as possible. And like others have noted, MacKenzie should be a beast next year, the kid's a specimen & has a lot of swagger.

In the extended combine interview with various media outlets, he gave no indication of turning pro; all signs pointed towards him being at UND next year. But in this day & age, nothing should surprise the serious college hockey fan. Expect the unexpected. He has remarkable poise & maturity for a 17 yo and only needs a little tweaking before going to the Show. Listen to him talk & he exudes a calmness that you rarely see in people that young. The report on him is that he doesn't particularly pop at any certain part of the game, but that he does almost everything very well. Regarding Verhoeff, can see his game much improved next year. A) Being under the microscope of NHL scouts for a whole year in his DY has to be stressful. With that out of the way, would expect him to be more relaxed & confident in his game. Big load off his back. B) He will have had another year of growing into his big frame & I imagine his skating will be improved. C) Plus being paired with Carels, who (currently) processes the game a little quicker than him, should elevate his game, as well. There's good synergy between the two. Of all the stacked teams next year, & there are many, would put UND with the best D; top 3 in goaltending; top 5 in F.

So the 5-yr clock starts at 19 yo & 19 yo only, not at 17 or 18 when a kid may graduate hs as was planned last month?

From your quote: "The commissioners have countered with a proposal that would start the clock at the time of college enrollment, no later than age 19." So does that new proposal mean that no players would be allowed to start their college hockey careers after the age of 19, or that the players will have a year deducted from their 5 years of eligibility for each year after their 19th year when they start?