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$399 for 1 ticket? I think it was him who recently described the UND fans' exodus to watch a series at DU as "...their annual pilgrimage to civilization". Funny.

Yes, making the F4 is a solid accomplishment, but bringing home the hardware is what defines a program. Teams like QU, UMD, even DU (who I don't think had a single first-rounder last year before Z. Buium was drafted this June, correct me if I'm mistaken) are all doing better against stacked teams with first-rounders. Logicallly it doesn't make much sense, but that's how it's been playing out the last 5-10 years. And going back 10-11 years, teams like Union & Providence have more to show for themselves than anyone in the Big 10 as far as NC go. Go figure...seems that blue chips are good at getting you to the Big Dance, but experienced 3rd & 4th year guys, excellent coaching & forging one's steel in the most difficult conference are better barometers for national championships, generally; along w/ peaking at the right time & having a healthy roster going into nationals, of course.

All that talent has translated to diddly squat for the traditional powers in those two conferences; those teams being BC, BU, MI, MN, WI. This leads me to believe that teams with many solid players (2nd-7th round guys) staying for 3-4 years generally have better success than teams w/ revolving doors of 1st-round players who are around 1-2 years. Out of those 40 players drafted in the 1st round who played in Hockey East or the Big10 since 2019, it would be interesting to see how many of them went to just 4 schools: Michigan, MN, BC & BU.

The portal has been a cruel mistress to the less-established schools, but has been a boon so far for UND. Though it should be used judiciously & not viewed as a recruiting tool on par with the traditional method.

Lagging in what respect, visibility? The NCHC has won 6 NC since the realignment, Big 10 zero & Hockey East a couple, I think. If anything, the exact opposite is true. There's no comparison, the NCHC dominates when it matters.

How do you know that MSU wants Zajic? And because you know about MSU, do you know who UND is targeting?

You're forgiven if this blurb was written under duress, under the influence, if you were experiencing a psychotic break from reality or if you were in a public venue with Gopher players & their slackness was transmitted to you. Complacency leads to mediocrity. As one of the premiere hockey teams in the nation, it's incumbent for this program to always reach for the stars, year in & year out. May this team always be a reflection of its fanbase: full of piss & vinegar and may they always be contending for a NC. Maybe the coaching staff can stop treating the Penrose like it's the Holy Grail for the team. Last year the players were celebrating the regular season championship by skating the trophy around the rink, hooting & hollering. Premature celebrating & the consequent let-down the remainder of the season when they couldn't seem to recover their spent mojo. It's only natural for a team to have a drop in performance in their remaining games if they blow their load too soon.

Not confirmed, but there is chatter that Rhett Pitlick will be leaving the Gophers soon after 3 seasons with the team & turning pro. He tied for the lead in team-scoring last year. A little odd to be doing this in mid-August. Again, this is not confirmed.

Would be nice to see how successful our hit rate is on recruits for any given year; but dunno if the plebs are privy to such information. After everyone commits, would be nice if Schlossman listed from his top 30 which players UND was targeting. But maybe the coaches don't share that information with him.

I was thinking likewise & can only assume that the coaches are actively pursuing other high-profile players. Maybe it's like this most years, but it's a little odd that DU, MN & WI are a week into August with no commitments & UND w/only 2; as opposed to BC & BU who seemed to already have most of their top recruits locked down. I can think of no other reason than the top remaining players are still undecided. I don't doubt you, but how do you know this information that UND really wants him?

Wonder if any of Schlossman's top-30 who are still uncommitted are in that tournament.

CC nabbed a high-profile defenseman out of our backyard. Would be interesting to know if UND was even pursuing him.

Bagging a couple more from Schlossman's top-30 list would be nice. Assuming that those who haven't committed yet are currently making official visits. @cberkas & anyone else in-the-know regarding recruit visits to UND please share what you know.

Nice to get Bumgarner. Did some reading on him & a couple of the posters on GPL said that Cole has a helicopter dad, saying that Motzko tries to steer clear of that kind of dynamic. Checked out Cole on X &, sure enough, the dad & son run a joint account. Can't say I've seen that before from a hockey player. Perhaps the father was dissatisfied with the coaches Cole was playing under (playing time, coaching philosophy) & the reason why he bounced around between three high schools. Hopefully Cole can blossom here, become his own man & not be pressured from dad into entering the transfer portal if there are any wrinkles in his development while playing here.

Makes sense, thanks for the reasoned response. I was looking more at the totality of MI's recruits, from the NTDP & USHL, & it seems like they lock down more 1st-round forwards from those leagues than UND does. McGroarty is a good example; he's from Lincoln, NE, closer to us than MI. And to your point, UND doesn't necessarily get the much sought-after Western Canadian boys; Celebrini (Vancouver, BC) opted for BU. Don't know if UND even tried to get him.

I didn't mention BU or BC.

So UND, having a storied tradition & a facility that surpasses all others, can't compete with MI on the recruiting trail for the bluest of blue chips?

I sometimes wonder about all these 5-star recruits going to MI & other places out east instead of UND. Is it that we don't want these future 1st-rounders, or are we trying but just not getting them? UND usually lands a 1st-round forward every 5 years or so (simply guessing here) whereas MI locks them down seemingly every year.

"Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see." Edgar Allan Poe The word coming from the Kraken front office (supposedly) may be true or it may be a cover story; people here will never know the full scoop unless they have a direct line to their GM. It's always wise to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism anytime information comes from a corporate mouthpiece.

He had pretty respectable numbers for a freshman & it looks like his coach played him in all their games, any idea on why he would be leaving?

Wasn't to the level of the other transfer portal D players who had 4 or more years of college hockey experience compared to Benoit; so obviously he wasn't going to be to their level ..yet, anyway. I don't think that's a fair comparison to players who have substantially more game experience than him. Not all players acclimate like Livanage, some need some patience to get up-to-speed. How did Benoit look in the regional against MI? Did he make glaring mistakes resulting in goals or opportunities for MI, or did he hold his own even though he saw limited time this year? I guess only time will tell if him leaving for QU was unfortunate for UND. I appreciate the feedback here, it helps me to learn more about the players.

It was never explained why the drafted Benoit was buried behind non-drafted transfer D portals, even when the transfer Ds were missing assignments & not doing as well in the second half of the season. People complain here when higher-ceiling guys don't get the necessary game reps to develop, but in Benoit's case, he was conveniently forgotten behind players who will never see a day in the NHL. Or maybe that applies only to forwards. Favoritism, perhaps? So off to QU he goes, where Pecknold will probably utilize & develop his talents. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Granted I didn't see what the coaches saw, but it seems like he was never given a fair shake; unless someone here who knows more can explain this.

You stated that you didn't think it was too much emphasis being put on the regular season (which maybe causing the team to peak too early), but rather a misuse of the high-ceiling talent we have. I thought that was the argument you were making.

So UND's uninspired/lack-of-energy play the last few weeks of last year can be attributed to not playing high-ceiling guys enough throughout the regular season?