tnt

Yeah, kind of hard to do that before with our football program because most competing offers are from D2 teams, and the thought of a pro prospect would only be a dream.

Plenty of nice positions open for Ferschweiler and Carle.

Very ironic then that he ended up going to a tool of the devil.

Welcome to the world of college hockey. Plenty of guys that have been considered big gets all across college hockey that end up being average college players, and I would rather have a hard working average player than one who has only relied on their talent and now that isn’t enough.

…and it subsequently revealed to us that Berry wasn’t doing his job to the best of his ability, instead resting on the laurels of the program to recruit, and then revealed that many people saw UND wasn’t recruiting guys that were considered the hallmark of the program. Maybe that is why he didn’t take character into consideration when recruiting Mitchell Miller. All is out in the open now, even though we could see we weren’t getting a “full 60” and the “culture” guys that UND has been known for.

I truly believe it is about having some elite guys then filling in with guys that will go through a wall for the program. Like Schlossman said, the last team to win the National Championship with more than one first round draft pick was UND. Well, we had the same number of first round draft picks this year, only we didn’t have enough of the Troy Stecher and Drake Caggiula types who were all about the program. Instead we had soft guys like a few that left that were conspiring to go elsewhere while still in the midst of the season. You might not see any more than a few of the high end guys, but you hopefully will see more guys that are going to play a full 60 because they want to go through a wall for the program like Menghini. From the bits and pieces given about Kernan and Zakreski, they both sound like that type as well.

I suppose a lot of them, if not all were a wait and see thing, but you would think the communication would be there so they wouldn’t commit so soon to maybe have a chance to play for their dad’s Alma Mater. Probably easier said than done, but definitely missed on the second chance with Slukynsky.

…and his remarks about this being the type of player UND used to recruit was very telling as well. When you hear things like that along with Schlossman’s revelation about scouts and coaches relaying the need for UND to be more visible in the recruiting scene, it makes you wonder how Schlossman and the administration were so blind to the need to make a change. I get that the league titles were part of the reason to kind of overlook how things have changed since Hakstol, but when the fans have been mocking the use of the word “culture” for a while and the constant not playing 60 minutes, the contrast could not have been more glaring to sit up and take notice.

Which leads me to the question how UND has been slow to recruit some legacy guys that have ended up having good college careers and many have had a cup of tea in the NHL as well. We have seen guys like Morelli, Archibald, Ward, Zombo, Sandelin, and Slukynsky have really nice college careers while other legacy guys we have recruited have either not made it to campus or have had underwhelming careers.

It’s like I said before, recruiting involves a lot of different things coming together. Very interesting that he mentioned a couple times how the current players made him feel welcome. Hopefully the coaches stress how important that is in the whole recruiting process. We have a lot to offer, but if the players aren’t receptive that could be a deal breaker.

There is no doubt that something needs to be fixed in the portal and NIL systems because this kind of raiding of teams and the subsequent chain effect isn’t good for what is supposed to be amateur athletics. The more I witness it, the less I like college sports.

Kind of refreshing to get the social media hype going and add some excitement back to the program. Need to celebrate all our recruits, because obviously the staff feels they can add something to our program. Don’t know why you would only send out a bat signal on guys you consider major gets, as it would send the wrong message when you are trying to get everyone pulling together as a team.

When they were talking about finding centers in his podcast, Schlossman mentioned the CHL for possibilities, but also mentioned Kernan decommitting from Mankato.

Exactly, feel bad for them, but we have to reconstruct our roster. Actually glad they didn’t reach for a portal guy that would have basically added to depth of the team. Probably need a high ender to slot in the top center, but it is nice to get guys that will fit the kind of guy we want.

If this is true, then the whole process is basically a sham. The job doesn't close until Monday, and already we have a guy picked? If they keep going down this route, good luck trying to get someone outside the circle to apply for any job. So put all the "supposed" candidates through the "process" to pretend you are open to all the candidates?

If we don't have enough connections in Canada with Jackson, Chyzyk and Simpson, then what is another one going to add. They have some pretty good players in the U.S. as well, and we haven't been able to get as many of them as you would think we could/should.

So we shouldn't have been recruiting Pohlkamp last year? Don't agree on only recruiting guys that won't upset the apple cart by displacing guys that are already here. With that line of thinking, if Boisvert was staying and Carter Bear was going to commit, we shouldn't go after Gavin McKenna. Get the best players that play the way you want them to -- period!

If things don't work out for Jackson, don't know if the administration would continue to pull from within the current coaches on staff like they did this time. At some point you go for a young coach and do a complete overhaul.

You can get around that, as he can say he helped recruit to his Major Junior team. That being said, don't think you would have him coming in as an associate head coach with that salary with that little experience. There may be others that fit the bill outside the UND circle, but within the circle, Smaby and Herter seem to be the candidates if interested.

Even if you brought in Lindberg, that would be 8 guys, and like people have mentioned it might be wise to bring in a 9th because of Zmolek's injury. I think it would be smart to hold off Lindberg for another year and let him develop in the USHL like Laurilla did. Besides, it might be wise to bring in a Junior defenseman to even out the classes, as it is most likely you could lose Livanavage and Wiebe to the pros after next year, leaving you with no Senior defense, unless Zmolek gets another year because of his injuries. So it is possible they could bring in a couple guys if they held off Lindberg.

That Luke Ashton from Minnesota State is a big boy at 6’6 and had a decent freshman year.

So Brady Cleveland had a no contact with his portal entry, is Komzak leaving because someone else is coming in and he saw the writing on the wall.

3 more freshmen, or 3 including Klee and Zellers?

Considering one of his biggest assets is his speed, probably not a great injury to have.

I think they have shown under Ferschweiler that they are always going to be a tough team to play, especially in their own building. I am hoping UND gets back to their identity, and can become a team that is known for bringing it every shift game in and game out.