tnt

Very true. And if they are looking to restructure, Eades was in charge of the defense and the powerplay, so I would assume they would bring in somebody for the defense, and depending on their expertise either switch the powerplay to Jackson or have the new coach keep both aspects of Eades' position. I would say it is a good bet that it will be a defensive coach. I think our defensive defensemen have developed quite well, but we don't really have a lot of presence in the NHL of offensive defensemen. Maybe they are looking to better develop the defensemen all the way around. In that case Brad Berry or Bombardir would be great to have around with their NHL experience. Don't know if Bombardir has any interest in coaching or what he would bring recruiting wise, or if his family life would allow him to put in the time required to excel, but his personality is such that you certainly would like him to be the face of the University to the parents of a recruit. Sometimes guys you think would be good coaches aren't, so you already have a proven guy in Berry.

Don't think so. Blais is the kind that speaks his mind, and most people thought he would be promoting Sandelin for the job, but he promoted Hakstol.

With the guy that hired him as an assistant (Scott Arniel) fired, and a new coach likely to want his own assistants, you never know. And someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Berry's family still live here in Grand Forks?

No doubt, Hakstol has to own this decision. We have seen how things worked out for Minnesota when they let Guentzel "leave". While the Sioux didn't win it all, as Cary Eades pointed out, they won a title of some sort every year, whether it be a Regional title, a WCHA title, or a Broadmoor. That is not easy to keep that consistency, and they seemed to have a nice chemistry for growing the team from the first half to the second. To mess with that chemistry definitely puts the pressure on the Sioux to perform or outperform the last eight years. I am confident that the Sioux won't replace Eades with a John Hill, but it is still a move that puts the focus solely on Hakstol. Of course I am sure Hakstol puts pressure on himself to get that National title, but I'm sure his new contract adds to that pressure. I will say that it is a bold move, but maybe he saw what loyalty to his assistants did for Gino Gasparini during the last years of his tenure. I am not equating Eades to Craig Perry and Jim Scanlan, but the fact that Hakstol isn't willing to stand pat with success that most coaches would honestly be thrilled with hopefully will put the program back on top in the near future. Time will tell if this decision works out, but I'm sure Hakstol knows the consequence of backsliding from here.

It's just very interesting this time of year because so many things have happened that will trigger other moves. The signing of Hastings, the resignations of Dane Litke and Dave Morinville, the possibility that a new coach in Columbus might want new assistants and so on down the line. The question is what are they looking for most, a recruiter, or a teacher and fundamentalist? Who brings the best combination of the two? I think Brad Berry brings the most to the position, and would love to have him back.

You could get quite a few stubborn people, but you could also get a bunch of people who aren't sports fans or anything that don't understand the ramifications of the vote but want to put in a vote against political correctness in general. That is what I worry about, people trying to stick it to the politically correct crowd without regard to the consequences.

Yeah to me how can the CHL spout how great they are, yet a bunch of their players are guys that couldn't cut it in college hockey or wanted to put up better numbers.

... and maybe if you're concerned about ice time, you should be more concerned about getting a college education. I guess this doesn't pertain to him, because he can just live off his dad's royalties for the "Saw" films for the rest of his life.

Thanks. Will be interesting to track their progress over the next few years.

We discuss potential recruits to no end on the men's side, and sometimes people think the Sioux should have recruited one local player instead of another. A perfect example was the debate about defensemen Jay Hardwick, John Ammerman and Jake Marto. Most people weren't as high on Marto, but I think the coaches were quite happy with getting him. I don't know why you don't throw the names out there so they can be discussed about their potential. I have no doubt that if they turn out great you will have no problem scrutinizing the coaches for not taking them, so why not offer them up now so people can scrutinize how they turn out?

Good question, but why not take it a step further and ask who exactly these four or five girls are? That way when these girls get scholarships from other schools and succeed, we will know exactly who Idalski missed on, and we can compare how his recruits did compared to these girls.

"Energy" line fits Rodwell perfectly. Plenty of speed, with the ability to cycle well, and at times a little out of control. Seen nice glimpses from him with that great shorthanded goal at Maine his freshman season and was just starting to come around before he got injured this year. A light turned on with Rowney his Junior year, hopefully Rodwell can make similar strides.

Do what you want with the 1st line, but don't ever put Koules on that line because the rivals to the south would have a heyday with the name of that line.

Part of it too is what position they think best suits a player. Some people have Grimaldi on a line with Knight and Kristo. If the coaches want to keep together Rowney, Parks and MacMillan and they think Grimaldi is best at center, that would mean that there would be room on the top line for someone who might typically be on the 3rd line. Of course we all know that with the Sioux you can't really number the lines. Of course Knight and Kristo will be on the 1st line, but beyond that, the lines get rolled depending on game situations. That said, since you usually have a checking line that plays a lot, I would imagine Grimaldi wouldn't be on a supposed "4th" line because you want him to get on the ice more frequently, so he either would go to wing or move Rowney somewhere and make room for him at center.

Agree, if he is here, and if the mix is right to get him on the ice with the scoring lines we will already have. You can definitely see the skill is there, but he is a '94, which is the same as Luke Johnson and Tambellini. The "true" freshman making and impact like Oshie and Rau is fairly rare, so if he could put up numbers similar to Parks and MacMillan and be playing his best the second half of the year, I think the Sioux would definitely be happy with that. If he is sound defensively and gets the ice time, he and Chyzyk could battle it out for the freshman forward point lead for the Sioux. If he is that rare impact freshman player, the Sioux could be great.

He considers his biggest assets are his speed and vision on the ice. More to skating than speed, like a quick first step, etc., but sounds like he can get up and down the ice anyway. According to his coach, apparently Sanderson is fast as well. Nice to see the addition of more speed to the lineup.

Yeah, who really knows who will be able to make that adjustment. The reason I think Chyzyk will get some playing time is because it sounds like he is a good two-way player with the great work ethic. After last season just being able to wonder who will be sitting on a night to night basis is a huge bonus.

I think we have seen in the past that you can be pretty good offensively and still not make the lineup. I think of a guy like Cichy who put up great numbers in the USHL and was playoff MVP like Caggiula, yet he struggled to see the ice for the Sioux I assume because he wasn't as sound as the coaches wanted him to be on the defensive side of things. Dickin played more down the stretch two years ago than he did. Don't know whether Caggiula will come for sure or not, but starting out, all of the freshmen will have to prove they have the defensive intensity like Pattyn and Gaarder to supplant those guys in the lineup, especially early on. Don't fully know what to expect from Caggiula in that realm, and would hate to see a player frustrated from lack of playing time like Cichy if another year could add more of an impact freshman season. Would like to have seen what Caggiula's numbers would have been in the USHL, but no doubt the talent and determination is there.

Were you at every game in the state last year? How do you know how many games the coaches were at? I guess as a coach I focus more on where I know I am going to get the recruits from right now. Fabian was just at a tourney with some of those kids recently, does that count or not? I think you perceive things being slighted because you have a vested interest in some of these kids. Nothing wrong with that, but maybe your perception isn't right, unless you follow the coaches everywhere.

I guess if it was agreed upon that they would all come back, then why did Kristo wait this long to say he was staying?

Just sayin, North Dakota high school girls hockey is not as good. Sure there are good players, but as someone else pointed out, you don't compete with the Duluth's, Wisconsin's and Minnesota's of the world with "good".

Just ask about Serratore and Parenteau!

I would hope that a person that is primed to make millions isn't going to be persuaded by one or two hundred thousand. I would hope that the decision is the place that best prepares him for the professional level. Unfortunately part of that decision might be to go to the place where he can put up the best numbers to give him the best shot at being the # 1 or # 2 pick, and I don't think that would be at UND.

Why do you roll your eyes. If the Big Ten does not come about, there is no NCHC --- period!!!

... and the ones that instigated it knew beforehand the trickle-down effect it would have because it had been discussed everywhere. And once again if there was nothing the schools could do, then Barry Alvarez is faultless as well.