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Can't remember, did Pattyn get in trouble once last year, or was it twice? The fact that Simpson stayed away from that might help him in the way of becoming Captain. Really depends on if the coaches have a hand in it, or if they let the players have the final say in picking the Captain. If Simpson has the leadership qualities, I say give it to him with his great image. If he isn't a natural leader, then look elsewhere.

Have to wait until February to beat Miami in the Ralph.

Depends on where you are writing an article or referring to him. If you are in Colorado, you sure will refer to him as a former Avalanche player.

True, but bringing the Cup here doesn't change that fact either. In other words, he doesn't have to prove himself as a true Sioux to me.

Doesn't need to do that in my book. His loyalty to UND goes beyond bringing the Hardware to Grand Forks. He has a lot of fans in Winnipeg too, and who knows, he might want to finish out his career in Winnipeg when the big paydays are over, and his goodwill in bringing the Cup to Winnipeg sure wouldn't hurt. The fact that he chose UND over Major Junior, and that Sioux fans can claim a great young Captain like that as one of their own should be enough to cement his legacy here.

Ask coach Hakstol about that. He only had 2-1/2 years of eligibility because he tooks some classes which started his eligibility clock ticking. I think he even had to leave half way through his Senior season.

Don't think it is that bold. He could play one game with the big club and win a bet.

We were told that the only reason Matt Morelli played here is because of Reg Morelli, now when the Sioux don't take a player that is related to a former player, they lost out. I think Omaha is more in a position where they commit to players a little earlier than the Sioux, especially if they aren't deemed elite level talent.

Well, since we don't have to play Minnesota State and we don't get a crack at Minnesota, outside NCAA tournament games anyways, I don't mind seeing Minnesota State having a roster that can keep on with their trend of beating the "mighty gophers". Mankato and other WCHA teams will have to win games like that to get more teams in the NCAA tournament than just the playoff champs.

So you're saying those goalies are better?

Let's not forget that we have a lot more walk-ons than we had in the past with guys like Pattyn, Gaarder, Sanderson and possibly Senkbeil and Mitch MacMillan. Sure those guys are probably getting some money now, but still probably not a substantial amount for approximately a fifth of the team. Pattyn came in when Miller decomitted late, and I think Gaarder came in with the loss of Bruneteau and Cichy who had scholarship money. Add to that the loss of Matteau and Koules as well. We probably had some catching up to do because the coaches didn't want to just throw money around trying to replace high end players. Probably wanted to use that scholarship money for "finds" like Ausmus.

I am sure the offensively gifted defensemen like Mattson, Thompson, or Stecher might see some time at forward. Don't think you would look at Schmaltz doing that, since he took a good step forward the last half of the year, and the Blues might not like their 1st round draft pick playing out of position.

Was thinking of that as well, but not sure if the experience at Ford Field might have soured them on a temporary ice location.

Has Stepan stated he wants to play somewhere other than Ohio State next year? If so, and Ohio State won't allow a release to another Big Ten team, shouldn't the UND coaches give him a call to add possibly a little more offense to the lineup? Between him, Murphy, Tambellini and Johnson, should be able to find someone to fill in a little scoring with the loss of Kristo, Knight and Rowney.

How about former Sioux from Calgary, Brett Hryniuk.

Actually thought he would have played more games than that because of the death of Pelle Lindbergh.

Don't forget that Darren Jensen played quite a bit in the NHL as well. As you say, Wisconsin has been unreal in getting goalies in the NHL. Since there are so few positions available, I would bet a lot of teams haven't placed many goalies in the NHL. Would be interesting to see the stats on how many drafted goalies make it to the NHL, and how that translates from higher picks to lower picks.

There isn't a policy in place by the NCAA to allow a recruit to jump ship if the guy who recruited him leaves? I know the school should play a big part of it, but the relationship between coach and player is important as well.

You know what is funny, the number of bison fans that come on here and try to be comedians, and want to use something about UND as the punchline.

Much like Jay Ness, Todd Norman was highly touted out of high school, but his career at UND didn't pan out that well, and he only played a couple of years. Don't know if that was a bad experience or not, but don't know if it gives us an in with his kid either.

Yeah, and the best part is that if they choose not to play us, we can always make claims about how much better our team is, even if it may not appear to be the case. Don't think if you are the entity choosing not to play you should be saying how much better you are.

Just the fact that he went through the pain of rehabilitation to get back in a Sioux uniform, and his dedication to the program gives him a high status in my book. Just because we had high expectations of him, doesn't make him a failure. If a parent has high expectation of his kids, and they don't meet those expectations, should they discard their efforts? People always talk about the Fighting Sioux family, and as far as I'm concerned if they put in the effort, give their all, and keep their noses clean, I can respect that, no matter the preconceived expectations I had.

Schlossman shot the media's response there out of the water. Cited many of the incidents and the lack of coverage they got.

Not apologizing for anybody, but to say that it is o.k. if you don't get caught just enables those disposed to doing it, thinking "I'm not the one that will get caught." The point is they got caught, but doesn't make them any worse than the ones who didn't, except in the eyes of the law.