tnt

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.

The WCHA could hold theirs at a smaller arena like Mariucci, or Ridder could probably suffice for the number of fans they would probably get.

I said that tongue in cheek, but failed to add the wink wink.

Heard the same thing about Erik Johnson. Hopefully he comes here and is the real deal when it comes to those comparisons.

So how much do you think "the timeout" netted him in his new contract. Although the timeout demonstrated how the players respond when the coach isn't in panic mode, it is what Sioux fans have come to expect and something I am sure that has not gone unnoticed by Faison. The "we can do this" type attitude kind of encapsulates the whole season with all the injuries and such.

Just the number of recruits that they will have at the Spring Game is amazing. Hope it pays off in landing a few blue chippers.

Dave Gust with the Force having another good night with a couple goals and 6 shots. Have heard good things about him, and have a feeling unless he is holding out for a specific offer, he could have a scholarship soon. Anybody know if he has had any offers yet? Could use a few more of the smallish players like Jack Connolly who are more likely to stick around a few more years.

If this team comes about, high school hockey in Grand Forks will fall off even worse, and interest in it as well. Would Fugelberg, Jennewein or Lizotte have been playing for Red River last year if this program were around? Unless most of the makeup from the team comes from outside of the state, I think high school hockey will suffer greatly and not be as exciting a product to watch for the average fan.

Agree, when we get to that point, it will be what it will be regardless anyway. All 3 of the '96 recruits so far all have interest from Major Juniors, so hopefully Hakstol ends up looking good rather that the alternative if the worst case should happen. Suffice it to say, that UND will probably have a little more notice in all of those circumstances than they did with Miller.