tnt

If there were differences of opinion on those things you mentioned, then what? As I said before I hardly think Hakstol or Eades has to make excuses for their success or perceived lack of success. If any of us were as successful as them in our everyday lives, we probably wouldn't have time to hash over all that is Sioux hockey.

Smaby played quite a bit for a while. The Sioux have had quite a few guys play up in the NHL, but after they get their chance they have to take advantage of it. Guys like Travis Roche and Matt Jones played pretty consistently at one point, but never could hold on to their spot. Haven't heard much about Jones lately, anybody know what happened with him?

I predict that they will be playing every year once NDSU gets beat at home and most of their fans have to wait 3 years to watch any chance at revenge in person. Would be bad enough sitting on a loss for a year, but having to wait 3 to win at home again would be more than some Bison fans could handle.

With J.T. Miller talking about basically not being able to fight in College hockey, I would be willing to bet that down the road a bit that won't be an issue, as I believe the pressure from such events that happened in the Pittsburgh / Philadelphia series and other incidents will eventrually lead the NHL and other leagues to eliminate that for the mostpart from the game.

O.K., out of the players you gave, one is a full-time NHL player. So if Nelson, Forbort, MacWilliam, Grimaldi, Knight or Kristo make the NHL, then Eades' recruits would be up to par. I think there are a lot of players on the Sioux right now that have more potential than some people on your list of players and in fact are already putting up better college stats and results that help the team win.

I guess I need to see these additions first before I get too excited, as well as a little better consistency from playing at home to playing on the road. Like you said, this is the Big Sky we are talking about, not the Great West, and we had trouble winning a road game in the Great West. They do seem to find a different game down the stretch so the dance is always a possibility, but still a major step up needs to be made because this is a major step up.

... and when the name does change, if you are a man of your word, I will enjoy not seeing you on this board anymore, because after all it will be about the University of North Dakota athletics, not Fighting Sioux athletics at that point. Can't wait until after the vote.

Who are the four first round draft picks?

I would imagine a lot of athletes love to tweet. How far down the list would tweeting have to be for this to be a negative to some recruits for Montana? I'm guessing it would only be a very rare occasion it might effect a decision.

It depends on what you are looking for in a defenseman, and if it just entails the time they spent at UND or not. Obviously Craig Ludwig was a different kind of defenseman than James Patrick, but he managed to stay in the NHL for 17 years with his defense and shot blocking.

If what you say is right and it is a way to shrug some of the responsibility for not winning a National Championship, then don't you think if they don't win one shortly, he will have the culpability on himself even moreso? I hardly think there are many fans that are thinking that it was Eades' fault we haven't won a National Championship and now that he is gone we are gonna roll. To the contrary, everytime I hear fans complaining, it is about Hakstol, and I don't think Hakstol is naive enough to think that he can put one over on the fans that it was Eades that was holding them back.

I went when the WCHA playoff tourney was at the Target Center, and I thought it was run pretty well. Take into account that the Target Center is in for a major renovation, and it might just work out well. I would hope that the NCHC is asking that they address any possible ice situations when they do their renovations, which could make it an even better scenario.

I don't think it mimics it in the most important way -- the maturity of the players.

To those who think Hakstol is throwing Eades under the bus, I can only say that he is making a move that he thinks will better the team, right or wrong. I am certain he knows this means there will be more scrutiny of him going forward. I don't think Eades or Hakstol have to apologize for the success or perceived lack of success at UND The funny thing is that many of the perfectionist fans that scrutinize every little decision when the Sioux don't win it all, are the same ones that are scrutinizing a decision that was made in an attempt to better the team to make that next step to a National Championship. You can argue whether this was the right move to achieve that goal, but you got to admit that it was a bold move that will be scrutinized by everybody, including the administration if it doesn't work out.

See that it is right on the Sacramento schedule.

I think that North Dakota plays at Sacramento State.

Let's see, Eades has a ton more coaching and life experience than Jackson, yet he was let go. Do you honestly believe that if the Sioux had the opportunity to bring in somebody like a Rick Wilson, James Patrick or Brad Berry, they wouldn't because Dane Jackson might be hurt? They could very well bring in someone who doesn't have a big profile, but I don't think it would be because Dane Jackson deserves to be second in command, it would be because they think they will be a complement to the staff and be a good chemistry fit with the staff and players.

Several people also heard stories that there was no way that Luke Johnson would come to UND because his dad was upset with not getting the assistant coaching job. The effect of that rumor doesn't disparage a person's reputation. I just wonder how many people would want that kind of rumor floating around about them, especially when it is at this point just gossip.

I don't think who they bring in will take a back seat to Jackson. I think they will bring in somebody to complement the staff. I don't think you get rid of a known quantity and bring in an unknown or untested person, unless you are certain of that person's ability.

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.