tnt

I didn’t know that Gavin O’Connell flipped from UMD to Michigan State because of his relationship to Nightingale, besides losing Howard through the portal.

Our Mayor should have reason to make it happen for two reasons then, his city and his Alma Mater.

…and stay out of the box.

Berry has so many great qualities as a coach, I just hope he can put his loyalties aside and look at things objectively. Let’s face it, we all have blind spots when it comes to people we know and like, that’s why you need someone bending your ear that can look at things from a more objective perspective.

Kind of makes you wonder if he offered Mismash and Adams a chance to come back for an extra year. I heard on NHL radio today that many NHL coaches and GM’s hurt their team’s future because they can’t recognize what others see on when it is time to move on from a core group of players, and double down thinking they have another run in them. They said sometimes when you fall in love with your players you set your future back. Berry strikes me as someone who will be loyal to those players sometimes to a fault and to the detriment of the future. Since he always expresses that UND is run like the professional ranks, he needs to take a deep look in the mirror, and ask himself if he doesn’t make decisions out of loyalty. That is the definition of culture, no advantages in responsibility for taking dumb penalties or not producing or fulfilling your role. It wouldn’t hurt for them to have an outside person take a look at how we got to the point of having to use the portal extensively. Since Hakstol seemed to have guys waiting in the wings every year, and being able to get another year of juniors out of someone because they weren’t desperate, maybe he wouldn’t mind looking at the situation. The question is, are they too proud to have someone look at it objectively and critically?

So are you advocating going full out into the portal like Q did this year. We outplayed them badly one game this year early with guys like Blake, McLaughlin, and James having hardly any college experience. This is the same argument made a few years back after we lost to Denver in the 1st round of the NCHC, then the next year Kawaguchi, Adams, and Weatherby took steps forward and Pinto made a big difference. Of course we don’t have that option on the back end, but things change fast, as in the progression of Dylan James from early to late, kind of the same progression we saw with Sanderson.

Yeah, even if Strathmann is on the same page now, you never know who (Major Juniors or other college teams) will be bending his ear next year in Juniors, especially if we struggled again next year. I.E., does another school look more attractive with a better chance at a Championship.

Parker Murray with back to back 4 goal games for Wenatchee and 10 so far in the playoffs. I assume all 10 have come against gopher recruit Nathan Airey. Murray is a big boy at 6’5” 225 lbs. Not necessarily great regular season numbers, so might be just a little streak, so who knows if his skating is up to college hockey standards, as it is tough to tell from short little clips. Could use some size after Caulfield left. Perhaps he is helped by having Ean Samoza a Western recruit feeding him. https://www.ncwlife.com/sports/murrays-4-goals-leads-wenatchee-over-cranbrook-in-ot/article_ae2150f4-d3b9-11ed-93ab-bf9e93347481.html Of course Cade Littler has some decent size and has put up some good numbers and has a nice upside, but Mankato has been through a lot already.

What Strathmann rumors? I think Schlossman was talking juniors as in USHL, not OHL.

According to Bale, Sowder and Malinowski should be a couple more X's. The biggest problem they have is that they don't have a coach in place to start filling the replacements from the portal.

Yeah, it seems like I would worry a bit more about Livanavage in that regard as he is really slight. You did make me face palm with the thought of an OHL defection, as in what else in the past few weeks and a blizzard on the way.

Didn't he finally run out of eligibility?

Unfortunately we are headed that direction in so many ways. NIL will only create that bigger divide between the haves and the have nots. I think most of us are drawn to college hockey because it wasn't the cesspool that pro and other college sports were, and there was at least some semblance of dignity. That seems to be a thing of the past.

But we lost to them the next day, if my memory is correct.

Joey Larson has three years left, and is one of the highest scorers on the portal board.

Just wondering if an elite setup guy like McLaughlin can use his skills better at center. Regardless, it seems we will have a lot of guys that can take draws. Too bad it isn’t the old days where if you kick one out of the circle you can just throw another in. Now you jump the gun you’re behind the eight ball.

Yes, which one of the Ottawa picks with ties to North Dakota isn’t in this picture.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000371992.html Don’t think they all played the same time, but Berry, Ludwig, Sandelin and Casey played for the North Stars.

I get that he isn’t make or break, but Caulfield did put up 11 goals his Junior year and 10 this past year, despite not doing anything for the first third, so 15 goals is not out of the question. On top of that he kills penalties and is very responsible defensively. Give me anybody that puts up decent offensive numbers and plays well defensively and I would take them in a heartbeat.

Let’s hope he doesn’t change the culture until after the Icebreaker this fall, and that his old team is lost for a while as well.

But he’s not Canadian!

Of course the year we need the most portals we still have 10 foot drifts on the ground and temperatures less than freezing well into spring. Welcome to campus on your visit.

Maybe not.

Do you think some of them left because Hastings made them aware of his plans, or is this something he couldn’t afford to let out ahead of the announcement?

Don’t we still need two more?