Bear Man

Word out now is that he has verbally committed to BC after a visit there this past week. I think they need him for 2006 while we would not have probably needed him until 2007. Maybe this was the deal breaker ?

Jim O'Briens character, and what we mean by character, could be viewed in different ways I suppose. As a positive - he is regarded as one of the top if not the top 89 born US player. He played for the USNDTP this past year as by far the youngest player and is accelerating his studies to graduate early from high school this spring. He may have some issues - but it appears bad grades / schooling isn't one of them. Maybe he's a nerd ? Nevertheless, a good get for the Goofies as he was recruited by almost every big name school.

Great comments JK - - way to put things into perspective accurately. I see this weekends games decided by goal tending and intangibles. While I think we have the edge over Briggs and Frazee in the nets - anyone including these guys have the potential to come up big. I'm not sure either of them have yet this year - I hope they're not due for a breakthrough. As for the intangibles: the Sioux seeking revenge for losing twice at home is certainly motivational - it may be offset by the fact that Minnesota is playing well and at home on the big sheet of ice. We need to win these games to remain in the hunt for an NCAA bid while Minn wants these games as further proof they are on a roll going into the CC and Wisco games. I look for a great series ! I predict a split.

I could be wrong here. But this looks like comparing some of the tournaments "premiere" players based on statistics.

No where have I said Kessel was the best player in the tournament nor, for that matter, the best player on the USA team. No where have I associated point scoring with the best player. To point, no where have I even discussed the "best player". I have simply made references to the other top potential draft picks for 2006 to add context and comparisons to show that we are holding Kessel to a much higher and more ridiculous standard than those other guys. Despite what you may think, and I won't go into detail, I know a lot more about hockey than you assume. I mentioned Kessel is leading the team in assists ONLY to show how silly the argument is that he is selfish. Imagine what people would be saying if he and Borgue switched goals and assists ? BTW, IMO - Oshie was the best player on the ice for the USA in terms of how hard he worked, the penalties he drew, his creating scoring chances, and all the intangibles he brought to the team. Nevertheless, we still need Kessel for his scoring potential. Yes, he has 2 worn out moves that everyone knows (the toe drag and put the puck between defense legs and jump around) But if Kessel scores the hattie tonight and the USA wins, I will not brag him up - promise. I just would sincerely hope if he would get the hattie (very unlikely I might add) I would see Sioux fans be complimentary.

I very much respect and appreciate your intelligent and mature response. Well said. You're right - I made assumptions and was obviously wrong. Please accept my apology.

Let's see - - If I don't "hate" kessel I'm anti Sioux and in a lovefest with him. You gotta love the brilliance of that logic. That's what I like best about this forum, I get to discuss things with people who probably don't have their GED. Don't jump on Kessel hating bandwagon > Anti Sioux. Don't jump on the Canadian hating bandwagon > Anti American ? I can hardly wait for the next intelligent response. I'm sure they'll only get better. I'm giddy with excitement.

Your hatred for Kessel is well documented in these threads for months. You're incapable of observing a hockey game with unbiased eyes when it comes to Kessel. I think it is because he doesn't play for the Green but instead for the Gophers. Yes - the truth comes out - he still leads the team in scoring AFTER the Norway game. If he doesn't score - he isn't any good and overhyped. If he does score - he's selfish. If he leads the team in assists (EVEN AFTER THE FIRST GAME) he's selfish. If he doesn't lead the team in assists - he's most surely selfish. It theres bad chemistry on the team - it's must be because of Kessel. Let's see - Kessel isn't drafted yet - 18 years old. Let's compare him to all the other "great" players in this tournament: 1. Frolik / Czech Republic - - projected top 3-5 pick in 2006 NHL draft - 1 assist - minus 1 for tournament. 2. Toews / Canada - - - projected top 3 pick in 2006 NHL draft - 2 assists - 12 Canada players scored more. 3. Ryan / USA - - - #2 overall 2005 NHL draft pick - 2 goals and 3 assists - hardly noticeable. Fact of the matter is - you've never ever said anything good about Kessel. I am quite confident you never will. Did Kessel or a friend of his egg your house when they were kids ? At least most knowledgeable Sioux fans are able to recognize the talent of Kessel and how instrumental he is for the team. Why not level your anger at someone like Ryan who the NHL thought was good enough to be a #2 draft choice ? He had a tough tournament by anyone's standards but you let him slide. It looks like a bad case of selective criticism to me. We don't need to like Kessel - heck we can hate him if we like. But this continuous carping about Kessel about everything makes some look petty and chirlish. But - hey - keep at it - I'm sure this won't stop you. Sioux fans can make up their own minds on Kessel - we don't need your constant digs.

There's no doubt that Kessel was over hyped for this tournament. However, the expectations some people have for him are ridiculous. And some people spend a lot of time just criticizing him while not acknowledging some good things he does on the ice. I've been watching the game and these threads. Apparently he hasn't done anything good tonight - imagine that ! Every other player for the US is doing great though. We have a #2 overall draft choice this year on our team named Bobby Ryan. How come no one criticizes him ? I think he's played like crap - I've hardly noticed him in any of the games. Cripes - Kessel isn't even drafted yet. Maybe he shoud be drafted 10 th I don't care. How about Toews ? How's he done this tournament ? Didn't many of us on this board 2 months ago say he was better than Kessel and should be drafted #1. Remember the Toews vs Kessel threads ? My guess is that we would be saying it's OK he didn't score any goals - he's awesome anyway. For good sakes Kessel is not God. He may not even be the #1 draft choice - so what. If the Ruskies go on to win now. I cant wait to hear the anti Kessel rant after the game - as though no one else could be responsible for the US in this team game. GO USA. I'm cheering for every player including punkovich.

If it is, it will be on FSN north at 10:00 central time. I get FSN north and the channel guide on the TV doesn't list it. I don't believe FSN was planning on this game occuring - expecting the US to have a bye into the next round. I would not be surprised if they added it last second - - I hope so !

I agree that our lines need to be mixed up differently and agree Borque doesn't work on the power play. Replace Borque with either Oshie, Shremp, or Mueller on the #1 power play unit. As for Oshie, I'd like to see him play with Kessel and Porter/Mueller on the first line. Go ahead and move Kessel to forward. Oshie has been playing well but his current line is not finishing for all his hard work. So far the "high NRG" line of Oshie/Skille/Gerbe have only 2 goals and 2 total points through 4 games. I expected more out of this line and maybe it's time to try some different combinations. The lack of scoring is not for a lack of effort of any of these 3 guys. I just see Oshie's hard work paying off much more by having the likes of Kessel and Mueller taking the shots. Also, how about throwing a big guy like Wheeler in on the power play to camp out in front of the net ? If we're going to try different line combinations, tonight is the night to do it. I hope Kyle has the wisdom to do so.

Following the tournament, it appears to me that several players may be over hyped; Kessel, Toews, and Ryan, to name just a few. I don't believe any are over rated based on their abilities. Canada and the USA are teams consisting of all very, very good players. This is the elite of the elite. No one stood out for either team last night despite great players on both teams. I don't think we can read much into anyone's play last night- pro or con. The game consisted of tight checking, good goal tending, good intensity, well played by both teams. Neither Kessel or Toews scored a goal last night and they are projected to be the top 2 draft choices next year. SO WHAT - - they probably will still be the two top picks regardless of how they play in this tournament. Reason - Kessel incredible speed, great shot, always a threat to score (ask other teams who worries them with the puck). Toews is a super two way player, solid at every aspect of the game, huge upside potential. If Kessel doesn't lead USA to gold by scoring meaningful goals and being the tournaments leading overall scorer and/or Toews scores very few goals and has very few total points - it won't matter. Anyways, this is a team game. They win and lose as teams. There are 5 guys on the ice most of the time so no one player can or should shoulder the blame. If we wanted, we could pick apart every player on every team for their deficiencies. It may make for good psychobabble but thats about it. All I want is that the US play as hard as they can. IF THEY DO, you won't see me blaming anyone for our fate.

I hope they don't play Kessel at all. Then we could see how good or bad the USA would be without him. And (hypothetically) if the USA would not play well and lose who we would blame ? My guess is Kessel - - for not playing. If they do continue to play Kessel a lot - I hope Oshie is on his line. Am I funny or what ?

Great post. Maturity and reason is back at full strength - at least momentarily. How long can we go before it changes back ? Probably after tonights game a few people will be back to spending this whole post on Kessel. God I hope not.

I didn't realize I'd get your panties in a bundle. I thought hockey was a team game ? Kessel is on a line with 2 other guys. Maybe they are trying to build chemistry ? After all, isnt he the source of bad chemistry ? So are you happy or mad that Kessel may help the USA bring home the gold ? Let's go check some other WCHA teams website and see if their bashing Toews for not scoring any points the other night ? Sounds stupid doesn't it ? As a SIOUX FAN, I find this dribble about Kessel tiresome.

Here we go with the Kessel bashing again. Yes - some of us are infatuated with him. Case closed. Some people need a life.

I get a kick out of some of our fans on Kessel. We throw out words like "spoiled brat", golden boy, "pre-madona" and claim we're sick of hearing about him. For a second there, I thought this person might know him personally. We accept unsubstantiated claims, require no balance in reporting - and most probably just because it is a gopher. Would we allow the same on one of our own players or another team USA player ? I will say it again - probably to some deaf ears - Kessel is a USA PLAYER right now. Let's not get all wacked out about one report on a player we don't like and pile on as though we know the guy. I always thought that once you wore the red, white, and blue - our allegiances to our own teams disappear. Maybe not for some Sioux fans. The way some of us write - you'd think Kessel was an egotistic nut job. I know this is an open forum for everyone's opinion, but I don't see how stuff like this furthers our cause as fans. If we see stuff like this in other forums we would laugh at them - and rightfully so. I said a few weeks ago that I thought some of our fans are so infatuated with Kessel we look stupid and I suggested we stop talking about him. How about we get a grip, require some objectivity in our views on hockey, expect fairness and balance, and come together to root for the USA ? Naw - that's too much to ask for. I'm pretty sure what kind of Sioux fan I want to be. What kind of Sioux fan do you want to be ? Go ahead and start rippin on me - I can take it. Oh, I almost forgot - - Merry Christmas !

Some observations based in the Christmas spirit: 1. Kessel may or may NOT BE LIKED by some other players. 2. Kessel may or may BE LIKED by some other players. 3. Kessel MAY or MAY NOT be the source of some animosity and bad chemistry on the team. 4. It WAS wrong to infer that Kessel is the source of bad chemistry on the team unless people know the whole story from all angles and make the claims with back up to prove their thesis. This goes for ANY PLAYER on ANY TEAM. 5. Maybe Skille is the source of animosity on the team ? Maybe not. 6. Maybe Kessel is singled out because he is the consensus #1 pick in the NHL draft next year ? Maybe not. 7. Skille and Kessel have had problems for many, many years - - how does this make it Kessel's fault and his alone ? 8. If Kessel's mom is the problem - let's blame her and not Phil Kessel. 9. In our society we have a tendency to root for the underdog, against the rich, the famous, the best, other teams, other teams players, etc. 10. Why not report as a balance that Kessel IS LIKED by most other players and is great to have on the team ? 11. Why not report that Kessel has NO HISTORY of not being liked for reasons other than being the best on his team ? 12. Why not report that Kessel is well liked (reportedly) by his current teammates ? 13. Why is this news before the first official game ? 14. If the USA runs away with this tournament and Skille and Kessel are seen hugging at center ice - what will the next headline be ? Kessel and Skille still hate each other and it was all pretend ? USA would have won easier had Kessel not been such a problem on the team ? This is tabloid journalism at its best. It is targeted at a USA player - not a gopher. It is wrong whether it is Kessel, Toews, or Oshie. As fair Sioux fans, we should all agree on that. Let's talk about something else ? BTW - Merry Christmas everyone ! Here's to the WCHA kickin butt over the holidays so that our collective RPI / KRACH, etc goes up.

YES, he did get 2 points in the USA exhibition game win pf 5-1. He scored the first goal of the game on a power play at the 2:00 minute mark and assisted on another power play goal later in the first period.

From the Minnesota Hockey Journal: Carl Sneep of Brainerd visited the Gophers last year. According to his guardian Mark Sandelin earlier this fall Sneep was undecided as to where he would attend college and said there was no timeline for making that decision. Sneep made his second visit to the University of North Dakota last week. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

As for big and skilled defenseman - I think Carl Sneep from Brainerd could be a good player for us. He's 6'2'' 210 pounds with good skills and is widely recruited. I've heard he'd like to go to UMTC, but the gophers probably don't have a place for him next year or 2007. Maybe he's the guy that we will sign for 2007 after a stint in the USHL ? He could be a great pickup.

We'll probably only need to deal with him for a year. Players that big and skilled are likely to go pro sooner than normal size folks. As for my saying he was dumb - - I was only being facetious - - I just wish it was us who snagged him.

You are so right. A big, skilled defenseman with strong offensive talent is what everyone is looking for. I don't know how many are still available out there for 2007 - hope we can get one or two. I really liked our physical presence of the past and while I know the game is changing, I sure love the intimidation factor from big defensemen for those little guys going to the net. As for the Goofies, unfortunately, they have the highest ranked defenseman for 2006 signed. His name is Erik Johnson - from the USNDTP - 6'5" - 220 pounds according to Heisenberg. I have read many places where he is expected to be the first defenseman drafted next year - some say top 5 after Towes and Kesel, etc. Apparently he's from Bloominton MN -- I guess that explains why he didn't want to wear ND Green - so he's not only big but big and dumb.

It's setting up for an intense 3rd period ! Lammy's saves when we were short handed were big for us - maybe a game saver. Breakaway and rebound shot - oooh that was close ! Then we go down and score - great deke on the goalie by Oshie. Overall, I think BSU out played us that period - shots on goal and territory advantage. I do like the way we were hitting people. Although we scored on the PP - it still is not in sync. BSU continues to force us to pass immediately and it is working. Both teams playing with great intensity. TV announcers are acting like the Sioux are getting the calls. I disagree - so far like a normal college hockey game. Some questionable calls both ways. I hope it doesn't end up in a big brawl. Hak and BSU coach were barking at each other after the scuffle.