Chuck Schwartz

I agree on your assesment of Okposo and Johnson. Johnson will be gone, but I think Okposo has at least 2 years. Not because he needs it, I just think hes a true gopher.

Wheeler will be an Elite player this season. And the point I was trying to make earlier regarding rankings was, no one knew that he was going to have a down year at Minnesota, they ranked him purely based off him being drafted #5 overall.

Now while I argued that Toews at 9 was a joke last season, you can hardly argue with how they ranked Skille, Rau, Raymond, and Wheeler. They are Elite WCHA players. And NO ONE knew what Oshie was going to do.

You're kidding right?

The point i'm trying to make is that he, along with many others claim how offensively challenged Wisconsin is. He even went out of his way to claim that UND is an offensive jauggernaut compared to Wisconsin and how this should win in a recruiting battle for a forward. I'm simply stating that it is COMPLETELY false. Now he and others are retracting their statements, which should be the case after you look at the numbers. It's just funny the age thing that gets braught up. It's like claiming by brothers pee-wee team is an offensive jauggernaut but it doesnt look good because they were playing with older kids. Honestly who cares how old they are and when they scored the goals. Facts are facts, North Dakota and Minnesota arent that much above Wisconsin in the scoring department anymore. p.s. like you said, lets move on and talk about potential future recruits

Hak fan, no offense but those are some lame excuses. You said that Nodak was an offensive powerhouse and that Wisconsin doesnt score. Now it's that Wisconsin had older players, blah blah blah. Wisconsin isn't the team people think they are no matter how many lame excuses people give. You have to remember that those early Eaves years were with the crappy players that Sauer recruited. Now that Eaves has his players it's a lot different.

First of all, you use the term..."offensive powerhouse." Comparatively speaking, in conference play (i'm only using conference play becuse it's a lot easier to compare by the teams they played against), North Dakota scored a total of 104 goals in 28 games. An average o 3.71 goals per game. Not bad, good enough for second in the conference. Wisconsin scored 98 goals, for an average of 3.5 goals per game, third in the conference, and only 6 goals and .21 goals a game less than North Dakota who you call an "Offensive powerhouse." To tell you the truth, i'm reaaaaaaaally not that great at reading statistics, but I don't get your point. Second of all, I think an even more telling stat is goal differential. Last season in conference play, North Dakota had a goal differential of +28, meaning they averaged winning by a goal per game. While Wisconsin had a goal differential of +38, meaning they won by 1.36 goals per game. Call them boring, call them what you want, but the stats don't lie. p.s. I'm not trying to call you out specificly, Goon said something about them being boring earlier too. The fact of the matter is that people have this idea of what Wisconsin is and they have no idea what they are talking about. Edit: Rember, i'm not trying to make fun of the Sioux either. I am also a fan if you didn't know.

I don't know but Justin Johnson from Eau Claire North, WI and Travis Erstad from Stevens Point, WI are.

It's actualy not that funny. People on here give him a ton of crap but the fact remains that he's one hell of a talent.

I think they might actualy have Malkins name on it already. In all reality Gilbert Brule may challenge. Possibly Kessel if he plays with Burgeron. Kopitar if he makes the kings out of camp.

Saw Hak at the Elite League games in the cities today.

Not trying to be a douche, but I posted that about 7 posts up.

Brad Malone mentioned in today's Wisconsin State Journal. Malone, a 17-year-old from Miramachi, New Brunswick, is regarded as the top available North American recruit for the 2007-08 season. Red Line Report has him rated 31st on its list prospects for the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Malone's cousin, Ryan, starred for St. Cloud State and currently is a front-line NHL winger with Pittsburgh. Brad Malone's uncle - Ryan's father - knows UW coach Mike Eaves because both worked for the Penguins. Those connections explain why Brad Malone tentatively plans to visit UW, possibly before he begins playing for Sioux Falls of the USHL this season. Listed at 6-2 and 205 pounds, Malone also reportedly has interest in Denver, Michigan and North Dakota.

I would throw Justin Johnson from Eau Claire North on that list because of his connection with LaPoint. He is being looked at by a number of schools including Wisconsin.

Link Hockey's Future has released the prospect rankings for the Florida Panthers who drafted Eau Claire North defenseman Derrick LaPoint in the 4th round this summer. Here is what Hockey's Future had to say about the 2006 Wisconsin Player of the Year. 14. (NR) Derrick LaPoint, D, 116th Overall 2006, 6.5 C After an explosive 2005-06 at Eau Claire North High School, Derrick LaPoint shot up the draft rankings. The offensive defenseman scored 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) in just 24 games during his senior year, and carried a +44 rating. The stellar season did not go unnoticed among Panthers scouts, as they traded up to the fourth round to grab Wisconsin's Player of the Year. Well-known for his passing and puckhandling proficiency, LaPoint also carries a 6'3 175 lb. frame that helps him play his two-way game. He plans to spend this season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL before playing college hockey at North Dakota in 2007. It will be interesting to see how well his high-caliber high school offense translates into the more difficult USHL and eventually NCAA games, however it appears this savvy blueliner has the needed tools to eventually do well.

Post of the Week

Two close places to stay are the Double Tree (I believe its a Double Tree) and the University Inn. If you want a decent hotel, choose the Double Tree. If you are there to party, and dont mind the hotel, choose the University Inn. Either way they are both within walking distance of the KC and right by the bar scene. As for the football tickets, good luck. It's homecoming, and it's against the Gophers. You can always try the ebay, stubhub, etc but you're going to pay.

When he led all NCAA freshmen in scoring.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that it is required. It should be a personal choice if an ADULT wants to wear a helmet on the ice while coaching. I wish people didn't have to live their lives in a plastic bubble.

Where is he from, where has he played? Where is he going to be playing? Never heard of the kid before. AAA kid i'm assuming?

Remember the name Seth Soley from Eau Claire Memorial for the '08 or '09 class.

From Hockey's Future: Also, two-time USA Junior Team member Brian Lee (OTT) was forced to stay off the ice at least for the first two days of the camp confined on the stationary bicycle due to a minor injury. "I

A poster from the Hockeys Future website posted a link with video's that the NHL Central Scouting Bureau put out to all the NHL teams. I ran Derrick LaPoint and Mike Forney's name's and found these video's. So those of you out there who have never seen them play, here is a very brief clip of the two recruits. Michael Forney Derrick LaPoint

Did Phil Kessel have an offer from the Badgers?