dagies

Yeah, what was Brady Murray thinking, anyway.

Another addition to the hockey lexicon! Harringtonned DEFINITION: (verb) walked, burned EXAMPLE: The forward just harringtonned the defenseman and slipped the puck under the defenseless goalie! SYNONYM: "How's she goin'"

I tend to agree.

I struggled with what that meant too. Maybe he's recalling his "payote" days.

Ah. I didn't realize the outlet was going to go in that direction. They could send it down to Wahpeton and let Fargo drink it on the way north.

Sounds like they need to build a pipe from Devil's Lake.

I like that!

PCM, great distinctions in dissecting that article. I felt the same way on your last point. I fail to see how the position of activists (who admittedly have an agenda) is more representative of the population than the average person who might have no problem with the nickname. In fact, he could find supporters. Probably one for every "activist". I also agree with your first point about the Redskins. There are names that go too far. I don't know about the more generic names like Warriors and Savages. That can apply to many people, not just Native Americans. I'm allowing for the possibility that one day someone will provide a persuasive enough argument that I'll agree that changing the name is the right thing to do. So far I haven't seen it.

From the USA today article ESPNInsider linked above: Oh oh.

You know, probably my second biggest concern if the Sioux nickname is changed is what we would end up with. The North Dakota Wild? What?

PCM, ScottM, good calls. I wonder if he's ever seen a game at UND. I think things are handled a little differently here. It's nice that he mentioned this, but I find it surprising that he was so easily able to dismiss it. He, above, talked to "Native American activists" and felt they had great things to say. But apprarently talking to the average joe doesn't carry nearly the impact..........

Haven't we?

There are some Fungas Flats types who manage to stave off maroon-itis. Hopefully Dowzak is one of them.

For 2006-07 we have (probably): Chorney, Jones, Lee, Alexander, Radke, Marto Smaby and Bina are wildcards. It would seem possible we could absorb both those guys.

I like Finley's attitude.

My memory is faulty then. I was thinking he played forward quite a bit that last couple of months.

True, but Bina played forward much of the time while the top 5 D played.

Yikes, and Radke had trouble even getting on the ice last year!

Kupchella's original letter was to the headhunter involved. Whether that needed to be considered public record or not I don't know. I guess it is because it was provided to Marshall. No surprise considering the level of detail he went into. As PCM stated, it appears he asked for it to be kept confidential at that early point in the process. Whether he ever thought his written letter would be made public or not I don't know. But frankly, I find it very surprising that the letter of application could be made public without the approval of the writer. I have to think he got far enough into the process where he knew his applicancy would be public, and maybe then assented to his written app being posted. Of course, he may have forgotten that one comment. Either that, or he's basically telling everyone that he's gone from UND regardless. Whether we think Kupchella has been great or not great it appears there's no consensus that he's irreplaceable. Sounds like he had strengths and weaknesses, so this can be viewed as an opportunity, regardless of viewpoint. However, be careful what you ask for. While the next president could remind everyone of Tom Clifford, he/she might also be very willing to cut/slash/change something near and dear to your heart. Sometimes the enemy you know is better than the enemy you don't know.

We must have looked at most of the same sources for handedness and positions! I've also played with the lines. I liked how you split up the Spirko-Zajac-Stafford combo. I preferred to stick with them myself. I tried to consider handedness but that was down on my list of priorities. Spirko L - Zajac R - Stafford R Porter L - Watkins L - Duncan L Kozek L - Toews L - Oshie R Prpich L - Kaip R - Fabian L ( - Martens R - Miller R) Zajac and Stafford were working some magic at the end of the year regardless if their handedness doesn't fit the formula. So I left that together. Red Line described Watkins as a smooth centerman, so I decided to let him center a line. Sure, there's 2 freshmen on that line but when you are playing at least 5 freshmen forwards it's going to happen. Porter provides some upperclass leadership and physical play hopefully to protect Duncan. Duncan's got some age for a freshman so hopefully that line doesn't suffer too much from inexperience. I fought the urge to put 3 freshman on the 3rd line but I did it anyway. The 3rd line should be against weaker lines on other teams so I felt it was a good place to stow a bunch of inexperienced players. Oshie is a talented playmaker and so is Toews. I let Toews play center due to the fact he probably has the most upside, but you could switch Toews and Oshie. 2 very talented playmakers and Kozek (whom Hakstol said can really shoot the puck) should be able to clean up. Hopefully this line can surprise the lines matched against them. The Red Pepper line is an experienced, gritty line. I decided to put experienced players on this line with the hopes it can limit the other team's scorers. With a young defense we might need that extra help.

Sure, guys could develop playing D1 hockey. But can't they also develop playing in another pro league somewhere? I think that's what is easy to forget. A guy may leave college before he's ready for the NHL, but he might develop just as well somewhere else while he's making money. And you can always go to school later on that money. Another thought: Many people will know better what degree they should put that money toward after they have aged and matured a bit. I'd love to have these guys stay at UND all 4 years, get their degree and move along, but I just don't see any strong argument against there being other very good alternatives for them.

Good stuff, jk. To my untrained eye the average differences are not as great as I would expect, but when you look at the difference in each individual it's pretty obvious that the incoming recruits are significantly younger across the board. It would be great to compare talent but that is subjective and worthy of another discussion. This objective data and extrapolation of Kermit's point is very interesting. This league is tough on young players. It will be a very interesting first half of the year.

That Patrick Rogan played on the same Shattuck team as David Toews. Let's hope they are good friends. I loved the comments about hard working and good character.

Yes, goaltending was a toughie that year. Kermit, you make a very interesting point about the junior experience comparison then and now.

Others have pointed out David Hale and Matt Jones. There is a Hockey's Future article linked in the Matt Greene thread. Here's a quote from the article Hockey's Future on Matt Greene