USA Hockey

Shortly after Ben Blood made his commitment to UND, Hammy went on GPL and called him a "Casey Bohrer type player". I tried to call him out on it, but apparently I didn't know anything.

I went to watch Gersich play today at the Victoria Rec Center. He's everything they say he is. Good skater (great breakaway speed), slick play making ability, good hands, wins battles in the corners, and plays the center position well. He's also a good two player, plays the body and he was in on the penalty kill. Not sure if it has to do with the commitment, but there was a bounty on him from the East Ridge team today. There were two roughing penalties (dirty hits) that left him on the ice for a little awhile and there could have been another tripping call.

This was from SiouxForever's post: ...I think UND has better everything all around, obviously The Ralph. I think coaching staff now with Berry helping the D out, is better than Portland's too. What won this kids selection is the brainwashing and the NHL grind schedule comparison with the WHL's schedule. We'll see how he develops throughout the WHL. I feel, no question he'll have a huge impact at the World Juniors this year. We shall see... I thought he was quoting Jones in the post. So my logic was that if UND had everything better all around, then why go to Portland? I didn't realize that it was SiouxForever's comment and not Seth's.

Based on those comments it makes you wonder if money was been shoved under the table.

USA Hockey released the roster for the U-17 Select Team that will play at the U-17 Five Nations Tournament in August, http://usahockey.cachefly.net/Media/2012_FiveNationsRoster.pdf

USA Hockey released the roster for the U18 Select Team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August, http://usahockey.cachefly.net/Media/2012_IvanHlinka.pdf

I watched Johnson at the Lincoln Stars camp a few weeks ago at Ridder. Great skater, good snap shot, but not the best hands.

National Select 17's have been going on this week, you can follow it here, http://www.usahockey.com/Tournament/TournamentStandingTab.aspx?EventID=2906&AgeDivisionID=2100

For anyone in the Twin Cities area, the Lincoln Stars are having their invite camp this weekend at Ridder Arena. If they run it similar to Sioux Falls and Fargo, Luke Johnson and Paul LaDue should be there since it would include current players. I couldn't find a schedule anywhere online, but they usually run scrimmages and games all day. I'll probably be down there on either Saturday/Sunday or possibly both.

USHL Entry Draft starts at 4 today, you can follow it on the USHL website.

Being a UND alumni is not and should not be a requirement for the job. They take the best candidate that they deem fit for the position.

People always want too think the worst when it comes to these situations. It could be something as simple as wanting a d-man to coach the blue line. I don't believe small town gossip, but even if the affair were true, this is Cary's personal life and shouldn't play into his job situation. This staff has been together awhile and maybe Hakstol just wants to shake things up a bit.

USHL Futures Draft starts at 6, this is the 96 birth year. You can follow it here, http://draft.ushl.com/

The Target Center isn't the best hockey arena by any means, but I think it makes sense to have it there over anywhere else (at least during the years the B10 is at the X). Omaha wouldn't be a bad place, but you can't tell me that you will draw more fans in Omaha than in Minneapolis.

The High Performance 16 and 17 Final 54's are this weekend at the Plymouth Ice Center. This is to decide who goes to the national tournament in July, so there is some pretty good talent here. I should be down both days depending on the NHL playoff schedule. You can find the schedule and rosters here, http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/page/show/505513?referrer_id

John Lee was the backup plan if we didn't get Ben Blood. Looks like we got the better end of the deal there.

I trust the coaches decision on recruiting a player when it comes to character. If they thought he was going to be a problem, I don't think they would have recruited him.

I heard about this kid earlier in the year from a source. He was always a big kid and never a very good skater. During the summer, he took off some weight and worked on improving his skating. His game has progressed a lot during the last year. He has a ways to go, but I think scouts like the potential. I think he's going to play in the USHL this spring, so it will be interesting to see how he does there.

Nice post, we have very good recruiting classes for 2012, 2013, and 2014.

This I tend to disagree with. The Gophers are getting the best Minnesota kids, but that's what they've always done. If you look at our recruiting list, we actually have some very good players coming in for 2012, 2013, and 2014, they're just not Minnesota kids.

He must have forgot that only one Big Ten team made the national tournament last year, while seven NCHC teams did.

Good points

Here is my two cents on the Big Ten Hockey Conference. I actually do not think it is going to be the powerhouse that some may think. When you look at the current six members, three of them (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan) have been consistent programs over the course of history. I understand that Michigan State has had some success, but they have also been very inconsistent. Ohio State is a football and basketball powerhouse and doesn't care too much about hockey (I don't think they have ever made the NCAA's). Penn State is a startup program, and I don't care how big the school is, it takes a long time establish a good hockey program (look at Notre Dame). Now there is talk of schools like Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana starting programs. If this is the case, I don't see how it benefits schools like Minnesota and Wisconsin to be playing startup bottom feeder teams every weekend. The nice thing about the WCHA, even without Minnesota and Wisconsin, is that it has established programs, and as a North Dakota fan I would rather play established programs than startup programs.

Did I ever say that we recruited Grant. I am well aware of the fact that we didn't recruit the Potulny's very hard, but that wasn't the point of the post. There were other players at the time that our coaches were more interested in, and I will stand by my sources on that. You have heard it from Grant's dad, but not the other side.

You have absolutely no idea as to what you are talking about when it comes to the recruiting process or the coaching situation. Go sit down for now and then at the end of the year you can be first in line to buy your national championship shirt.