skateshattrick

And the chest pumping and delusional thinking by Bison fans is beyond over the top.

That is not entirely accurate. The UND fan base was very divided on this issue, but it really did not matter because Roger Thomas had already decided that it was a bad idea to move up to FCS. Many UND fans were upset, many agreed with Roger Thomas. I thought it was a mistake at the time, and history has shown that it did hurt UND not moving up sooner. I'm not sure what I think about the move to FBS because the cost is so great. I don't blame NDSU for moving up, and it was probably the right move for its program. I would like to see UND compete at the FBS level, but I do understand the financial concerns. I expect that UND will closely monitor SDSU, USD and the Montana schools before making the decision. I do believe that the landscape of college football is still evolving, and fully expect that there will be another "FCS" type division that will include the schools that are not in the Big 10 and SEC.

I live in Fargo and I agree with Bison06. I'm not a fan of NDSU and never have been, but I understand that the fans were bored. The only games that really fired up the fan base were SDSU and UND and whenever the Bison played an FBS opponent. The move was long overdue. The end goal is to be a relevant FBS program like Boise State. It remains to be seen if they accomplish that goal, but I wouldn't bet against them.

I had the same thought. They traded a top 4 defenseman (Bowen Byram) for the opportunity to upgrade for another defenseman. I hope that they let Carels or Verhoeff play at least 1 year before having them come in. The owner of the Sabres is Terry Pegula, who is a huge Penn State booster and alum and was rumored to be the one who paid McKenna to come to Penn State.

Why do you say that? His statistics are not much different than Keith Tkachuk: Zach Parise 1254 Games, 434 goals, 455 assists for 889 points and a +76 Keith Tkachuk 1201 Games, 538 goals, 527 assists for 1065 points and a +33. Additionally, Parise played for defensive minded teams where scoring was not a priority like New Jersey and Minnesota, and Parise is a much better defensive forward than Tkachuk.

NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings has Cooper Williams at #50 and Brayden Klimpke at #74. Williams was the 2nd leading scorer on the Blades, but had more goals.

3rd round pick of the Blackhawks.

Harsh but I agree completely with your position.

I think he is committed for 2027-2028 according to Elite Prospects. Did you see something different?

I thought gfhockey was Drunk Hockey Guy aka Chris Orlett. 😀

If I recall correctly, JT MIller was drafted by the Rangers and then decided to play in the OHL rather than college. Carson Carels is jumping from the WHL to college.

By finally, do you mean for this year? Because Verhoeff, Reschny and Emery are blue chippers.

Who cares? They are both elite and both will be picked in the top of the draft.

No they need a draft like the NFL based on the worst record. Hockey players don’t tank. The lottery is not fair and makes people lose interest in the draft. Look how popular the NFL draft is. If the NFL was dumb enough to have a lottery it would not be as popular. The NHL and NBA can’t get out of their own way

Agreed. Quinn Hughes and Jake Sanderson also played 2 years of college hockey.

It could be proximity, but I find Minnesota professional sports fans to be the most annoying. I know fans of many professional sports teams, but Vikings and Wild fans are easily the worst in my experience. They win a few games and they are Super Bowl bound or Stanley Cup bound and rub it in the faces of other teams' fans, and they lose a few games and they want to fire everyone, blow up the team and complain about how the refs always single their teams out. It is the same every year, and the announcers like Paul Allen and Kevin Gorg are just glorified cheerleaders.

I get your point. I think next year's team is going to be very good, but I am really hoping that we can add a high end defenseman like Carson Carels, Landon DuPont, etc. It is very fun to watch high end players like Jake Sanderson, Brock Boeser, Nick Schmaltz, Zach Parise, TJ Oshie, Jonathan Toews, etc., even if they are only here for 2 years or less. Having said that, I believe that Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff are going to take huge steps this year and will have monster sophomore seasons. Max Plante was not dominant his freshman season at UMD, and I believe these 2 have more upside than Max Plante.

I don't necessarily agree with as15, but his point is not without logic or non-sensical. I believe he is alluding to the fact that we have yet to receive commitments from any of the high end CHL or even high end NTDP players who are projected to be 1st round picks or very high picks. Last year, we got 2 very high end recruits, so perhaps his expectation is that this trend would continue??

I don't dislike Gophers players at all and don't dislike teams that have Gophers players, but I don't like the Wild. Even with Parise on the team (one of my all time favorite UND players), I could not cheer for the Wild. Kevin Gorg and those ugly colors are enough reason to dislike the Wild, but Minnesota professional sports fans in general are the most annoying.

As a person who intensely dislikes the Wild, I care much more about Jake Sanderson and any UND players in the pros than Brock Faber or any other former Gopher player. Why would you cheer for the Wild and dislike the Gophers? It's the same fans

Exactly. And I'll pick Verhoeff over any senior defensemen in the portal.

UND has 2 sophomores and 2 juniors for next year--Laurilla, Verhoeff, Boser and Emery. What's your point?

Agree. The experience/upperclassmen narrative is incorrect. Denver just won with mostly freshman and sophomores, and the UND championship team in 1997 was mostly freshman and sophomores, except the defensemen who were balanced with 1 freshman, i sophomore, 2 juniors and 2 seniors. Winning with underclassmen has been the most successful formula.

If you have 18 forwards who all believe they are top 6, you have no checking line. That was the problem that Woog and Lucia had. You can't build a roster with 25 1st round picks because you have no 3rd of 4th line or bottom 4 defense. Plus, you are seriously underrating Lindberg's ability. He will fit this team very well.

I have been to Providence, Milwaukee twice, St. Paul, Detroit twice St. Louis, Anaheim, Denver, Columbus, Washington D.C. and Tampa. My top 3 are: 1. Tampa 2. Milwaukee 3. Tie between Detroit and St. Paul