skateshattrick

[

Thank you for not sharing because I personally do not care. This has been beat to death, but I really doubt that you are going to sway me or a majority of Sioux fans or fans of any other program looking at this objectively. Riddle me this Batman---who other than jealous and insecure Gopher fans count the 2 pre-NCAA banners? You don't have to answer--it was a rhetorical question. If you graduated from NDSU, have someone explain what rhetorical means.

You are really reaching now. This would be hilarious if it were not so pathetic. Were they still wearing rubber boots or did they progress to figure skates?

The bottom line is that players are drafted and recruited based much more upon size and potential than they are upon ability. That is not intended as any type of a negative towards Andy Dittus or Tyler Jundt who are both excellent players and deserve the recognition that they are receiving. I expect both of them to do very well at the next level. Personally, I think Paul is better than Jordan Willert, but he is not 6'4" 220lbs and have a cannon for a shot. However, Paul is not very big and is noted by scouts and players to have average speed. Scouts and coaches focus more upon size, meaning that it is an uphill battle for anyone who is smaller. I agree with you that Paul Weisgarber is very talented, and given the opportunity, would excel in the USHL or even beyond. The difficulty is getting that opportunity. Yes, there are the Ryan Duncans and David Hoogsteens of the world, but what David Hoogsteen had to go through to get an opportunity emphasizes the problem with being a smaller player in what is becoming a big man's game. David Hoogsteen was not heavily recruited by the USHL, but was the leading scorer in the USHL, averaging almost 2 points per game. That earned him exactly one scholarship offer to UND at a time that, fortunately for David, the Sioux were down and rebuilding with Dean Blais. The only reason is because he was 5'7" and less than 140 lbs. He proved that he could play at every level growing up, but kept having to prove himself because of his size. Unfortunately for players like Paul Weisgarber and others, it is difficult to get an opportunity. This is true in most sports--look at Greg Eslinger getting drafted in the 6th round because he is perceived to be too small and not strong enough for the pro game.

haha are you comparing this team to the 1980 olympic team? Just for conversation sake I am wondering how people think this team would have done agianst teams like Roseuo, Moorhead or South? I'm sure someone could give the lines for south last year and we could try compare line by line. Moorhead and roseuo maybe alittle tough to come up with.

Nice call Specifics.

If you want Toews back next year, you may not want the Blackhawks to draft him. The Chicago papers from this past week indicated that they want to draft an NHL ready forward who can step in next year, and they mentioned Toews, Kessel and Staal by name. They also were quoted as saying that if Toews was there at No. 3, they would likely take him and felt that he was ready to play immediately.

He has signed a contract with the FM Jets. He is eligible for the USHL draft and may be drafted.

It is hard to argue with how good TJ Oshie is and the impact that he had on the Sioux. He is sensational and one of the hardest working players that I have ever had the pleasure of watching in a Sioux uniform. Purely from a points standpoint, an 18 year old freshman named Zach Parise had more of an impact with 61 points in 39 games. TJ Oshie had 45 points in 44 games. I believe that Troy Murray also had a huge impact his freshman year. However, there is a certain amount of subjectivity with how valuable a player is, and points certainly are not the only measure of value. For my money, Parise is the best freshman I have ever seen in a Sioux uniform. However, I recognize others can put up a strong argument for Troy Murray, Kevin Maxwell and TJ Oshie. Frankly, if you take the all-around game, I have a hard time deciding who I like better--Oshie or Toews, particularly since Toews is only 17. Fortunately, the Sioux have both. Both Oshie and Toews are special, and do not come around very often. The rest of the freshmen are also pretty good. Enjoy them while they are here. Hopefully, it will be at least 1 more year of Toews and Oshie.

Holy Cross! Who tinkled in your cheerios?? By the way, it won't matter because you still have Briggs.

Dave Hakstol talked about him a lot at Sioux Boosters in Fargo on Tuesday and is very, very pleased with his development. He said that over the past 1/3 of the season, he is clearly one of the top players in the USHL. He said that his overall game makes him one of the elite players in the league and they are really looking forward to having him next year. He did say that Marto will also be a good player in this league, but the coaching staff has not decided yet if he will be here this fall or the next fall.

What an absolutely classy post! Yesterday at Fargo Sioux Boosters, Dave Hakstol joked about how his blood pressure would go down now that you graduated. He then QUICKLY followed that up by saying that you are one of his favorite players to ever go through the program and how you gave tons to the team and the program that the casual fan would never see, including on and off the ice and in the locker room. You will be missed but not forgotten! Thank you for 4 great years.

I think that you are wrong. A former Lincoln assistant coach, who coached both Danny Irmen and Ryan Potulny at Lincoln, has repeatedly said that Irmen is a better all-around player and will be a better pro than Potulny. He bases this on his toughness, defensive play, ability to play in the corners, etc. Time will tell, but I think Irmen is going to have a nice career in the NHL.

According to the USCHO message board, KFAN is reporting that Danny Irmen is gone as well. Stay tuned.

That is a tired argument. Most of these guys have had success at every level. Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski in particular were used to success at every level. Bochenski was on the state champion Blaine Bengals and the USHL champion Lincoln Stars. Parise won at every level, at SSM and in the World Juniors where he won gold. However, money talks and if they are ready, they should go. If they are not, they should stay. If the Sioux players all return, they will have scary talent, at least on par with UM. They will also have Darcy Zajac, Chay Genoway, Michael Forney, Chris Vandevelde and Jake Marto. I'm sure that the Sioux will be just fine next year and really will not be in awe of the Gophers.

The more you post, the more foolish you appear. You incessantly want to talk about Bison football on a Sioux hockey message board because of your obsession with the big brother being more successful. I never have and never will visit a Bison football message board. Why? Because I really, sincerely do not care about Bison football nor the high school with ashtrays known as NDSU-- probably less than I care about George Mason basketball (at least they are in the big dance and have national exposure). You, however, spend a lot of time here trying to convince us that the sky is green and gold. PLEASE go away.

Pretty much equals?? What color is the sky in your world? Keep telling yourself that Alice and you and Toto will be home from Wonderland and back in Kansas soon!! The Bison are irrelevant to every Sioux fan and to every D1 program outside of Fargo. The Sioux are discussed by every team on every message board from Maine to Boston College to Michigan to Wisconsin to Minnesota etc. Do us a favor and PLEASE go away and stop trying to convince us that any of us care about the Bison.

Exactly! I have never seen a bigger case of penis envy than Bison fans!

Anyone can manipulate statistics to support their argument. The fallacy of this analysis is that the comparison is made of all 1AA football programs and all DI hockey teams (and hockey is for 03-04, not current). Why not a comparison between UND, UW or UM hockey with the Bison football team? The Sioux average over 11,000 per game, the Gophers over 10,000, and Wisconsin is even higher. The Bison probably do not average that much for a home football game. However, just assume that the Bison drew 20,000 per game, which is "pie in the sky." They play 5-6 home games per year for an unrealistic total of 20k x 6=120,000. The Sioux play on average 20 games per year with an average of 11,000. That is 20 x 11k=220,000. The numbers are not even close. Plus, realistically, the Bison probably average 10-15k per game, even with its skewed attendance figures. Add it TV viewership and its not close---MANY more people will watch the Sioux v. Gophers or Sioux v. Wisconsin than the Bison v. anyone. Common sense tells you that---unless you are a Bison tool with rose-colored glasses.

The awards are up on the WCHA website. 3 Sioux made the 3rd team, Drew Stafford, Matt Smaby and Jordan Parise. Brian Lee and TJ Oshie made the all-rookie team. Toews and Chorney got screwed, IMHO. Toews is WAY better than Raymond. Chorney is better than Butler or Lee if you look at his +/-, but apparently, the people that vote just look at points.

I have seen Raymond 4 times against UND and twice against UM. He's a good player, but in my opinion, is not close to Jon Toews. His numbers on the score sheet may not show it, but I believe Toews is the most consistent and most talented freshman on the Sioux. He is excellent defensively, great away from the puck, strong on faceoffs, strong in the corners, and very smart. I would not trade him for any freshman in the WCHA. He is very underrated.

1. Karl Goehring 2. Ed Belfour 3. Jon Casey 4. Aaron Schweitzer 5. Darren Jensen/Jordan Parise I never saw Lefty Curran in college (I saw him in the pros with the Minnesota Saints), but understand that he was pretty special as well.

I happen to agree with you. In fact, if Minot had not lost Jordan Willert to the USHL and a few other players, they probably would have competed for a state title. That same group won Bantam A's just 3 years ago. I agree that the West is weaker because of lack of competition, but there are good players from the west. As far as Tyrel McBain is concerned, however, I think some people get preoccupied with points. He is a good player, but I'm not convinced he is even the best player on Hazen-Beulah---Jerad Borlaug probably is, but gets less attention because he plays defense and does not get as many points. Points is a function of who you have around you, who you are playing, and the style that you playing.