skateshattrick

You are obviously not hearing me. My initial premise was, and still is, that South is loaded with talent. They had great talent last year, and they should be even better this year and next year. In my opinion, South is much deeper and more talented than Red River, probably the next most talented team. Central has Marto, but not much else. Grafton has the Campbell cousins, but not much else. My point is that if Wilson does not win with this group, there is something wrong. I know Dean well, I like him and respect him, and I think that he is a good coach. However, his teams have underachieved. He has to take some of the blame because of the style of play that he has used in the past. He even played dump-and-chase when he had Askew and Hunter, one of the most talented groups ever to come out of Fargo. Last year, he did get away from that some, which is probably a reflection of the talent. South and Shanley are not even comparable. Shanley only had a few kids that would have even skated varsity for South last year. It will be worse this year because the vast majority of the Flyer and Raider kids are going to South and North. Yet, despite that lack of talent, Shanley almost beat South last year in Regionals despite several very questionable calls. Frank Burggraf has coached teams (Puckhogs) that did very well in Minnesota tournaments. Ask some of his former players like Tyler McGurra (former South player) and Tanner Anderson (former Flyer and West Fargo player) what they think of Frank's coaching. Tyler is at the Burggraf camp now getting ready for Harvard next year. Additionally, Tim Graveline was a former Flyer coach of Askew, Hunter etc. that lost one game as Flyer squirts. I'm sure you were not aware of that. Tim Graveline and Frank Burggraf are great coaches and know a lot more about hockey than most around here. Dean played football at UND, not hockey. Frank and his brother played for UND and won 2 national championships. His mom, Nancy, developed the skating program that is still used at UND. Ask Dean Blais if they know what they are doing. Tim played college hockey for NDSU and his brother played for Wisconsin. With all due respect, if you give them the talent that is at South, they would win easily. If you want to praise Dean Wilson, fine. I have no problem with that. However, do not criticize Frank and Tim when you know nothing about them and your opinions and judgment are clouded by the fact that you bleed Fargo South colors and you have no objectivity.

You further strengthened my point. Luke Brehmer has also been in Burggraf camps since he was very young, including all throughout high school. Ask Luke if Burgraff helped his skating skills and development as a hockey player.

That is really mature to take shots at a 18 or 19 year old kid. It must make you feel real good about yourself. The only thing that I can gather is that you are a disgruntled South or Flyers fan or player. Kyle Graalum is a great kid, and was a Flyer all the way up through Bantams. He was an A player every year, and was more talented than any of the Flyers that he played with, which is evident by the fact that he is playing on and none of the recent South grads are. Do you want to compare Burggraf's to Wilson? From last year's Shanley team, 2 and probably 3 will play junior hockey: Kyle Graalum for Fargo-Moorhead, Pete Fylling for Bismarck and Elliot Hitt, probably for Fargo. Please also consider that Frank Burggraf had in his "dirty dozen" skating group since very young---Dan Irmen, Jason Blake, Brent Vesta, the Klava brothers, etc. He also attracts pros from around the country. Last year, the NY Islanders sent several young players, including one of the top contenders for last year's rookie of the year; the Chicago Blackhawks sent 2 former No. 1 draft choices from Russia; and every year, you will find Jason Blake, Ryan Kraft, Ryan Bayda and a host of other pro players at his fall camp. Can Wilson make the same claim??

Good point. If you are counting assistants, Scott Sandelin is from Hibbing on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. I know Cary. He's a good coach. He brings a little different style than what we have become accustomed to with Dean Blais, who played a wide open passing and skating game. Cary Eades played a very physical game under Gino, and has coached that way. He has also coached a lot of dump and chase, although that may be a reflection of the talent that he had and attempting to match up with better skating teams like Moorhead. Last year's Warroad team was a good skating and passing team, so he certainly knows how to coach many different styles. As much as I wanted Steve Johnson, I think Cary Eades will do a very good job.

He did apply. I talked with Jeff Bowen less than 2 weeks ago. The only question is whether he withdrew his name on his own, or as rumored, he was not eligible for the job because of some requirements for the job. If it is the latter, I am disappointed because I think that he was by far the best candidate, and one of the top 3 candidates for the head coach job with Scott Sandelin and Dave Hakstol.

Yes. I have heard from several North players and parents that he is going to Bismarck.

I agree with jloos. This does put the team in a spot because most of the recruits have committed already.However, he must have had a good reason and I wish him well. No one knows why he left, but is it possible that it has to do with Blais leaving or Hakstol as coach? I have heard that he had a good relationship with Blais, but have not heard anything about his relationship with Hakstol. Any insight from persons in the know would be appreciated.

You don't know what you are talking about. Paul may only be 5'7", but he is probably between 160 and 170. He is very solid. He is also exceptional and probably the most talented player from South since Brandon Askew. There is always room for a "small" guy at any school when you have skills like Paul. However, Wilson loves big wingers and big defenseman, even if the smaller players are more skilled. It fits his style of dump and chase hockey. Dalbey a Mr. Hockey candidate? Please! He's not bad, but Adam Campbell, Paul and Logan Doeden are better even from South. You are right that Marc Harrie would not have played varsity last year for South, but I disagree that he would not have made varsity this year, barring politics or size issues. He was one of the best players on the Flyers teams at every level, playing 2nd line center behind Paul Weisgarber. The problem is that the junior class is very talented, so some very good forwards will be fighting for varsity time with Paul Weisgarber, Adam Campbell, Logan Doeden (who is actually a sophomore, but is the same age and played all the way up with these guys), Josh Ramberg, Brandon Mauch, Adam Kotchian, Grant Larson, Pat Gores, etc. As I have said before, if South does not win with this talent, there is something wrong.

I respectfully disagree. Dean knows a lot about hockey, but has often played dump-and-chase despite having good skating teams, and has not done well with very good talent and big numbers. He missed the state tournament for at least 2 years before last year. However, even if I agreed that he's a good coach, the point is that he better win with the talent he has coming in. The Flyers from the incoming Juniors down to squirts are very talented.

What is your educated "guess" as to who will get the job?

I have heard the same thing, but that it's closer to $150k.

I'm not sure who Jay Erickson replaced, but the thought is that he was hired to eventually succeed Don Smith. Don Smith did not choose him, he was hired by North. The Flyers hated to lose Jay.

Jason, I think your predictions are dead on. I could see North sneaking in, but they will need some discipline and good goaltending. Don't overlook that Jay Erickson is now an assistant coach at North and is very big on discipline. Jay Erickson was the Bantam A coach for the Flyers for several years. He is an excellent coach, and puts up with no BS. If North doesn't make it this year, it will be a long time before they appear again. North's squirt, peewee and bantam teams from the Junior class on down have been atrocious. South, on the other hand, is loaded for years to come. If Dean Wilson doesn't win it this year or next, there is something wrong. He has tons of returning talent, most of which are from the junior class, and many of whom played on a very good JV team last year that ended Moorhead's winning streak at 78 games.

I think that you are misinterpreting the comments of so-called "naysayers." If you are referring to persons who are upset with the way the hiring was handled, count me among the many. It may well be that Dave Hakstol is the best man for the job. However, it would have been nice to know that by at least accepting applications from more than one person, and God forbid, interviewing a few capable candidates. This is the "usual" process, and should be for one of the two most prestigious college hockey jobs in the country (the other being Minnesota). Consider these examples: 1. That is the process that U of M did when it hired Lucia. UM could have hired a very capable assistant, Mike Guentzel, who has been mentioned as a top head coaching candidate throughout the country. Instead, UM opened up the search and sought Dean Blais. When they did not land him, they went after Lucia. 2. At a smaller level, with the same AD, the UND football team (which is Division II) COULD have hired from within and hired Randy Hedberg, a longstanding and capable assistant with the Sioux (who turned around St. Cloud State). Instead, UND opened up its job search and hired Dale Lennon, who was coaching in Bismarck. 3. The Bison (again, on a smaller level--Div 1AA) could have hired the enormously popular Casey Bradley, a long-time assistant. Instead, they chose to do a national search and Craig Bohl got the job over Bradley. The point is not that Hakstol is not capable, but that he will always be subject to 2nd guessing. UND's program is not comparable to D2 or D1AA football, it is much bigger and more prestigious. As a long-time UND fan and booster, I expected more. That is not to say that I will not support Dave Hakstol--I hope that he does very well and that the issue becomes moot. I know him and he's a good guy. I also think he will do well. However, he will now have a very short leash that could have been avoided. If UND and Roger Thomas had at least taken the time to interview Steve Johnson, Scott Sandelin and others, and had chosen Dave Hakstol, it would have been fine to all but the most cynical UND fans. However, as it stands, it leaves a bitter taste in many UND supporters mouths. If you think that my opinions are in the minority, you should talk with some of the avid UND hockey supporters and boosters in Grand Forks and Fargo. I also resent the fact that some apparently feel that persons upset with the way the hiring was handled should be quiet and tow the company line. I respectfully disagree. It is one thing to support our new coach, which we will do. It is quite another to criticize UND and Roger Thomas for the way this was handled. UND and RT should know that many fans, boosters and alumni are not happy with the way this was handled so that it does not happen again, and, if the coach is not successful, they will be held accountable. By the way, Larry Coker may have been successful, but how about Ron Zook at Florida? I can refer you to a local Florida alum who wishes they would have hired from outside. Besides, Coker and Zook were hired after a national search, so you are talking about apples and oranges.

Wilbur, I'm not sure that it is accurate that east teams don't like playing west schools. That makes it sound like they view the west as inferior, which is not true. It really boils down to room on the schedule and logistics. The NDHSAA allows only so many high school games, and mandates so much against ND competition. As a result, the east teams only have so many slots to fill. You have to understand that GF has longstanding rivalries with Roseau, Warroad and other teams from that section. GF would prefer to play those teams because the travel is less, because of rivalries, and yes, because the competition is generally better if you go east. The same is true of Fargo. If Fargo has an opportunity to play Moorhead and Fergus Falls, geography dictates that Fargo will prefer to play those schools as opposed to traveling 3 hours to Bismarck or 5 to Minot. Minneapolis, which has the best competition, is only 3 hours from Fargo, only slightly farther than Bismarck and closer than Minot. You can pick up several games in a tournament in Minneapolis against better competition. It does work both ways. 2 years ago, Minot and the Fargo Flyers had very strong Bantam A teams. They tried to schedule, but neither wanted to travel 5 hours for 1 game. Minot was no more willing to travel to Fargo than the converse.

Please get off of this topic because you do not know what you are talking about and have already been exposed in a previous post entitled "Recruiting in High School Hockey." I challenge you to name one player that Shanley "illegally recruited", let alone recruited. We put up with a lot of your unintelligible posts, but you should have some basis in fact before posting on this board. By the way, how was it that Danny Irmen attended Red River while his parents were living in Fargo? Or Krebsbach from Minot? How was it that Spooner ended up in Grafton? Perhaps you should re-read the posts in which you were previously shot down.

I cannot speak for the west, although Minot has a strong group of incoming juniors. From the east, South and Red River will be good. Red River returns most of its good players, and the Sophomore and Junior classes are better than Central. Central should not be as good, especially if Mario is leaving, but they still have Marto, probably the best player in the state. I would rank them 3rd from the east. North may not be too bad. They have trouble scoring, but will have one of the top goalies in the state in Elliot Oklund and have some experienced and talented defenseman if they can learn to stay out of the box in Bjoralt and Halstenson. The senior group from North did win PeeWee state and was very good at Bantams. They did lose Loos to Moorhead, but I think that they will be in the hunt with Grafton for 4th. Klenow and Fischer are juniors who should contribute.

Agreed on both topics. I appreciate the fact that people like PCM, Greyeagle, Sagard, Sicatoka, Schmidtdoggydog, and SFSioux#1 (and others) bring levity, are reasonable and don't get into the name-calling and trashtalking that is all too frequent on USCHO. I hate to see this board sink to that level. We can agree to disagree on certain matters, but it can be done in a courteous and respectful manner. Thanks PCM! We do enjoy your posts and opinions.

I couldn't have said it better myself on both counts.

Regardless of what many of you may think of Deekspizza, I agree with him/her. The anonymous source that I have heard was from a very close friend of Erin Hakstol (Dave's wife) who said last week that Dave Hakstol had been offered the job. If anyone is interested, there is a good article from Jeff Kolpack in today's Fargo Forum about the hiring of Dave Hakstol and why UND should have opened up the search nationally.

I respectfully disagree. That may be the case occasionally, but I don't think that you can generalize like that. Many times, anonymous sources are persons very close to the situation, such as close friends, spouses or colleagues who do not want to reveal confidential information or be subject to scrutiny for revealing that information. For example, a coach may tell his spouse or close family members or friends that they have been offered a job, but that does not mean that person would reveal that information publicly. Those sources, however, sometimes talk anonymously.

Very well put. I was never a big Brandt fan until last year, but he proved me wrong. He was the best goalie for the Sioux all year, with only 2 bad games (at Wisconsin--not all his fault and the WCHA final 5 against Minnesota). Having said that, Lamoreaux is very highly touted and is reputed to be the real deal. He will challenge both Jake and Jordan for playing time.

1. UND 2. Wisconsin 3. Minnesota 4. CC 5. UMD UND and UW return the most, and UM is going to be good. The top 3 should be up for grabs. I like Wisconsin ahead of UM because of goaltending. CC had a very young and talented team last year. I would be shocked if UAA is ahead of them or even Denver. I have UAA ticketed for the cellar with MTU.

I believe the Herald. A close friend of Erin Hakstol has said that Dave Hakstol was officially offered the job on Wednesday. It is a done deal. They are just waiting for the 5 days to officially pass.

Why would Steve Johnson take an assistant job? He makes in excess of $100,000 per year in Lincoln, and probably closer to $150,000 (he gets a % of the gate). He has also said that he is 75-80% sure that he will be back in Lincoln next year. I hope that you are right, because I think he's the best head coach candidate, but I'm not too optimistic.