The Exiled One

Case in point

I took this argument to the Gopher fans on GPL. I don't think I convinced many of them. Hockey is a different animal, and I understand that recruiting is different, but what I found by researching football and basketball is that recruit stealing (or "flipping") typically happens to top recruits between top programs. The Gopher fans are hoping that they can snipe late bloomers from smaller schools in order to fill roster holes, but Boston College doesn't typically follow that model. York (college hockey's closest thing to an admitted recruit thief) tends to follow the football/basketball model by stealing top recruits from BU, Harvard, Notre Dame and the like. One thing I know for certain is that the trend to recruit younger will NOT change. Top prospects from ANYWHERE in the country are getting offers from top programs (NCAA & CHL) very early. The spate of 14 and 15 year-olds that the Gophers recently committed all had options (even the Minnesotans) and the Gophers wanted to get them locked up early. This is exactly the same as football/basketball. The kind of players Minnesota recruits at the age of 15 aren't looking at Mankato, SCSU, or Bemidji. They may be looking at UNO or UMD, but they're most likely looking at UND, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame. In short, the bigger the talent = the younger he's identified = the more attention he gets from top schools. Some fans may think that, without the GA, that a team like the Gophers can simply step in when the Wisconsin committed kid is 18 years-old and steal him away. That may happen on occasion, but with top prospects, the Gophers would be in a much better position to just commit the kid at 15 and try to hold on to him. If he doesn't pan out, then alternatives are available. Even with the death of the GA, Lucia won't openly admit to "flipping" the next guy to switch his committment to the Gophers. He'll insist that the player publicly decommits and "reopens" his recruitment process. However, my best guess is that this hypothetical player will be a stud playing his senior year in the NTDP, USHL, or BCHL. It'll probably happen halfway through the season. He'll likely be a high NHL draft prospect. I also predict that a Gopher fan will read this post and write about it on GPL, because unlike me, they don't have the guts to write a dissenting opinion on a rival's message board.

You're not wrong, but it'd still be a better scenario for SCSU even if UND was placed there.

Here's an idea I floated to the SCSU athletic director: St. Cloud State plays host to the west regional at the Target Center the same year the Gophers play host to the midwest regional at the Xcel. There are several reasons why I think this would work out really well... • The Twin Cities is a great college hockey market. The NCAA makes bank here. • It doesn't matter who gets placed at the Xcel, the Gophers will draw. • The Huskies would draw better than Cinncinnati or Toledo has in the past couple of years, especially if UMD, UW, MSUM, or UND was placed here. • If the Huskies missed the tounament, the NCAA Tournament selection committee would bend over backwards to get UND into this regional It's the last two points I think would appeal to UND fans. It'd be your best opportunity to appear in front of a very UND friendly crowd WITHOUT the Gopher fans in attendance. Weems and Teague would have to coordinate. I assume Faison and (UMD's) Berlo would at least endorse the plan. Thoughts?

Looks like you're losing Wilkie to the WHL. I'm not celebrating, I hate it when college kids go to the CHL.

That's him. His age should make him a senior, so the fact that he switched from prep school to the USHL shows that he might be looking to step into a lineup next season. There's not going to be a lot of opportunity for that without an unexpected early departure. That's not an uncommon occurrence, but I have a feeling he'll head back east. He'll probably get drafted too. I see him as a riser. 85th in the midterms, but I think he goes late second round.

Nah, you guys have been keeping up pretty well. Besides, I'd have been just as wrong as the rest of you if I tried to predict where Gersich, Poganski, or Benson were going to play! One of you linked to my blog a few posts back. The "rankings" tab on that blog pretty much sums up who I think are hot prospects now, but it's a bit out of date. I'll have to updated it for February.

http://www.hselitehockey.com/stats/team_instance/220379?subseason=80533 Looks like they were pretty decent to me.

And UND will enter the ice to a chant of "HUS-KY RE-JECTS"

Did nobody pronounce this in their head? As far as I had to reach for the pun, I thought it would have been obvious.

In honor of all the hicks from St. Cloud, Grand Forks, and Kalamazoo, I think they should name it The Hick Cup

Agreed and dittoed.

*best Jim Carrey voice* "So you're saying there's a chance!" Your odds mean you'd be fairly comfortable putting up $89 to win $10 that the Huskies won't sweep. I'm not a gambling man, but think I know a few Husky fans with $10 I could put you in contact with.

I'll have to wait until after Friday night's game to compare.

Denver hadn't been swept in conference place since the last time SCSU swept them. That was 11/15/08, BTW. Just in case anybody was curious, Denver was not able to sweep the Huskies at any point within that time frame. Needless to say, the Huskies record against DU is pretty decent in recent history. Their record is not as good against UND in the same time frame, but they have managed to split the last three series. The last time UND swept the Huskies was 12/4/10 at the Ralph. The Huskies were 5-7-2 going into that weekend. They're 11-5 in the WCHA at the moment. UND has a solid team, but probably not as solid as the woofing would indicate. I know this isn't the best place to say it, but I do believe a sweep is possible... by EITHER team. A seasoned gambler would probably put their money on a split, but I'm no gambler.

Lindgren is a stud. I'm not saying Obernesser is bad, but Lindgren is a year younger and is still playing great. Come playoff time, I expect Obernesser will be watching from the bench full-time. Obernesser, IMHO, is a D1 walk-on at this point. But just so it doesn't look like I'm just criticizing, I agree with your assessment of Brey. I've never seen Fredrick play. Also, I don't know if you looked at MN high schools, but I'm a fan of John Dugas from Hill-Murray. I know he's visited SCSU, but I don't think he has any special connection. It seems to me he'd be crazy not to entertain an advance from UND.

Here's another college hockey recruiting site that might be worth checking out.

Forward Alex Schoenborn from Minot and defenseman Keaton Thompson from Devils Lake will be trying out for the NTDP. Just thought you'd all like to know.

I remembered Miller. One could argue that Miller could be countered with Czarnik, but I limited myself to three forwards because having more than that emerge as solid freshmen contributors is rare. I'll be at the Friday game, yes. I sold my Saturday tickets to DAR. I looked for a Husky fan to sell them to first, but didn't find one in time. I'm a terrible fan. Unfortunately, I'll be in Mankato watching the bullfrogs beat up the landcows in Mankato Saturday night. My UMD freinds and I rotate which school we follow for our annual roadtrip.

Indeed. Some look like gambles, but Cooper and Jayson Megna are two players any team would love to have. If half of their gambles turn out (which with Blais I'm sure they will), that team will be scary good. Of course, the most frightening freshman class next season is going to have to be Miami (sorry Sioux fans). It's a tight race between MacMillan/O'Donnell/Grimaldi versus Coleman/Mullin/Biggs, but the edge goes to the forwards proven in the USHL. If it's any consolation, I don't think sconnie or the goofers can touch your group.

Mr. Hockey candidate Jonny Brodzinski from Blaine will also be joining the Force after the season. Despite the fact that his dad played for SCSU and that the family as a whole are Husky fans, I've heard that UND has had some interest in him. It could just be to get access at his talented younger brother too. Motzko used to coach the Brodzinski dad and they're in semi-regular contact, but Bob has not pulled the trigger on either of the kids yet. If they don't pan out as college players, Bob will look like a genius. If they make it to D1 at some other school and are decent, I'm going to be pissed.

Still available.

Asking face ($60 for the pair). Sec 212 row 4. PM me if interested.

The Huskies are indeed struggling, but they haven't been swept yet this season. Of course, they had the advantage of home ice to eek out ties against UNO and Miami, which they won't have this weekend. There's a good chance the Sioux will sweep. I'm hoping for better, but bracing for the worst.

Agreed. There's no shame in taking a well seasoned 21yo from juniors if you're in a pinch. This guy looks like he could be useful next season.