brianvf

2016 team had CBS and then a ton of hard to play against forwards. Gersich was probably the highest skill guy outside the big 3. Guys like Poganski, Janatuinen, Gardner, Johnson, Chyzyk...none of them were stars but they all played their role well and chipped in goals when needed. I'd like to see Swanson and Reschny split up on the top 2 lines...seems like they are both more "pass first" setup guys. I'd love to see a more gritty scorer to fit on that 1st line with Cole and Will. A guy like Belchetz could excel in that spot and also be awesome net front on the PP since he's so big.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/schlossman-its-clear-unds-philosophy-isnt-changing Schloss article from today that talks about the last five pieces needed to finalize the roster.

Maybe he's really pumping everything into these last two D spots. I figure Boser is the replacement for Zmolek...defensive shot-blocking specialist. MacKenzie can take Strathmann's minutes (and then some). Verhoeff, Emery, and Laurila retain their current roles. And then to dream... Carels is a higher skilled all-around dman to take Wiebe's spot. DuPont is a higher skilled, smooth skating dman to take Liv's spot. In that situation, you could rotate Boser and Lindberg as the extra D each night. It'd be one loaded Bottom 9, which is good. If they can really load up that top 3, then we'd be sitting well.

I'd feel like they would need an absolute CHL stud to fill out that 1st line wing spot alongside Zellers & Reschny. Simpson is awesome offensively, but not sure you can just throw him right into 1st line minutes until he is up to speed on his 200ft NCAA game. If you pick up one CHL stud forward for 1st line, you'd have an awesome 2nd line started with Swanson & Simpson. And then two stacked lower lines that have a weekly practice grind to see who gets to play each weekend.

Suppose it could also be an older, experienced goalie to fill the 3rd goalie position. Schloss mentioned that Sandy won't be returning so still 5 roster spots open for this fall.

Nice bullet points. I just finished listening to it too. Something that caught my by surprise...he also mentioned that Sandy won't be returning. So it looks like we have 5 roster spots still to fill if that is the case....2F/2D/1G.

Poirier would be awesome. He's super skilled and can score goals. Weird case, it has been said for a week now that he will be in the portal, but yet he still hasn't formally entered. I'd be just fine with one more skilled portal forward, Belchetz, and then DuPont/Carels.

I’m hoping for at F/C, because I still want a dreamers chance at getting both Carels & DuPont at D, even if that is wishful thinking.

I'm interested to see who these UNO silent commits would be from the WHL. I can't imagine there are too many high-end prospects that are intrigued by the product that USports U is putting out.

Not sure if he flipped or if he was just never 100% confirmed to UST.

Littler confirmed to ASU.

I feel like Schloss always knows a bit more than he can outright say, but his articles sometimes give "hints" to who he might have heard UND is pursuing. He listed the following F/D as potential CHL targets earlier this offseason: Defense: Carels is the most obvious target. He's from nearby Manitoba, where UND has a long history of recruiting. His gameplay style fits North Dakota to a T. He's elite offensively but also has a mean streak and will throw at least one big hit per game. Rudolph is an elite offense producer who will rack up points as a college freshman. Rudolph, an Alberta native, is currently lighting up the WHL playoffs for Prince Albert, the league's second-best team. It wouldn't be a surprise if UND enters the DuPont sweepstakes. DuPont isn't eligible for the NHL Draft until 2027, but he will almost certainly come to the NCAA this fall. He is this year's Verhoeff, a rare player who is good enough to be a college defenseman at age 17. DuPont is an elusive defender who is putting up big numbers. Forwards: There are the Medicine Hat twins, Liam and Marcus Ruck, who are extremely intelligent players and have a sixth sense for where others are on the ice. Everett's Matias Vanhanen is a setup wizard. Spokane's Chase Harrington and Seattle's Matthew Gard are good players as well, though their NCAA timelines are unknown. Uncommitted forwards from the OHL and QMJHL who are candidates to be picked in the first round of this year's NHL Draft include Windsor's Ethan Belchetz, Peterborough's Adam Novoty, Québec's Maddox Dagenais, Sarnia's Alessandro Di Iorio and Niagara's Ryan Roobroeck.

Will be interested to see when the 26/27 schedule gets released if they stopped scheduling games during the Xmas break. I know that Jax alluded to that last year after how short they were. I'm assuming that next season we'll have a decent number of players eligible for both the WJC and the Spengler. Sucks to have a huge break between games, but would rather that than be really short-handed if we're well-represented in both those tourneys.

I’m not even sure if they’re going NCAA. But if they do, I’m sure Bryn will try to get UND in the mix. Like last year…there wasn’t any chatter on Reschny and Verhoeff to UND but that worked out.

Ha, little snippet on Lindberg coming in, and they talk about the nameplate issue.

They have Macbeath coming in from the WHL as well as Lin.

The obvious targets would be Carels, DuPont, Ruck twins, and Belchetz. I would be ecstatic if we're able to land 2 of those 5. Anything more than that is just bonus. I'm guessing the staff has quite a few CHL "fallbacks" of players in case those big timers go elsewhere. Similar to the Ollie signing at the end of last summer...he was a player that no one had talked about before he committed, but he'll end up being a great player for the future here.

Yeah, while it's great to have so many talented forwards on the roster...you'll certainly end up with good players sitting each game which will lead to portal departures at the end of every year when players go searching for more playing time elsewhere. Looking at that F roster right now, it's hard to pinpoint which ones would be sitting...certainly no Andrew-type players that would be an easy one to call.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/four-with-und-ties-land-on-central-scoutings-2026-nhl-draft-rankings

That's good, will be interested to see how he does for a couple seasons in the WHL.

Magnussen added. 2 F and 2 D to go. Guessing that might conclude our portal additions unless an unexpected elite player enters or we don't land our expected CHL players. Forwards (13 of 15): SR - Magnussen, Menghini JR - Croal, Lindberg, Swanson SO - Josephson, Kernan, Reschny, Zakreski, Zellers FR - A.Schultz, B.Schultz, Simpson Defense (6 of 8): SR - JR - Boser, Emery SO - Laurila, Verhoeff FR - Lindberg, MacKenzie Goalies (3 of 3): SR - Sandy JR - SO - Spunar FR - Heil

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/bemidji-states-kasper-magnussen-will-transfer-to-und The best part of the article is this: Get Lindberg and Magnussen to fill spots on those 3rd/4th lines, and UND gets even more dangerous as those lines will also be able to chip in more goals. From what I'm seeing, there were three departures that were by players that still had a role next season (Strathmann, Littler, Klee). All three portal grabs are direct replacements & upgrades to fill those three vacant roles. That's a portal win.