stoneySIOUX

I saw Kleven become a much, much more responsible defender and much smarter physical player down the stretch, this year. Plus, he had some massive goals. This is a blend he has to find no matter what league he plays in unless he wants to donate his brain to science one day.

Why? He's not gonna be on the 23-24 roster

Ditto! I thought he was a man down the stretch. He's never been the goal scorer I thought he would, but 10 goals is pretty dang good coupled with how solid he is defensively and on the PK.

I agree with this. Feels like they are seeing that the guys who left are guys they feel may have hit their peak. We'll see.

Bast got plenty of run around here. Fair on Costantini, but again, we're talking about guys who weren't expected to be big time players around here. The rest of their careers will tell the story if their talent was at the ceiling or if the staff didn't do enough. Johnson is my biggest question mark as my eyes told me he's talented, but man, he was bad this year defensively.

We'll never know the overall story, but I've not once heard anything about either of those two regarding their locker room attitude/presence nor any off-ice issues. Basically, it's two running narratives: 1) The staff didn't do enough to develop them/put them in the right spots. The two felt they'd develop better elsewhere. 2) The players didn't develop the way the needed to, so the team dropped them from their spots and both feel they have better opportunities elsewhere. My guess leans towards No. 2, but could the coaching staff have done more? I don't think that would be unfair to say, but the team is 25 some odd guys that all need focus throughout the season.

And if we get Frisch back and two or three of these four pop, we could have a fun season in front of us. We'll see.

I completely agree with the premise that the coaching staff made the active decision to flip to a defensive game down the stretch and rely on one or two (basically one) lines to generate scoring. That's why we saw OMac with the wings he was with. Same with James. That's why we saw Senden, Hain, and Ness in every game. I expect the staff to bring our offensive guys together next year and basically reset. If they don't, that's a problem. If that happens, 13 has a bottom six role. Yep. Hard to be patient after this season, but we basically have no choice.

LOL because players that all got ripped on in various manners on here throughout the year decided to transfer? That's a strange take.

Who gave up on him? He wasn't sitting on the bench in practice. He knew what he needed to do better and apparently he hadn't done it. Comparing players is fine, but then it's up to the player to make the stride from what he's getting for feedback in practice.

Needs to be seen as an opportunity. Komzak, Wiebe, Livanavage, Strathmann, all have solid pieces to bring to the team. Could be the refresher a lot around here wanted

Obviously we'll never know, but will his decision to leave a program that knew about him, was invested in him (in general), knew his strengths and weaknesses well, and knew what he needed to develop hamper him in his remaining two years? He's starting from scratch with a new program. Or, he could blossom in his two (or three) remaining years. We'll see.

But for 18, we have 26 who greatly improved. He pointed out a direct correlation to what he learned in practice, to his improved play (skating lower in his stride). I'm curious to watch Matteo down the road. Maybe he just peaked? He wasn't expected to be a big contributor his freshman year and had a great year. Maybe that was his ceiling?

How DARE you like him. No acceptable around here

I agree with that. He should be, and frankly needs to be, a fixture in 23-24.

He was an unexpected surprise after his freshman year, so maybe he just peaked? Got plenty of early opportunities, but lost those down the stretch. Frustrating, but it is what it is. Losing both of these two isn't a good thing, but it does not mean we cannot have a much better season next year. Opens the door for a guy like Emerson to be an early cog in the lineup. Strinden, too.

The automatic 5th year will be gone soon, so you'll see less older players jump, IMO.

You could see the athleticism in him. Just couldn't find the consistency.

Our 8th defensemen and our backup goal leaving led you to this epiphany? Getting rid of Helly has no bearing on how our goalie situation is next year unless we don't find a portal goal better than he is. I'm very confident we'll find a portal goalie better than he is. Same concept, losing Johnson doesn't mean our defense will be worse, better, or the same unless we get a recruit or portal guy that is the same player. Long story short, losing these two isn't a big deal for next year's team and won't determine how good we are.

My logic would be that since we are away, we'd shoot at the visitor side twice. So, whichever side the Wild normally shoot at twice, pick the other side lol. Just a guess, but I think it's a solid one.

*Deep breath* Been thinking about this all week, so let's get it moving in here. After a weird and incredibly disappointing season, UND is one win away from a one-game shot at the national tourney, while playing their best hockey of the season. Greatly looking forward to the environment tonight. Outside of a Frozen Four, this game tonight, and hopefully tomorrow, will be as good of atmosphere as it gets in college hockey. Can't wait to feel that buzz. Here's to hoping the boys ride this wave into the final. 4-2 UND Gaber, Blake, Jandric, Senden

He will command a lot as a free agent. I think people greatly underrate how good Frisch is. He's not gonna jump right into the NHL, but he's gonna have a lot of offers after this season. He's a very good skater, fantastic defensively, great vision and hockey sense, almost always in the right spot and has some good offensive skill. I think and REALLY hope he stays. If he does, he wears the C and is the team's most important overall player, IMO.

Yeah, I wasn't implying that we need to stop recruiting and developing the position. Definitely agree with you there. I'm speaking about next season. To start, it'll be tough. But, we've got a couple really nice pieces coming in and if they grow up quick, it could become a strength. Anyway, I think we're on the wrong thread for this

I mean, we're talking about situations like next year where we need a goaltender as one of those rare situations, correct?

Or, the other possibility is that we don't know the real story and it was an inside joke between the two. I can absolutely see both being possible. Bubbs and the squad have certainly earned some criticism this season, and rightfully so. With that said, he's a human, and I'm sure gets exhausting to hear it nonstop. Maybe some of that bubbled over? Overall, maybe developing a chip on his shoulder wouldn't be a bad thing for a stretch run?