
SJHovey
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PSU is the pretty heavy favorite on the Draft Kings site (+400) with BU at +800, followed by MSU and Michigan at +900. Fan Duel doesn't have their odds posted yet, that I've seen. I actually thought the article was pretty fair and well written. The eyes of college hockey are going to be on PSU, and honestly, they've shown nothing in their past that suggests they will thrive with that kind of scrutiny. Teams that come to town with that target on their back almost always face the best by their opponent. It'll be interesting to see. They sort of snuck up on people last year. That won't happen this year.
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Und Princess started following SJHovey
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One? C'mon, where is the greed? Two guys. Two spots. You have to admit there is a certain symmetry there.
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I think what we're seeing a bit of is a "wait and see" response by many of the CHLers. They want to see how things work out for kids like Reschny, etc... I don't think we can underestimate the pressure that is being put on these Canadian kids to stay home and play major junior hockey. Plus, the known is always more comfortable than the unknown. I know the message that is being pushed up north is "don't make this mistake. Don't jump at the early money (NIL) which is only going to cost you a lot more money because of your slowed development. Playing massive numbers of games in major juniors is the tried and true method of landing in the NHL." That will no doubt gain some traction with some kids, especially before we have a chance to see how things work out. And I think North Dakota is going to play a big role in this during the coming year. Verhoef is coming in, anticipated to be maybe the second or third overall pick next year. If we bring him along slowly, as I expect we will, and if he maybe spends a big chunk of the year playing bottom pair or middle pair minutes (with this group, something that is entirely plausible), will his draft stock slip? If he drops down to the 5-10 range in the draft, how many people up north are going to point to him and say, "see, if he had stayed in major juniors, he'd have been the second overall pick." It'll be interesting. I suspect that Bryn and the group are out prowling around looking for perhaps a couple of older kids to round out the roster this year.
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Listened to The Athletic podcast. They were shaking their heads on him picking PSU. No history of developing NHL talent. Traditionally soft schedule. Not the same talent level as other locations. They chalked it up to two things: NIL and the chance to be the entire focus of the program.
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How does that pitch go, exactly? "I've coached college hockey for 25 years (13 winning seasons, baby!!). I'm a whole 6 games over .500. I have one regular season title to my credit, but two conference tournament titles. I've actually coached a team in the Frozen Four, but sadly, never in a national championship game. Hop on the train." Jeebus, the guy was 44-109-7 as a college hockey player. 12 seasons at Penn St. and his team has finished the regular season in the top half of the conference exactly twice. Once was the 2019-20 covid regular season title, and the other was a third place finish out of six teams in 2015-16. If I'm recruiting against PSU, I'm throwing those numbers out there and asking recruits, "how much money do they have to pay you to get used to losing?" Or, maybe, "Come to Penn St. You can be fourth player from our University to ever play in the NHL!!"
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Someone posted this link over on USCHO, regarding a list of major junior kids going the NCAA route. If someone has already linked to it over here, I apologize. https://www.sportsnet.ca/juniors/article/chl-to-ncaa-tracker-ohl-whl-qmjhl-players-going-to-u-s-college-ranks/
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He didn’t attend Cornell. He was a broadcaster for their hockey games for a time. I think his degree is in radio broadcasting from Ithaca College, a private school located in the same city as Cornell.
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He did. I think it was even on Wodon's show on CHN. Wodon just had no answers. After the interview, and after he had some time to think about it before he finished up the podcast, Wodon came up with some half-hearted arguments, but even then you could tell he knew he'd been pounded.
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2025-26 University of North Dakota Hockey Season
SJHovey replied to Frozen4sioux's topic in Men's Hockey
The Frozen Four is in Las Vegas this year. There can be only one goal for the team. Or, at least for me. -
I think the other thing the liked about Gordon is that he will be a junior, and thus balances out the classes a bit. It's an unfortunate loss, but that will also depend upon who UND can find to fill that roster spot.
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A lot of podcasts are interviewing these players, and frequently they are asked a variation of the question, "so, after the draft, obviously you want to move on to the NHL, but if that won't happen this year, do you think you go back to your junior team or do you go to the NCAA?" For the most part you hear them say, a) they think they are ready for the NHL, and the NHL is the goal, and b) they will talk to the team that drafts them and listen to what they have to say about what is best for their development. So, basically, NHL teams are going to decide whether these high end kids go to the NCAA, and if so, probably which school will be best for them. It is going to be absolutely key that UND develop relationships that are positive with the NHL gm's and their staffs. I should note, however, that I have also heard a few kids talk about their loyalty to their junior program, and their dream of winning a Memorial Cup. If it is left up to the kid, I don't think we can underestimate the possibility of that loyalty winning out over a chance to play against tougher competition in the NCAAs for some of these kids.
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I think it will be interesting to see, in future years, how programs adapt to what we are seeing this year, and whether we see the same sort of timing of commitments coming out of the CHL. I tend to think that even as the natural flow of kids from the CHL to the NCAA becomes the "norm," we are still going to see a bunch of the high end kids wait until after the draft in late June to decide exactly what they are going to do. That means that programs like UND are going to be sitting here in late June with maybe a forward or defense spot on the roster unfilled, waiting to see what the recruits, their handlers and their drafting teams decide. The college programs won't know whether they are going the NCAA route, or not, or if so, which school, until fairly late in the game. We could then see a bunch of kids sort of sitting in purgatory each summer, not knowing whether their school is going to send them back to the USHL for another season, or ask them to come in as freshmen that fall.
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I don’t know. I attended a Dave Gunther basketball camp at UND when I was in 7th grade, and I never got a sniff. Can’t believe that Dave would have already filled the 5’10” slow guy spot on the roster five years early.
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Do we want him here four years? I’d like a goaltender pros are begging to sign.
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If BU and Michigan keep stealing our players in the portal it will change.