redwing77

My opinion is, that if they make it a national search and Sandelin declines, I believe Marks should get a good solid look. He has been in the ECHL for a few years now and has won at least one championship with them as Head Coach. His head coaching in a professional setting is a valuable asset to have. Also, although I am not sure, isn't he holding a front office job with the ECHL team as well? With that in mind, the adage "If you want to go to the NHL, go to UND" could be more a reality (more than it already is) if there is a head coach who knows the ins and outs of what the NHL and pro hockey look for in a recruit. Any way you cut it, I don't think there are any candidates that wouldn't make a solid prospect except for Berry. He is a solid associate head coach prospect, but lacks the experience to be head coach.

Some people may not remember that Karl graduated with honors with a degree in marketing. This may mean that he could move on to a front office job.

I'll agree to this. You should also add that his English vocabulary has got to range further than the F bomb.

I agree. Wheeler will play for the Gophers as long as (maximum) Vanek does. From the looks of things, he may have something Vanek doesn't: a defensive game.

I don't know how many times this has been mentioned, but Toews was the #1 pick in the WHL (?) draft. By all accounts (including talking to a friend/relative of the Toews family) he is going Major Junior. EDIT: I am remiss to say that my information comes from the October tourney at the Ralph. It is now June (almost July) and Jonathan could have changed his mind by now.

Ok, playing devil's advocate here: When a GM gets a goaltender for "free" like he got Karl, there is no rush to get him to the NHL for accountability sake. Pascal Leclaire was a FIRST ROUND draft pick by the Blue Jackets. That alone makes it very hard to justify pulling Karl up instead of Pascal. If Pascal is just set in the AHL to rot, the Columbus GM has to account for selecting Pascal with a pick that could have gone to choose someone else, someone who could have been up as a winger, or traded the pick lower to save money. I'm not saying I don't want Karl to make it to the NHL. I'm saying why they are always bringing up the goaltender who hasn't necessarily been showing the better numbers.

Beaverson is still on Heisenberg's 2005 recruit listing for UND, though.

Here's an interesting thought that just popped into my head: Ok, say that Hakstol is named Head Coach with Berry as the associate Head coach. That opens up an assistant position. Isn't there a Panzer in town at one of the high schools? Would he be a candidate for that assistant position?

On a more sarcastic note: I'd expect Koivu to be on the top 2 lines of the Wild if he shows even the slightest tendency towards being an offensive forward. As questionable as Bochenski's skating has been in the past, if Bo were to get traded to the Wild and signed the next day, he'd be on the first line of the Wild if you categorize each line by offensive talent. Yes, I believe the Wild to be THAT bereft of scoring talent.

Though it stinks, Radke getting overlooked wasn't totally unexpected. He is 5'11" 175lbs, rather small for an NHL defenseman. This is not saying that he cannot be signed as a free agent. NHL teams probably want to watch and see how he is doing by the end of his college career before making a decision. If the BCHL is rarely scouted, the AJHL is even less so. My opinion.

I don't know if Stafford will be back next season, but his chances are much higher than if he had gone in the top ten. If Stafford is a question mark, then Blake Wheeler will be a big question mark. Will he make it to Minneapolis? Will he drop the bomb on the Gophers and sign with a major junior team? Will he sign with Phoenix before or after his freshman year at Minnesota? All in all, whatever happens to Stafford, we did get a solid year of his play at UND (worst case scenario). I'm happy with that. We'll have to watch Mr. Wheeler next year whether he stays at Breck or goes off to juniors. And there is the very real possibility that I may be wrong and Wheeler comes to the Gophers and stays for 3-4 years. Hard to tell right now. Wheeler is only a junior in high school.

Two first rounders, now, for the Gophers too. Wheeler and Chucko go in the first round. Another amazing pick. I thought Chucko was slated to go in the early second round. With the way things are going, maybe Kyle Radke could go earlier than the 5th Round? Hard to say. Anyone know how many rounds there will be today?

Never said Wheeler was a bad player. I don't think he's anywhere close to top 10 material, though. I agree that Thelen was a great pick by the Wild. They are great at chosing defensemen. They needed a sure thing and they got it. Of course, choosing Thelen means that, unless there is a dark horse out there (aka miracle), once again shows Minnesota's devotion to having Gaborik being the only offensive threat on the team. Minnesota regardless will end up at or around 500 next season (if there is one). However, Minnesota's record will be decieving as Minnesota's Team GAA, GA, and save percentage will be close to the top of the league. New Jersey takes Zajac!!!!!!!!!!!

Figured I'd start this thread. So far, we're at pick number 8 (I think). Big surprise is that Phoenix took the #31 pick #5th overall in Blake Wheeler. He must have a big upside because, from the sound of it, only UMinn and the Phoenix organization sees it. I'm not saying he's not a first rounder, but I would NEVER have chosen him this high. Also is it me or is it simply amazing how seemingly underweight? A lot of 6'2" plus, sub-200lb players being drafted high.

Why are you all replying to this guy? The way I see it is that they just want a rise so that they can get their rox off making us feel bad. Just ignore it. Take the high road, folks.

Heisenberg has Vandevelde and Moreland as 2005 recruits...

Really? I don't mention the Red Wings that much, only concentration of this was during the NHL playoffs. It ended with the Red Wings season so to speak. I only referred to Gallant and Bowman recently. However, I refer to the Red Wings for the simple reason that I understand that NHL team better than most others. They are my favorite NHL team. As for the trolls, I'm surprised they waited this long to show up. Edit: MNS is right, Gary, Indiana is the armpit of the world. My best friend moved back from Gary to Fargo (if you can believe it) because FARGO was better than Gary. Go fig. North Dakota isn't perfect, no state is perfect. Minnesota recently rated among the top 10 in worst drivers in America, but I still enjoy my time in the Twin Cities. Alcoholism is as much a part of the Twin Cities as it is in Grand Forks, or northern Minnesota. The only difference is that, in Grand Forks, there are less people than Minneapolis, hence it looks like more people are out drinking.

It's hard to see him go, but there is something also that weighs heavy. Word has it that Dean's wife isn't doing so hot health-wise. The move may be hard on her, but perhaps there are better facilities and physicians in Columbus that could help her? I don't know if that weighs in at all, but a number of prominent people have moved to other larger cities from the area to seek treatment that they could not otherwise get in North Dakota due to size and demographics. Noteable transient helth care seekers are John Odegaard (UND Aerospace routinely flew to Houston, TX to seek cancer treatment), and a number of prominent businessmen traveling to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for treatment.

I think Lucia will be the Head Coach of the Sioux with Scotty Bowman coming out of retirement to coach SCSU, Dahl moving on to Minneapolis and Sauer returns to the helm of the Badgers. Meanwhile, Bochenski transfers to Bemidji State, Schneider goes pro early, and Tim Hennessey decides to work for for Fox Sports North when Doug Woog is hired to be the Sioux's assistant coach. Now that we've gotten all the BS off our backs... back to reality.

Thanks Coach for the good times, the stressful moments and the National Championship in 2000! I'll regret not truly signing on to the Sioux until your tenure was nearly at an end, but from what I saw, it was a great ride!

I heard it on the radio as I was trying to wake up. I woke up REAL FAST. I wonder if the neighbor heard me yell the F Bomb? Edit: Yes, Eades would be on the list of candidates but I do not think he would be considered a front runner. Neither would Steve Johnson of Lincoln. Honestly enough, I would think Sandelin, Marks, or one of the current assistants would be the front runners. Sandelin's reasons are obvious, Marks is a good choice because he has NHL experience as a player, pro coaching experience that was successful (The Growl won the championship 2 years ago in the ECHL), and he is a UND alum. And the rest of the pack is due to immediate experience.

sucker punch or not, there is no way now that Bertuzzi will ever play hockey in the NHL. This same thing ended McSorley's career. I think it will do the same to Todd's. Not saying he doesn't deserve it, but I think the only entity that should be able to revoke a player's career should be the league.

This is stunning to me, but good news in several theoretical respects. 1) Good news for Karl G (maybe) 2) It's always a good thing when a college coach makes it to the NHL in some coaching or management capacity. Look at Lammoretto (sp?) of the Devils: Ex Providence coach that has turned the Devils into a well oiled winning machine. I wish he could have gone to a team that had a better chance at the postseason, but oh well. Scott Sandelin would be my hope, but I'm not sure he'd be willing to leave a UMD team that is entirely his. How will this effect recruiting? I am not sure it will affect recruiting before the 2005 season (if the 2005 recruits are affected at all) but we may be able to see just how important Blais was in the recruiting process... Other names out there that could come out of left field: What about if Tony Hrkac retires? Would he be a viable coaching prospect despite his lack of coaching experience?

Somewhat related question: Who was the highest drafted player in UND history?