redwing77

Do you hear the birds in Tampa going off? I do, it's called Philadelphia playing CHEAP hockey. WOW! Go Primeau go! I thought Brashear was cheap. GO LIGHTENING GO! Sorry JR, but you gotta play on a classy team before I can root for you for anything. TB- Class Ph-LACK

Perhaps my use of this year and last year was confusing. I meant last year's recruting class as Smaby, Murray, Stafford, Porter, etc. This year's as Zajac and Gang. I agree with most, if not all of your counts. However, regarding goaltender work ethic, one must not simply set aside JPar. Wasn't Jordan the goaltender always out taking shots at odd hours, working hard goaltending the special teams practices and such? And if I'm wrong, what I'm generally saying, wasn't his work ethic so solid that he was taking extra practice time to aid his skater teammates?

I'm still confident they will return next year. There are still holes the Wings need to fill, issues they need to resolve. However, I feel the talent is there. Look at two of their top talents: Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Both of them were not highly drafted. Zetterberg, I think, was drafted in the 7th round. If they can turn 7th round material into players like Henrik, I highly doubt Red Wings fans have anything to worry about. By the way, Datsyuk was a highly recruited winger. So good he went a whole round higher than Zetterberg (6th round #171 overall vs Zetterberg at 7th round #210 overall). Fischer is an up and coming defenseman, Homstrom is a menace in front of the net, Lidstrom is a first ballot hall of famer... all of these players came through the farm system. How are the Wild doing?

Greene is unlikely but possible to leave. Bochenski leaving would be a great surprise since he's said repeatedly throughout the season and after the season ended that he was staying for his senior year. I had heard that Ballard was staying. Vanek's status is up in the air and probably won't be resolved with finality until the season starts, IMO. I think our recruiting class is solid. It's not as dynamic as last year's recruiting class, but it doesn't have to be either. Although we will miss the leadership of Hale and the quality roleplayer that Lundbohm filled, the only real loss to the team was Parise. Murray and Stafford will be better (and if so, WOW is what everyone will be saying... which is what they all said about Parise) and Zajac could be the quality piece to put the game together. The only real question mark is goaltending. Where does Phillippe fit in this season? I'm not doubting his ability, but seriously, JPar and Brandt proved they are a valued tandem last season. When the offense is clicking, the Sioux are pretty close to being unbeatable. I'm not saying either of them are another Karl G, but Phillippe will have to play better than both of them to get the ice time. And that will be no easy feat regardless of his hype. Of course, that's only my opinion and not that of Coach Blais or any of the "old hand" posters of this board. Perhaps they can fill me in on the scheme of things.

This is a good question. Unless Erik did sign professionally with that German league and Blais has decided not to bring back some players, having Sando and Moreland walk on would mean one or both of them would not get much, if any, ice time. Since Matt, as good as he is, isn't listed as a highly touted draft pick, that means that he'd most likely stay all four years. This means he'd basically throw away one year of his eligibility. Unless he comes in and redshirts, I'd tell him to stay in Sioux Falls.

No. She was in the penalty box and I was above her in my seat. I sat above the hallway where the refs come in and out of the rink.

It was a joke. Sorry I forgot the smiley faces. However, this Katie is 6'2" tall! Wow. In any case, yes I do know who our Katie O'Keefe is. I've talked to her a few times.

Here you go: More info on Katie: Katie O'Keefe

Even I know that. Heck, even Mapletoft knows it!

Dustin Penner of UMaine signed a three year deal with the Ducks of Anaheim. For those of you who may not know, he transferred to UMaine from Minot State University-Bottineau. Here is the Link: Penner Splits Maine...

Wow, I had no idea Zajac was regarded as highly as 15th overall among NA skaters. When is the draft going to be held? I'm interested in seeing who drafts Zajac and the rest of our crew who are in the upcoming draft.

That's true. Here is the breakdown of all four teams as far as ex-college athletes on their playoff rosters. It's interesting to note that University of Vermont has the most alumni in the playoffs currently with 4. San Jose: Total Ex-College athletes on Playoff Roster: 3 Hockey East: Niko Dimitrakos (UMaine) and Jim Fahey (Northeastern) WCHA: Tom Preissing (CC) Calgary: Total Ex-College athletes on Playoff Roster: 4 Hockey East: Chuck Kobasew (Boston College) ECAC: Craig Conroy and Chris Clark (both from Clarkson) WCHA: Mike Commadore (UND) and Jordan Leopold (UMinn) Among the other two teams: Here is the breakdown. Philadelphia: Total Ex-College athletes on Playoff Roster: 3 Hockey East: Tony Amonte (BU) ECAC/Hockey East: John LeClair and Patrick Sharp (U. Vermont) Tampa Bay: Total Ex-College athletes on Playoff Roster: 4 CCHA: Dan Boyle (Miami) WCHA: Ben Clymer (UMinn) ECAC/Hockey East: Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin (U. Vermont)

Couldn't Tampa winning also help raise fanship of hockey in the South on a general scale?

Tampa Bay vs. Calgary/Sharks Calgary or the Sharks, it makes no difference to me. On one hand, I'd prefer the Flames because of Commie and the fact that the team to knock out the Wings should go all the way. On the other hand, Nabakov has been, IMO, the best goaltender in the playoffs thus far (Kiprosoff a close second). Either way, I'd be happy. Tampa wins it all.

According to HockeyDB, Erik Fabian has played a game in a German league this season (2003-2004). Questions: 1. Is this the same Erik Fabian or could this be an error by HockeyDB? 2. If it is not an error, does this mean Erik is no longer with the Sioux? This is quite confusing to me. Here is the Link Erik Fabian

Nope, disappointed, but it wasn't all that surprising that Detroit didn't win it. Sure, they won during the season but they didn't have the look of a championship team. I knew they wouldn't win the Cup when they had trouble with Nashville. Of course, you're all going to think of this as making excuses, but I don't care.

Even so, wouldn't the Rangers be the NHL version of the Yankees then? I thought they had the highest payroll in the NHL up until the trade deadline, anyways.

I guess I should have been more specific. Toronto, Boston, Chicago, New York Rangers, Montreal, and Detroit were the original six members of the NHL. Even if Chicago or Boston never win another Stanley Cup or even a playoff game, they're still one of the original six. Therefore, my use of the term 'wannabe' is not a reflection on how good the teams are currently, but the status of seniority and prestige that goes with being one of the originals.

It's because of all the emotional trauma that would cause if he were to leave the island for the frigid arctic weather of Edmonton.

Nice. Just remember, no matter how much you despise the Maple Leafs, they have one thing that the Flyers will never have: Status of being one of the original six. All the rest are just wannabes. And Belfour is going to the Hall of Fame regardless of his team. We'll see about Esche or Burke. And just in case you think I'm just a "jaded" Leafs fan, I'm not. I respect the alumni (even if they didn't actually graduate) of UND's hockey program. My Wings couldn't beat a good Calgary team. It happens. The Leafs couldn't beat a Flyers team riding a hell of a lot of talent up front and a goalie who is getting hot at the right time. The Avs couldn't beat an "inferior" Sharks team (Well, that's what my friends who are Av fans were saying before the series... they're strangely silent now). In fact, with the exception of perhaps the Flyers, all the remaining teams are very similar. Just as well, I'd say only the Flyers now have the distinction of having hype and expectation as stressors now. The Lightening and Flames weren't even supposed to make the playoffs. The Sharks were supposed to be "one and done." Amazing playoffs this year.

Nope. Everyone knows that the Canadiens are the Yankees of the NHL. Montreal has 25 Stanley Cup titles. Detroit has sizably less.

I agree on the corporate side. Money talks and so it isn't as cut and dry as it used to be. Heck, there's ads on the boards at the local high school arena here in town, though there are noticably less than at the Ralph. Corporate atmospheres are one thing, but corporate arenas are a reality at most NCAA, semi pro, and pro levels.

It was a great hit. Hatcher played physical all game long. Yes, I'll even say that he was playing cheap hockey. This game really reminded me of the Denver/UND NCAA game. Both goaltenders were playing out of their minds good hockey. Gelina was the recipient of a good pass (or was it a rebound off of Joseph?) and got it into the net. It wasn't a lucky goal, it was just being in the right place at the right time. Commie had a great series and got props from the commentators. A note on the refs: Kerry Frasier is one of the finest refs in hockey at any level. His partner, however, was a dumb@rse.

Don Cherry's posse basically. Imagine what the NHL would be like without the likes of Forsberg, Federov, Lidstrom, Hasek, Sundin, Jagr, Gonchar, and others. Yes, it worked in years past, but the NHL today is more physical. Therefore, take out Europeans and you basically got the CHL: Goon hockey with a few skilled scorers here and there.