yzerman19

Its already happening...the pipeline for chippas is going to be 2 years in the CHL, 1-2 years of top end NCAA, then NHL. The CHL will get younger and more skilled, the USHL will get older and more gritty...some teams already played by that ethos. The only part still in question is the NTDP...

Big10 written all over him. He's an August of 2007. No way should he be playing high school again. Especially if he goes 2nd round NHL draft (or higher)...

The other key thing is this: we haven't had a great pipeline into the NTDP...that doesn't matter as much now. We need to cultivate our kitchen....western Canada and the WHL...stud US kids are now seriously looking at WHL for their 17yo season to go as high as possible in the NHL draft...pipeline: US high school or Tier 1 to WHL to UND. Which brings up the issue of not much legit Tier 1 west of the Mississippi in the US.

The facilities are great, but chippaz are only choosing facilities as a tie breaker. Other top programs aren't exactly playing with chickenwire and garbage...the hockey as #1 on campus is a pro and con. You don't have big time hoops and football to watch live while you walk around campus ...the chippas have beautiful girls all over the country talking to them, so being a leg up over the QB for the local bombshell isn't a big draw. the fair assessment is we have got to overcome the handicap of Grand Forks being where and what it is, and (to your point) the fact that we aren't the factory we were under Blais and Hak. favilities plus path to the show is the only way. Path to the show isn't going to happen overnight. As much as we love Chyzy and Jax, we need Toews, Oshie, Parise, Stafford, Zajac, Greene, Nelson, Boeser, Schmaltz, Pinto, Sanderson pumping how playing at UND was instrumental

I think that our deal has got to be that we teach pro habits in a pro environment, so if you want the NHL this is the ONLY real choice.

I've been on this sight for almost 20 years...my comments are always pro UND hockey

To put it another way, if you are a kid that is NHL bound...and every top school wants you...what is it right now that says UND?

culture and the Ralph don't count...

chyzy is great...he is going to land chippas. The biggest issue I see is that UND has not been the pro factory of the last 10 years it was the preceeding 20. Many blue blood campuses are sexier than UND, and UND doesnt have NIL money to burn... If you are a legit chipper right now, what differentiates UND positively from Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, BU, BC, Denver...gotta throw in ASU for the co-eds

Commitment level seems greater in the Tier 1 world from my experiences. The point on which programs is legit. Now in some cases, there is no alternative for decent hockey other than Tier 1 in the local community, so I will caveat this statement as targeted at kids contemplating leaving town specifically for hockey: There are only a handful of blue blood tier 1 programs with the coaching, culture, development, etc that might actually make a difference for a kid: Shattuck, BK, Mount, Caesars, Honeybaked, Mission, maybe Dallas, maybe Pittsburgh, I'm likely missing one or two...My words of advice remain, if you are contemplating having your kid leave home for your kid to play hockey, your kid needs to go to a blue blood program, needs to be one of the best players on the team, needs to be one of the best players in North America...if you don't know if they are, then they aren't. Your kid also has got to want it...be willing to be coached, be willing to work their a$$ off, be willing to sacrifice a ton of personal stuff to be there with little complaint. NTDP, USHL tender or first two rounds, CHL first two rounds...if your kid is having these kind of conversations after PeeWee/start of Bantam, then by all means...otherwise...just stay at home

Chippaz with good attitudes and work ethics are going to have the option of pretty much every blue blood program. It's smart to start planting seeds.

Due to work relocations, I've been both inside the tier1 world (in most States that is the only place you have top end hockey) and the Minnkota community model. There are pros and cons to both. From my perspective, the tier 1 model is better for the truly elite players. When I say truly elite, I mean you are legitimately top 50 in your birth year across all of the US and Canada, maybe top 75. For everybody else, and I mean everybody, you are best served staying in your community. So for 99% of kids- stay home, develop at pace, have a life.

There are legit reasons for a kid to leave town for a tier 1 program. However, if you do, you better be going to a team with great coaching and teammates that make practice truly a development opportunity. I'd also contend that you better be the best or in the argument for the best player on that tier 1 team. The logic should not be based on winning or exposure. It must be based on development and growth opportunity. it should truly be a rare event that is easily understandable with a kid that is CHL first round, USHL first round, or NTDP bound most likely. Chippaz only. It should be ages 13,14,15 only. Bantam and midget minor. Younger than that is too young, older than that- well if you follow my chippa logic, they should be gone to higher level hockey.

The key here is to be forward thinking...establish the relationship/pipeline with top talent and several teams in the CHL (WHL mostly) because downstream, that league is going to just get better with top US talent as well (due to the NCAA rule change). Chippaz are going to go up there for their draft year, even those that go in the first two rounds in the NHL draft most likely won't be ready for the NHL at 18. Many of them will decide to come down for a year or two to play bigger/stronger/older guys before signing.

Agree if you (and more importantly your kid) are ready to do boarding school at 14.