yzerman19

Marto's developed into a nice player. He is incredibly fast and a skilled skater in all regards. He started to jump into the play offensively some last year and scored some nice goals on the rush. I also rarely noticed him jump up at the wrong time. This tells me he is a very smart player too. Opportuisitic, smart, and great feet. He's not Paul Coffee or even Travis Roche, but he aint bad. He can skate on my team as a 3rd or 4th dman anytime.

OK, I am going to be debbie downer and pessimistic on Danny Mattson. I suspect a major physical issue as the reason behind Mattson not being drafted. A lot of guys don't get drafted, but not many guys who put up his kinda numbers (not just this year, but for a career) are evaluated as a mid-50's by central scouting, and invited to the combine don't go in the draft. Size and competition are what had him pegged where he was. None of that was a surprise. ANd even if he was weaker or slower than they thought, he couldn't have been so weak or so slow that noone wanted him. That's the kicker. Nobody drafted him. That means something came up that every team knew about. That tells me combine, and that tells me it is probably physical. At the end of the day the GM's are evaluating horses... For Danny's sake, I hope I am wrong. I am sure it was a God Awful weekend for him not to get a phone call. My thoughts go out to him, and I hope it is just a hockey issue.

Did Danny Mattson just flat out lay an egg at the combine??? I am surprised that he hasn't been picked up...at this point in the draft he would look like a steal to me, unless there is something we don't know about.

No future SIoux yet and in the middle of the fourth round. You really see how not playing where the scouts spend most of their time(CHL or Int'l) hurts draft status.

You have to set things up for the new guys to have some success and have the team grow and gel together. Without a doubt VV, Malone and Frattin played well together. I think that both VV and Malone are quality natural centers, which dilutes the depth of the team a little putting the two of them on the same line. I don't think you double up WCHA tested centermen early on. I also don't think that you put two freshmen on the same line unless you absolutely have to. At least early on. I'd put creative guys together if at all possible, although I do agree with the foundation of a true playmaker, a true scorer, and a guy who can muck it up in the corners as the prototype forward line. You also have to put speed together if you can. From all I've heard, Kristo can fly, and Frattin is a gifted skater, so I would be very interested in seeing them together. That would be a lot of speed coming through the neutral zone with the ability to generate a lot of odd man scoring opportunities. I maintain that Hextall can do it all. I think he has NHL utility player written all over him, which means any job in the WCHA...I also wouldn't be surprised to see an A on his jersey. Anyway you slice it, we have a nice roster with a lot of potential and a lot of sweat will determine ice time, as will line chemistry.

I agree that Hextall showed he could score last year. I love that line idea as a checking line, because it can score. I see those three as being able to pen up most teams scoring lines in their own end, and then finish when they get a chance as well. With Hexy on that line, it means that in a tough, physical situation, say OT, that line can match up with anyone and have a likelihood of pumping one home as well. A checking line that can score not a checking line built simply to grind. Anyway we slice it, there will be lots of line combos. The d pairing situation...no way does Finehage sit. If he sits early, he will go play in the W. My thoughts on D were to keep an older player with a less experienced player, and a puckmover with a crease clearer. Genoway, Marto, and Lapoint are puckmovers. Blood, Macwilliam and Finehage are crease clearers. Gleason is an unknown to me. He played well at Edina and mediocre in USHL.

This looks like a solid team to me! Scoring 1: VV with Gregoire and Cichy Scoring 2: Malone with Frattin and Kristo Checking 1: Zajac with Rowney and Hextall Scoring 3: Toews with Trupp and Forney Checking 2: Lammy with Davidson and Bruneteau D1: Genoway and Blood D2: Marto and Finehage D3: Lapoint and MacWilliam D4: Gleason G1: Brad E G2: Dell G3: ?? I am in love with my checking line 1. Talk about sweet and nasty. That crew up against a younger first or second scoring line...the other team will learn a thing or two about the finer points of hockey>

exactly, it's April, so all we can do is speculate and pontificate. Agree with the analysis on Center for the most part. In a cycle type offense like we run, the center and wingers are often interchangeable in the offensive zone; this isn't necessarily true in other offenses. It is also a switch in play over the last fifteen or so years, with close puck support etc. In the old days wingers weren't supposed to play deep on the weakside or go past the far side of the net on their off wing. In the defensive zone the center has way more responsibility as stated. A winger can get away with a little cheating and less than perfect positional play, a center has no such luxury.

I think that you have to split up freshman early in the season. You have to give the guys a little time to adjust to the speed of the WCHA without having the whole world's responsibility on their shoulders. That is the main reason for my line combos. So: I like splitting up Cichy and Kristo to help them adjust. I like having one power forward on each of the first two scoring lines in Malone and VV. I liked the way Malone and VV played together last year in the NCAAs too. I like Frattin and Kristo together, because along with Marto and Genoway I think they are the fastest skaters on next year's squad. I like Gregoire and Cichy, because they had very similar numbers in junior, indicating to me that they both can finish as well as set-up goals. I like Hextall and Zajac on the checking line, because they can be both sweet and nasty. Neither is afraid to get their hands dirty, and Hexy proved he could score. I think Zajac can score too if playing with the right boys. I think that we are also truly limited by our centermen. The experienced pivots on the team are VV, Malone, Zajac, Lammy and Toews (a little). Zajac and Lammy are not preferred scoring line players. I think we'll see a lot of flopping among the three scoring lines. I predict we have a pretty consistent checking line in terms of personnel.

We should probably start it now. We might as well all praise Genoway and scapegoat Lapoint too

I agree that Lammy can be an excellent third line player. I don't think he's a lock, but based on ice time last year, I would be surprised if he didn't start off with that spot. I wouldn't be surprised to see Davidson garner a little more ice time. He's been gutting it out in practice, and he hasn't been a liability in games. Hextall is also a wildcard. I think the guy can play wherever you want him to. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the checking line, but also on the powerplay. So, if we just for a minute make the following assumptions: VV, Gregoire, Frattin, Malone, Cichy, Kristo, Toews, Trupp, Zajac, Hextall, and Lammy are all skating regular shifts; that leaves one forward spot. Who gets it? Bruneteau, Forney, Davidson, One of the ALberta Boys, Mattson (everyone seems sure he is going to play a year in the USHL) If we've learned anything from Hak, he will juggle lines early, and he will move guys in and out of starting lineup.

thanks for catching that. I totally forgot about Darcy for a minute. So now competition is even tighter: Scoring 1: VV with Gregoire and Cichy Scoring 2: Malone with Frattin and Kristo Checking: Zajac with Hextall and ? Scoring 3: Toews with Trupp and ? Of course we don't know chemistry yet, I think Cichy and Gregoire might click well. I put Frattin and Kristo together for speed. I like Hexy put there mucking it up and improving the scoring punch potential of the checking line. I think Toews and Trupp could be a very creative scoring threat that could be put in a lot of circumstances. That leaves Lammy, Davidson and Bruneteau looking for checking line duty. It leaves a big ? As to the plan for the rest of the recruits. Will they be happy to play another year of junior or a first year of junior? And then you do have to consider Forney. As I've said before, lots of horses in the stable, not a ton of ice time available.

Of course not, but Toews was a VERY SPECIAL player and was coming to campus as a 17 year old with four potential years of eligibility. The issue isn't how long they do stay, but how long they can stay. If Forney was just now coming to UND as a freshman, I would certainly welcome him with open arms and expect him to compete for a regular shift. However, if he plays a regular shift next year, and say he takes ice time away from another prospect with four years of eligibility, that hurts that other player's development opportunity, thereby potentially hurting the 2010 or 2011 team. Jonathan Toews is 15 DAYS older than Michael Forney. Since 2005-2006 Jonathan Toews has scored 40 goals in NCAA hockey and 58 goals in the NHL. Forney has 26 goals in the USHL, 0 goals elsewhere. I don't think you're trying to make the comparison, but I am just stating a huge difference in a two year player. I contend that college is not the NHL and you do not hang your hat on winning this year, but on constantly fielding a team that has a shot. That requires developing players over time.

I call that player roboforward Speed of Panzer Hitting of Oshie Playmaking of Parise Positional Play of Toews Shooting of Bochenski Penalty Killing of Stafford and Zajac

Do you skate Forney on a checking line? I doubt he'd accept that role. He'd be better off signing an ATA and rolling the dice. I've got nothing against him, but he is an unknown commodity with a max of two years. He has put up good numbers in Green Bay, similar to Cichy and Kristo who both have four years of eligibility. You have to have a grind em down physical line. Kozek could shoot, which made him a threat on that line last year, but his job was to hit. 4 pretty lines equals maroon and gold and watching the guys in green end your season. I'm still not sure if Mattson plays junior. He might not want to, and he would certainly be welcome on many campuses with the guarantee of ice time. If were seriously looking at something like VV with Gregoire and Cichy Malone with Frattin and Kristo Lammy with Hextall and Davidson or Bruneteau Toews with Trupp and one highly contested spot

every fourth line i hope I'm not a scratch tonight NHLer scored goals in college or junior. The difference is that they had the strength, positional play, skating ability, faceoff ability, etc to set them apart from the masses of scorers at an NHL camp. I've said it before, but guys find out quickly who the Ovies are. There are what, maybe 5 guys per NHL team who score goals with regularity. Thats 150 jobs. There are 4000 excellent goal scorers world wide looking for those jobs. If you don't have all the little fundamentals and some other intangible, you are in trouble. As for Edmonton, I'm sure they'd like to see if VV can develop into a sound physical center with soft enough hands to score 20 goals, but he is not a high draft pick. Therefore he isn't a huge investment. Those picks after the first 2-3 rounds are more like lottery tickets... If you win, awesome, if not, its only a buck or two. Especially if a CHL or NCAA team is footing the bill.

In just saying that if two guys are competing for the same spot and the competition is pretty close, I go with the guy who has more eligibility and therefore can potentially develop and give me some ROI on his icetime this year. Clearly VV, Malone, Frattin, Gregoire, Hextall, and Trupp are getting ice time. I would suspect Toews and Lammy to be on the short list too. Cichy and Kristo will get ice. Davidson and Bruneteau will compete for checking or fourth line ice. I would guess that depending on draft status a kid from Holy Angels and a kid from Alberta might need dorm rooms too.

I don't know if I give ice time to a guaranteed two year player who is an unknown commodity at the WCHA level. It is a strange situation with Forney. I would play it basically as a tryout agreement. Forney makes top six forward on the team out of camp or adi

So, now that we know that it is 99% likely that VV will be back, we certainly have a lot of players...it is going to be tough to earn ice time.

Having VV back is a win win. I agree that he has potential at the NHL level, but he isn't there yet. Having a horse like Chris in the stable bodes well for UND. If he is healthy and plays up to his ability, he could be a very dominant player next year. He can develop those little parts of his game that he will need to skate a regular shift in the show, and it is huge for us.

I do love the experts behind the computer screen. I am entitled to my opinion as much as any of you are to yours. I am a fan, and I know the game. I am biased towards the Canadian brand of hockey, but that's just experience talking. I have loved the SIoux my entire life and have missed very few games since the mainstreaming of internet based broadcasts. Seriously if you all think that a big time D1 athlete or his family is going to be "upset" by reading fair criticism, then you have serious dillusions. They know its a gravy train with biscuit wheels. I will gladly grade any hockey player fairly based on positioning, physical play, skill, skating, offensive zone play, neutral zone play, and defensive zone play. I have no bias on anything other than performance. Skating on this team was pretty simple: Marto, Genoway, Frattin. I know a number of pro and college hockey players well. The word on the street this year was that several teams enjoyed playing UND, because "Their defensemen don't like to get hit." That sickens me. There are a number of players in the league, that if they reported to me would be out of jobs. I don't tolerate average play. Second place is the first loser, you know? Blood is a terrible skater, but did you know that he led the team in +/-? I would still say he is a terrible skater. Kozek has the heaviest shot the Sioux have seen since Bochenski, but Andrew was a grinder, not a scorer. When you play on a team that produces tons of NHL players, criticism for average play should be expected. If you want to be the hero, go play for Robert morris.

Pointer deserved criticism. He was definitely not one of the best players on the ice for us. Is he developing? Yeah, maybe I'll give him some credit for that. Did he put up big numbers in the USHL? sure. Do I dislike the kid? no. Do I wish him a 100% recovery? yes. This isn't some recreational hockey league, church league, beer league, bar league, federal league, this is Fighting Sioux hockey. It is not his style or his stats that I question. I question his positioning, physical strength and skating ability. Sorry. Marto and Genoway can flat out skate, Pointer is sub par on his skates, Blood skates very poorly by WCHA standards. It is not about throwing players under the bus or not being a fan, it is about honest assessments of ability. Do I get excited when Pointer is out on the ice? Short answer is no. Am I concerned when Pointer is out there? Short answer is yes. I do not hate on the kid, I want him to succeed in hockey, life, whatever, but he is not in the upper half of WCHA defensemen.

Ouch! As to the previous comment on Danny Mattson, I think his draft position will also weigh heavily on where he plays next fall. If a team falls in love with him at the combine and he goes end of first round he will be at UND next fall.

It seems to me that the UND coaches have done an excellent job at talking through the prospective professionals on what they need to do to make it to the next level. If I recall the quote prior to "the pact" the coaches had very direct conversations with the players letting them know where they thought they had room for opportunity to improve their game and how staying at UND could help or if I am remembering correctly, in the case of Jonathan Toews they told him that he was "ready". Which clearly he was. I think Vandevelde is realistic. He is not NHL ready yet, and he knows it. He is a good player who has a legitimate shot at playing in the NHL. I don't see him as a big time goal scorer at the next level, so he does need to improve all the little aspects of his game to make sure he can find a niche. The guys I've known who have made it all say the same things. Even your fourth line guys who are healthy scatches 10-20 games per year were big time scorers at the junior or collegiate level. They find out pretty quickly once they are "up" who the ALex Os are. If Edmonton is not ready to commit a big signing bonus to VV, his best bet is certainly to play at UND next year and sign after the season. A nice 20 goal 40 point season would be good leverage. He can develop the little things that Edmonton will like and do it under less pressure. As a power forward, it will also be important for VV to get stronger and keep ont he weight. This can be hard to do playing 82 games. IMO, the only thinkg that keeps VV out of a green and white (or black) uniform next year is if Edmonton commits a big time signing bonus and the organization thinks his potential can be better reached by playing in the AHL.

Or Brad Pitt to get the girl