yzerman19

BU was definitely the better team tonight. To put it in perspective, however, they were building up last year and were pegged as many as one of the teams to watch this year. Wilson was the #7 pick in the draft, and according to pro analysts had a legit shot at making his pro club had he decided to turn. Not saying he is Jonathan Toews, but he might not be that far off. Agree with the observation of little chemistry. If I'm not mistaken, noone for the Sioux who skated together last year for any significant period of time was skating together tonight with the exception of Duncan and Miller (who hapened to be on the ice for our lone goal). One of the same problems I saw last year was evident tonight and that is the high breakout. We continue to try and hit homerun passes instead of short passes up the ice to arrive at the red line with numbers, speed, and the puck. When a dman hits the lead forward 80 feet up the rink, that forward is basically alone and needs to beat two guys to get a clean shot. We need to be more patient. Ineptness on the pp is expected in the first game of the season when Oshie and Chorney are both no longer in green and white. B C lost to Michigan in the first game of the icebreaker last year!

Can you imagine Wooger and Mansucko in a 5-1 route at Mariucci? It gives me chills

BU hasn't practiced much either, and they look A LOT better. This is 3 terrible team performances in a row. We won the Wisconsin game only because of the play of TJ Oshie, Ryan Duncan and Andrew Kozek. The good thing with us being bad is that more of my weekends just freed up Please noone lecture me on fanhood, I am being dramatic, but we do not look like a good team this game.

What's with the dump and chase on the pp?

20 minutes to see if we have heart

Time for the leaders to step up. At the end of the period they looked like someone kicked their puppy. Our defense looks attrocious. We can't break the puck out. We can't seem to make or catch a pass. This is an EXTREMELY important game for the PWR too

ugly.

yes!

Or I'll be disappointed

We had better be better than .500 at x-mas!!!!

The right d-man, I think it was Lapoint, got fried on that goal. Just flat out was beaten. I always get nervous when we start out gangbusters and don't get a goal. BU tightened it up really well at the end of the period. Anyone got the lines? I wasn't able to gather much, by the time i got the video it was a special teams fest

Just bought the MSU UMass game. Its the Sioux

31-9, did you ever have the women's game? I am highly annoyed by this $8 robbery

Hak was really mixing up the special teams. Miller played D on the powerplay. Hak rotated most of the forwards through the PP unit. The line combos and specialty teams will be played with. It is going to be really hard to fight for some of these spots. Zajac, Davidson, Hextall and Lamoureaux will all fight for checking line time. I think Martens and Miller will fight for scoring line time. Toews is the wild card. He is a Toews, and he was a third round draft pick. Maybe he does take left wing on that top line. Maybe... VV, Duncan and Toews? Trupp, Gregoire and Kozek Malone, Watkins and Frattin (wouldn't have thought this was a great combo until I saw them tonight) Zajac, Hextall and Lamoureaux Finley and Genoway Marto and Jones Lapoint and Blood Miller, Martens, Davidson and Fienhage are all capable of displacing someone, but I think this team might have the best depth we've had in a while.

Goaltending looked fine. What's the story with David Toews not playing? These guys haven't practiced, so I saw a lot of puck chasing and not very good positional play, however they all showed some serious individual and unselfish skills. At this point in the season it is all about playing with line combos and looking for chemistry as Hak pointed out. I think Trupp, Gregoire and Kozek will be deadly this year. I like Malone, Watkins and Frattin too. I don't think Miller is the third guy on the top line though. Hextall and Mario are outstanding gritty type players. Davidson looked much more comfortable this year. I think Hak will have to make some tough choices for playing time.

Remember the big goal numbers generally have a lot to do with speacial teams chances. I see the special teams shooters being Duncs and Kozek. That will keep gregoire and Toews' numbes down a little, but I agree this team should be balanced

I don't mind those choices, but I'd like to see Genoway wear the "A". He wins the ironman and he was the leading scoring defenseman last year. AZ, good to have you back my friend

Hello everyone, I am back. After a summer of travels without checking my blackberry every few minutes on friday and saturday nights or shutting myself in with the internet feed or spending money on flat beer and mediocre grub at Joe's, I am once again psyched for those special 6 months that are Sioux hockey . We have a good mix of talented freshmen and proven veterans. Knowing little about the rookies other than a few highlights, the scouting reports and their stats in junior; here is my conjecture. Scoring 1: Trupp with Duncan and Gregoire Scoring 2: Vande with Watkins and Kozek Checking: Zajac with Martens and Davidson Scoring 3: Hextall with Toews and Frattin Scratches: Miller, Lamoureaux and Malone D1: Finley and Genoway D2: Jones and Marto D3: Blood/Fienhage and Lapoint Scratches: Fienhage or Blood Goalie: starts with a rotation between Walski and Eidsness I put Trupp with Duncs on the top line, because I want to keep Vande and Watkins together. Trupp is also a very creative player that could certainly set-up Duncs for a bunch of right circle wristers. Gregoire was the POY in the USHL, lets see if those skills translate to the WCHA. Playing him with Trupp and Duncs should put him in the best position possible to succeed. Vande and Watkins are the dynamic duo out there. The best forecheckers on the team. LEt's put the sniper with the rocket wrister on that line and see if they can convert the silly cycle into some opportunities for Andrew. Watkins speed, Vande in the corner, Kozek's release, Vande picking up any rebounds. Davidson's size and hustle last year impressed me enough to put him on the checking line. Darcy just does what he's asked, and Martens showed good instincts and hard work last year. I actually really like this line. I think they can bust some ribs without screwing the pooch. My third scoring line is full of potential. I like the fact that it is three guys with scoring touch who have yet to prove themselves. I look for any or all three of these guys to replace skaters on the top two lines throughout the season based on who's showing what at practice and in the games. Defensive pairings, well I tried to match a puck mover with a body mover. Puck movers: Chay is going to need to do what he did last year and then some with Taylor gone. I like what I saw in Marto at the end of the year. Lapoint has yet to wow me, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt from being concussed. Body Movers: Joe, well if seven figures isn't enough incentive to play up to his potential, I don't know what is. Jones is just a quiet rock back there. Blood and Fienhage both come in highly regarded. They could bump someone and both be playing in November. I think Walski and Eidsness rotate until one plays poorly. I think Eidsness is eventually the guy. This team has talent. I think it has leadership. I put letters on Duncs, Chay and Watty. This is going to b e fun to see how this group coheses.

Bob: We met for about five minutes at the Final 5. You and your family, and especially your little guy, are in my thoughts and prayers. This kind of thing sure puts things into perspective. God Speed to a full recovery. S

The negotiation position that Wheeler is now in is unenviable. Free agency is great if you are a proven commodity, not if you are an unknown. Also, precedent is at stake. NHL GMs aren't stupid. They realize that if they go out and sign Wheeler as a free-agent given this scenario, it incents other players to do the same. It would effectively invalidate the draft process, and result in the richest teams being able to go out and buy all the top young talent. Just what a league with 25% of its teams on the verge of bankruptcy needs. If Wheeler signs for similar or more money with another team, every college player will do the same thing. It will change the market and raise the price for all players. Again, just what a struggling league needs. Imagine this scenario: Wheeler gets big money from another team as a free agent, a current NHL 3rd liner with 10 NHL goals/year making $600k per has a pretty legitimate argument at receiving at least 10x more money, as he has infinitely outscored Wheeler at the NHL level. The rookie deals are designed not to promote free agency, but to be able to compare apples to apples. unknowns to unknowns. Free agency compares knowns to knowns. Furthermore, In order to be signed for anywhere near $900k per, Wheeler is going to have to prove to a club that he is a better bet than one of their current top 6 NHL forwards AND a better bet than any of their first round picks over the past couple years who are still in their farm systems or NCAA or CHL. Let's look at his resume: Decent college numbers, but not spectacular. He's roughly a 0.78 point per game for his career in college. Again solid, but not spectacular. Numbers put him in the position to skate on an NHL 3rd or 4th line. Just like he was a 3rd team all WCHA this year. He has not impressed at the WJC- #1 black mark in my opinion. When you look at the big time players who are NHL sure-things, they dominate at the WJC. Toews, Parise, Kessel, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Dion Phaneuf, etc. Wheeler can play at that level, but is not a stand-out at that level. Again, he is 3rd or 4th line material among the best players in the world his own age. He is big, but not tough. Does not play tough or fight, so he can not be looked to as a potential enforcer. The NHL game no longer favors the big guys, but rather favors smaller, skilled players. The NHL changed from 4 years ago when Wheeler was drafted, and in the new NHL, his assets aren't worth as much as they used to be. So, Wheeler is good. Respectable college numbers playing top competition and good enough to wear the red white and blue as one of the best players in the world his age. However, when compared to the best, he lands squarely in the 3rd or 4th line.

I wanted to start this thread to talk about people's favorite Osh moments over the last three years. There have been plenty, from huge hits to big goals. My favorite Osh memory, however, is watching him stand at the center ice dot ready to go, with no time left (maybe 2 seconds), in the FF vs BC. I remember thinking, "wow, no quit in this kid". Thanks TJ!!! Good Luck in the big show.

Shouldn't we be hopeful, and routing for the success of a member of the Fighting Sioux family? I am not the biggest Joe Finley fan in the world, but I believe he has some tools that you can't coach (6'7 and 255 being two of them). He will develop and play in the NHL.

Finley does have some remaining developmental issues. It is precisely for that reason that the Caps sign him this year. NHL GM's view college and major junior as "free" development. They also view a first round pick as a huge investment. Even if unsigned, that selection carries with it tremendous opportunity cost. In any business, at a certain point you have to start investing "in" in order to get more "out". I think the Caps are poised to do that with Joe. Get him 100% focused on hockey. Play him in the AHL for two years if need be. Develop him and hopefully you have a Zdena Chara in five years.

I think that everyone would agree that Kane was the most skilled offensive player. I also think that everyone would say that Toews meant the most to his team and was the best two-way player (among rookies of course). Backstrom was also very good, but not quite as offensively skilled as Kane, and definitely not as good both ways as Toews. I think that Kane deserves the ROY for having the best year of all rookies. I think that every GM in the league would agree that Toews is the kind of player that you build a franchise around. If Kane is Fedorov, Toews is Yzerman.

The wild are an excellent example of a team missing leadership. I am not a fan of the rotating "C". You need my namesake, or a Messier or a Scott Stevens or a Scott Neidermayer or a Rod Brindamour. You also need a playoff seasoned veteran the likes of Claude Lemieux or Bernie Nichols or Kirk Mueller. You need that type of guy. Maybe a Brendan Shannahan or an Owen Nolan these days. Those vets come to mind. I want a guy who wants to win so badly that he'll carry the whole team, fight anyone, go anywhere on the ice. Iginla is that type of player, so is Getzlaf. I think that Toews will be. I am not an advocate of the part-time playoff player. It didn't work this year in Anaheim, I think it hurts chemistry too much. Physicality does not equal fighter. Iginla is physical, Lecavalier is physical, even Ovechkin (although kinds cheap) is physical. These are 3 of the best scorers in hockey, and they will go into corners too.