yzerman19

I don't think there will be any issues with the power brokers finding NIL $ for hockey at UND. Word on the street is that so far its been few and far between for life altering money for college hockey (unlike football and hoops)

made me chuckle...it is crazy, but the 2009s can get phone calls tomorrow...2010s will be drafted in WHL in May...

Having a team of 23 year old undrafted grinders with 1 or 2 guys on the NHL board is not a recipe for success...that's the Mankato State model. We need to have a team of chippas in order to get chippas

the 2010 Little Caesars team coached by Ryan Kesler wins everything. There's something to be said for winning. You want players that hate losing and know how to win.

2009 class which they get to talk to next week, regional boys- Freddie Schneider, Nolan Fitzhenry, Easton Johnson are all absolute studs

As i said, I've never seen Schultz, but Pue is an elite goal scorer. Thompson and Nicol are smart, complete 200 foot centers who produce a ton of points. Charbonneau is a beast and is an absolute offensive force. LaSouro is dynamic and shifty and is just a stud athlete. Daley operates almost like a 2nd center in the ozone as a Dman, but he never gets burned...always gets back. Here's the thing with the chippas....you land one, the others pay attention

He's one of the most talented 2010's for sure. He's also a nice kid. Good family. If Berry lands him its a huge get

with the younger guys you always have to contemplate if they have a size advantage today and what the genetics are. A 6 foot 190 lb 14 year old will dominate bantam...will they be Eric Lindros or are they going to limit out when everybody is that size. I don't know about the brother gets...of them I only know Liam Pue. He is a tall and skilled winger who has a knack for the net. I think he's legit an NHL prospect at this point.

The big question is will the good ol boys be able to get the NIL money to land those kinda chippas??

2010's that i've seen- those 3 above (Pue, Holowaychuk, and Nicol), LaSouro, Daley, Thompson, Cullen, Colmer, Meier, Lynn, Charbonneau, Carver, Hair, Schulberger...year away, but those kids can all play. Morris, Evans, Christini, Filiaggi, Spang, Warner, Kelly, Trupiano also high end players in the 2010 year.

I've never seen Schultz. I can tell you Liam Pue, Holowaychuk, and Nicol are excellent players with bright futures...maybe even all the way.

Are you really looking at 2010's : ) So the reason those guys play up is that the competition is so diluted after 15...the good players are playing junior in Canada at 16.

no doubt, and I don't want to come across wrong. Its a great league, its just a huge mountain for a full ride to a d1 school and to play beyond that. I want every kid to advance and achieve their dreams. I'm just calling out the reality of it not being the CHL or the USHL

Let's be honest...if you are going to the NAHL you have a helluva mountain to climb. If the goal is delaying reality for a few more years to keep playing...okay...I'm not trying to be rude, just being honest.

but the CHL is already in the US...Everett, Seattle, Portland, Spokane, TriCities, Wenatchee, Erie, Flint, Saginaw....would you advocate that be capped? What is the benefit of restricting that? USHL used to have Thunder Bay...

this is not the case. They are still competing for players and they are still offering guaranteed money for school. I think where the rubber hits the road and gets really interesting is players with CHL money coming to NCAA schools and saying "keep your scholarship, I got this...show me the NIL money"

Absolutely huge get. Kid would've been a top 5 WHL pick if he hadn't declared his college preference, and he still went 2nd round. He's a perfect example of what could happen with a blue chip player when the rules change...wouldn't he surprised to see him play WHL next season and then arrive at UND. Still crazy that we have a committed 2009!!! The NHL scouts are going to love seeing how top players compete with older competition. He's positioning himself like Toews, Celebrini, Hagens, and Potter...if you can produce at a high level at 17 vs guys who are 21 on average...it projects really,really well

These are all valid points and I respect your point of view. My statement does not take away from yours. It's a different lens. I do think your point about funding is an interesting one. The CHL receives significant $ from the NHL for development. I believe that the development money that goes to the USHL drives the NTDP budget (I might be wrong, but I heard that one time). RFA rules and sending Jr eligible guys back to CHL vs AHL is also important and details that will need to be bargained and addressed. I also don't want to dismiss the appeal of playing closer to home for a 16/17 year old kid. For a Minnesota kid, Des Moines is much closer to home than Swift Current. USHL will still attract high end players for that reason. The stipend $ (with rare exceptions) is pretty immaterial for a business...for most guys it's gas and beer money...

Long term, however it will drive college hockey expansion as barriers to competitiveness will come down. You can get U Washington playing competitive Big 10 hockey pretty quickly by stacking the roster with guys aging out of the WHL. I don't disagree that the pipeline to college hockey gets tougher short term, but won't it also raise the competitiveness of college hockey...I mean all else equal you want the best players on the ice wherever they hail from. For the ultra elite player (chippas) it's amazing...you have more development options without life altering consequences. Say you are a stud at 16/17 and you go major junior on the fast track to NHL, but you hit road bumps in terms of system or an injury or whatever and you end up getting drafted late or not drafted...now, head to college and extend that runway....or maybe you have a great year and go first round, but you are 5'10 165...go to college, play fewer games put on 20 pounds of beef live the college athlete life while in a prep year to the NHL. while I don't disagree it will be much, much harder for NAHL guys to make it to d1 over the short term, I think the long term expansion of college hockey and mitigated consequences for 16-18 year old kids is huge. I also believe that the quality of product on the ice will only get better in college hockey as a result.

Can't have a team of nothing but elite scorers...wouldnt be Sioux hockey without a sandpaper line....Eades and Archibald for sure....

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there used to be certain mystique around Sioux hockey...where you knew they would both out hit and out skill you. You knew you were in for a fast and heavy game.

We can't change the location of Grand Forks, we can't change the fact that you don't get Big10 football or hoops on off days, the Ralph isn't a huge differentiator anymore (although by no means a detriment)...somehow we gotta get the chippas that other chippas want to play with while recognizing the constraints we have vs Big10 and Hockey East. At the peak of our recruiting success, players knew that Sioux hockey was where you played to prepare for the NHL...the coaching, facilities, training was all geared towards that...somehow we have lost a great deal of this, and rather quickly

So what do we have to do to get the swagger back?

I mentioned a couple 2009 studs from minnesota. Crazy to think that 2009s are up next...2010s being looked at seriously...where did time go? These kids were born during the pony express era...

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is forcing skill guys into systematic players. Why no skilled playmaker is their right mind would pick Notre Dame right now. I've seen it too many times where a dynamic player is forced into a system of pucks deep, work the wall, start the cycle, get net front, stay on the defensive side of the puck...yes those things need to be deployed at times to win games, but when you bring in a kid that scores 2 points per game based on speed, skill, and IQ and you turn him into a cog in the machine...barf