yzerman19

Lapoint looked like a freshman. It is very impressive to see the Sioux win like that without Oshie. Nice testament to depth. First impressions of this year's team after two games: It is our year to take the title back to GF. My only beef right now is with lapionte, the rest of the team looked solid. We are both physical and skilled. We will be tough to beat. Unless of course we get jobbed like RPI last night.

As I said on another post, that call made for a sad day for college hockey. The Gophs had turned it on, albeit aided by some PPs, but that last call was truly an abomination. Let the players decide the game. Thul should be censured if not fired.

Wow, I would've gotten chewed out for leaving my side of the rink back in the day. I never thought of it as strategy. I've always complained whenever I've seen it, and I agree; I have seen it happen at the pro level. It just seems to me that the tighter your forwards are grouped in the offensive zone, the less likely that situation is to turn into an opportunity. The puck moves faster than anyone's feet are capable (even Marion Gaborik). I prefer to have someone stay at home. I don't complain about 3 guys low as long as they are spread out. Just the opinion of an old washed up, never was

Major junior versus NCAA hockey is a difficult comparison, because the style of play is so different. Clearly, thry compete from the same talent pool. JT was the number 1 player taken in the WHL bantam draft. Major junior is still the most direct route to the NHL, but NCAA is catching up. Could the Sioux compete against CHL teams? Definitely yes. Would the Sioux dominate CHL teams? Definitely no. Would the Sioux compete with an NHL team? Are you out of your mind?!!!! THe worst player on an NHL team was a super stud in college or major junior. a 10 goal a year NHL player probably scored 40 in the CHL.

Agree. Scratches will be Davidson, Forney and Martens at Forward and Marto on D. What depth! What kind of team has an NHL #2 on the fourth line! I think that what we saw for lines will hold. Oshie, Frattin, Duncan Kaip, Watkins, Malone Vande, Trupp, Zajac Miller, Radke, Kozek

I agree that Marto looked better out there than Lapointe. Jake jumped into the play nicely a couple times, and I didn't notice him negatively in our end. I am not sure who will get the PT this year. The second and third lines looked like they had some good chemistry, which is fantastic this early in the year. One thing that did jump out at me was a foul up by Frattin on one shift. I caught all 3 forwards on that first line by the left circle in the offensive zone. Frattin needs to stay at home there. It was Duncan's side of the ice, and the center can always help out, but that off winger needs to camp out by the other circle under that circumstance and be prepared to drive the net or go into the corner to dig out a puck. Can't have 3 guys in one corner, that looks like squirts.

I agree that an exibition game against Manitoba is not a good barometer for an NCAA season. However, I was very impressed by the depth. Our scoring came from each line. 1 G from Line 1, 3Gs from Line 2, 2 Gs from Line 3, 1 G from Line 4, 1 G from the d, 1 G from PP. Our special teams will get much better, they haven't practiced. This was basically a second day scrimmage against an inferior opponent, but an experienced opponent who has been playing games for a week. We saw individual skills last night. Now the coaches can coach and practice and meld it into a cohesive unit (TEAM). We have more depth than last year and that will help down the stretch. Duncs and Osh will each throw in their 25+ goals. If we can get 15-20 from a player on each of the next two lines, we will be tough to beat. A constantly fresh fourth line made up of the players we had on the fourth line will be a gift also.

I agree that Kozek really needs to step up. He was a huge scorer in junior and had so much upside that Atlanta invested their second round pick in him. The questions around him are has he been unable to produce at a high level due to who he's been playing with and the role assigned to him or is he a player who truly peaked at 18. I guess we'll find out. I support Watkins on the first line, because he has done everything asked of him. I don't think that you necessarily want three scorers on the first line. I've always been a fan of lines that consist of a playmaker, a true goal scorer, and a grinder (either power forward or utility style). As long as they can skate with the scorer and playmaker. I like the idea of one forward goes into the corner and wins the one on one, kicks it over to the other forward on the same side of the net down low, who tries to feed the third forward driving towards the net. I like the idea of Watkins being that forward, kicking it over to Oshie, who either shoots or hits Duncan in the slot or top of the opposite circle. That style also allows for a sleeper defenseman to slip into the slot...could mean a dozen goals for Chorney! Run and gun is fun too, but I don't know if we have the horses to do a Parise, Murray, Bochenski or a Toews, Oshie, Duncan. Minnesota is sure to run three high caliber lines. I don't know if we have a center who can match up with Okposo physically, now that Toews is gone. I guess that will be up to T.J., who is very strong on his skates, but gives up quite a few pounds to KO. I also agree that Miller and Martens are big question marks. Miller put up some points early on in the year, but he disappeared at the end of the season. Are these guys going to get playing time or not? There are some young guns who'd love to bump them off. I think we have great grinders in Vandevelde, Kaip and Zajac. In my opinion, all three earned spots for this year with their game, especially in the playoffs. We have players that impressed the NHL scouts in Frattin, Forney and Malone. Do they earn regular shifts? How about the beast man from Manitoba: Davidson. Is he Brandon Shannahan or is he Carl Racke from Youngblood? Trupp is apparently the can't miss playmaker we need to generate some second or third line scoring. Maybe pair him up with a Kozek to see if they can put up some points. What about Radke? Is he done? Does he move back to D? Does Genoway move up to forward? I have to believe that Frattin, Forney and Malone get playing time due to the talent they must have to get drafted. We're in the enviable position of too many players!

When does official practice start? It is going to be a fun year. Anyone have any insight into any of the new guys other than their junior stats and conjecture? I am really hoping that Hakstol build four well-rounded lines this year instead of one NHL line, one "tour de france" cycling line, one balanced line and one mixed unit. It would be great to roll four lines all year. We'll have to see about Trupp, Frattin, Malone, Davidson and Forney. Those guys are all question marks to me. I would like to see Oshie, Duncan and Watkins as the first scoring line. You combine a playmaker, a sniper, and a utility player. That line would hit, skate, cycle, set up pretty goals and bang in hard-hat goals. It would be nice to see how the freshman look.

You definitely can not take stock in a preseason assessment of talent. These guys are writers, they are trying to give us something entertatining to read, because we don't have any hockeey to watch!

JT is a special hockey player. We all forget just how young he is. Good Luck Jonathan! A little silver bowl on top of a lot of great names will add nicely to your collection of gold medals. UND was lucky to have you, and it was a privelege to watch you compete. Next year I expect we will get to see JT, ZP, TZ, DS, BB, and JB skate regular shifts in the NHL...what a program!!!

He probably just wanted to be able to have a cold one and not worry about getting thrown in the huscow. That guy could probably get away with murder in hockeytown USA. Met him briefly once. Seems like a nice kid. He was friendly and engaging.

How pathetic! It just shows again what a business hockey is in Canada and how political it has all become. Poor kid, he's big and good, so he can't play with his friends? Play him up a level and see how he does...that and buy him an ice cream for a bunch of a hole adults being jerks.

Going to be some big pay days coming for Vanek and Parise. Thomas' 40+ and leading the league in plus minus should get him somewhere in the $4million per year range. I would guess that Zach's 31 would be worth somewhere in the $2.5-$3 per year range. IF ZP continues his goal scoring rampage in the playoffs, he could add another $1 mil per. If he were to lead the playoffs in goals scored and win the Conn Smythe ( I realize there is a lot of hockey left, and the Devils aren't even a lock to get out of round 1) but if ZP were to win the Conn Smythe at 22 years old, he might be able to bump that even further.

The Dutchman and Watkins did not play together early in the year...when the Sioux were bad! We went on our roll when the top 2 lines were solidified with DOT and W VV P. I agree that Vandy is good on the faceoffs and is a hard working player. The goals he scored this year were more luck than skill, and for that reason I do not place him with Oshie and Duncs. I don't believe he can play with those two guys. He plays a very different style than they do. You have to put guys together who can play together. Vandy had 3 goals last year and 2 were garbage collections against SCSU at the final five. I am not knocking him, he is a good role player who might develop some scoring. Right now, he is a banger, puck possession player. Let's keep him on that. I am not opposed to the possibility of Genoway filling out that first line. He showed some serious play making ability. We could roll a more scoring oriented second line and just kill 'em with the third line. I like the experiment with Trupp and Kozek. Let's see if they can reproduce the BC league scoring. something like: Oshie, Duncan and Genoway Kozek, Trupp and Forney Watkins, Vandevelde and Kaip Zajac, Miller and Malone

No way is Vandy first line material yet. I also don't think that they will split up Vandy and Watkins. You always keep guys with chemistry together.

Truth be told, I think the only guys with guaranteed ice time at forward are osh, duncs, kaip, watkins and vandy Kozek and Zajac are almost guaranteed. Miller should be confident of a fourth line spot. I think Malone, Forney and Trupp...their spots to lose

My only concern with Trupp centering Oshie and Duncan is size and defensive ability. Toews was so strong on his skates and a great two way player. Your first line center has to be able to play defense as well as be the pivot. Could Trupp hold his own with Okposo??? I would be more tempted to move Oshie back to Center and move up Kozek or Forney on the wing. I trust the NHL scouts on those guys. How about: Osh centering Duncs and Kozek Trupp centering Kaip and Forney Vandy centering Watkins and Zajac Miller, Martens, Radke, Hamilton duke it out for fourth line Hextall and Malone come in 2008 Defense, still just stacked If Lee goes: Chorney and Lapointe Finley and Bina Genoway and Jones Marto rotates in for experience, as chorney and finley will be gone after next year.

So is Trupp the only frosh that I can have 30 point expectations for? Big question is who can skate with Osh and Duncs? Kozek? Forney? Malone? What about a where them out line Watkins, Vandy and Kaip We can roll four lines, but that fourth line really only skates every tenth shift, so about two shifts a period. If we roll 15 shifts per period, that's 5 shifts for line 1, 4 shifts each for lines 2 and 3 and 2 shifts for line 4. Of course that's assuming no special teams. how do we sit guys who were part of a frozen four team and how do we develop young studs with such limited ice time? You juggle line combos early in the year, lose a few games, and get your act together to make it to the frozen four every year!

If I had my way, I would roll this set up. I always look for a playmaker, a finisher, and a banger on each scoring line. If you don't have a banger that is skilled enough to play on the scoring line, you substitute the banger with a flyer, someone who can flat out skate. The checking line needs puck protection experts who can play the body and dominate the corners and the boards. Some guys can play multiple roles ie Oshie can do all of the above. Duncs can both make plays and finish. Help me classify the players into those categories. Aside from keeping osh and duncs together and watty and vandy together, I think other players can fill in and play. Trupp is clearly a playmaker, are hextall and malone power forward types or more speedy finishers?

Range Rover, baby, the $78k car of choice for professional hockey players.

I call Vandevelde the Dutchman...Van anything is dutch isn't it?

He doesn't have anything to prove...let's see if the peer pressure can keep him around one more year. There is going to be an awful lot of competition for ice time up front, especially if JT comes back: Toews Duncan Oshie Dutchman Watkins Kozek Kaip Miller Zajac Radke Forney Malone Hextall Trupp Martens Hamilton To say nothing of the D Lee Chorney Finley Bina Jones Genoway Marto Lapointe Blood Good Place to be!!!!

Wow!!!! Thanks TJ, we'll love you and follow you in the show too, but this endears you to the Fighting Sioux family even more. Thanks a million kid! What a difference between the attitude of the Blues number one pick from 2005 vs their number one pick for 2006! It's been a long time since the NCAA trophy made its way up to Warroad...Baudette maybe with Ballard and Waibel. See if you can't convince your buddy from Winnipeg to stick around with you...about 80 points each sound about right?

The weakness of the Blackhawks virtually guarantees JT a spot on the big club. As much as I want him to be back, the kid is ready and is the whole package. Compare JT with Zajac, and Travis is playing well on a tier one team. JT will make the roster on the big club. Having guys ready for the NHL at 19 or 20 is a definite selling point of UND for the tier one talent. It allows us to compete for players with the CHL. If you all remember, JT is the first player ever to go number 1 in the major junior bantam draft and elect to go the college route. A big part of that was his belief that UND could get him equally prepared to go pro. The CHL still pulls the best talent, as it is the most direct route to the show, with the most games, best competition, etc. The WCHA is not far behind, but players need to know that they have just as good a shot at being a pro before they can legally drink ( in the US) selecting the Fighting SIoux as they would selecting Brandon or Moose Jaw or Peterborough or Mississauga or Hamilton. The top guys are simply building skills in a more friendly environment and getting an education is a perk, but they all are looking for that chance at the big silver trophy, and their mom and dad watching them get critiqued by Don Cherry on Saturday nights.