yzerman19

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.

JT will be in Chicago by years end. Why on earth would you stay in school when you are guaranteed the big bucks? A million bucks buys a hell of an education I am a huge Sioux fan, but as a supporter, I have to support what is best for these young men, and for Toews, he is ready for the NHL. We hate losing these guys, but if they aren't going to the pros at 19 or 20 we're going to stop getting the tier one talent. Good Luck Jonathan!

Isn't Malone still 18? He could play one more year of Juniors if Osh stays. We don't want to bring a player in too early. I can't imagine separating Watkins and Vandy after their play in this playoff run. It is so important to see how players "click" together. Trupp appears to be ultra creative based on stats. I like the idea of splitting up the rookies. Oshie, Trupp and Duncan Watkins, Vandy and Hextall Kozek, Kaip and Forney Miller, Zajac and Hamilton, Radke or Martens Chorney and Lapointe ( strongest with the rook ) Bina and Finley Genoway and Jones If Lee comes back we have a glutton of D men. In that case maybe Genoway moves up to Forward. Anyway we slice it, we will have players

Aw, the trap. It is basically a 1-2-2 forecheck with the center in the middle of the ice, the two wingers on the red line and the two defensemen on the blue line. It clogs up the neutral zone with bodies, forcing the play along the boards. It is horrible to watch. I would cease to be a fan of SIoux hockey if we ever became a team like that.

I say you keep Watkins and the Dutchman together. They worked some magic against Jan Brady in the Final Five. They are both big guys and play pretty physical. The Dutchamn is not a first line college center, there is not enough offense in his game yet. Oshie's decision on whether or not to turn pro will result in some serious discussions about players playing another year of Junior hockey or not. We'll have to see how the new guys look in practice and game situations. The WCHA while not the WHL is also not the BCJHL. Trupp and Hextall sound like players with tremendous upside. Forney was a high draft pick who we didn't see a lot of this year. Oshie and Duncan (if they come back) are locks on that first line. Osh can play center as well as wing, although I think his aggressiveness and desire to play "big" sometimes takes him out of the play, this is a liability for a centerman. Pretty weak criticism of Osh, I know, he doesn't have many flaws in his game Is Trupp the magic man that his points per game indicate? If so, he might be the right guy to play the middle of the ice with Osh and Duncs. A playmaker, a highly skilled, strong, playmaking banger, and a sniper make a good lforward line. If, by some miracle, we keep both Oshie and Duncan, we are going to have a glutton of forwards. The Dutchman and Watkins certainly earned the right to keep their jobs, as did Kaip. I don't think anyone had too many complaints about Zajac on the fourth line. Kozek has tremendous upside despite his issues. He can fly and was a big time scorer in junior. Miller, despite being a non-factor in the second half, still scored double digit goals. Question: Do Trupp and Hextall play on the same line up in BC? If so, we might want to keep them together here as well. There will be line shuffling, and some players will exceed expectations, while others leave something to be desired. Very few players with the exception of Parise, come in with high expectations and immediately show that they are the real deal.

Parise, you forgot Prpich!!!!!!

I stand by Chorney being the integral cog in 2007-2008. We need him back on that blue line. Listen to your Dad, Taylor, if you go too early you might not ever get more than a cup of coffee. Lead UND back to the Frozen Four, lead the country in defenseman scoring. Too all uber-talented Sioux undergraduate phenoms...YOU CAN'T GET A "REAL" GRINDER AT 2 AM ANYWHERE OTHER THAN GRAND FORKS!

They usually do a formal press release, but not a full conference. This gives us a little hope that the conference is announcing new sweaters or something. There isn't much to be excited about if you're a blackhawks fan except for the possibility of toews passing the puck to Havlat next year. I bet they will announce that Jonny signed. There is no debate over the contract he will receive, it will be the CBA max and max bonus. He is ready, Hakstal knows it, Savard knows it, Jonathan knows it. See ya kid, thanks for giving us two years!! Don't forget to send your kids to UND in 25-30 years

Jonathan will be a pro tomorrow. There is ,in fact, a press conference being scheduled by the Blackhawks. To announce the signing of Toews? I don't know, but sounds feasible. Jonny grew up in Canada watching Don Cherry on Saturday nights. The dream is stepping out on the ice of the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens, and Madison Square Garden, not winning the NCAAs. He was the most prototypical NHL forward in college hockey this year. He is ready. Thanks for two great runs, kid. I'll be pulling for you in the NHL. Join the former Sioux 30 goal club with Parise and Blake!!!!!

Like him or not, he is part of the Fighting Sioux hockey family and deserves our respect and best wishes. He certainly has accomplished more on the ice than I ever did. Back to TJ, who it is agreed that everybody likes; he has great hand skills and is very strong out there. It is a different world going into a corner with Chris Pronger or Brandon Shannahan or Keith Tkachuk. TJ is strong, but those guys are beasts. I personally think for his own development he should play one more year in the WCHA, put on ten more pounds and get ready to deal with the big boys in 2008-2009

Wasn't it the end of a penalty kill shift, and wasn't he having to come across the entire ice? I don't think he was dogging it, no way. You can't play competitive hockey your whole life and not give it up in the NCAAs. It was a great spring a guy play by BC, a fresh set of legs going 100% to a vacant area of the ice, it is the same thing Michigan did to us early. Minnesota did it too with the Wheeler goal and attempted to do it more. Try spring a fast skater by passing the puck to an open area rather than an open man. There is no way to cover a great homerun style pass, especially when you're shorthanded. Not his fault. Penalties not Finley's fault or Porter's fault or Fabian's fault. It is just hockey. They are a team, a family, and they win and lose as one. Penalties are part of the game, penalty kills seem to be never ending and your legs feel like rubber at the end of a semi-final game. Not the fault of anybody, coaches, conditioning, refs, or players. it was a good, tough game. BC made the plays that they needed to in order to play one more day. They had the jump, they played their style, and they beat us. The many calls on physical play clearly took us off our game. Too many parallels to the MN game at the X to count. Tough loss, we'll see them again.

There was no quit in this team. Did Oshie quit on that shortie? Did Porter quit with us down big and timing running out? Nobody quit, and I think every player on that sheet of ice would take personal exception to that kind of statement.

How much heat is Lee taking? I sincerely doubt that he spends his time reading posts on this website. He is a good young player who needs to develop. Clearly the scouts saw something special in him in order to invest a first round pick. I can't see him leaving because he doesn't like criticism. Seems silly. He has to have a thicker skin than that.

Hextall, you live in Superior, Wisconsin? Parise, no wonder you're out trolling Is Norm's Beer and Brats still in business?

What a great teammate and humble guy. Class all the way. We've never had a two time winner in NCAA history. I am glad to see that the Hobey voters saw the difference in scoring like Duncs did in the WCHA vs other leagues. Not to knock the other finalists, as they were all very, very deserving. It is just great to get validated as to the difficulty of scoring 30 goals in a WCHA season.