yzerman19

I think that we are going to see a monster year out of Toews. I would like to see them put Duncan on one side and Kozek on the other and see what they can do. Big point to remember...he is the youngest out of himself, Okposo and Johnson and he is already a proven 20 goal man in the WCHA. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 30 goal season out of the kid. I like that as a second line with Oshie, Porter and Zajac as the sweet and nasty first line. Score on you and beat you up! The word on Zajac is that he is a little less skilled than Travis, but he plays with more of an edge. Hopefully he produces like big bro and not like Chucko!!

I agree with a lot of what Dagies says, but I don't think MN has the firepower that he does. Great incoming class, but the returners aren't top end scorers. Will Wheeler become the first rounder he could be or will he be another Tallackson? Can Howe make the next step going from good to great? The one piece that is ultra important that Dagies missed onthe report card is coaching. While Delta Don is a fabulous coach, Hakstol has been remarkable with Frozen Four appearances in his first two years! Before the Holy Cross let down I would've given both head coaches an A, but after that I give Delta an A-. Slight edge UND. If Okposo has a year like Oshie did last year, it will make the difference between a contender and an also ran.

I like the wink! I was thinking more about the Gophs other goalie...Briggs is ok.

UMD has 3 highly skilled freshmen forwards coming back who all scored double digit goals in their inaugural campaigns. Niskanen is a first rounder who will only get better each year he plays college. Wisconsin returns 3 double digit goal scorers (2 freshmen-skille and street) and Elliot. Carlson and Dowell are decent, but not great. MN returns 4 10+ goal scorers and adds the best incoming class. Weak in the net. I still must stick to the fact that UND is returning two 20 goal scoring first rounders, Duncan added 16, Porter's scored double digits before. The D-men are mostly highly touted top draft picks. decent incoming class, watkins and kozek should elevate their game too. Fabian and Kaip will keep the pressure on. Dingle's the only double digit scorer coming back to Denver.

Only five 20 goal men return to the WCHA. UND has two in Toews and Oshie. SCSU, Denver and MSU all return 1 a piece. Elliot will keep Whiskey in a lot of games, but they lost an awful lot up front. Top 5: 1. UND 2. UMD 3. MN 4. SCSU 5. WI

Hakstol did a great job of getting the right line pairings at the end of the year. We will have to see who clicks with who, etc. We also need to think about playmaker & goalscorer and corner digger forward combos. Of course we are very fortunate and have guys like Oshie and Toews who can do all three. I have posted before my thoughts. Let's just start with the players and facts we know. I will limit this post to forwards for now. The last 4 points in parenthesis will be my 1-10 rankings on: playmaking, scoring, physicality and intangibles. Obviously I haven't seen the new recruits, so they will be excluded: 1. Oshie. Dynamic forward who plays the whole rink, plays the body, can dance around guys, can shoot the puck and make unbelievable passes. Worked well with last year: Zajac Toews, Porter, Spirko. Needs someone who can keep up with his energy level. (10,10,10,10) 2. Toews. Most upside of any player in the WCHA. Great skill, playmaker and goal scorer of tier 1 ability. Physical when needed. Worked well with: Stafford and Duncan. Did ok with Porter and Oshie. Needs someone who can finish and see the openings. (10,10, 7,9) 3. Duncan. Terrific shooter with skill. Seems to be in the right place all the time. Works well with: Stafford and Toews. Needs someone to get him the puck. Lacks size. (9, 10, 4, 7) 4. Spirko. Shifty dangler with good skill. Makes some sick moves. Can play with almost anyone and make the line complete. Not physical, so needs to play on a line with more physical players. (9,8,4,8) 5. Porter. Aggressive, will play the body and make good offensive and defensive decisions. Can play any role. Works well with everyone, demonstrated with Oshie early. (7,6,10,9) 6. Kozek. We will see a lot more out of this 2nd round draft pick if given a scoring role. Can really shoot the puck. ok size, ok playmaking. I'd like to see him on an off wing on one of the top two lines. (6,6,6,6) 7. Watkins. Can play the body and play in the offensive zone. Similar to Kozek, but seems to like to hit a little more. (6,6,8,6) 8. Fabian. Grinder with good hockey sense and leadership. I expect to see him leading some youngsters on the cycle (as much as I despise it). (4,4,8,8) 9. Kaip. Grinder who learned to score in the playoff run. Packs a lunch for work and just does his job. (3,3,8,6) 10. Vandevelde. Good size. Tore up the MN tourney two years ago. Not a huge year in USHL. I'd like to see him show that Moorhead touch again. I'd try and put him on a line with some play makers. 11. Forney. A probable late first, early second round pick. Good size and playmaking. Got hurt too early in the MN tourney for me to see what he is all about. The NHL is hot on him though, which is good enough for me. 12. Zajac. Good numbers in Salmon Arm...what a pipeline we've developed. Travis's little bro, if he plays like travis he will be a great addition, and some second liners will need to be looking over their shoulders. Good size, playmaking and goal scoring. I hate to say it to the boys who saw limited action, but they have their work cut out for them to dress. I wish them all luck and appreciate their efforts. Here is how I would set the lines: scoring 1: Porter, Oshie and Spirko. Tj and Chris worked well together. Tj and Sparky worked well together. Porter's leadership, Porter and Oshies physicality, Sparky and Oshie's explosiveness offensively. This line's parts have had chemistry, will wake up the team by starting the game hitting, and will undoubtedly catch a few team's napping at the drop of the puck. All 3 guys will have 40+ points and TJ will hit 30 goals. Can skate with any first line and can knock around any first line. scoring 2: Forney, Toews, Duncan. Jonny and Ryan showed that they can play great together. Put the rookie with the reputation on this line and see if it gives Jonny another option out there. checking: Fabian, Kaip, Vandevelde. I like this lines ability to hit, move the puck and contribute with some goals. Goals will be bonuses. line 4: Watkins, Zajac, Kozek. I think this line is the one that will kill teams. The BC connection. I think this fourth line has as much talent as most team's first lines. This role will let these guys show off their offensive skills against opponents weaker lines. My two cents for what its worth. I really like the first line, and I believe that you have to keep Toews and Duncan together. I am not sure about the last two, as I haven't seen Zajac or Vandy or Forney recently. I don't like stacking a line, I prefer balancing them out. I like not putting two frosh's on the same line.

We do definitely have a stacked locker room. I also know that we will see a lot of line combos. I would like to see Duncan and Toews stay together, as they were dynamite in the Final 5 and Regional. I like TJ and Porter together too, just because they both bring such intensity, and they played well together last fall. I agree that Kozek and Watkins will show us a lot more this year, and Spirko is obviously a good player. Kaip and Fabian will continue to wreak havoc on the forecheck. It will be interesting to see how little Zajac, Forney and Vandevelde play. Forney appears to be built a lot like Blake Wheeler.

Wasn't it Radke who fed that MSU player? He has my vote for enforcer. I'd prefer if Finley went pro to make room for Genoway. I stated that on another post as well.

Remember Matt Greene's poorly received comment about why he went to UND? The fact is it is a pro hockey factory. If you do not let guys leave early, they will not play NCAA, that simple. The other aspect of major junior, is it is a job. More games, long bus rides...Swift Current to Moose Jaw sounds like a fun trip in January. College on a full ride, as a campus God...college is fun. It isn't that much work, and you can keep being a kid. Not to mention you don't have to worry about getting gooned and having your career end as much as you would playing for Swift Current.

I think Mike would love that anti-Sioux people hate him and rip on him, Like the idiot poster. I can see that big sh*t eating grin on his face reading that. It is much better to be hated by opponents than to have them be indifferent. Mike is one of the best instigators and really got into other players' heads. He may not have scored 20 goals, but his antics probably contributed to mental mistakes and penalties that did. I will miss him. I've also heard that he is a great guy off the ice. In a lot of ways I'd rather have that said about me than anything else. Thanks Mike!!

Travis was about as prototypical NHL forward as we had in the college ranks. He can do all of the little things. He has a pro body, and his performance at the college level is an almost identical comparison to Keith Tkachuk. It is a privelege to have players of the Parise, Stafford, and Zajac caliber on our team. They are world class athletes. One thing that I have noticed in Hak's recruiting is that he is doing a great job of picking up talented BCJHL players that are undersized. Case in point Duncan, who I believe will score 20+ goals for the next 3 years. While he is an excellent hockey player, his size will keep him around. Brady Murray would've been a 4 year player if it wasn't for the weird import loophole he got into the Swiss league with, again top end talent, but not an NHL frame. 2007 freshman Evan Trupp 79 points as a rookie in the BC league, but 5'9 150 looks like a 4 year guy. Hak is mixing it up with the #1 draft picks who will be around for 2 years ( Forney) and guys like Trupp. It is a good way of doing things. The 2 year guys blow up the league while the smaller 4 year guys develop into top end players, then when the 2 year guys leave, the 4 year guy can almost replace him as a jr or sr. Here is what I think about next year: Zajac, Smaby, Stafford, Prpich (regulars that are gone) Toews will play at least one more year in the green. The only 18 year old that I can think of in the show is one Syd the Kid, and as good as Jonny is, he isn't Crosby. 22 goals in college vs setting records in the Q is a different world. If he puts up numbers like he did the last 2 months of this season all year next year, he will go to the big club at 19. Oshie will play one more year with the emphasis from the Blues being to put on a little more meat. The game he plays will take its toll on a body over a 100 game season (including playoffs). Lee and Chorney will probably play through their junior years. It takes a little more time to develop a defenseman. I predict Finley will turn pro after next year, reason being, that while he doesn't seem as effective as the other top draft pick defensemen, his size is more suited to the pro game, and I think that the pros will want him to hone his mean streak in the minors...similar to what they wanted to do with Smaby. Based on performance and need, I believe that Marto and Lapoint will all spend next year in the USHL and come up next year to replace possible pro defections. Sioux lines 2006-2007 Porter, Oshie, Spirko (Porter and Oshie played great together and Oshie and Spirko did too, synergy) Kozek, Toews, Duncan (all great shooters, Toews whole package, kozek will have some big skates to fill) Forney, Watkins, Zajac ( good size and skill-should be a great third line) Vandevelde, Kaip, Fabian (Rylan and Eric are workhorses, let's put a big bodied scorer with them) Lee and Chorney ( top talent will keep improving) Radke and Jones ( the two tough guys) Bina and Finley (imagine the height differential on the ice) As awful as this may sound, I would almost prefer to see Finley go pro to make room for Genoway. of course Parise and Lammy in the pipes.

Smaby and Stafford are as good as gone. bucky is right on very few 18 year old pro defensemen. JPar will be back. I think that Oshie and Toews will each play one more year. Zajac is a crap shoot. He will get offered NHL first round money to sign, but his brother is coming to town.

There is defintiely something to be said for a guy that all your opponent's fans hate! On a team stacked with first rounders, sometimes the play of your third and fourth liners gets overlooked. The play of Mike Prpich never got overlooked. Go out with a National Championship and solidify your rightful place of honor in Sioux hockey lore. The drink from the Denver goalie's water bottle is one of the greatest intimidation moves I've ever seen. I enjoyed every Prpich shift, and many times I would've loved to have had a microphone on him when he was grinning and talking to opposing players. One of the great characters in hockey. Thanks Mike!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally I like the idea that you can host a Regional and have home ice. The sites are determined well in advance of the season, so getting a regional doesn't guarantee that you will be there. Not much more than a month ago we were in danger of not getting to play in our own Regional. You can live by the advantage and die by it. UND benefitted this year, Michigan benefits what seems like every other year, but the underlying component is that UND and those Michigan teams also earned the right to host the tournament. Additionally, while home town crowds might give a little boost, they give a bigger boost to NCAA hockey; can you say attendance records and playoff atmosphere? The game is still settled on the ice. I can't believe any Gopher fans will bitch, considering I've heard so many comments about "Mariucci West" and the Sioux being a .500 team in GF. You could put an ice sheet on Pluto, the bottom line is the game is played and one on the ice, not in the stands.

2 things. 1. As far as goal scoring and the show...everyone in the show is a goal scorer. You don't get to the NHL as a forward if you haven't put up a lot of goals in your NCAA or CHL career. You learn quickly who the Jagrs and Iginlas are. Everyone in the NHL was a stud during their amateur career...goal scoring, play making...everything. Third line grinders probably put up 30+ goals in junior. 2. I will always root for the Gophers to lose because of their fans. MN fans are generally so MN centric it makes me want them to lose. If you didn't play HS in MN and then play for the GOphers, then, well, who are you? THeir ignorance of hockey's main youth stages i.e. Midget AAA and Canadian Major Junior is almost hunorous. In general they know little about the game the way it is played outside of MN, but act as though they know everything. I've known a lot of Golden Gopher players over the years, and they were all GREAT guys. I would root for them to win as people, but I can't give Gopher FANS that satisfaction. I'll never forget talking about a friend (who was playing for the Peterborough Petes at the time) when a female Gopher fan told me how sorry she was for him that he wasn't good enough for the GOphers. SHe and her husband refused to listen to me when I told them the GOphers weren't good enough for this friend of mine. They walked out thinking I was a retard, when the truth of the matter was I was right. Oh, the player I was talkig about? Jamie Langenbrunner.

Only a Gopher fan would have the arrogance to make statements about the talent level of a team that just got humiliated on the national stage. Erik Johnson is a stud, and the Gophs are lucky to have him. I am pretty sure that Toews will go number two overall after Johnson. His play down the stretch has really boosted his stock.

It's going to be tape delayed on Fox...since the Gophers are out, they assume noone cares. Is there such a term as rodent centric thought? The Sioux should roll tonight. Holy Cross's season is already a success in their eyes, and I think we saw last night that a Hungry young team that can roll 2 NHL caliber lines at you is a green juggernaut. I wouldn't look past the Crusaders, but they have to be riding high after last night, let's bring them back to reality. They did a grat job shutting down the Golden Chokers pp and potulny line. If they succeed in shutting down the Stafford, Toews and Duncan line, we will let them have it care of TJ, TZ and Sparky! It takes two things this time of year: skill and heart. We have both, I think the Gophs showed they only had one component of that. It's surprising given Delta Don's tremendous success that he couldn't inspire a better effort from his team to end the season. Right now, I think UND and Whiskey especially is saying "Phil who?" He certainly wasn't the tipping point. I want to see Zajac and Duncan keep sniping. It would be really cool to end the season with five 20 goal men. That's unbelievable depth. Hakstol has to be given consideration for coach of the year. 2 consecutive years of turning teams with small expectations into (hopefull) back to back Frozen 4 appearances. It could be argued that the senior Defensive corps last year made his job easier, but that certainly isn't the case this year. NCAA hockey should make a Hobeyesque award for the tournament run ala the Conn Smythe. I bet every Hart trophy winner without a ring would trade 20 Hart trophies for 1 Conn Smythe award,

RP has great numbers, but I think Carle wil get it. TJ for Hobey 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silliness, but I'm enjoying myself. Junior Lessard (32,31,63) outscored both Vanek(26,25,51) and Parise(23,32,55). Who is carrying their own bag to the rink? The examples one way or the other are too numerous to count. Bottom line is it is a much tougher route to the show when you aren't a first rounder. I believe Potulny is tied for the league lead in PP goals with 17 and second in ESGs. He is not a penalty killer. Stafford leads the nation in shorties.

Oh the compliments thanks dagies

Talk about similar numbers. Looks to me like we need to score first and protect a lead. It also looks like we score more in the thid, so we need to play even or ahead for the first two and win it in the third. I know, this is so profound. Go Sioux.

I think Hak has the guys believing they can do anything, which IMO is right where you want to be. Winning begets winning.

I didn't multiply right, there are 19 players with regular ice time, not 17. I forgot the last D pair. Moves the above post time frame to 9 years over 8.

I also want to end the number one pick discussion and will acknowledge good points made. I do want to comment that a lot of the players on the late draft hero list printed were Russian and/or European. At the time they were drafted (especially the Russians) there were huge challenges on getting them over here with the cold war and all. I remember the world junior squad with Segei, Alex and Pavel, and I guarantee that they would've gone first round if they were North American players. Some of those challenges still exist with other leagues (look at Malkin). In an NHL game, there are 17 players who get ice time, 4 lines of forwards, 3 defense pairs and a goalie. Obviously there are backups (especially in net) but if you take the 17 roster spots and figure that top end players will play abot 15 years in the show and mid-level players anywhere from 6-15. It doesn't take long to figure the that to get 16 of 17 roster spots would take the 2 top picks per year over 8 years. That doesn't factor in trades for veteran free agents who were top draft picks. I wish those guys luck...there has never been a Red River player in the show.

The rule is ammended now for host schools. Additionally it is a classless move, and as much as we like to rip the rodents, they are a class program and so is Delta Don. Why would any team in their right mind give a top-end opponent another reason to want to get out there and kick some a$$?