yzerman19

I based my crystal ball on the historical likelihood of playing in the NHL when you are not a top draft pick. There is no way, again NO WAY that Ryan Potulny will skate in the NHL. Does he have an NHL shot? Sure, but not the mobility. If Philly is dying to sign him, it is to their AHL affiliate. Irmen is a grinder and has more of a chance, but again, not a #1 draft pick, limiting his chances. These guys both went in the 3rd round.

I would say odds of MN beating Holy Cross are in favor of Goldy 99 to 1. UND beating Michigan 70/30. UND and MN pretty much 50/50.

Potulny and Irmen lesser players than Stafford and Zajac? I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. New Jersey and Buffalo would probably disagree with you too. I will give props to Potulny for having an outstanding goal scoring year, but two or three years down the road Potulny will have hanged them up, Irmen will be kicking around in Houston, while Stafford and Zajac are flying first class in the NHL.

Thanks for the props Dagies

Irmen and Potulny are good college players and have outscored a lot of team's top two lines combined, but I'd take Stafford and Zajac over them any day, and the guys who get paid to seek out talent said the same by investing more heavily in them and drafting them in the first round. After MN's top gun line, they don't really have much left though do they? Wheeler, Kessel and Stoa? I'll take Oshie, Toews and Duncan. They've certainly scored a lot more goals this year. MN can be beaten if you can shut down the Potulny line. I would have Smaby and the likes of Porter out against them every shift. Shutting down Irmen is every bit as important as shutting down Potulny. Irmen is the straw that stirs the drink. He is also a hot head, and I would love to see Prpich rattle his cage and take him off his game. The danger there is that Irmen sometimes feeds off that to up his play. Potulny is a great shooter, but not such a great skater. Too shut him down you have to keep him from getting the puck. A shadow could successfully do that if he is a top-end skater. The MN player that scares me isn't from GF though. Alex Goligoski can QB back there, and UND must stay out of the box to win if we get past Michigan. 3 of the most successful college hockey programs in history in a showdown in GF...should be ok hockey, eh?

You can't discount anyone this time of year. I would've bet my house that the money line two years ago would've rolled Denver, not lost 1-0. I think that there are several things that people keep missing. Most notably, the balanced attack of UND. We can roll three forward lines with 2 top two draft picks on each line. There aren't a lot of NHL teams that can say that. Zajac (1-2004), Stafford (1-2004), Oshie (1-2005), Toews (will be 1-2006), Kozek (2-2005) etc. D is even more amazing with Chorney and Smaby (2nd) Lee and Finley (1st). With talent at that level, the real key is coaching, and Hak has been the maestro again. Look at the changes in the line combinations. You have to believe that from watching practice every day, that Hak knew how the Toews and Duncan connection could work. The key is to put the right guys together at the end of the year so that they taste success and become more confident. Sort of the sum is greater than the parts belief. Synergy for the business school types. The combinations are right, the success is right, and this team is better than anyone gave them credit for. Numbers show the frosh's as being younger, more highly drafted, and scoring more goals individually and collectively than any other group of young 'ins...even MNs highly touted class. Hakstol learned a ton from Blais and in two years has both recruited and motivated as well as any coach period. As far as going into the NCAAs, would you rather be on a great big battleship looking for the leaking holes, or a shark in the water smelling blood?

Michigan will be tough, well-coached and balanced. If you look at those numbers, they spread out the goals like Lennin and Trotsky. MN on the other hand is a one trick pony. Look after Potulny's sick 38 goals and your next top goal scorer is Kessel with 17. I would have someone shadow Potulny the whole game. I couldn't believe it when SCSU let him get open at the bottom of the circle with the game on the line. Even Wooger made the comment that MN is relying way too heavily on the Potulny line. First things first though...Michigan.

The Fighting Sioux are definitely playing at the top of their game. To win number 8, however, I believe that we are going to need Drew back. I would like to start this post for people to update on Drew. Is he practicing? How big a brace is he wearing? etc. The trouble with a knee injury for a skill player, is the brace will really limit his side to side mobility. I don't think he wil have any trouble going north and south, but his game is geared towards being one of the better skaters in college hockey. If he can't be 100% for the Regional, but is not in danger of worsening his injury, I'd love to see him on the penalty kill and fourth line. Getting through Michigan and MN in the Regional will require us to have all of our weapons. I'm also speculating on Drew and Porter's likelihood of turnig pro after the season. I would've said Drew was a sure bet, but this injury might keep him around another year. I am resigned to the fact that Smaby will be gone. I am pretty confident that Oshie, Toews, Zajac, Lee and CHorney will be back in the green and white for at least one more year.

Now BSU is a TUC correct? That adds 2 TUC wins to our PWR and should giv eus the PWR against Denver, Maine and Michigan, correct? A loss by CC and a win by us tonight will add CC to that list, giving us 4 additional PWR. This is accurate correct?

I went over and talked to Drew's parents in the third period of Friday's game ( I consider them a very credible source). First report out(at that time) was that he has a strained MCL, no obvious tear, but I asked about an MRI, and Porter's Dad, who is an orthopod, indicated that one was scheduled. For a member of the Sioux hockey family with an NHL career ahead of him, our thoughts should be for his well-being, as much as losing a player of his caliber hurts our chances at a title run. His injury is legit, and there is absolutely no truth to infighting in the locker room surrounding Drew. A MCL injury would only hurt his bargaining position with the pros. In fact, if he isn't able to return for the NCAAs, I wouldn't be surprised if Buffalo waits another year before signing him.

You're right, I keep forgetting that we finished ahead of CC.

Boy, if we can finish this one and pull another one tomorrow night, and SCSU and UMD pull off upsets, we wouldn't have to play the play-in game...which would be huge. First things first though, let's win this game.

I wasn't sure how bad he was...I spoke with his parents last night and first word out was an MCL strain. He was most likely going to have an MRI today. With a player like Drew, Buffalo will have some input on any potential serious injuries.

I didn't read through the whole thread, is Stafford dressed tonight?

The Gophs do have, like all Lucia's teams, an incredibly effective powerplay. Again, not taking away from Kessel, because he has flourished on that unit. I also agree that Toews and Stoa have stepped it up. The play between Toews and Stafford right now is pretty amazing. They are communicating, and Hak seems to have found the right compliments to the offense on that line. I am hoping that Zajac and Spirko step it up. Especially Travis, he is due for a big game.

Thanks for the stats, I was ignorant on that one. I assumed Phil was getting a lot of seconds on that powerplay, but evidently not. Regardless, as I stated before Phil racked up the points, but Oshie seemed to have more of an impact. Maybe it is all about style...Do looks play into this award? If so, that will take a few votes away from Kessel

This time of the year the talent rises to the top. Last year the Sioux did it on the backs of a solid defensive corps, but most importantly the three bonafide NHL players on last year's Sioux team: Zajac, Stafford and Greene all played at the next level. If our NHL players: Stafford, Zajac, Toews, Oshie, Lee, Chorney and Smaby elevate their game to what the Scouts were willing to bet a million bucks on, we will win the series. MSU is good and will come out hard. The Sioux have too much talent and are too deep to be beaten by any teams other than MN or Denver IMO.

I am not trying to take away from anyone on second assists...the majority of my career points were second assists. I know the difference between getting a second assist because I went into a corner and took a hit and got the puck out to someone who could do something with it, versus passing the puck from the wing to the point on the powerplay and having someone bang in a rebound or take a nice feed from the D man. It doesn't really matter what I think any more though. I wish Kessel would've been more of a dynamo this year, then he might be going pro after this season...instead we are going to have to face a more mature, stronger Phil next year.

You don't think that Kessel plays like a prima donna? There are very, very skilled players that I call prima donnas. The entire time Mike Modano played in MN I thought he was a prima donna. He changed down in Dallas, and maybe Kessle will change while he's at MN. This is not a Gopher or Kessel hater post. I will give props to Gophs that I think have the heart...Irmen, Kowalska, Ballard, even guys like Jon Waibel had heart. I might ne wrong, but Kessel strikes me as the kind of guy who is disappointed after a big win if he isn't on the score sheet. I have nothing against the guy, and I think he has a ton of talent, I just think he plays like a prima donna.

Does anyone know how many of Kessel's points are second assists? Not to take anything away from him. I hope I've been very clear that I think he is a good player. I just think he is one of those guys whose point totals are much greater than his impact appears to be. I have seen him show some flashes of NHL caliber offensive skill, but these occurances are more rare than we saw with ZP or Vanek or Oshie this year.

I think it is ridiculous to say that any of these young players have been disappointing. I think as far as impact however, Oshie made the biggest splash. Kessel, while compiling an armful of points, racked them up in an almost quiet way. Toews had a quiet year up until the last 3 weeks, where he and Stafford have become a dynamic duo. TJ is the most dynamic rookie, Kessel has the most points. Toews may have the biggest upside the way he has played lately. None of these front runners are disappointments. I wonder if Gopher fans are disappointed in Wheeler? I like him when I watch him play, but his numbers are unimpressive. Chucko has to be the biggest disappointment of the recently hyped players.

Didn't Zajac outscore Stastny last year when Stastny was ROY? I'd have to check the stats...

ZP had those same kind of expectations (Kessel has) and he was able to live up to them. I think the difference is heart...Oshie and ZP have the heart of champions, Kessel has the heart of a prima donna. Case in point play in the corners, the defensive zone and away from the puck.

You make a valid point on Denver, however, I think that when we faced them in Denver a week ago we took the play to them. We had a legitimate shot at sweeping the series, but you play shorthanded in the 6th period of a series at that elevation on their home rink in what has become a true rivalry series you are going to lose. Denver desrved to win that second game, but the officiating certainly didn't hurt their cause in the third period last Saturday. I like our chances with Denver in a one game series on neutral ice. I don't like our chances against the Gophs at the X, but I would prefer the scenario of us losing to them in the Final 5 title game to really want some payback in Grand Forks the following weekend.

I happen to put more weight on goals, and especially game winning goals. I think Kessel has had a good year, but I think that everyone who watched the Sioux play came away saying "wow that Oshie can play". If all you do is look at the numbers, Kessel wins going away, if the votes come from the people who watched the games, I think TJ wins. I watched a lot of conference games both UND and MN ( I live in the TCs), and I rarely saw Kessel impact the outcome of a game, where I saw TJ do it a lot. Kessel is a very good player who demonstrated it on the PP, but not so much at even strength. The real question now is who will stay in college longer between the two. Additionally, I was speaking with a scout who was in Denver and thinks that Toews is the number 2 pick right now after Erik Johnson.