yzerman19

Zellers is good, no doubt. I just don't see it up and down the lineup. Unless the roles were so completely jacked up by the coaching...

did they really completely reload 17 guys?

Rhett, you think we have the horses?

We do not have the horses for next year. We simply don't. Sasha is a great catch and release finisher, but that requires a playmaker to find him and somebody to be screening and creating havoc.

Here is a telling statement about the state of the program....I had to google "MacDonald Hockey Sign"...I paid so little attention to the product the last 2 years, I didn't even know who he was!!! Def not a chippa...

Here's a fighting hawk by the way...

They don't teach that in a lot of households anymore : (

yep...I have personally been to a wedding of a former Wisconsin player and a bunch of the guests started the varsity chant at the reception.

man bear pig?

heard a potential coaching candidate was found in a garbage can back behind the Big Sioux after bitching about his fries and gravy while being overheard by some senior members of the GOBC obv joking

there was pillow fighting on one of their channels the other day, and it wasn't like girls in nightgowns pillow fighting, it was aggressive dudes.

LOL

what is the latest rumor on when said announcement is forthcoming?

I got a note from a dad of a chippa just this morning...it was of the Allentown regional and the Penn State student section going nuts. Zombie nation...We, Are, Penn State...now this guy is from the Philly area, but it resonated...and hurt...everytime we miss a regional in our backyard we miss that free recruiting. When the Big House does Mr Brightside and turns all the lights on and off and the students sing along and go crazy....they are recruiting for hockey without even trying.

mannino and Gwoz 2fer

I think I saw him drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect.

I will reinforce that the ones I know are not a bunch of spoiled brats that we don't want, they are hard working and bring great team attitudes. They just also know that they have a ton of value and as such have choices.

Appreciate the sentiment- I do bring some of it on myself though! I hope everyone knows that it comes from passion for this program that has been forged over almost half a century. I think one of the things is we gotta get to guys younger and meet them where they are. I know it sounds dumb because so much can change between 15-20, but there are a ton of young prospects out there that are never going to see the Ralph or know how great September/October and May are on campus- its a pretty campus! the buildings and the co-eds! By the time the chippaz are 15 years old, if they haven't seen UND hockey making runs, or been to the Ralph, or see us being loaded with pro talent, etc. then UND is on the outside looking in by the time they call them for an unofficial visit January of their sophomore year in high school. Coaches and advisors have the whiz kids making top 5 lists of colleges when they are 13 years old. Guess what those are loaded with? The schools that are already loaded with chippaz. How do the kids know they're chippaz? Social media, the world juniors, etc. They all know. The chippaz know each other, the olders mentor the youngers sometimes just by dabbing them up in a gym or at a rink, the youngers watch the olders and believe they can do it too. I know it sounds crazy, but for chippaz, we have to sell them. Market everything about the program and school to them. Hammer the social media stuff...jeez we certainly have more qualified eyes than the 18 year old click collectors...I'm envisioning a quick run through alumni in the NHL: Sanderson, Boeser, Nelson, Oshie, Schmaltz...even guys that are done like Parise, Toews, Greene with the saying why North Dakota Hockey from a real perspective. Program guys, World junior guys...why UND was my pick...get it out there. Remember the CBS line doesn't feel like forever a go to us (well maybe to some) but to a young chippa, they were in Kindergarten or first grade....its 2/3 of their life ago. Its like people of my age thinking about Lake Superior State as having NHLers and playing winning hockey. I don't envy the new bench boss. It is a brave new world out there. The athletic world is truly abuzz with NIL...and chippaz in hockey know that they aren't playing football or hoops, but at the same time they see there is life altering money out there and they want it too. The absolute best will want to go to the programs they think will help them get to the next level, have a great college experience, play with other elite talent in a system that they can thrive in, and they want to get paid.

you know what just dawned on me with the chippaz? In order to be a true chippa these days, not only do you have to have the talent and the work ethic, but also you need to have parents with money. It is really rare to find a blue collar chippa in the US. So, some of the approach might be that these kids have always grown up knowing they will go to school and it will be paid for. Whether its hockey or a parental scholarship. So, they don't feel like anybody is really doing them a solid, its just another team they are making...no different than any other elite team, they are just 18 years old now. I don't think they are rude about it, its just that it doesn't feel that special or amazing, because it was always going to happen.

I think I stated it the other night, but what I really care about is having the opportunity to win while watching a team of elite talent play a fast, skilled game. Kids I am going to keep watching at the next level like I did Toews, Oshie, Parise, Zajac...none of which who won a Natty but 2 of which combined for 4 cups. With a team like we had back then or like BC has now, you never counted yourself out. Sure we lost in the NCAAs, but talk about fun hockey every friday and saturday night. I like the ride and the skill, not just the result. Horrible syle of play is why I will never pay to watch a Wild game, and that all stems from Lemaire.

These guys don't want teams to load up on them...they want 2-5 or so...you run into one puck issues otherwise. Now the NIL $ could be bigger than the guaranteed money in the ELC, which could keep people around a bit longer. That's definitely playing out in the big money college sports.

agreed

while i agree our program should be more prestigious...Denver is a major city and will likely be a more desirable location for top talent. I have not heard that Carle is trying to go to the NHL, but that means nada.

Carle makes $750k at DU...I think a young head coach in the NHL would be lucky to hit $2M...

yep- and I am not speculating