Brett0909

I, for one, personally put a lot of stock in the maturity and trustworthiness of a completely unbiased poster (family member) who responds to (or was involved in) fake accounts pretending to be Dane’s son to slander him, and brings such important insights as “super gay” into the discussion. If nothing else, does perpetuate that there’s some bad blood there which is too bad for the UND family regardless of where we’re at today. Makes you wonder given how emphatically the players got behind Jax.

Like many others, I’m starting to come around and get on board with Dax. He wasn’t my first choice, as some magical fresh start and mystery candidate that would blow us away was so appealing. But, mostly I was just frustrated with what we’ve seen most of the last decade. It’s requiring me to put away my Internet ego, that even though I know I don’t have the facts, I somehow know better than the AD & Martinson, previous & existing players, NHL/AHL GM’s, (rumor) Hak’s endorsement, etc. Some food for thought for those pissed that the “players are holding this decision hostage“.. these players: 1) know hockey at an elite level with exposure to the best, and worst of coaches out there, 2) are deeply personally invested in their development, skills, and ability to get to the next level 3) get to see Jax every day, and are giving their full vote of confidence that they’d rather play for him than any other coach in the country (college or next-level of pro), 4) know that he is going to be no nonsense and push them extremely hard, but are still willing to run through a wall for him, 5) came to UND to WIN, and 6) know exactly what is, and isn’t, going on within that locker room including Barry being out, and are getting immediately behind Jax. I’m not saying that the players should be able to make the decision or should make threats about the outcome, but why shouldn’t they have an important voice in the hiring decision of who’s the right guy to lead them and their peers? To me, this makes them a very reliable indicator of who’s the right man for the job. If you lineup all of those points above, they hit on nearly everything that we as a fan base want to see in the next head coach, and the players certainly know better than any of us what they’re getting with him. The biggest thing still remaining for me is can he modernize the game and make the decisions that will keep them at an elite level, given all of his recent experience is executing the systems and product that we’ve been seeing and are frustrated with. I’m cautiously optimistic his choices in the staff he builds around him will be enough to put this to rest. Plus as an added bonus, the guy will work harder than anyone, bleeds green, and if he does find big success.. is much more likely to stick around and continue it vs. just using it to quickly leapfrog into the NHL.

True, but UND needs Brad as much as he needs them. A “national powerhouse” college hockey team that doesn’t even have local sports coverage because they demand only positive coverage? A hugely passionate fan base that can’t even read about their team? Not good for business. Brad probably does get ripped on too much. But he also fanboys out in some bizarre ways. The defense of “bad luck”, “hot goalie’d”, “statistically they should have won!”, “but a defenseman was injured”, and providing zero acknowledgment of Berry’s postseason performance struggles (or other reasons) why he was let go and instead criticizing the decision? It makes it hard to take him seriously- that’s all I’m saying. Maybe like some on here he feels the need to over-index as a way of balancing out the fans sometimes unreasonable expectations, but it comes across as lopsided coverage.

This is taken to the extreme. I never said he should report gossip nor was I suggesting that personal situations between players or coaches need to be aired (Jamernik etc.). I was simply trying to point out that people should know what to expect - PR approved/spun media that isn’t going to ruffle feathers and occasionally his bias on how he feels about things. And people have a right to be critical if they want or infer meaning from how he writes an article that is spun to a specific narrative - either because UND no longer allows him to report anything unfavorable and/or that he never pushes on any real topics because UND holds his access over his head.

Fair point. But when you publicly come out emphatically for or against a preferred outcome for the next coach…without using that insider info to inform your conclusion…and then also withhold that information from your paid subscribers who instead learn info from fan forums…you can’t complain when your readers are disappointed and cry “bias”, can you? If journalists can’t be trusted to fairly report the news and instead only report what the team approves as favorable, they SHOULD lose credibility and be considered entertainment not journalism. Suspect this is just the reality of GFK if you want any access to the team, and not Schloss’s preference. Miss the days when they reported at least some of the player scandals and inside challenges, vs this recent PR only spin on things. But those days are likely gone.

No, you’d just make broad accusations about someone’s character, ability to pass the BAR, and having a criminal history because they ducked a minor cab fee in college - clearly the moral high ground, much better show of class and character right there.

Sure, he definitely has paths to more money. But he is sitting VERY well financially and family, loyalty/legacy, etc. may be driving him more than professional ambition at this point. Lots of tea leaves over the last year aligning to the possibility of his return which I wouldn’t have expected. We’ll know soon enough.

Family stayed in GFK all this time. Years of the reality of NHL HC gigs - living by himself, working his ass off with no investment from the franchise, then being unceremoniously fired only to have predecessors underperform you… No idea his thought process, but he’s already more than funded his retirement and making $4-500k annually for a school he bleeds Kelly green for, moving back home, and likely has been concerned about the direction... Could have its appeal? He’s certainly been taking advantage of his paid year off and staying close to the team. I’d gladly see him back, personally.

Schloss is paid for coverage, and has a professional responsibility regardless of his feelings. He doesn’t get paid to publicly process and sort through feelings, pitch tantrums, etc.. it’s becoming a pattern for him to provide biased coverage and refuse to cover anything in this admin that could be construed as criticism. THAT’S why some are taking exception to his making excuses on behalf of Berry.

Does ANYBODY understand what this poster is saying? Sir, do you need a welfare check??

Unfortunately true. But what he’s doing with his tantrum is calling out the University/AD for making a change, instead of ANY mention of the post-season (besides oh no, poor guy have bad luck!) or team management issues. Accountability still lacking in UND sports. Too bad. I used to respect and appreciate Schloss for his coverage, but you have to be a professional to be respected in media and that includes not reporting based on your biases or who you like (or are intimidated by). He obviously had all of his POV for that article already teed up and knew it was a likelihood to end the season, just like we all did.

In real time, with OMac flying, it definitely wouldn’t have surprised me if he was off (image above was the first I’ve seen that he clearly wasn’t). Add in things generally not going UNDs way this year, improbability of a two game sweep on the road, and UND finding more ways to lose close games vs win this season…just had a general sense of “I’ll believe it when I see it”. No matter how this season ends, at least we’re seeing some passion and grit out of this team that felt like it was lacking. Loved seeing them fired up. Side rant, I really dislike the modern replay era of not being able to get excited until well after the play is over. If it’s too close for the linesman to tell, just let it go. This game’s being decided over an inch or two on the blue line stuff gets old. At least it’s not football though - enter flag after every big play.

Agreed, was definitely expecting a challenge especially since he took his timeout anyway- so why not challenge instead? Maybe they were rattled and just missed it? And yes, new (2022?) ruling allows the skate to be lifted as long as it’s not over the plane. Offsides: A player shall be considered onside if the skate is over the blue line when the puck enters the attacking zone, which is the rule used in the National Hockey League. Previously, the skate was required to be in contact with the blue line.

Boisvert is elite for sure and a ton of fun to watch - but he’s also a turnover machine and doesn’t excel at a 200’ game (yet). I’m not here to defend Berry on roster management and certainly won’t complain about seeing plenty of Sacha in scoring opportunities…but he’s a minus on the season for a reason and his unforced turnovers yesterday alone created several chances late that almost got Omaha the tie — and could’ve been the difference between post season vs not. Not an easy choice for a HC with his season on the line. I know we all want our scorers out there all the time (or at least at key times) while players like Schmaltz don’t get a lot of love…but he continues to be steady/solid, had a great PPG setup for the first goal, and more goals are scored for us than against while he’s out there. May not be sexy, but outscoring your opponent in any way you can is still how games are won. I’d love to build all season to trusting your young goal scorers to show up at big moments (maybe someday), but Berry isn’t likely to change to a high risk/reward style any time soon.

For those worried about a big drop off if there’s a coaching change, it’s a reasonable concern - but some optimism to be gained by Mankato being in 15th (3 spots ahead of UND) after being absolutely decimated from the inside by Hastings departure. They managed to bounce back, beat UND, and be a bubble team with significantly limited resources, weak conference, and without any of the brand/legacy UND has to work with. The situation a new coaching staff would be walking into if handled correctly wouldn’t be dire. We’ve got bigger problems if elite coaches aren’t interested in UND and/or we settle for whatever alum has good connections and right timing.