PHE

I was impressed with Chay Genoway when I saw Shattuck play a couple of weeks ago. He's on the small side but he has very good skills. What I noticed most was that he worked his tail off every shift (similar to Colby). FWIW, Heisenberg has Chay "ranked" fairly high in the Minnesota/West section on his listings; right next to Vandevelde and Oshie. You can bet that Berry and Eades have him on the radar screen; perhaps they're waiting to see if they can land someone who they have ranked higher. Taylor Chorney was solid again when I saw him. I thought he looked great at the Select 17 festival in July but he looked even better two weeks ago. Great pickup for the Sioux. Toews was, as expected, a top shelf player but the guy who impressed me the most was Kyle Okposo. He's only 16 but I think this kid is going to be great. He's from St Paul and I read somewhere that the Gophers have the inside track on him. Hopefully the Sioux-SSM pipeline can stretch to include Okposo.

Since this is the third year in a row that the Sioux have had a recruit playing for Salmon Arm, I'm wondering if there are any Silverback fans who periodically check this board. If so, I'd like to get some "insiders" info: -what level of impact might we expect from Travis Zajac this year? -is Darcy Zajac a Div 1 recruit? Is UND interested? -how big of a role is Ryan Duncan expected to play this year for SA? Thanks in advance. Any updates on Duncan throughout the year would be appreciated.

I went to Wednesday's Select 17 games in St Cloud and enjoyed it thoroughly. If you get a chance to go in the future I suggest taking the afternoon to go watch some very good hockey. Here are some impressions of players of interest to Sioux fans: Chris VandeVelde-for the second day in a row he scored Team Minnesota's only goal (currently leads team in goal scoring with three in five games). He's 6'2" and 177 lbs with terrific stick-handling skills. Once he gets stronger on the puck he's going to have very nice all-around game. Knows how to bury the puck. Zach Jones-Hak and Berry need to get the LOI on this guy so we can all stop wondering if Zach will follow his brother to Grand Forks. Smart player with great skating skills. Not as big as Matt but has lots of talent. (Side note: one of the Team Illinois parents told me that Matt has bulked up this summer. More bulk to go with his skating and experience? Prediction: big year ahead for Matt). Taylor Chorney- a future star. I'm trying to be realistic and not wear my Green-colored glasses about it but I think he's going to be great. All the adjectives apply...heady, tough, effortless skater, strong at lugging the puck, etc. The one thing that stuck with me the most was that he was calm (meaning he never rushed his decisions or actions). I'll be shocked if he isn't wearing the "C" someday. Brian Lee did not play on Wednesday. As Greenbayguy noted previously he's been out with an injury. I was anxious to see him play again as I was very impressed with his play at the MN State tourney. Ammerman looked OK but had a few sloppy outlet passes. He's still a very solid player...hopefully he can land in the WCHA somewhere if the Sioux don't offer him a ride. One of the kids on the Dakotas team was defenseman Jake Vigen. He's 6'4" and 220 lbs and was impressive. He's not a great skater but he plays a nice, tough game. I don't know much about him but I know he played at Red River last year. He's may not be a big-time recruit but he looked good to me. Anyone know much about him? Here's a name to put in your memory bank...Zach Harrison. He's a 5' 11", 163 lbs forward. He's a young 87 so he'll be just a junior at Shattuck this fall. He played on Shattuck's U16 team last year and scored 41 goals (110+ points) in 64 games. Very nice looking player. If Hak and Berry keep the Shattuck pipeline going this is a kid to watch. The area WCHA coaches group was well represented at Wednesday's Festival. I saw Jutting, Lucia and Dahl. Steve Johnson was there as well (hopefully his evaluations will soon be utilized in Grand Forks, not Lincoln).

Just out of curiosity I put together a list of North Dakota kids currently playing D1. It consists of 10 forwards, six defensemen and three goalies. Not a bad team: 1st line: R Potulny, Fylling and G Potulny 2nd line: Irmin, Cory McLean (Notre Dame) and Grubb (Alt Cap at Wayne State) 3rd line: Garrett Larson (SCSU), Kresbach (Wayne State), Masson and Gasparini (Vermont) Def Pair 1: Schneider and Markuson (Alt Cap at Mich State) Def Pair 2: Fuher and Bina Def Pair 3: Eikman (Neb-O) and Mike McLean (Cap at Army) Goalies: Sedevie, Ziegleman and Haaland (Neb-O).

Fuher Family, I'm glad that my message got back to you. My son can't get over how "cool" it was to sit with the family of one of the players. I'm certain that #8 is now his favorite player. Kudos to Nick for a terrific season thus far. If I remember his bio correctly he's been true student-athlete, having been an honor student in high school and all-academic at UND. I'd bet that Coach Blais would consider Nick to be a great example of what he wants his program to represent. Thanks again.

Hats off to Nick Fuher for a great weekend of hockey in Duluth. Friday night he was the Duluth Tribune (?) player of the game. He doesn't get the media attention of some of his cohorts on the blue line but he has quietly put together a very solid season. Plus, he's turned into Bobby Orr...eight goals, seventh best on the team. Side Note: my two sons and I went to Friday night's game. Unfortunately we had single seats and we were scattered in three different sections. Needless to say I was a little worried about them being alone in enemy territory. After the game I asked my oldest how it went and he smiled and said he was in a group of Sioux fans..."really nice people", he said. Turns out he was sitting with the Fuher family. He spent the whole game sitting next to Grandma Fuher! Of all the places for a kid Sioux fan to end up sitting was there a better place than next to the grandma of one of the players? If there are any Fuher family members who read this board I'd like to say thanks for making my son feel at home. (Any chance he can go with you to Boston in April?)

Coach Blais mentioned in last night's coach's show about the "fifth" line guys getting a chance to show their stuff over the next two weeks due to the WJC. I'm hoping that Tyler Palmiscno has some success during that time so that he can get more ice time during the second half of the season. I don't know Tyler personally but I do admire guys (seniors in particular) who stick it out despite lack of playing time. He played 30 games as a freshman but his games played have gone down every year since (partly due to younger stars coming in and partly due to injuries; i.e. DeMarchi's check from behind two years ago and a monster, but clean, hit in St Cloud last year). I applaud Tyler's perseverance and dedication to his team. Hopefully he can show off some of his playmaking skills during the Subway Classic and the St Cloud series. Here's a holiday wish....Palmo scores a GWG in St Cloud!

HKNTSMN, I agree with your assessment of the Lakeville kids. I was at the sectional final last week for their game against Rochester Century. Unbelievable game.....5 OTs and the Lakeville goalie had 78 saves. Wong and Davis were outstanding. Lots of good hockey talent in SE MN....I hope it flows to Grand Forks.

I'm wondering what the tie-breakers are if the Sioux and Gophers tie for third. I'm sure the first tie-breaker is head-to-head (even up at 1-1) but what is the next one? Anybody know?

Does anyone know which Mankato radio station broadcasts the Mavs' games and if it reaches the Twin Cities? I won't have internet access this weekend; I'm hoping to pick up the game via good 'ol fashion radio waves.

dagies, Isn't the number of D men for next year at 8? We currently have seven, add Smaby and Dahlen, subtract Leinweber.

I was trying to determine which Sioux player thus far has furthest exceeded my expectations. The list got to be pretty long.....Bochenski, Parise, Lundbohm all deserve a spot on the list but my three finalists were all defensemen: Matt Greene-He has adapted to the WCHA quicker than I thought he would. He made the World Junior Cup team despite (1) not scoring a point (2) taking numerous "dumb" penalties (quote Dean Blais) and (3) not getting an invite to the WJC pre-season tryout camp. Andy Schneider-leads the team in +/- with a +19 (tied with Lundbohm). He's taken a huge step offensively which is just what the team needed. David Hale-I think we all expected DH to improve over last year but he has gone way past my expectations. We've heard a lot about team chemistry this year and I think the captains have much to do with that. A few weeks ago I heard Blais say that in the coaches' scoring system Hale was at the Parise level. After the Friday night Mankato game one of the players was asked about Hale's fight and he said that as DH was skating off the ice he went along the Sioux bench and said something to the effect of "You guys take it from here." IMO this is, without a doubt, David Hale's team. Thoughts???

Kellan Briggs from Colorado Springs. Plays for Sioux Falls I believe. Do I get an A Hammy?

but if anyone wants first-hand reports on Sioux recruits Porter and Lammy, just let me know. Your friendly Lincoln, Nebraska Sioux Fan, Craig amn, I curious how Porter has been looking. His -7 plus/minus rating is ugly, especially on such a good team. Has he been playing center or wing? What will he bring to the Sioux next year?

I made a visit to Faribault a week ago and took in a SSM game. It was fun to watch the two Sioux recruits and to also get a look at "boy wonder" Sidney Crosby. Here are my impressions: Drew Stafford-He centers the second line. At 6' 2" and 200 lbs he has good size and isn't afraid to dish out the hits. Average skating ability but has good hands. Very good playmaker. He'll bring something Sioux haven't seen much of as of late: a big centerman. He's very young (he turned 17 two weeks ago) but has some big upside. I wouldn't be surprised if he spends next year in the USHL but he'll be an impact player in the WCHA at some point. Matt Smaby-Sioux fans are going to love this guy. He's listed at 6' 4"" and 205 lbs and doesn't hold back when there's a chance to make a hit. He'll fit right in with the current group of UND defensemen...big and defensive-minded. He's plays the point on the power play and moves the puck well. I haven't seen Matt Greene play but I'm guessing that Smaby is very much like him. Big, tough and nasty. As long as he plays smart he'll be a regular in the D rotation next year. A few thoughts on SSM in general: This year's team is a definite step down from last year's (not unexpected) but they are still very good. Two of their top players are sophomores, Crosby and Jack Johnson. Johnson is 15 and has already committed to Michigan for 2005. Crosby is extraordinary. He just turned 15 a couple of months ago but he is clearly ahead of everyone else on the ice. His skills are incredible but the one that I noticed the most is that he has an explosive first step. He reminds me of Parise in that he always seems to get to the puck before anyone else and he does it so effortlessly. Fun to watch. One other player on SSM to watch is Ken Rowe. He's 5' 11" and 185 lbs and reminds me of Spiewak. Very fast and goes all out on every shift. He scored a hat trick the night I saw him. He'll likely put up some big numbers this year since he skates on Crosby's line. As far as I know he hasn't he made a D1 commitment yet. If you have a chance to check out SSM this year I would recommend it. For those of you in the GF area they are playing in Crookston in early January.

Wow.... what a difference a year makes. A year ago at this time Stafford was, as a junior, playing on SSM's Midget AA team (equivilent of the Prep JV) and now, a year later, he's comitting to a top D1 school. Apparently he's made some big strides in the last 12 months...going from AA to AAA to the Select 17 to verballing to UND. I wouldn't be surprised if he spends a year in the juniors next year. He's very young and a year in the USHL might be good from a development standpoint (ala Mr. Porter.) I'm planning on going to some SSM games over the next two weekends so I'll check on Stafford and Smaby (and Crosby just for fun).

Sorry Sprig, I'm sticking with my prediction of a team-leading 48 point year for Parise. LET THE "ZACH ATTACK" BEGIN!!!

This week's Let's Play Hockey magazine had a nice article on Craig Ludwig. This weekend he was elected into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame. According to the article, "Ludwig, a walk-on at the University of North Dakota, won a spot on the team and was a member of the Fighting Sioux National Championship teams in his freshman and junior years. As a junior, Ludwig was named the University of North Dakota's Most Valuable Player....Ludwig is well known for his genersotiy and willingness to share his success with various groups to help them benefit financially. Following Montreal's Stanley Cup win in 1986, Ludwig arranged for the Canadiens to play a celebrity softball game in Eagle River, WI (hometown) for the benefit of Special Olympics and the Eagle River Recreation Association...Even after his retirement, Ludwig has done much throughtout his career to bring credit to his sport, his community and himself by giving back through coaching and many charitable acts connected directly and indirectly to the sport of ice hockey, and truly epitomizes all that is good in Wisconsin hockey" Congrats Mr. Ludwig!!!

Sicatoka, Sorry for the unclear message. I wasn't referring to Parise; rather I was trying to determine if you and I were thinking of the same player when you mentioned that the "son" played in the USHL.

SockeyeSioux, Thanks for a great post. Its nice to hear that the upperclassmen are making sure that everyone has the proper attitude on the eve of a new season. Also nice to hear that Parise is making noise. Its great to read the posts from some of the parents, namely SockeyeSioux, Speez and HKNTSMN (sorry if I missed any). Thanks for giving us some of the "inside" scoop!

Here's a little schedule symmetry: Since we begin the season in Buffalo, how about ending it in Buffalo!

I'm probably the biggest Parise-backer on this board so you'll need to take my 48 points with a grain of salt, but I honestly think he'll be a difference-maker right away. His skills are excellent, his effort is 110% and he's tough (in the games I saw him play last year let me tell you that he ain't no choir boy). His height and weight might be a little "below average" right now but I firmly believe his ability will make up for that. You have him for 32 points this year. How about meeting halfway and "settling" for 40?

OETKB, Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word "buried" in describing Parise's survival along the boards. As I've posted in other threads, he's tough enough to take care of himself; I'm more worried about other teams' goons taking runs at him. (In my lineup guesstimate I had Ryan Hale on his right wing for protection.) I also think the listing of 5'10" and 180 lbs is a little high. I just don't see him playing a wing. His strengths (speed, vision, puck-handling) translate into a centerman; hopefully one with Jeff Panzer-like numbers. You might be right, Blais may put him on a wing for a while. Truth is, I don't care where he plays, I'm just going to enjoy watching him rack up 48 points this year!