as15

I agree, I have never seen a hockey game at the Target Center, but I haven't heard the best things. It is in a great location though so that should take some of the sting out of watching in a sub-par venue. This fan really couldn't care less, I would watch the Fighting Sioux play anywhere.

I agree, why is a league the that mimic's the NHL the best way to get to the NHL? When player's are drafted, the number one thing that they need to work on is strength. The best place to do that is the NCAA. The CHL is a great league, but I think too many player's don't give the NCAA a fair shot.

They do, but for some of these player's I doubt money really matters. Seth Jones' dad is a coach in the NBA, Miles Koules' dad made the Saw movies and Two and a Half Men, and Stefan Matteau's dad is an ex-NHL player. I really doubt any of those guys are hard-pressed for money. It is all about the "sales pitch" for these kinds of players, what things can that program offer you that the other one can't. It seems that the CHL teams are making the player's believe they can offer more.

Thanks for your consideration Seth!!!! Good luck in your career, no doubt it will be a very good one.

http://slightlychilled.areavoices.com/?p=2341 Great story about Taylor Cammaratta. What a great person, to go along with being an excellent hockey player. The Gopher's really got a good one here.

Can anyone tell me about what kind of player Andrew Blumer from Fargo South? He was just taken by Sioux Falls in the USHL Futures draft. He states in an interview that he has always wanted to play for UND. He is a 6'5" defenseman, who will be a Junior next year. He will play next year for South and then move to the USHL for at least his Senior year.

I'm not an expert either, but to answer your question, if they win those non-conference games it will help them slightly, whereas if they lose, it could hurt them a lot.

And the salary pool had already been set. I believe it was around $280,000 split between the 2 assistant's.

This seems odd to me, I don't see why Hakstol would do this, unless maybe he is expecting to get Berry back. There isn't enough money in the assistant's pool to have both of them on the payroll.

About time.

Ok, just curious, I know the 1st overall pick in the Futures draft is playing HS next year as well.

Does he not think he is ready to make the jump to the USHL? Or not ready to leave home yet?

Anyone else think Derek Forbort is almost a clone of Braydon Coburn. Both 6'5", Forbort should fill out to be 220 at least. Their skating stride is eerily similar. Doesn't put up a ton of points offensively, thats because neither are aggressive offensively, not from lack of skills or instincts.

Whatever happened to working his butt off this offseason so he can get a larger role/more ice time next year? I'm not familiar with his situation, but he is a 1st round pick, I'm sure he was given every opportunity to begin with, its his own fault he didn't take advantage of it.

Drafted with the 3rd overall pick. Hopefully the Fargo to UND pipeline is in effect here. The background on his twitter is the Fighting Sioux logo, I have no inside information whatsoever, but I expect he commits to UND.

Yep, the player has to inform the team that they are interested in signing before a contract offer can be made.

Probably, I don't think his style of play is suited for a lower line role, which is where he would be playing until at least his Junior year. I was hoping he would come here and Hakstol could get his development back on track, but whatever he was our third best forward recruit this year anyway.

Yep, the big ice=need for mobile players

The only issue I have is that Hakstol stated that he really likes Rocco at center, so I think he will play there. There is no way Knight plays wing. Another thing is that Rocco, Knight, and Kristo are all right handed shots. Can Rocco or Kristo play the off-wing confidently? It would be a fun line to watch thats for sure.

I was very impressed with him as well. What year did he commit for?

I agree, I think Brock was more of a product of his two linemates than vice versa.

Agree with everything you said, that is why I think we will see a more balanced lineup. 3 fairly equal lines, and a 4th checking line. This year was unique because we didn't have much depth, therefore the coaches loaded up one one line and played them alot more than the other lines. This is the first year that I can remember where one line got substantially more ice time compared to the others. Most of the time the first 3 lines get fairly equal playing time.

I'm not saying he is "good enough for the first line", just that he fits in there i.e. a good goal scorer, two way player, and a left-handed shot. With my projected lines, their are 3 lines that are pretty much equal and that is what I was shooting for rather than loading up on two. To answer your question, it absolutely depends on the year. Look at Toews' freshman year, he had Stafford, Zajac, Spirko etc. in front of him. Was he good enough to play on the first line? Yes. Did he play on the first line the whole year? No. Most years Toews is a first line player as a freshman, some years he is not.

Should be a fun event for all involved. I know it was just finalized, but have you seen a possibly layout for the ice sheet? That is always an issue in these outdoor games. Some seats are great, others aren't worth sitting in at all.

I have never seen him play, so I'm just going off of reports. I asked my friend who watches him regularly if he would be drafted, he said, "Probably not, he doesn't have the hands or speed to make it to the NHL, but should be a great college player".