Sioux-per Villain

I have no problem with his character, I merely had a first impression from what I read in his quotes and took the opportunity to poke some fun at our arch rivals. Character and arrogance need not be related. Case in point, the former leader and QB of the Falcons, or Koby Bryant comes to mind. Both are rather arrogant leader of their respective teams but they're character might be questionable to some.

After reading the Budish article, my initial impression was that he was a little arrogant in his commentary. That's a gopher trait so I predict he'll end up at MN. However, at this time I'll not pass judgement on the words of a 15 yr old.

perhaps if you could add a little color to the feathers and some war paint on the face.

that new logo isn't hostile and abusive enough for me...

Ok, I get it. So you don't like VV on the first line. That's fine. But whomever it is better be tough and forecheck well or they'll get the crap beat out of em. The way I see it, we don't have the likes of a Toews, Stafford, Zajac, Bochenski to compliment Oshie and Duncan this year. Forney and Trupp are too fragile. Kozek and Watkins haven't found a consistent way to score, and Miller is physically weak IMO. Frattin certainly had Mason Raymond like numbers in Alberta but he's a freshman. It may be that we end up with more scoring depth line to line and not have that one dominating line this year. With the defense we should have, that may be just fine.

Vandy should be the other wing. He wins a lot of draws too. He's also is a physical presence, good in the corners on the forecheck and has good hands. He one of those guys that needs to have a big year for the Sioux to do well.

My predicted standings: 1) UND (Hak hangs his first banner and gets his contract extended) 2) SCSU 3) DU 4) MTU 5) CC 6) UW 7) MSU 8) UMD 9) UAA 10) UM (Goofers looking to get an at large bid to an AAU tournament)

That's obvious. You're missing my point. If they add teams, I would simply like a couple more home games. It'll never happen though.

I want us to be an overwhelming favorite just to see what Hak can do with it. We know he can get them ready for the post season run but hasn't been able to finish. I can't wait to see how this team handles the pressure.

I could care less who comes in, BSU, UNO, AF, doesn't matter. I would just like to have a couple more home games out of the deal and reduce the gaps of no games during the middle of the season.

I think...

I would agree he's a top coach, but certainly not "the" top coach. Hak has great credentials, but there's no way he can even be remotely considered as the top coach in college hockey without winning at least a league title, let alone a national championship. In fact, one could argue that his accomplishments should be shared with the tradition and facilities at UND for recruiting. Hak may not even be one of the top three coaches in the WCHA for God's sake! That being said I still think they should extend his contract.

Sorry, but this statement is a stretch.......he's a good coach, but I highly doubt anyone can honestly call Hak the top college coach other than Mrs. Hakstol herself.

No question. I agree completely. Guess I just meant they'll simply replace them, of course not with the same caliber of player. I just hope they implode again either with inconsistent play down the stretch or even better, team distractions and attitude problems.

I've been hearing a lot of people commenting on how down Mn will be because of the losses they've suffered on their defensive corps and in net, but I don't necessarily agree. They return more scoring than we do from last year and they have immediate impact freshmen players coming in this fall (Patrick White). Although I believe we will finish higher than Mn in the WCHA standings this year, they are still the team to beat in the league. Their scoring production on the blueline will be down, but they'll replace Johnson/Goligoski/Vannelli. We have balance on offense/defense, they don't which will be the difference. A lot of pressure will be placed upon the 2nd and third lines to score and contribute which is no different from last year. Kozek, Miller, Watkins, Forney, VV are the keys to taking pressure off of our proven star scorers. Freshman contribution will be a bonus.

What really irritates me is attending 3 straight frozen fours and not coming home with a title.

Not sure what you're calling BS but we hang banners only for WCHA and/or NCAA Championships.

You are absolutely 100% correct. Dave is a class act and I do know him personally, his accomplishments are impressive, and I am not complaining. My attitude is rather optomistic and can't wait for the season to begin. I'm simply saying that my opinion is he won't get cut any slack by this board if he doesn't produce more than a FF appearance in 07-08 even though I may. If anyone thinks differently, please borrow me a pair of your kelly green beer goggles.....

Good point, but they only hang banners like that in St Cloud....

IMHO, this will be Hakstol's defining year. He still has not accomplished anything meaningful to the fan base which is hanging fabric in the REA. I'm hoping he has more bargaining power in 9 months with at least a WCHA Championship under his belt. With the team he has for 07-08, I doubt he'll get much of a break from the people on this board or from the administration if he fails to hang a banner at the end of this upcoming season.

Plus it gives us 9 more months of opportunity to rekindle the "Fire Hakstol" thread!

Duncan Oshie Chorney Finley

I thought John Davidson was a game show host.....

I've been thinking about those things ever since I was that age!

If we have any problems, it won't be scoring even without Toews. It will be consistent defense and goaltending. If we get that, look out...