jimdahl Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 A few of the SiouxSports.com contributing staff collaborated to summarize the WCHA pre-season press conference this morning. Complete notes will be posted in an hour or two, but to whet your appetites, here's the Sioux portion. Notes on Blais' talk Please don't disseminate this URL beyond this site, as the full article will posted within hours -- this is just a sneak preview for our loyal readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND Fan Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Thanks for the insight - great info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdahl Posted October 1, 2003 Author Share Posted October 1, 2003 As promised, the whole enchilda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sioux fan in phoenix Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Thx for putting that together. Liked the question about taking it easy on Sandelin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Interesting comments about Smaby not being in the best shape, and of a potential lack of leaders. Also, "older" players coming in injured. Wonder what that's all about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I liked AA coach John Hill's comment "We'll at least double our win total from last year." "The WCHA will send an All-Star team to Italy in August. Don Lucia will coach it." I like this idea. What about getting other conferences to do the same...so we can kick them around the rink Thanx Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superman0099 Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I liked AA coach John Hill's comment "We'll at least double our win total from last year." "The WCHA will send an All-Star team to Italy in August. Don Lucia will coach it." I like this idea. What about getting other conferences to do the same...so we can kick them around the rink Thanx Jim That would be sweet, an All Star tourney with WCHA, HE, ECAC, ATL, CCHA, and CHA all star teams. Now THAT would be a subway classic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sioux fan in phoenix Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Also, "older" players coming in injured. Wonder what that's all about. You can thank HIPAA for keeping us in limbo. Some people don't mind this new policy, but I think otherwise. If/when a Sioux player gets injured, we fans won't learn of this until the actual game starts & we see that so & so isn't dressed. Or if a player is carried off the ice in a stretcher in front of 11,500 fans. Other than that we'll be clueless. Were there some observant members of this board at the Green/White game who noticed some missing players (besides Palmo)? Because the media won't be reporting injuries from here on out, fans will have to play Columbo at the games & kindly report back to the rest of us if they have time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 One of the most telling comments to me was this: --------------------------------- The bar is raised throughout the league so you have to be ready every game. You're not going to outcondition anyone in this league because everyone does it. Maybe our extra conditioning will give us an edge against a Hockey East team that got a later start, but not in this league. --------------------------------- I think when Blais first got to UND, he worked his guys harder than anyone, and it showed on the ice. It gave the team a big edge. Opposing coaches saw and learned, and now "everyone does it." It has taken away one of UND's advantages. Just as the recruiting landscape is always changing, this is one of the shifts in competitive balance that the coaches need to adjust to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPoS Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Loved Stahl Dahl's comments...I wonder why no one asked him about how long they will last in post season this year! UAA! CLASSIC! LMAO! WPoS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Pretty interesting comments. It sounds like the team may have a few rough spots early on until things get settled, e.g., electing captains. However, I would expect Lundbohm to probably end up wearing a letter. It does bother me that Ryan Hale wasn't mentioned as a leader as he wore the "C" last season. Perhaps a changing of the guard is on the horizon. I wouldn't worry about Smaby too much. He's going to hit the learning curve on play and conditioning just like everybody else does, including Parise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Thanks for putting that together. It was interesting to hear that Lucia said Weber was burned out and had lost his desire to play hockey. We have heard other things, I wonder what really is going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Thanks for putting that together. It was interesting to hear that Lucia said Weber was burned out and had lost his desire to play hockey. We have heard other things, I wonder what really is going on. True. Those "other things" could have a contributory effect so can't be discounted outright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPoS Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 That would be sweet, an All Star tourney with WCHA, HE, ECAC, ATL, CCHA, and CHA all star teams. Now THAT would be a subway classic Wouldn't work. CHA, Atlantic, and ECAC all stars may make up one team if combined. Also, it would be humiliating and a joke as WCHA all stars would make them look like the exhibition of the Pee Wee kids at the Ralph last night. Scating around and not getting a single chance on goal. In other words, The players would change but the results would be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I think when Blais first got to UND, he worked his guys harder than anyone, and it showed on the ice. It gave the team a big edge. Opposing coaches saw and learned, and now "everyone does it." It has taken away one of UND's advantages. Just as the recruiting landscape is always changing, this is one of the shifts in competitive balance that the coaches need to adjust to. I think teams got tired of losing in the third period, and focused more on conditioning. I think you will see that UND will still be a great third period team, beat the oppostion into submission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Conditioning seems to have taken a new prominence with younger coaches like Blais, Lucia, Sandelin, etc., as opposed to "old schoolers" like Sertich and Sauer. Year-round conditioning has been a hallmark of the NHL for years, witness the number of guys still playing in their late 30s or more. So it would seem natural that it woud also appear in college and HS hockey to varying degrees. I would submit, at least from what I've heard/read, that off-season/pre-season dryland conditioning is stressed more in the WCHA than in the eastern leagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superman0099 Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I've heard/read, that off-season/pre-season dryland conditioning is stressed more in the WCHA than in the eastern leagues. Maybe that's why we're better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Maybe that's why we're better Just one of multiple reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxfan1 Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Thanks Jim for that information, enjoyed the article!! Go Sioux!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Conditioning is pretty important in the NHL these days...look at some players like Pronger and MacInnis...nearly 40 minutes a game. And MacInnis is at least pushing 40 years old if he isn't already. If you're a star in the NHL...you will play a lot, and you need to be able to handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 I wonder if he was on the call or read it here? http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/6929724.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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