COMMITTED UND Recruits

[atxsioux]

2 minutes ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

Fair but defensemen just need more time in general. Rucks are skilled enough to go 2 years after they’re drafted depending on progress and how much muscle they put on. So it’s not crazy to think that one more year in WHL and 1 year at college wouldnt be enough. Reschny went #18 overall and will *likely* leave D+2 and these guys aren’t going to get drafted that far behind him. But again this is all speculation that will be moot for a long time. 

Based on how I’ve heard Scott Wheeler and others describe how they need to put on a decent amount of weight I’d be pretty surprised if they left after 1 year at UND. IMO it might be 50/50 on if they they play 2/3 years 
 

Also based on their decision to not rush jumping into college this upcoming year they seem to be committed to not rushing things. 
 

which seems like a really smart move all around by them, advisor, and family 

[brianvf]

Haha those Goof fans are hilarious. 
One subpar year and they’ve developed a bit of a Jan Brady syndrome. 

[brianvf]

1 hour ago, atxsioux said:

Based on how I’ve heard Scott Wheeler and others describe how they need to put on a decent amount of weight I’d be pretty surprised if they left after 1 year at UND. IMO it might be 50/50 on if they they play 2/3 years 
 

Also based on their decision to not rush jumping into college this upcoming year they seem to be committed to not rushing things. 
 

which seems like a really smart move all around by them, advisor, and family 

I’ve seen multiple comments about them needing to put on weight and work on their skating. Both things that can easily be worked on over 2-3 seasons in the NCAA. 

[Goon]

 

[cberkas]

2 hours ago, cowboys5xsbs said:

🤣🤣🤣

 

 

He fails to understand that Minnesota and the B1G, the hockey would doesn't revolve around them like the NHL doesn't revolve around Toronto. You are not going to get everyone and not everyone wants to play for you. 

[southpaw]

Or..... they're trolling and people are taking the bait

[nodakgirl93]

9 hours ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

I would agree if they were coming this year. But with them coming in at 19 I imagine we get them for one year and then gone. Part of me even worries that they don’t even make it to campus after next year but I hope I’m wrong.

I guess it just depends on how they continue to develop. Can they have a repeat success this upcoming season in the dub? How well does their freshman season in college go? If one brother is ready for the NHL after 1 season but not the other do they both stay another year to be together? It seems they are well aware they are underdeveloped and wanna take the time to get bigger and work on all the little things. 

[crb1]

15 hours ago, nodakgirl93 said:

A nice interview here that's recent.

You can tell they are of high character. 

[stoneySIOUX]

5 hours ago, southpaw said:

Or..... they're trolling and people are taking the bait

Feels like A LOT of unwarranted credit for that guy 🤣 

[Blackheart]

9 hours ago, brianvf said:

Haha those Goof fans are hilarious. 
One subpar year and they’ve developed a bit of a Jan Brady syndrome. 

Well, they have had the last two Jan Brady head coaches...

[Blackheart]

11 hours ago, tnt said:

Wow, a gopher fan spouting off about something of which they have no facts.  Go figure!  Guess they can’t use the 25 year old Canadian on this one since they wouldn’t be eligible for the draft.  Wait, maybe they are 25 and it is like that Little League World Series overage guy years ago!

Gophers crying about 25 year old's on the roster forget about this guy...

[hockeytherapy13]

4 minutes ago, Blackheart said:

Gophers crying about 25 year old's on the roster forget about this guy...

Justen Close (gasp, a Canadian) was a 25-year old his final season. Souliere (Canadian) was 25 or 26 at the end of the year as well.  

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Verhoeff and Reschny committing put us on their radar, and talking to Verhoeff at the combine cemented it. May 31st (Chyzyk Day) should be a paid holiday for UND staff.

[tnt]

10 hours ago, brianvf said:

Haha those Goof fans are hilarious. 
One subpar year and they’ve developed a bit of a Jan Brady syndrome. 

Well, they do take all of Jan Brady’s coaches! 

[tnt]

1 hour ago, nodakgirl93 said:

I guess it just depends on how they continue to develop. Can they have a repeat success this upcoming season in the dub? How well does their freshman season in college go? If one brother is ready for the NHL after 1 season but not the other do they both stay another year to be together? It seems they are well aware they are underdeveloped and wanna take the time to get bigger and work on all the little things. 

Certainly they won’t have as dynamic of a defense in Medicine Hat this year with Pickford and Woo being gone.

[nascar99]

 

[brianvf]

Some nice quotes in there from the Ruck's and Dane/Bryn.

Quote

They were pursued by several schools and made visits to UND, Michigan State, Western Michigan, Maine and Quinnipiac.

"We had a couple of great options we could have chosen from," Liam said. "It felt like there were no negatives at UND. The people there seemed awesome — the coaches and the people in the city. It seemed like a good fit. We're smaller-town guys. We had a really good impression. The facility is great. It seemed like a good fit for us."

Quote

"For us, there's no rush," Liam said. "I think we're underdeveloped guys right now. We have to put some weight on. We felt it was the right decision to go back for one more year. I think we're going to have a good team. We knew college would still be there for the next year."

Quote

The Rucks visited UND in late May, then attended the NHL Combine with Verhoeff in early June.

"We talked to Verhoeff quite a bit," Markus said. "At the Combine, we asked Keaton some questions and he had nothing but great things to say about the way everything runs at North Dakota and with the staff. That was another hint that it's a great fit for us."

 

[Godsmack]

10 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Some nice quotes in there from the Ruck's and Dane/Bryn.

 

So Verhoeff served as an ambassador to the program? That’s awesome! 

[The Sicatoka]

“The position is so important the game should be renamed _______.” — Dean Blais 

The D, the Fs, …after Heil? …

[thUNDer]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

“The position is so important the game should be renamed _______.” — Dean Blais 

The D, the Fs, …after Heil? …

Translation please? I’m slow😉

[Wilbur]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

“The position is so important the game should be renamed _______.” — Dean Blais 

The D, the Fs, …after Heil? …

Wilbur?  Ohhh....goalie....goalie...

[The Sicatoka]

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

Wilbur?  Ohhh....goalie....goalie...

Yes … goalie … ? 

[.357]

On 6/22/2026 at 2:54 PM, as15 said:

The forwards will get interesting for 27-28 now.  I don't see how any of the five incoming players you have listed can be deferred without losing them (i.e. need two early departures or transfers to make this happen).  I think Reschny is 90% gone after next year, and Zellers 75% gone.  I expect 45+ points from both of them this year.

Used to think of NIL as mostly getting recruits on campus; but it seems like it's also an incentive for players to delay going pro. At Michigan, Perron appears to be staying for his senior year & Hage for his junior year. Without NIL, there's a good chance those two would have already left school. Perhaps guys like Zellers, Reschny & other important cogs could be enticed to stay an extra year for the right amount, like Michigan appears to be doing.

[brianvf]

10 minutes ago, .357 said:

Used to think of NIL as mostly getting recruits on campus; but it seems like it's also an incentive for players to delay going pro. At Michigan, Perron appears to be staying for his senior year & Hage for his junior year. Without NIL, there's a good chance those two would have already left school. Perhaps guys like Zellers, Reschny & other important  cogs could be enticed to stay an extra year for the right amount, like Michigan appears to be doing.

Yep, agreed.

Also, as has been mentioned here many times before...chippahs LOVE to play with chippahs.
And now we all of a sudden have a lot of studs scheduled to arrive on campus for 26/27 and 27/28.
So, if any of our current guys have any doubt about making the jump from NCAA to NHL or have some things that they still need to work on...or just want one more year of "college fun" before becoming pro...then playing with the likes of Fitzhenry and the Rucks next fall would certainly be appealing.

[Sioux90]

With the Zellers and Fitzhenry connection, would it be wild to think that Zellers is expecting to play his junior year, and pair with him?