COMMITTED UND Recruits

[siouxforce19]

Wasn't there a player that wanted to step into the program he was recruited by last season only to be told to wait a year that recently made a comment regarding his game being suited to the style played by UND??

Seth Ambroz is not coming to UND.

I'm hoping you're not serious.

[jodcon]

USA Today's Kevin Allen is reporting that JT MIller has decided to play for Plymouth in the OHL this year.

Damn. Losing guys like this really hurts now that Hextall and Gregoire are gone, that 4th and 5th line keeps getting greener and greener.

[MissSioux85]

Scratch that, JT Miller backed out of the Pipeline Show on Saturday.

Via twitter

new Plymouth Whaler JT Miller will NOT be joining us Saturday after all. Doesn't feel it's a good time to talk about move to CHL....

When is a good time to talk about it? I'm curious to know what caused him to change his mind.

[choyt3]

Seth Ambroz is not coming to UND.

I'm hoping you're not serious.

Sorry, didn't know only serious discussion was allowed.

[siouxforce19]

Sorry, didn't know only serious discussion was allowed.

Sorry for wanting to clarify a joke.

[tnt]

I hope that if they do fill in the gap a bit, that they use a partial scholarship. Save some of the scholarship dollars we have had to use on fill-in players for the high-end type talent they will be replacing. It would be nice to make a good pitch for John Gaudreau for next year, or possibly this year if he could get a waiver from Northeastern. Or is a waiver even a possibility?

[tnt]

It's too bad we lost him, but it sounds like he could possibly have been a one and done. If Grimaldi sticks around at least 2 or 3 years, it might be nice to have someone stick around a few years to create the kind of chemistry the Senior class this year had. Probably a better possibility now of more members of that class being together down the road. Hey, when a big-time recruit like that decides to go elsewhere you have to try find some silver lining.

[Blackheart]

It's too bad we lost him, but it sounds like he could possibly have been a one and done. If Grimaldi sticks around at least 2 or 3 years, it might be nice to have someone stick around a few years to create the kind of chemistry the Senior class this year had. Probably a better possibility now of more members of that class being together down the road. Hey, when a big-time recruit like that decides to go elsewhere you have to try find some silver lining.

Right...we didn't want him anyway.. :)

[Wilbur]

I think someone said it best earlier. I'd rather have the kid not come to UND at all, than play one season and sign right after the season ends and skip town. Its tough to lose a high profile recruit like this, but you just wonder the type of impact he would have had this year. With Freshman its hit or miss. I don't think he was going to tear up the WCHA by any means, or set any type of Freshman records for the team. He's one helluva hockey player, but with or without him I still think the Sioux will be a good hockey team next year.

It also means that Rocco Grimaldi will be a shoe in for league rookie of the year.

[#1Hakfan]

Its a loss but not a big loss. Miller may of scored a half dozen goals next year. He is not a natural goal scorer. But the Sioux will miss him as a grinder. Rocco will be alot better college player. Last year Miller had 15 goals to Rocco's 39. A true scorer would of had alot more goals, especially when playing against competition his own age. Rocco with or with out Miller would still be a huge favorite to be ROY.

Hope he has fun in Plymouth playing in a high school rink on a .500 team.

If the Sioux lose Rocco then I will start to panic.

Knight, Kristo, Nelson, Rocco, Rowney and Rodwell will supply all the offense they need. Obviously they wont score as much as last year but between the top 2 lines a great Defensive core and maybe the best goalie in college hockey there is alot to look forward too.

[brianvf]

Hope he has fun in Plymouth playing in a high school rink on a .500 team.

[The Sicatoka]

UND loses "never stepped on ice as a collegian" JT Miller.

Wisconsin loses leading returning scorer and would-be 2011-12 captain Craig Smith.

UND got a door ding.

UW needs a new fender.

[Boogieman]

It's too bad we lost him, but it sounds like he could possibly have been a one and done. If Grimaldi sticks around at least 2 or 3 years, it might be nice to have someone stick around a few years to create the kind of chemistry the Senior class this year had. Probably a better possibility now of more members of that class being together down the road. Hey, when a big-time recruit like that decides to go elsewhere you have to try find some silver lining.

The silver lining is that we're the University of North Dakota. And there'll probably be another top recruit coming down the pipeline. And not to sound bitter, because I'm far from it, but I would rather find out now that he's not a man of his word than at Christmas break.

[I Ranger]

This is certainly a set-back especially so late. I think this puts some pressure on Hak and the boys to find some blue-chip forwards for next year with this spot opening up and only two forwards committed for next year with both being young guys who could be pushed back to juniors. I'm not sure who is out there for forwards but they are sure going to have to find a few. Probably a d-men or two as well with only Schmaltz committed for next year. Hard to believe it wasn't that long ago where we were having discussions on this board about who would possibly be the forward held back to play another year of juniors and now we don't have enough forwards coming in.

[Let'sGoHawks!]

UND loses "never stepped on ice as a collegian" JT Miller.

Wisconsin loses leading returning scorer and would-be 2011-12 captain Craig Smith.

UND got a door ding.

UW needs a new fender.

I was going to post the same thing. UND has lost an unproven but talented guy, but UW is losing a proven leader and offensive dynamo. (Smith has earned the right to move up, and isn't a huge surprise from what I have seen)

[Wilbur]

UND loses "never stepped on ice as a collegian" JT Miller.

Wisconsin loses leading returning scorer and would-be 2011-12 captain Craig Smith.

UND got a door ding.

UW needs a new fender.

You always know how to make me feel better.....thanks....

[tnt]

Its a loss but not a big loss. Miller may of scored a half dozen goals next year. He is not a natural goal scorer. But the Sioux will miss him as a grinder. Rocco will be alot better college player. Last year Miller had 15 goals to Rocco's 39. A true scorer would of had alot more goals, especially when playing against competition his own age. Rocco with or with out Miller would still be a huge favorite to be ROY.

Hope he has fun in Plymouth playing in a high school rink on a .500 team.

If the Sioux lose Rocco then I will start to panic.

Knight, Kristo, Nelson, Rocco, Rowney and Rodwell will supply all the offense they need. Obviously they wont score as much as last year but between the top 2 lines a great Defensive core and maybe the best goalie in college hockey there is alot to look forward too.

The Sioux will have to rely on the defense to make up for the loss of goals. I know the Sioux will be competitive, especially by the second half of the year, but losing the leadership from last year's team as well as the goal scoring certainly puts us in the position of a lot of other WCHA teams. Defense is tied to how well the forwards help out in the defensive zone, so the Sioux will need the freshmen to play within that context, which isn't always easy for a freshman player. The loss of one freshman player doesn't change the fact that the Sioux will have their work cut out for them to gain home ice in the playoffs next year. There are that many good teams in the mix.

[The Sicatoka]

Goalies (3):

Eidsness, Dell, Maris

Defense (8):

Blood, MacWilliam, Gleason, Forbort, Simpson, Mattson*, Panzarella*, Senkbeil*

Forwards (14**):

Lamoureux, Rowney, Kristo, Knight, Rodwell, Nelson, Dickin, Parks*, O

[Just Curious]

Didn't Northeastern have 2 recruits back out of their commitments after the draft and coaching change?? I believe they were both drafted and at least one was a forward, and the other was originally from Fargo. Any thoughts on if either one of them would jump into the lineup this year??

[The Sicatoka]

Didn't Northeastern have 2 recruits back out of their commitments after the draft and coaching change?? I believe they were both drafted and at least one was a forward, and the other was originally from Fargo. Any thoughts on if either one of them would jump into the lineup this year??

Did they sign National Letters of Intent to Northeastern for this season? If so, I believe they're not available to anyone this season (even if N'eastern "releases" them from the NLIs).

PS - The names are Garrett Haar and John Gaudreau.

[Siouxhockey78]

with miller not coming in what is UND going to do with the spot. Bring someone in earlier or land another big time recruit. I do remember Seth AMborz interview after being drafted and he did state UND fits his playing style better but decided to stay closer to home instead. No chance of getting him

[GeauxSioux]

Grimaldi's stature may grow despite his diminutive size

Panthers 5-foot-6 center Rocco Grimaldi has stitched 1 Samuel 16:7 on his sneakers, a passage from the Bible that explains why God chose diminutive David to battle Goliath to succeed Saul as King of Israel.

"He was the youngest, the smallest (shepherd) in the field but God said, 'I don't look at the outward appearance or size of a man, I look at the heart.'

"That fits me. Everyone's going to look at my size, but God doesn't look at it, so neither do I," said Grimaldi, the Panthers' second-round pick. "It's something I've pushed through and have fun with, too."

[Sodbuster]

With the J.T. Miller thing, maybe the "Committed Siuox Recruits" thread should be renamed.

[siouxforce19]

with miller not coming in what is UND going to do with the spot. Bring someone in earlier or land another big time recruit. I do remember Seth AMborz interview after being drafted and he did state UND fits his playing style better but decided to stay closer to home instead. No chance of getting him

This is kind of redundant, but to get the point across, we don't HAVE any recruits we can bring in early. All of our committed forwards have not yet graduated from high school. And I HIGHLY doubt there is a big time recruit laying around waiting for us to pick him up. We either pick up another depth forward, or go with what we have and pick up a big time recruit for next season. I'm in favor of an extra body, personally. I'm sure the coaching staff has a list of kids they're monitoring and they need to decide if any of them have what it takes to be brought in this year. My 2 cents.

[Siouxhockey78]

This is kind of redundant, but to get the point across, we don't HAVE any recruits we can bring in early. All of our committed forwards have not yet graduated from high school. And I HIGHLY doubt there is a big time recruit laying around waiting for us to pick him up. We either pick up another depth forward, or go with what we have and pick up a big time recruit for next season. I'm in favor of an extra body, personally. I'm sure the coaching staff has a list of kids they're monitoring and they need to decide if any of them have what it takes to be brought in this year. My 2 cents.

Thanks