COMMITTED UND Recruits

[SiouxForever]

Pretty harsh on Kunz. Give him some time. Needs to develop foot speed for the college level, no different than what Chris VV had to develop to adjust/adapt to. Kunz protects the puck and uses his body well. 

Let him work on foot speed, stamina, and offense skills. Let’s see where he’s at next year at this time and onward. 

[tnt]

6 hours ago, siouxweet said:

Kunz will be a bust.  

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=195229
 

Kunz seems to be ahead of this guys pace, and as mentioned Kunz came in a little younger.

[Oxbow6]

Kunz is really good below the red line in the O zone. He'll turn out OK. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

I’m for one not saying any player is a bust but players just don’t forget how to score but maybe Berrys systems need to be adjusted , lots of examples of players who scored on previous teams but lose their touch when they get here.

[scpa0305]

16 hours ago, siouxweet said:

Kunz will be a bust.  

Interesting take…I completely disagree. He only recently got moved up to a top 6 role, before that he was on the 4th which is next to impossible to put up points, especially on this team. Give him time, he’s a true freshman. If you want to call out players, call out the upperclassmen.  But to be honest, not sure it’s the player’s fault, it’s more the collection of players from my angle.

The game is changing a bit, if I were recruiting the kids (and I’m not) I’d be focusing purely on skill. You may miss out on the grit, but take skill and never look back.

[scpa0305]

15 hours ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

I forgot to mention the transfers , Ford and Calder big scorers in the WCHA and now they forgot how to do just that. 

Different league…different collection of players. But agreed, expected more given their age. 

[tnt]

3 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Interesting take…I completely disagree. He only recently got moved up to a top 6 role, before that he was on the 4th which is next to impossible to put up points, especially on this team. Give him time, he’s a true freshman. If you want to call out players, call out the upperclassmen.  But to be honest, not sure it’s the player’s fault, it’s more the collection of players from my angle.

The game is changing a bit, if I were recruiting the kids (and I’m not) I’d be focusing purely on skill. You may miss out on the grit, but take skill and never look back.

That was Minnesota's recruiting philosophy for the longest time, and it never paid off.  It wasn't until they started getting some nice gritty role players that they turned it around.  There is a reason that you hear teams always preaching being hard to play against.  Definitely need to have a mix, but traditionally high end talent alone hasn't been the ticket to winning it all.  I think if Berry needs to do something better, it is to have some more flexibility on guys you are bringing in, and realize the area you will be lacking and bring them in accordingly.  Obviously high end guys aren't going to allow for flexibility, as we saw with Morrow.  If Weatherby stays we are probably not having the angst we are right now because our power play would be better.  I would say ditto if Scheel stayed, because he was a difference maker.  Berry admits special teams determines a majority of games, so to not have taken Morrow this year or possibly Rizzo a year ago rather than a grinder type really hurts with the loss of Weatherby because you really need two competent power play units.  Mark Senden is indispensable to this team, but needing him on the power play suggests shortsightedness or players not developing as perceived. I do think with the constant turnaround of players and some players taking longer to adjust, or not making the adjustment, you need to make sure you have guys that are ultra competitive and still have a good skill set, something that don't always come together.  That's what makes guys like TJ Oshie so special.   I still have hope for this team, they just need to have guys that performed well in the first half, step it up again in the second half.  

[gfhockey]

Grindaz try and grind it out 

[scpa0305]

46 minutes ago, tnt said:

That was Minnesota's recruiting philosophy for the longest time, and it never paid off.  It wasn't until they started getting some nice gritty role players that they turned it around.  There is a reason that you hear teams always preaching being hard to play against.  Definitely need to have a mix, but traditionally high end talent alone hasn't been the ticket to winning it all.  I think if Berry needs to do something better, it is to have some more flexibility on guys you are bringing in, and realize the area you will be lacking and bring them in accordingly.  Obviously high end guys aren't going to allow for flexibility, as we saw with Morrow.  If Weatherby stays we are probably not having the angst we are right now because our power play would be better.  I would say ditto if Scheel stayed, because he was a difference maker.  Berry admits special teams determines a majority of games, so to not have taken Morrow this year or possibly Rizzo a year ago rather than a grinder type really hurts with the loss of Weatherby because you really need two competent power play units.  Mark Senden is indispensable to this team, but needing him on the power play suggests shortsightedness or players not developing as perceived. I do think with the constant turnaround of players and some players taking longer to adjust, or not making the adjustment, you need to make sure you have guys that are ultra competitive and still have a good skill set, something that don't always come together.  That's what makes guys like TJ Oshie so special.   I still have hope for this team, they just need to have guys that performed well in the first half, step it up again in the second half.  

Mn’s issue was that they only recruited MN players and that they only took true freshman from MN. But you are correct, their focus was more the skilled kids from their state I suppose. Who’s knows if those “skill players” would have been skill guys nationally (it’s not overly hard to tear up MN HS hockey). But again, times have changed. Skill is winning out, even at the pro level bas they are pushing the hitting out of the game.

[stoneySIOUX]

13 hours ago, siouxweet said:

What shots have I taken othe than saying recruiting has been below sub par recently, the roster is full of role players and the pipeline has no high end players??   

You're somehow reading the future of a kid who's playing his freshman season. It's just you overreacting. 

If you think our pipeline has no high end players, you just haven't been paying attention, man. I'm sorry.

[stoneySIOUX]

15 hours ago, Sodbuster said:

Hey, we're not all that way. Us calmer heads just prefer to keep our mouths shut during times like this.

I try to keep my mouth shut, I really do. It's just in every thread and I stupidly feel the need to defend. 

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

I’m for one not saying any player is a bust but players just don’t forget how to score but maybe Berrys systems need to be adjusted , lots of examples of players who scored on previous teams but lose their touch when they get here.

Yeah, or, let them develop. There aren't a lot of kids that jump right into college and blow up like they did in juniors. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

15 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Yeah, or, let them develop. There aren't a lot of kids that jump right into college and blow up like they did in juniors. 

I’m not saying they need to blow  it up but   A lot of our players don’t seem to be panning out and you can see by the scoring and putting players where their not used to playing.

[stoneySIOUX]

15 minutes ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

I’m not saying they need to blow  it up but   A lot of our players don’t seem to be panning out and you can see by the scoring and putting players where their not used to playing.

I think maybe people's expectations on players need to be checked before they come in. Having that idea that they will be an instant factor scoring right where they did in juniors just doesn't happen very often for any player. 

I think we can all agree that some players come in here with high expectations and under perform, but can't the same be said for kids that come in here with us having high hopes for them and they become better than we ever expected? 

[tnt]

16 minutes ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

I’m not saying they need to blow  it up but   A lot of our players don’t seem to be panning out and you can see by the scoring and putting players where their not used to playing.

You do realize that our main problem is that our players are panning out and leaving for the next level.  If we keep one or two of the players we lost, we aren't having this conversation.  

[tnt]

35 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

There are some really sad and embarrassing people that post on these threads. There’s not another team in the country that has been as successful in the last 25 years. We had a great team the last two years that couldn’t get it done. Berry seemingly has moved away from the one and done type players, to a 3-4 year type. He’s also not going anywhere anytime soon, so everyone will have to be patient and see how these players pan out.

Has he moved away from them, or have we not got them?  They said we are recruiting Logan Cooley, and he probably is 2 years tops.  Agree that people are nuts complaining incessantly, especially given the circumstances of this year, but Berry also shouldn't be immune to any criticism.  I trusted Berry making the right decision bringing in Johnson over Morrow, but looking at it objectively with the injury to Johnson and his need to work on his strength, that was clearly a wrong decision.  Was it due to potential parent issues?  Let's face it, those issues don't hold a candle to the Mitchell Miller fiasco.  Also, hindsight with Rizzo doesn't seem to be a great decision, especially with our issues on the power play and scoring goals lately.  Not sure Driscoll was an upgrade over Thome either.  All of those situations could have mitigated some of the losses we felt after last year.   So there is room for criticism, but people need to realize that every decision a coach makes is open for criticism, so missing on a few is inevitable, so you have to take the job performance as a whole and in that situation Berry has done quite well.  

[stoneySIOUX]

2 minutes ago, tnt said:

Has he moved away from them, or have we not got them?  They said we are recruiting Logan Cooley, and he probably is 2 years tops.  Agree that people are nuts complaining incessantly, especially given the circumstances of this year, but Berry also shouldn't be immune to any criticism.  I trusted Berry making the right decision bringing in Johnson over Morrow, but looking at it objectively with the injury to Johnson and his need to work on his strength, that was clearly a wrong decision.  Was it due to potential parent issues?  Let's face it, those issues don't hold a candle to the Mitchell Miller fiasco.  Also, hindsight with Rizzo doesn't seem to be a great decision, especially with our issues on the power play and scoring goals lately.  Not sure Driscoll was an upgrade over Thome either.  All of those situations could have mitigated some of the losses we felt after last year.   So there is room for criticism, but people need to realize that every decision a coach makes is open for criticism, so missing on a few is inevitable, so you have to take the job performance as a whole and in that situation Berry has done quite well.  

Totally fair and he's due some, no doubt. With that said, is it real and honest criticism or just frustration with this season? I think this team is product of us losing 14 players (think of that number) from a loaded team and replacing with that we had to work with at the time. For me, I don't know how I can pin that on Berry.

From what I heard about Morrow, I still peg that choice as a good call and I don't care if he wins a Hobey. He didn't sound like he would fit in here. To each, their own. Hindsight is 20/20 on Rizzo, at this point. Seems like a miss there. We absolutely have not moved away from recruiting the top players and we're still very much in on Cooley and have guys like Perron in our pipeline. 

[Oxbow6]

For those players that struggle to score Wade Murphy is waiting on line 2.........

[petey23]

40 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

For those players that struggle to score Wade Murphy is waiting on line 2.........

Cichy is on hold as well.

Mike Cichy Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

76 points in 56 games. Couldn't score at UND or WMU.

 

 

[petey23]

Just now, petey23 said:

Cichy is on hold as well.

Mike Cichy Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

76 points in 56 games, and 25 points in 13 games leading the ICE to the Clark Cup championship over Fargo. Completely dominated the USHL playoffs.

Couldn't score at UND or WMU.

 

 

 

[skateshattrick]

18 minutes ago, petey23 said:

 

Ryder Donovan of Wisconsin, who decommitted from UND and went to Wisconsin. He has 3 points. 

[stoneySIOUX]

33 minutes ago, skateshattrick said:

Ryder Donovan of Wisconsin, who decommitted from UND and went to Wisconsin. He has 3 points. 

Remember the outrage around here about losing him? Pepperidge Farms remembers... 

[siouxfaninseattle]

I'm a little confused about next season's incoming recruits. It seems like there is a lot of optimism about them yet the scouting reports don't have anyone projected as higher than a third round pick. Can someone enlighten me?

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Optimism

[AJS]

5 minutes ago, siouxfaninseattle said:

I'm a little confused about next season's incoming recruits. It seems like there is a lot of optimism about them yet the scouting reports don't have anyone projected as higher than a third round pick. Can someone enlighten me?

Blake (2nd in USHL in points) and McLaughlin (7th in USHL in points) were both drafted last year. Two drafted '03's that are in the Top 10 in the USHL is a great start. That's a solid 1/2 start to a class. Strinden (17th in USHL points) mid-'02, played in the Bio-Steel All-American game. Most likely will be drafted by all accounts this summer. James (35th in USHL points), highest rated recruit (potential 3rd rounder). Spicer, who's having a solid year with the NTDP. 

Reason for optimism. No first rounders or even second, but this is a class where all 5 Forwards are likely to be drafted is impressive. They are all currently performing very well. Taking Spicer out as the NTDP's schedule is unique, having your 4 other forward recruits all be in the Top 40 in the USHL is impressive. 

Side note: Livanavage (33rd in points) as a d-man and Perron ('05) is 31st in points. 

UND has 15% of the Top 40 scorers in the USHL as recruits. That's impressive.