Brock, Danny, and Derek: PLEASE STAY!!!

[talksalot83]

Schlossman is saying that fans should expect Dell to sign.

http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=90982

[GFG]

Schlossman is saying that fans should expect Dell to sign.

http://undhockey.are...es.com/?p=90982

Didn't see this until now. Yes expect him to sign haha. My buddy teaches Dell and he brought pizza to class for the students today and Dell wouldn't eat any because he's "On a very strict diet."

The players are still in their usual 2 week off period, so the strict diet thing raised a red flag to me.

[crb1]

Didn't see this until now. Yes expect him to sign haha. My buddy teaches Dell and he brought pizza to class for the students today and Dell wouldn't eat any because he's "On a very strict diet."

The players are still in their usual 2 week off period, so the strict diet thing raised a red flag to me.

He is more than likely gone. Last week I said Kristo was the only one who I thought was leaving early then Brock leaves and now word of Dell and I am sure Kristo is not far behind. I am happy for these guys but hope they don't think the grass is always greener on the otherside. Sometimes these things don't work out like we hope and want them to. Brock would have had a monster year if he had stayed and been healthy and would have probably been top 3 in scoring in the nation if not number 1. In my opinion he needed to stay one more year to add the muscle to that skill. Anyways good luck Brock.

[crb1]

I guess my thoughts for today are we will probably hear something on Dell and perhaps Kristo today. Yesterday UNDSID said he expects to hear a few more things from a couple more Sioux players after Brock signed but the end of the day passed and UNDSID said no more news for today. I expect to hear something on someone today.

[siouxforce19]

My thoughts: the coaching staff really does know what's up.

Getting Saunders to come is huge with Dell leaving. (I admit I'm surprised on that departure). But having a goalie on our roster with collegiate experience is huge.

[Bert81]

It's tough to see guys leave the team early, but I can understand how it must be difficult to refuse a contract which represents guaranteed money being offered. There is always the risk of a serious injury, or having an off year, and just like that the offers are reduced, or gone altogether.

[Snake]

A lot of us tout the advantages of the NCAA having older, stronger, smarter players vs. Major Juniors when it comes to kids deciding which route to take. I can't fault a guy if he wants to enhance his development against older, stronger, smarter players by jumping to the pro ranks - especially if the money is there.

[The Sicatoka]

My thoughts: the coaching staff really does know what's up.

Getting Saunders to come is huge with Dell leaving. (I admit I'm surprised on that departure). But having a goalie on our roster with collegiate experience is huge.

Exactly. That's why I keep a roster and a list of recruits with expected arrival years.

When I saw two goalies (Saunders and Gothberg) for this fall I figured Eidsness and Maris (and hoped it wouldn't be Dell leaving). Instead, it's Eids and presumably Dell but UND still has experience in net (Saunders).

Hakstol knows how to manage a roster (when guys don't welch out on commitments at the last minute ... I'm looking at you JT Miller ).

[watchmaker49]

Dell is going to leave school for a $350 a week job in the ECHL?

[I Ranger]

Exactly. That's why I keep a roster and a list of recruits with expected arrival years.

When I saw two goalies (Saunders and Gothberg) for this fall I figured Eidsness and Maris (and hoped it wouldn't be Dell leaving). Instead, it's Eids and presumably Dell but UND still has experience in net (Saunders).

Hakstol knows how to manage a roster (when guys don't welch out on commitments at the last minute ... I'm looking at you JT Miller ).

I had the same feeling as you on our goalie situation for next year. I was thinking the log jam with 3 good goaltenders could cause us to lose one but now I see that won't be the case.

On Nelson like most everyone else on here, I think one more year would have suited him well and after next year Hak would have driven him to the airport himself. He has great talent but not enough strength for the next level yet. There were many times this season where he was still manhandled and easily knocked off the puck. One more year at UND and I think he would have been a shoe-in to be UND straight to a top 6 forward for the Islanders. I guess that could still be the case but he has alot of work to do this summer.

[BigGreyAnt41]

I guess my thoughts for today are we will probably hear something on Dell and perhaps Kristo today. Yesterday UNDSID said he expects to hear a few more things from a couple more Sioux players after Brock signed but the end of the day passed and UNDSID said no more news for today. I expect to hear something on someone today.

I thought the "Rowney and MacWilliam returning" news was the "few more things from a couple more Sioux players". Didn't that info come out after Nelson's info?

[siouxweet]

Dell is going to leave school for a $350 a week job in the ECHL?

kind of looks like it, my feeling has always been if they don't want to be here then let them go and ride the buses while bouncing around in the in the minors making minimum wage.

[jk]

Dell could have gone after last season, when he had a great year. He was more up and down this most recent year, but was still very solid. He's probably my favorite Sioux goalie of the last long time, because he makes a lot of saves simply by being in position, and doesn't end up flopping after being forced to make an acrobatic save.

I don't think he'll be playing in the ECHL. I think he's an AHL goalie, and I think he has a shot to one day play in the NHL. I thank him for his contributions and wish him well.

[82SiouxGuy]

Dell is going to leave school for a $350 a week job in the ECHL?

He is probably leaving for a $75,000 plus signing bonus and whatever he earns in the minors, either the ECHL or the AHL.

[tnt]

kind of looks like it, my feeling has always been if they don't want to be here then let them go and ride the buses while bouncing around in the in the minors making minimum wage.

Seriously, you can't just wish someone well who stayed a year after the pros came calling the first time. A goaltender basically has to prove himself anyway, so he probably decided to start down the learning path now. It's not like he needs to stay and gain strength or anything. I say thank you to Dell for helping us make two fun runs the last two years.

[watchmaker49]

He is probably leaving for a $75,000 plus signing bonus and whatever he earns in the minors, either the ECHL or the AHL.

After tax and agent cut that leaves him maybe 40K and he will not play in the AHL. There are way better goalies in the ECHL than him. Hence, $350 a week playing in the ECHL or god forbide the Southern Professional Hockey League.

[siouxweet]

Seriously, you can't just wish someone well who stayed a year after the pros came calling the first time. A goaltender basically has to prove himself anyway, so he probably decided to start down the learning path now. It's not like he needs to stay and gain strength or anything. I say thank you to Dell for helping us make two fun runs the last two years.

if these kids are good enough to leave early and go straight to the NHL then yeah I will wish them well. but leaving early to go play minor league hockey in crap arenas with 2000 people no I won't wish them well. and none of these players we hear about leaving early this year are going straight to the NHL, in fact some will never,ever see the NHL. they have it made so well here and you have all these players who left early and have come back and said they regret it, but that don't mean squat to these kids. I'm sure we'll hear stories down the road about dell coming back and saying he regrets leaving early too.

[SiouxScore]

Brad also said he expects to see Knight return. I think if I had to choose one who was gunna leave out of Knight and Dell it would be Dell. I wish he would come back for another year, but can understand why he would take a deal. Dell is a free agent with no gurantee of getting a deal after college, he had a little bit of a down season compared to last year, and there are 2 very good goalies coming in to compete with him and he may have been worried about losing playing time as Dell lost playing time to Eids this year when compared to his 1st year. When Dell does sign I will wish him the best of luck and can see some reasons for leaving and just hope he goes to a system where he can thrive and has a lot of success.

[focker]

Leaving for a 75K bonus check is just weird to me... A good graduate should make that much money per year just a few years removed from school. I don't get it.. The$40k after taxes is peanuts.

I get living your dream and all, but wow...

[Snake]

if these kids are good enough to leave early and go straight to the NHL then yeah I will wish them well. but leaving early to go play minor league hockey in crap arenas with 2000 people no I won't wish them well. and none of these players we hear about leaving early this year are going straight to the NHL, in fact some will never,ever see the NHL. they have it made so well here and you have all these players who left early and have come back and said they regret it, but that don't mean squat to these kids. I'm sure we'll hear stories down the road about dell coming back and saying he regrets leaving early too.

This isn't college football where the next step is the NFL. Saying a guy needs to be "NHL ready" before leaving school is a bit much. If you believe that better competition is better for development, then why rag on a guy for choosing to develop against better competition - even if it is riding buses and playing in front of smaller crowds in the minors? We don't know what is being put in front of these kids. "Regret" can go both ways. In Dell's case, what if he had a better offer last year and regrets passing it up?

[siouxweet]

This isn't college football where the next step is the NFL. Saying a guy needs to be "NHL ready" before leaving school is a bit much. If you believe that better competition is better for development, then why rag on a guy for choosing to develop against better competition - even if it is riding buses and playing in front of smaller crowds in the minors? We don't know what is being put in front of these kids. "Regret" can go both ways. In Dell's case, what if he had a better offer last year and regrets passing it up?

needless to say I am not a fan of kids leaving early no matter what the sport.

[82SiouxGuy]

Leaving for a 75K bonus check is just weird to me... A good graduate should make that much money per year just a few years removed from school. I don't get it.. The$40k after taxes is peanuts.

I get living your dream and all, but wow...

A lot of college students would leave school for a 75K check. They can always finish their degree. Dell has 3 years of school in already. He can probably take most of his course work online next year while he is playing. So he may get to finish his degree, get a big check now and collect pay checks all next year for playing a game. Contracts to leave school sometimes include money to finish their degree. Dell has no guarantee of teams being interested next year since he is a free agent. Sometimes you have to strike while the iron is hot.

On the other hand, maybe he is one of those guys that don't like school. So he takes a big check now while it is being offered rather than waiting until next year when there is no guarantee that he will get any kind of offer.

[passit_offthegoalie]

I think Brock will become a force in the NHL no later than his sophomore season, and it will be another NHL success story associated with UND, so in my mind Brock hasn't stopped contributing to UND just because he moved on. Although, I wouldn't have been upset if he stayed another year.

[SiouxForever]

I think Brock will become a force in the NHL no later than his sophomore season, and it will be another NHL success story associated with UND, so in my mind Brock hasn't stopped contributing to UND just because he moved on. Although, I wouldn't have been upset if he stayed another year.

In my honest opinion, I haven't seen a player like Brock Nelson in a long time at UND. Been watching the Sioux my whole life (24 years now). Brock has speed, a shot, great hands, high knowledge on how to the play the game, and he's a competitor. Yes, we all know that his ability to be more dominate comes with adding muscle and weight. However, keep in mind there's plenty of 6'0 180 lbs players dominating the NHL right now. Brock, I'd say is 6'4 185 currently, If he gets to 200 come NHL camp, he'll be fine and should be a force. Some of his intangibles are what the Isles are missing with some of their younger crop of players.

Also, one needs to understand that he is joining the Isle organization. Despite a solid base of young players in there now, a lot of GM's and hockey analysts question how good some of that current crop actually is, even their two-way game. Bailey, Tavares, Okposo, Moulson, Grabner have gotten a great opportunity to play every game in that organization and been allowed to make mistakes because the team is brutal and is in a youth transition movement. I'd expect Brock to be a dominate top 6 power forward on the Isles within two (2) yes, 2 years there!

Had he stayed one more year in college, he would have been the best player in college hockey, without question. I figured he'd have a strong sophomore campaign, but I couldn't believe how dominate he was, game in and game out. Despite, his 5-6 empty net goals (may have had less) he was literally generating 5-6 shots a game, 3-4 scoring chances and seemed like he had a breakaway almost every game. If he had the "Bochenski" touch around the net this year, he should have had 35+ goals.

[fightingsioux4life]

I don't think a kid has to go straight to the NHL right out of college to justify leaving early, but I think they should be close enough to the big leagues so that they get called up once or twice during their first AHL season. That keeps you on the radar of the organization and you won't get pushed aside by prospects that are coming after you that look more NHL ready and get the call-ups you could have gotten. I think Bochenski leaving early was a mistake; he has been up and down (mostly down) in his career and hasn't stuck with any NHL club for long. These kids have a short window to get called up and establish themselves in the NHL and once they get "too old", they will be pushed aside by front offices and be stuck in the minors until they retire. And that really is a shame.

As for this argument that it's good to leave early because you get more games against better players and will develop quicker, that really sounds like an argument for the Major Junior route and not an argument for leaving after one or two years of college hockey. If kids don't like the idea of playing fewer games for no money, they shouldn't have chosen the college route in the first place. UND has a proven track record for developing talent for the next level and I think Nelson would have benefited from at least one more year of that. And I do think it will be harder than he and some of the posters on here think it will be. But, that aside, I do wish him well.