USA Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Congrats to Grant Potulny for reportedly signing with the Senator's. I read that it was a one year contract and he will spend the remainder of the year playing for their minor team. Good Luck!!! Here is the article from WCCO.com Senators sign Gopher forward Potulny Tuesday April 06, 2004 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota forward Grant Potulny, a three-year captain who just completed his final season with the Gophers, signed a one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Potulny will spend the remainder of the 2003-04 season with Binghamton of the AHL on an amateur tryout. Potulny finished his collegiate career with 68 goals and 48 assists in 148 games. He ranks 24th in career goals and 55th in career points with 116. The Grand Forks, N.D., native was a part of two national championship teams with Minnesota. He scored the game and title-winning goal for the Gophers in the 2002 NCCA championship game over Maine. Potulny was named the 2002 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player, the 2003 WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player and the 2003 NCAA West Regional Most Valuable Player. Potulny, who was drafted in the fifth round by Ottawa in 2000, has attended the Senators' summer development camp for each of the past three years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1siouxfan22 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 hes a traitor!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohl Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 a traitor? i love when UND fans bring this up. half of your team has always been from minnesota and the other half from canada. i don't call the players that leave here and play for you traitors. mr. parise would be considered a traitor under your logic. he's not. he chose UND and more power to him. have some sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 a traitor? i love when UND fans bring this up. half of your team has always been from minnesota and the other half from canada. i don't call the players that leave here and play for you traitors. mr. parise would be considered a traitor under your logic. he's not. he chose UND and more power to him. have some sense. Not to bring up the odvious this is a Sioux message board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 1. He is not a traitor if UND didn't recruit him. I heard somewhere that we did not, or if we did, we didn't do it very seriously. 2. Gopher or not, Grant is from this area and we wish all our native folks well regardless of team. 3. Grant Potulny is no longer a Gopher. He is/was a senior. Grant will never face the Sioux again as a player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohl Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 many sioux lovers are on my gopher boards and i don't complain. what is your point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohl Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 He is not a traitor period. Grant Potulny really seems to bring out the worst in sioux fans. If he played for the gophers and didnt do anything you wouldn't care, but he was a significant contributor so you label him a traitor. Many of your players are from minnesota. They chose to go to UND. I don't hate them for it. The U of M and UND are as good as it gets for college hockey programs. I wouldn't want it any other way. It is the best rivalry in sports as far as I am concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 He is not a traitor period. Grant Potulny really seems to bring out the worst in sioux fans. If he played for the gophers and didnt do anything you wouldn't care, but he was a significant contributor so you label him a traitor. Many of your players are from minnesota. They chose to go to UND. I don't hate them for it. The U of M and UND are as good as it gets for college hockey programs. I wouldn't want it any other way. It is the best rivalry in sports as far as I am concerned. damn right!!!!!!! best to grant in the ahl....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Congrats to Grant!! Even though he played for the Gophers, he is still a Grand Forks boy and it is always great to see our home grown talent succeed in hockey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skateshattrick Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 a traitor? i love when UND fans bring this up. half of your team has always been from minnesota and the other half from canada. i don't call the players that leave here and play for you traitors. mr. parise would be considered a traitor under your logic. he's not. he chose UND and more power to him. have some sense. I agree that Grant Potulny is not a "traitor." He was not recruited and went where he was wanted. Furthermore, we cannot get all of the ND kids if we are going to have a top flight program. Some will go elsewhere, much like Minnesota kids that attend UND, Wisconsin, and the Colorado schools. I do, however, take issue with your moronic statement that "half of your team has always been from Minnesota and the other half from Canada." If you look at UND's roster (you can find all of the rosters on USCHO), 21 of the 26 kids are from the US, with 6 from ND, 11 from Minnesota, 1 from Colorado, 1 from Michigan, 1 from Alaska and 1 from Illinois. Minnesota has 3 from ND, 1 from Canada, 1 from Colorado, and 1 from Austria, so the makeup is not all that different. Personally, I like the fact that the Sioux have diversity, including Canadian kids. However, your tone makes it sound like the same garbage that Sid has thrown out for years. It is akin to the argument that Sioux players are older (remember DeBus and Woog, the 25 and 26 year old Gophers?) Know your facts before you spout off, particularly on a Sioux message board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sioux7 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I agree that Grant Potulny is not a "traitor." He was not recruited and went where he was wanted. Furthermore, we cannot get all of the ND kids if we are going to have a top flight program. Some will go elsewhere, much like Minnesota kids that attend UND, Wisconsin, and the Colorado schools. I do, however, take issue with your moronic statement that "half of your team has always been from Minnesota and the other half from Canada." If you look at UND's roster (you can find all of the rosters on USCHO), 21 of the 26 kids are from the US, with 6 from ND, 11 from Minnesota, 1 from Colorado, 1 from Michigan, 1 from Alaska and 1 from Illinois. Minnesota has 3 from ND, 1 from Canada, 1 from Colorado, and 1 from Austria, so the makeup is not all that different. Personally, I like the fact that the Sioux have diversity, including Canadian kids. However, your tone makes it sound like the same garbage that Sid has thrown out for years. It is akin to the argument that Sioux players are older (remember DeBus and Woog, the 25 and 26 year old Gophers?) Know your facts before you spout off, particularly on a Sioux message board. I agree he wasn't a traitor just a pr***k. I'll never forget when he and Taffe were shooting pucks into the Sioux fans intentionally trying to hurt people during their warm-ups of the opening game of the Ralph. What a couple of losers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commodore Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I agree he wasn't a traitor just a pr***k. I'll never forget when he and Taffe were shooting pucks into the Sioux fans intentionally trying to hurt people during their warm-ups of the opening game of the Ralph. What a couple of losers. I have an incredibly hard time believing that any college hockey player would intentionally try to injure a fan by shooting a puck into the stands. It aggravates me that you'd make this accusation. If GP and JT were doing this, they'd be seen by hundreds of fans as well as officials, media, and building staff. There's no way it would have gone unmentioned. If anything, they may have been flipping pucks over the glass so kids could pick one up. What a bunch of BS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I was not there so I cannot comment on that one. I can't see Poyulny doing that but I would not put it past Taffe. He was an a**hole. One of my most disliked Goofers of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I was not there so I cannot comment on that one. I can't see Poyulny doing that but I would not put it past Taffe. He was an a**hole. One of my most disliked Goofers of all time. Reports on local TV last night here in Minneapolis (Kare 11) saying Vanek is all but gone - Buffalo bound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFSIOUX#1 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Reports on local TV last night here in Minneapolis (Kare 11) saying Vanek is all but gone - Buffalo bound. Gophers will be better off without him. Much like the days when he was in Sioux Falls, he was a cancer to the team. Sad to see when guys have all the talent in the world and they don't apply themselves and play when they want to play. He was the Gophers version of the Super Freak (Randy Moss). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 "Potulny, who was drafted in the fifth round by Ottawa in 2000" ... "signed a one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday." So Ottawa only signed him to a one-year deal? One could read that a lot of ways. I'll choose to read it as Ottawa isn't looking at signing forwards to big deals right now. That makes me a happy because I know who else Ottawa has draft rights to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 If this is true, and I think it is a matter of when he signs not if he signs, this will even the playing field with us losing ZP. If we do not lose anymore players the Sioux will be favorites to win the league again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 If this is true, and I think it is a matter of when he signs not if he signs, this will even the playing field with us losing ZP. If we do not lose anymore players the Sioux will be favorites to win the league again. Actually I think it tilts the field towards the Sioux. Vanek was far and away UM's leading point getter this past year. Bo and ZPar pretty much split the leading point totals for the Sioux....50% coming back next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I am not here to defend Vanek, but if I were a Gopher fan (ack) I would fondly remember Vanek's tenure with MN. He hoisted that team onto his shoulders in 2002-03 and brought them a national title. IMO, he was the single most important reason that team won the title (honorable mention to Potulny, Weber and PMart). Let's see ... two years, one national title, one year where he seemed to play below his sky-high potential. I would take that on my team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFSIOUX#1 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I am not here to defend Vanek, but if I were a Gopher fan (ack) I would fondly remember Vanek's tenure with MN. He hoisted that team onto his shoulders in 2002-03 and brought them a national title. IMO, he was the single most important reason that team won the title (honorable mention to Potulny, Weber and PMart). Let's see ... two years, one national title, one year where he seemed to play below his sky-high potential. I would take that on my team. I would take a Parise type of player any day of the week over a Vanek type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I would take a Parise type of player any day of the week over a Vanek type. I would as well...unless hockey was suddenly only played on the offensive side of the ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streakygopher Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Gophers will be better off without him. Much like the days when he was in Sioux Falls, he was a cancer to the team. Response #1: You must know Taffe personally, huh? If not, can't imagine why you call him an a$$hole...or is just that he was a fantastic player? Response #2: That "cancer" as you describe him was the NCAA tournament MVP last year...what UND wouldn't give to have a "cancer" like that this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I still think jk's point is valid. I wouldn't have kicked Vanek off the team, would you? Sure, his effort was tilted to the offensive zone but the guy was a machine offensively. And his play last year was a very significant reason MN won a repeat championship. Say what you want he was a heck of a player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Bottom line though is Vanek has a ring and Parise does not. I agree that I would take a Parise type player (relies on talent and hard work) over Vanek (relies on natural talent). However Vanek led the Goofs to the promised land and Parise could not. I would have to say Vanek had the more fulfilling college career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFSIOUX#1 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Go read some threads on POI that talk about Vanek. Basically, to sum them up, some (not all) are saying that he needs to take his game somewhere else because he is not a two way player, plays when he wants to play etc... I agree he is a tremendous hockey player with a huge upside but the fact of the matter remains he plays when he wants to play. That is what I meant as a "cancer " to the team. Perhaps college hockey is not challenging enough for him and he needs to go to the next level. It ain't all about the end result in winning a national title - you need to be a great team and you need to have some luck along the way to win the national title. To win the WCHA you need to have a great team over the season when the "luck" factor is far less. To say the ZP's career was less fulfilling than Vanek's is a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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