The Commodore 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. Regardless of whether or not Taffe and Potulny were/are jerks, shooting pucks into groups of fans with deliberate intention to injure is a criminal act. I was at the opening game and walked in when the doors opened. I didn't see anything like this. Keep in mind this game is also after the girl in Columbus was killed by an errant puck. If they had been doing that during warmups, someone would have seen it and there would have been hell to pay. Debate all you want about their personalities, but don't accuse them of intending to injure fans. Incidentally, I'm surprised if you believe they actually did this that you woudl only call them "p**cks" or "a$$holes," rather than criminals. And it's also strange that the first mention of these incidents comes 2 full seasons after the fact. Give me a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavedurtis 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. 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). The Don wants him to stay, Ill take his opinion over yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 The Don wants him to stay, Ill take his opinion over yours. I'm sure "The Don" wanted Taffe to stay as well. I'm sure Dean wanted Bayda and Lundbohm and Roche and Parise to stay. Get the point? To quote the great sage Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohl 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. Half of UND teams have always been for minnesota (usually the northern kids) but I was incorrect in saying the other half was from canada(some are). North Dakota as a state is producing better players every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I'll go on record as saying that Vanek's offensive style would be attractive in a Sioux uniform, but I'll guarantee you I'd be just as hard on him about his defensive play if he were a Sioux. I've seen a LOT of defensive breakdowns since I started going to Sioux hockey games in 1995. Defense is as large a part of Blais's game as offense is. I can't be a solid fan of Vanek because he is nonexistant defensively. All he does is skate around and hope he gets lucky, like he did in the Final Five chapionship game. Lucky positioning plus a mistake by Greene gave him a goal. I for one will never tell anyone that hitting Vanek wide open in front of the net will not produce in either A) an easy goal or B) the Save of the night. But saying ZPar didn't do what Vanek did is one thing, but know this: If ZPar doesn't get sent down to the AHL and NJD wins the Stanley Cup, ZPar COULD get a ring. And that is something Vanek hasn't done yet. And seeing Buffalo, it could take a while for him to get even close. On that note, I'm curious: Is Zach actually named to the Devils roster or is he just in a sort of limbo? ZPar did as much or more than Vanek in his two years in college, folks. Vanek just happened to be the last ingredient to a championship team. I do not think that Vanek was the key to the Gopher's repeat NC. I believe the entire team was responsible. They clicked well, jumped on the puck extraordinarily well, and faced a Hockey East team that (some could argue) was a fluke to get to the game. UMN was just a BETTER TEAM than anyone else that year. It didnt come down to just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streakygopher Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Vanek just happened to be the last ingredient to a championship team. I do not think that Vanek was the key to the Gopher's repeat NC. I believe the entire team was responsible. They clicked well, jumped on the puck extraordinarily well, and faced a Hockey East team that (some could argue) was a fluke to get to the game. UMN was just a BETTER TEAM than anyone else that year. It didnt come down to just one. The argument that hockey is a team game is as sound as it comes. Last year's MN team did have the right ingredients for a repeat NC team; however, I give Vanek much credit for his three INDIVIDUAL efforts: The GWG against Michigan, the GWG against UNH (University of No Hardware) and his sensational rush that led to Waibel's goal (third of game and clincher). All that said, I gotta give just as much credit to Weber throughout the tournament, Paul Martin (diving save against Michigan)...yep, it's a team game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 STOP IT!! STOP IT!! STOP IT!! STOP IT!!!..... THIS THREAD IS ABOUT CONGRATULATING GRANT POTUNLY ON SIGNING WITH THE OTTAWA SENATORS AND WISHING HIM LUCK IN THE NHL. THIS IS NOT A PARISE VS. VANEK/VANEK IS LAZY/UND HAS 25 YEAR OLD CANADIANS PLAYING FOR THEM THREAD...CHRIST PEOPLE...GET A GRIP. And yes, I meant to yell Congrats and good luck Grant!!!! Redwing...ZPar is back in Grand Forks, to finnish the semester. He will not play on the Devils this year...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavedurtis Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I'm sure "The Don" wanted Taffe to stay as well. I'm sure Dean wanted Bayda and Lundbohm and Roche and Parise to stay. Get the point? To quote the great sage Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." I was responding to the charge that the Gophers "will be better off without" Vanek. Ill take Lucia's opinion of him over SFSIOUX#1. I would agree that the Sioux will be better off without Vanek on the Gophers. Back to topic, best wishes to Grant. He scored many huge playoff goals in college and I hope he scores them in the NHL too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 My fault for mentioning the report Vanek was about to leave. Just passing on what I saw last night on the 10 o'clock news here in the cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandman Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I went to school with Grant from elentary through high school. He was cool with me and I hope he has a successful career. I was not the best hockey player by any means (in fact I think I sucked) but I only played until Bantams and I was on one of Grants teams (peewee) and he was always cool, slow back then but always in the right place in the right time as he is nowadays. Another pro player that I played with back then was David Tanabe, he was a prick thinking his s**t didn't stink. He didn't have many friends probobly because he didn't want or need them obviously since he was so good at hockey. Its kinda cool that I played with a pro at one point but at least now I can be happy for the person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I hope things go well for Grant. It's great to see GF kids making it big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petey23 Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Good Luck to Grant pOTULNY. He might not be pretty out there and I am not sure if he has NHL skills, but if hard work and determination still count for anything he will do fine. And oh yeah, he is a kid who usually ends up on the winning team. A lot of talent around him, sure. But We sioux fans have witnessed this year that talent alone does not always win National titles and Grant has 2. Bottom line, he is a winner and a leader and given the right opportunity he can produce in the nhl. One more thing, I know it was a couple years ago, but I seem to remember the puck shooting incident to have taken place in St. Cloud?? And not sure about Potulny, but Taffe, from all accounts was an a$$hole on and off the ice and the Gophers were not that sorry to see him leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC_transplant Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 but Taffe, from all accounts was an a$$hole on and off the ice and the Gophers were not that sorry to see him leave. Which accounts would those be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 I'm not so sure that GOPHER fans were happy to see him leave. But I'd say no one outside of the Twin Cities shed many tears. If player's attitudes mattered more than stats, then Caldwell would never have gotten any awards. Ballard wouldn't either. Taffe's attitude was irrlelvent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC_transplant Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 If player's attitudes mattered more than stats, then Caldwell would never have gotten any awards. Ballard wouldn't either. The Sioux would've swept the awards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 The Sioux would've swept the awards? Where did he say that..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Where did he say that..... Thanx MNS No, TC. I highly doubt the Sioux would sweep the awards. As much as I think Greene and Jones deserve recognition, I don't think they would have taken Ballard and Caldwell's place. Those teams favor offensive defesnemen. Greene certainly isn't in that category. Neither really is Jones, but only because of how the pairings are run. I think Jones could be an offensive dman with practice. But he is more of a defensive dman as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNDvince97-01 Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 In my opinion, all Grand Forks sioux fans should wish Grant nothing but the best in the future. Yes, he played for the Gophers, so what. He's a GF kid at heart. It's not his fault that UND didn't recruit him, and sioux fans should not hold that against him. He actually was at a UND football game this fall cheering for the sioux (he probably wouldnt admit it publicly). I've known Grant since we were teenagers. He is a quality person and a class act, as is his brother, Ryan. I dont know if many people know this, but their father, Jay, was also a multi-sport athlete at UND. Grant will be remembered in U of M hockey lore as the first non-Minnesotan in a long time who led and captained his team to 2 national titles and brought them back to national prominence that hadn't been seen in a long time there. I believe that he brought the leadership that maybe was needed and was lacking before. I just think we should wish all GF kids the best, no matter what school they attend. That's just how I feel and is my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertrex Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I agree with you. Plus, isn't Bocheski going to join Grant is a year or so??? Or am I thinking of someone else??? And watch out for Ryan. He is alot faster on his skates and seems to get himself in the right place at the right time - that must be in the gene pool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermit Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I don't know anything about Ryan Caldwell's attitude, but I have been extremely impressed with his play on the ice all year. He is a difference maker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandman Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 But We sioux fans have witnessed this year that talent alone does not always win National titles and Grant has 2. Bottom line, he is a winner and a leader and given the right opportunity he can produce in the nhl. Does anybody else think that Grant has the Midas Touch? Besides his two national titles, he won three consecutive state titles and two national bantam titles. I don't know what he did in the USHL but I think thats good on a resume to be classified as a winner. Right? Anybody I've talked to in GF says Ryan has more skills than Grant but that doesn't mean he knows how to win like Grant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 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. So it's NOT about winning a National title? It's about winning the WCHA (I assume you mean regular season and not playoffs ) Don't kid yourself, every Sioux player on the roster would trade a regular season title for a National title. As far as being a cancer to the team... You have now lost your credibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 This thread is about Grant Potulny signing with Ottawa...not "Thomas Vanek is a cancer" Supertrex, yes, Ottawa has Bochenski's draft rights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.