Fighting Sioux #1 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Interesting article from Friday's Minnesota Hockey Journal website.... http://www.minnesotahockeyjournal.com/ It's listed under "Quick Facts"....subtitled "Quick Speculation".....WHICH IS IT ?!?!? "Thomas Vanek will not return to the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team this fall. While much has been said about him playing in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings, the team that drafted him, Vanek is much more likely to sit out the season or play in Europe than play in the WHL, even if it grants him free agency. Playing as an overager in the WHL is considered by most in Canada to be an embarassement, and the calibre of play is not a step up for Vanek. Should he bide his time overseas look for him to play in either the Deutsche Eishockey Liga or the Czech Extraliga. The Austrian league, while increasing in talent, is not an option for Vanek. While Buffalo may have recently increased their offer to the Gopher forward, it will still not be sufficient unless it reaches the level of the contracts signed by Ryan Whitney and Keith Ballard, also number 5 picks in the NHL Entry Draft. Buffalo is said to not be willing to tender such a contract. What Vanek's camp is hoping for is that another team willing to sign him for his desired amount will step forward and offer the Sabres a trade for Vanek's rights. For the Sabres, they have little hope of ever seeing Vanek in a Buffalo uniform if they stick to their frugal budget, so the best option for them could be a trade. However, teams are unlikely to make such a move until the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place. Should Vanek end up playing overseas look for some additional movement on the trade front after the new CBA is in place. Any contract he signs overseas will have an "out" clause should he receive the NHL offer he is seeking." Quote
DMT Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Most Gopher fans have given up hope on seeing Vanek with the M on his chest this year. Quote
siouxhockey5 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Ive Heard that he is skating on a line with Ryan Potulney. And that info. was given by another Potulney, just what Ive heard from some people. SiouxHockey5 Quote
Goon Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Ive Heard that he is skating on a line with Ryan Potulney. And that info. was given by another Potulney, just what Ive heard from some people. SiouxHockey5 So what is the deal, is he staying or going. If Vanek goes I think UofM will have a bare cupboard. Quote
U2Bad1 Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Ive Heard that he is skating on a line with Ryan Potulney. Quote
WPoS Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 So what is the deal, is he staying or going. If Vanek goes I think UofM will have a bare cupboard. Goon, Goon, Goon, you can THINK that all you want, but you KNOW that isn't true.... I'd say we'll bee about as bare as your upper cabinets... WPoS Quote
cfm567b27 Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 It is only about 7 weeks away from the Oct series. Let the jousting begin. Quote
Sioux-per Villain Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 So what is the deal, is he staying or going. If Vanek goes I think UofM will have a bare cupboard. What I hear from my MN buddies is that the team doesn't really want him back. With their highly impressionable youthful squad, they'd prefer to not have his bad attitude (Mientkiewicz like) in the locker room this season and they feel the team would be better without him. Like the Sioux, they'll need to replace a great deal of scoring, but with their diminished defense, look for them to be no better than middle of the pack in the WCHA. Unfortunately, they do have a cream-puff schedule which will likely get them into the West Regional hosted by Mariucci Arena. Quote
sagard Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Unfortunately, they do have a cream-puff schedule which will likely get them into the West Regional hosted by Mariucci Arena. We all know the Gophers will suck and the Sioux will rule, but don't cry about Mariucci hosting regionals. The Sioux would be very lucky to get seeded there all things considered. The toughest draw would be a thin Gophers team, but compared to going to Van Andel or out east the Sioux would be far better off coming down to Mariucci. Not to mention the fact that next year the roles will be reversed and the Sioux will have a very young team hosting an NCAA regional. Quote
jloos Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 After realizing they are not going to get signed, both Vanek and Bochenski will be forced to play in the Bulgarian Hockey League for 500 rubles a month. Quote
sprig Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 We all know the Gophers will suck and the Sioux will rule, At least one gopher fan gets it right Quote
The Sicatoka Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 jloos: The Bulgars are off the ruble. They use the leva. (About 1.62 of those to the US sawbuck. ) As far as losing scoring, UND is losing a lot. If Vanek goes Minnesota will have lost even more than UND. But in either case (Vanek returning or not) UND will return more scoring. Quote
skateshattrick Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Both the Sioux and the Gophers will be solid this year. If Vanek is back, Minnesota has to be a favorite. If he does not, they will still be top 5 or 6 along with UMD, CC, Wisconsin, UND and possibly Denver. The Sioux looked like a favorite even after losing Parise and Blais. The loss of Bochenski will hurt, and there appears to be parity at the top of the league. The same is true of Vanek. Allegations of poor attitude aside, he is very talented and is a difference maker. If they lose him, they lose a lot of scoring and may have to rely more on defense. However, the cupboard is not bare. They still have Potulny, Irmen, Tallackson (incredible talent if he ever becomes consistent), Hirsch, Guyer and some very talented freshmen in Chucko, Howe and Gordon. Much like the Sioux, the Gophers usually reload. To expect anything less is not realistic. Quote
dagies Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Both the Sioux and the Gophers will be solid this year. If Vanek is back, Minnesota has to be a favorite. If he does not, they will still be top 5 or 6 along with UMD, CC, Wisconsin, UND and possibly Denver. The Sioux looked like a favorite even after losing Parise and Blais. The loss of Bochenski will hurt, and there appears to be parity at the top of the league. The same is true of Vanek. Allegations of poor attitude aside, he is very talented and is a difference maker. If they lose him, they lose a lot of scoring and may have to rely more on defense. However, the cupboard is not bare. They still have Potulny, Irmen, Tallackson (incredible talent if he ever becomes consistent), Hirsch, Guyer and some very talented freshmen in Chucko, Howe and Gordon. Much like the Sioux, the Gophers usually reload. To expect anything less is not realistic. I agree pretty much with everything here. I maybe don't consider Vanek the difference between 5th or 6th and 1st but that's splitting hairs. All I remember is that Blais thought he had a rebuilding year in 2000 and won the national championship that season. The gophers always have enough talent to be scary. Most teams would like to have their "reloading" year. Quote
NorthDakotaHockey Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 The Gophers can only hope that Vanek will be gone, as the Sioux are lucky that Bochenski hit the dusty, and I do mean dusty, trail. Each would, or will, be like a cancer in their respective locker rooms. Saw that from Vanek last year even. Both teams will be better teams without these so-called superstars skating for them this year. Sure, some of you may holler on this one. Truth be told, both heads have become much too big for their britches. Both gave their fans some great memories. I would have no problem seeing Fat Tom back with the Goophies this year. He'd be even less of a team guy than he was last year. Pass the stats sheet, would ya? Quote
schmidtdoggydog Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Although the Gophers always seem to find a way they are most certainly not immune to a down season. If Vanek returns I do believe they will be one of the favorites as he is a difference maker. Without him they will battle for home ice, in my opinion. The reason I say this is not just because they lost a lot of scoring, but more importantly, they lost A LOT of leadership - Ballard, Potulny, Koalska, Riddle, et al. Those guys were the undisputed leaders of the team for the last couple of years and good leadership is paramount if a team is going to be successful in the WCHA. Combine that with a very young team (great incoming class, but young nonetheless) and there are bound to be struggles. Of course they have reloaded, but there will bumps along the way this season, in my opinion. There are always comments on this board from Gopher fans about our Kelly Green glasses, but for those to say that the Gophers will be solid just because they are the Gophers is not only arrogant, but possibly a myopic view through Maroon and Gold glasses. It cracks me up because I can already hear the comments regarding UND's 2005-06 season from Gopher fans following the upcoming season - UND lost a lot of leadership and they are going to struggle, UND has a good class of freshmen coming in but freshmen don't usually fair well in this league and they are going to struggle, the NCAA is just taking care of UND by giving them a regional during what could be a down season. Mark my words, POI will be buzzing a year from now with similar comments, but how dare others say those same about the Gophers this season. btw, WPoS, I believe UND's goaltenders set, or nearly set, last season the record for lowest goals against average in the history of the WCHA. That being the case, feel free to bag on the goaltender rotation, but it worked and worked well, and the numbers Brandt and Parise posted were pretty dang good! Quote
The Sicatoka Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Minnesota's issues? - Defensemen (Harrington, Vannelli, Stevens, Kennedy, MacKinnon, Atherton, and freshmen aren't a deeply defensive-minded and experienced group; Taylor bolting hurt the toughness in front.) - Loss of leadership (Grant Potulny, Riddle, Koalska, Ballard) North Dakota's issues? - Leadership on-ice and "in The Room" - New coaching staff (sort of, new roles and a new face) Quote
sagard Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 It cracks me up because I can already hear the comments regarding UND's 2005-06 season from Gopher fans following the upcoming season - UND lost a lot of leadership and they are going to struggle, UND has a good class of freshmen coming in but freshmen don't usually fair well in this league and they are going to struggle, the NCAA is just taking care of UND by giving them a regional during what could be a down season. Mark my words, POI will be buzzing a year from now with similar comments, but how dare others say those same about the Gophers this season. I didn't mean to imply that you can look disparagingly at the Gophers this year, I certainly looked at the '01-'02 Sioux with little reguard. As for season outlooks, offensive production can be replaced a lot easier than defense. Although special players like Parise/Vanek/Bochenski are not easily replaced. The Gophers have to replace both offense and defense and are extremely unproven. That said, I don't see five WCHA teams better than them. UND, UMD and maybe UW. Pretty even with DU and CC. The scary part for me is that the Gophers will not have the ability to absorb any of the injuries that are part of the game. Also it is unknown whether or not JJ will return to his role of adequate backup like he played in '02. For the Sioux, you all get to sit back and enjoy the ride. I don't see anyway they will be less than a top two WCHA team (my pick to win the league) and likely a top seed at Mariucci for the regional. If the Gophers can qualify, maybe we will get the quarterfinal we missed out on in '03. The only team that the NCAA will ever take care of is the HockeyEast champ. They will no doubt be isolated from any decent WCHA tourney teams until the inevitible whipping at seasons end. Quote
WPoS Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 btw, WPoS, I believe UND's goaltenders set, or nearly set, last season the record for lowest goals against average in the history of the WCHA. That being the case, feel free to bag on the goaltender rotation, but it worked and worked well, and the numbers Brandt and Parise posted were pretty dang good! yah, but that was with a cream puff schedule! I just think in the long run the rotating goalies hurt your post season play more than anything else. W/O the top dog ready for end season games by knowing he is the go-to-guy, it seem that inevitably they end up losing that critcal game. Case in point, the loss at the X last spring...IMO at some point you got to pick your boy and let him play the games. WPoS Quote
Diggler Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Well it isn't Parise's fault that UND didn't score a goal against Denver. At least not Jordan Parise's fault. If UND would've lost a high scoring game, then maybe you are right. But when they get shutout, who knows. Quote
sprig Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Back to Vanek, Lucia was on KFAN this afternoon, said he was meeting with Vanek tomorrow morning, and should know by week's end what his plans are. Quote
sagard Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Back to Vanek, Lucia was on KFAN this afternoon, said he was meeting with Vanek tomorrow morning, and should know by week's end what his plans are. I guess I didn't really think there was a chance Vanek would actually return. After hearing Lucia, there may be a chance albeit a small one. Despite what some say about chemistry (both Sioux and Gopher fans) I think the Gophers are a better team with Vanek. I think they are 8-10 points back of the WCHA champ either way, but having Vanek would give them a lot better chance of pulling off an upset in the NCAAs. Quote
DMT Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Despite what some say about chemistry (both Sioux and Gopher fans) I think the Gophers are a better team with Vanek. I think they are 8-10 points back of the WCHA champ either way, but having Vanek would give them a lot better chance of pulling off an upset in the NCAAs. I agree. Same being said about Bochenski You can't lose players of that caliber and say that you are better off. Quote
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