2022-23 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[brianvf]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

Budy will be a Senior next year.

Yeah that’s what I thought as well but CHN has him listed as a Soph this year so I just went with that. 

[scpa0305]

14 hours ago, AJS said:

I don't like that Calder was the first piece to move out. I'm withholding overall judgement though until I see the next couple moves Berry makes.

I kind of agree, he started out well and cooled quite a bit but…there were players with much worse years than him that are still on the team. Plus it would be great to have his experience in the lineups. He either was told someone was taking his top six spot (and scholly $) or he wasn’t a great fit in the locker room. 

[scpa0305]

9 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Ya know, I believe Montgomery has another year of juniors eligibility.  Would it be the worst thing for him to head back to the USHL and get more game action than what he would get next season in Grand Forks?  

Absolutely should play ushl next year if he wants to extend his playing career. He’s on the bubble now so he should be doing whatever he can to extend this thing out. Play a year in Fargo (not sure how the rights work at this point).

[AJS]

I understand that they had different roles going into last year, but giving it more thought and after a year of watching Calder, maybe Hain coming back was what pushed Calder out. A healthy Hain production wise matches Calder, plus he’s a better overall player. 
 

Still stand by that I wish Calder wasn’t the first piece. They way I look at it we need a Senden comparison to enter as well as an additional player. If two more depth / bottom six guys enter the portal, then we’re in business.

[AJS]

Why I’m pushing the portal is four recruits currently in the top 25 in USHL points. I want those four on campus this fall. 

[jk]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

Why I’m pushing the portal is four recruits currently in the top 25 in USHL points. I want those four on campus this fall. 

I'm on board with not wanting to lose them. But what if the coaches think they're not ready to contribute in college? Perhaps in that case a player might be better served playing big minutes in the USHL for another year.  Not my call to make, thank goodness. 

[Wilbur]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

Absolutely should play ushl next year if he wants to extend his playing career. He’s on the bubble now so he should be doing whatever he can to extend this thing out. Play a year in Fargo (not sure how the rights work at this point).

Yeah, not sure how that works with who has his rights.  I think it would be big for his development if he's going to get a suit most nights.

[SiouxFanSince1990]

We can’t lose another solid recruit. James needs to come in. This year.

[AJS]

1 hour ago, jk said:

I'm on board with not wanting to lose them. But what if the coaches think they're not ready to contribute in college? Perhaps in that case a player might be better served playing big minutes in the USHL for another year.  Not my call to make, thank goodness. 

Not ready or not willing to make the truly tough decisions? That’s my concern right now with Berry. Calder or Blaisdell aren’t tough calls. They will find homes. Sending a guy like Budy is a tough decision, because there’s no guarantee he will. Getting James to campus this fall means sending two depth guys to the portal. Is James ready or will they try to push him back so that they don’t have to make a truly tough call? We’ll see.

[SIOUXELEVENS]

The game is winning and they get paid plenty to make those calls.

[jk]

Is the reluctance to make the tough call something you've heard? It sounds like pure speculation. 

[tnt]

3 hours ago, AJS said:

Why I’m pushing the portal is four recruits currently in the top 25 in USHL points. I want those four on campus this fall. 

I get what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree, but Griffin Ness was top 25 in scoring in the USHL as well, and Portz about top 30 in ppg.  Collin Adams was top 6 in the USHL in scoring, yet stayed another year and still didn’t transition well to college hockey.  The key word is transition, and there is no guarantee that players will transition well no matter their scoring prowess at the previous level.  That is why the coaches need to do their due diligence in figuring that out, because it may be better to hold on to some players that have transitioned and have started to figure out college hockey.  No doubt if we found a way to bring in Blake, McGlaughlin, Strinden, James and Spicer, we inevitably will be talking about needing more offense from a few of them a few years down the road.  That said, Blake just has the feel of someone who can help with his IQ and skill set, but you never know until he actually makes the transition.

[AJS]

1 hour ago, jk said:

Is the reluctance to make the tough call something you've heard? It sounds like pure speculation. 

It is pure speculation on my part. We’ll know though based on what happens over the next few weeks.

Edit: I will say though, the “what if it’s the case” does partially come from Yon / Johnson. I don’t think there’s been a guy that’s been pushed out that potentially wouldn’t find a spot elsewhere.

[AJS]

1 hour ago, tnt said:

I get what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree, but Griffin Ness was top 25 in scoring in the USHL as well, and Portz about top 30 in ppg.  Collin Adams was top 6 in the USHL in scoring, yet stayed another year and still didn’t transition well to college hockey.  The key word is transition, and there is no guarantee that players will transition well no matter their scoring prowess at the previous level.  That is why the coaches need to do their due diligence in figuring that out, because it may be better to hold on to some players that have transitioned and have started to figure out college hockey.  No doubt if we found a way to bring in Blake, McGlaughlin, Strinden, James and Spicer, we inevitably will be talking about needing more offense from a few of them a few years down the road.  That said, Blake just has the feel of someone who can help with his IQ and skill set, but you never know until he actually makes the transition.

I get your point, but James has nothing in common with Ness / Portz (both in last year of Juniors). Portz had a mediocre year that year as well, his good season was his second to last. Adam’s is closer, but James is a PPG guy as an 18 year old that will be a 2nd round pick this summer.

Adams did take a few years to produce, but his talent was evident his Sophomore year.

[tnt]

2 hours ago, AJS said:

I get your point, but James has nothing in common with Ness / Portz (both in last year of Juniors). Portz had a mediocre year that year as well, his good season was his second to last. Adam’s is closer, but James is a PPG guy as an 18 year old that will be a 2nd round pick this summer.

Adams did take a few years to produce, but his talent was evident his Sophomore year.

But isn’t that what this whole argument is all about — producing, not showing you have talent.  2 goals by Adams is what Ness had his second year.  I think that is the point why you bring back guys like Hain and Senden, because you know what you are going to get, at both ends of the ice, and fulfilling their roles.  We saw flashes of talent from Kunz this year but someone calls him a bust.  When you are a coach and have seen time and again how hard it is to be an impact player your first year, you probably lean to what you know you can expect and then figure that you will see the progression in guys like Kunz, Schmaltz, Portz and Johnson.

[SIOUXELEVENS]

I believe all four will be great players , Johnson will be a stud jr sr years. 

[SKondrashkin]

7 hours ago, AJS said:

I understand that they had different roles going into last year, but giving it more thought and after a year of watching Calder, maybe Hain coming back was what pushed Calder out. A healthy Hain production wise matches Calder, plus he’s a better overall player. 
 

Still stand by that I wish Calder wasn’t the first piece. They way I look at it we need a Senden comparison to enter as well as an additional player. If two more depth / bottom six guys enter the portal, then we’re in business.

 

I don't think Hain returning had anything to do with it.   Calder is a goalscoring top 2 line player.  With Calder we had 5 guys in realistic contention for those 4 wing positions; at least starting out.   Gaber, Costantini, Calder, Caulfield and Blake.   Maybe Calder realized he was on the outside looking in, and being a 24 y.o. transfer wanted a guaranteed top 2 line role.    

That said, I'd rather have Calder than, say, Caulfield.   Calder was quite good until his arm injury.  Caulfield has been the epitome of inconsistency and, to a degree,  lackadaisical play his entire career here.  Yea I get he's a home-town kid, but still.  

[franchise]

15 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

Absolutely should play ushl next year if he wants to extend his playing career. He’s on the bubble now so he should be doing whatever he can to extend this thing out. Play a year in Fargo (not sure how the rights work at this point).

Team would look a lot different if Adam Fantilli had come instead of Montgomery. 

[scpa0305]

On 4/9/2022 at 7:09 AM, AJS said:

I understand that they had different roles going into last year, but giving it more thought and after a year of watching Calder, maybe Hain coming back was what pushed Calder out. A healthy Hain production wise matches Calder, plus he’s a better overall player. 
 

Still stand by that I wish Calder wasn’t the first piece. They way I look at it we need a Senden comparison to enter as well as an additional player. If two more depth / bottom six guys enter the portal, then we’re in business.

We need skill and only that.

[scpa0305]

9 hours ago, franchise said:

Team would look a lot different if Adam Fantilli had come instead of Montgomery. 

Haha that’s right. In all seriousness…fantilli was too young coming into this past year.

[scpa0305]

20 hours ago, tnt said:

I get what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree, but Griffin Ness was top 25 in scoring in the USHL as well, and Portz about top 30 in ppg.  Collin Adams was top 6 in the USHL in scoring, yet stayed another year and still didn’t transition well to college hockey.  The key word is transition, and there is no guarantee that players will transition well no matter their scoring prowess at the previous level.  That is why the coaches need to do their due diligence in figuring that out, because it may be better to hold on to some players that have transitioned and have started to figure out college hockey.  No doubt if we found a way to bring in Blake, McGlaughlin, Strinden, James and Spicer, we inevitably will be talking about needing more offense from a few of them a few years down the road.  That said, Blake just has the feel of someone who can help with his IQ and skill set, but you never know until he actually makes the transition.

You have to look at age a bit too and how they play. I’m a self admitted stats/metrics guy through and through. But ness and portz did it as overagers. You have to trend it a bit. I actually like both ness and portz…but they probably won’t be overly productive until their upperclassman years (at best).

Guys like Blake/OM are putting up big number fairly young (especially on the PP), they should be nice by their soph years…hopefully sooner.

[AJS]

3 more points for Dylan James. 57 points now in 58 games. Tied for 11th in the USHL in goals.

[burd]

23 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

We need skill and only that.

Possession players are uncommon, but the best teams usually have one or two--guys who can maintain the puck in the offensive zone and not only score but disrupt defenses.   Doesn't have to be a Towes or Heatley.   Schmaltz and Boeser were, and though he wasn't at their level, even Kristo was.  

[jk]

It's too early for this, but thinking up front. You wouldn't normally start with a shutdown line, but that seems the most obvious so get it out of the way:

Jammer, Senden, Hain 

Top six in some combination:

Caulfield, Gaber, Schmaltz, Costantini, McLaughlin, Blake

The rest:

Albrecht, Ness, Portz, Kunz, Montgomery, Budy, Strinden

For that top 6 to work, Caulfield, Schmaltz and Costantini need to take a big step, and the two frosh have to be as advertised. That's asking a lot.  Alternatives at the top could be Kunz if he can gain a step, or James if he comes in.  That would allow someone like Costantini to move down, which could add some juice to the bottom of the lineup. 

At the bottom, a few of the names may not make it to Autumn, but what is left should be at least solid. 

Overall I feel good about the depth, but concerned about the top.  A lot of guys improved from the year before to last year.  If everyone can keep taking steps, the top could work out ok. 

[UND1983]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/another-top-10-ranking-shows-und-hockeys-consistency

I would hope so.