2022-23 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[The Sicatoka]

Just now, Dustin said:

Is this a hard rule, or unwritten rule?

Historic precedent. Not sure if it ever got codified. 

[brianvf]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/how-und-evolved-into-a-good-defensive-team

Quote

The coaching staff altered its defenseman usage, giving higher minutes to those who are better in their own end.

No player has seen a bigger increase in minutes than fifth-year senior transfer Ryan Sidorski.

Sidorski, who started the year as the presumed eighth defenseman, has been elevated to the top four.

Prior to Thanksgiving, Sidorski did not play more than 20 minutes once. He's done it seven times since. Sidorski's average ice time is up 4:42 per game since than Dec. 8.

"I'll be quite honest with you," Berry said. "When he entered the transfer portal and came here, we provided an opportunity and we just said, 'Hey, you know, it probably doesn't look like a great opportunity as far as the guys coming back here, but it's all up to you and your body of work and what you do in the course of a year.'

"Well, his body of work has been outstanding. He's exponentially grown his role because of what he's done. I think if you asked him early in the season, it would probably surprise him as well. Those are the stories you love to hear. I'm telling you, it pushes your group. Guys love him in the locker room only being here one year. He's added to our group and pushed the bar each and every day, not only for himself, but our team."

UND also has heavily increased Tyler Kleven's usage. He's playing 3:39 more per game since the weekend at St. Cloud State. Ethan Frisch (2:31) and Chris Jandric (1:10) were getting big minutes in the first half, but their minutes still increased.

The bigger reliance on the top four has led to decreased minutes for UND's third pair.

Cooper Moore is down 2:34 per game and Ty Farmer is down 3:59 since Dec. 8. Sophomore Brent Johnson has been cut out of the rotation altogether. He hasn't played since that early December weekend in St. Cloud.

Luke Bast started the season injured and didn't have a large enough sample size before Dec. 8.

 

[scpa0305]

We need to get schmaltz going a bit. Had so much promise heading into this year. Did he have pp time last year?

Also a bit shocked (now that I’m looking at it) on constantini. I didn’t realize how much his production had dried up prior to getting bench treatment. I wonder if there’s an injury. I’ve never seen production dry up that much.

[AJS]

20 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

We need to get schmaltz going a bit. Had so much promise heading into this year. Did he have pp time last year?

Also a bit shocked (now that I’m looking at it) on constantini. I didn’t realize how much his production had dried up prior to getting bench treatment. I wonder if there’s an injury. I’ve never seen production dry up that much.

Look at the Sophomore class as a whole. I've never seen anything remotely like it. It was a class I wasn't super high on coming in, but I thought they were pretty solid last year. By the end of the year completely outperformed my expectations. There's not a single one that took that next step, I would argue there's not one that is even performing at the level they were at last year. Pretty crazy that every single one is performing worse than last year. 

 

Edit: This is my concern with bringing in portal guys / 5th year guys. It really can hinder development for others. I just wish the rule of thumb was do not keep a guy for his 5th year when you have others on the roster that are more than capable of filling that position. Same with Portal guys.   

[The Sicatoka]

11 minutes ago, AJS said:

Edit: This is my concern with bringing in portal guys / 5th year guys. It really can hinder development for others. I just wish the rule of thumb was do not keep a guy for his 5th year when you have others on the roster that are more than capable of filling that position. Same with Portal guys.   

To your point, the defense this off-season could be a real conundrum. 

If we need five, we've kept 4, 24, and likely 15 (or less likely 25). You bring the five in the pipeline. 
If we need six, depending on the two left standing, you could bring in six from the pipeline or five and a portal.
If we need seven or (gasp) eight ... yeah, the portal is no longer an option, it's necessity. 

That's how I think the portal should be used: necessity. 

[burd]

6 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

 

That's how I think the portal should be used: necessity. 

Or, on the rare occasion, an opportunity that is too good to pass up.  

[The Sicatoka]

15 minutes ago, burd said:

Or, on the rare occasion, an opportunity that is too good to pass up.  

Key word: Rare. 

To me the portal could quickly become an addictive drug: Quick fix that makes you feel good short term but creates chronic problems. 

[stoneySIOUX]

Just now, The Sicatoka said:

Key word: Rare. 

To me the portal could quickly become an addictive drug: Quick fix that makes you feel good short term but creates chronic problems. 

I mean, we're talking about situations like next year where we need a goaltender as one of those rare situations, correct? 

[SiouxFanSince1990]

Defense will be an issue next year. It’s a guarantee.

[The Sicatoka]

Just now, stoneySIOUX said:

I mean, we're talking about situations like next year where we need a goaltender as one of those rare situations, correct? 

Goaltending is becoming what I fear: We keep going to the portal for a quick fix. 

How about we recruit and develop and get the goalie pipeline where it should be. I'll take another portal this year as we have no options, but I need to see the pipeline built back up. 

[The Sicatoka]

3 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Defense will be an issue next year. It’s a guarantee.

Tell me who we retain and I'll tell you if I agree. 

[skateshattrick]

6 minutes ago, burd said:

Or, on the rare occasion, an opportunity that is too good to pass up.  

Playing devil's advocate, UND has benefited from the portal. Westin Michaud, Connor Ford and Chris Jandric were very good and very necessary additions. Calder, Sidorski and Farmer have not been bad, and neither were Driscoll and DeRidder. Other schools have also done very well through the portal, and SCSU's pickup of Anhorn comes to mind. I don't think the portal is necessarily a bad thing, even though I don't like what has happened to Brent Johnson and some others. 

[stoneySIOUX]

3 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Goaltending is becoming what I fear: We keep going to the portal for a quick fix. 

How about we recruit and develop and get the goalie pipeline where it should be. I'll take another portal this year as we have no options, but I need to see the pipeline built back up. 

Yeah, I wasn't implying that we need to stop recruiting and developing the position. Definitely agree with you there. I'm speaking about next season.

7 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Defense will be an issue next year. It’s a guarantee.

To start, it'll be tough. But, we've got a couple really nice pieces coming in and if they grow up quick, it could become a strength. Anyway, I think we're on the wrong thread for this 

[Sweethockey]

With presumably all the new faces it will to start with, but I hope the level of competition between the youngsters for playing time helps accelerate their development. I hope the coaches push them early so we don't have to see them struggle past Christmas.

[Sweethockey]

3 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Yeah, I wasn't implying that we need to stop recruiting and developing the position. Definitely agree with you there. I'm speaking about next season.

To start, it'll be tough. But, we've got a couple really nice pieces coming in and if they grow up quick, it could become a strength. Anyway, I think we're on the wrong thread for this 

Beat me to it Stoney........

[SiouxFanSince1990]

6 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Tell me who we retain and I'll tell you if I agree. 

What’s stopping Frisch? He clearly loves it at the Ralph. Don’t see anyone aggressively signing him. I think he stays. Two freshmen defensemen will log heavy minutes next year, and with the liabilities of #4 and #6 as well.

[stoneySIOUX]

2 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

What’s stopping Frisch? He clearly loves it at the Ralph. Don’t see anyone aggressively signing him. I think he stays. Two freshmen defensemen will log heavy minutes next year, and with the liabilities of #4 and #6 as well.

He will command a lot as a free agent. I think people greatly underrate how good Frisch is. He's not gonna jump right into the NHL, but he's gonna have a lot of offers after this season. He's a very good skater, fantastic defensively, great vision and hockey sense, almost always in the right spot and has some good offensive skill. 

I think and REALLY hope he stays. If he does, he wears the C and is the team's most important overall player, IMO.

[scpa0305]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

Look at the Sophomore class as a whole. I've never seen anything remotely like it. It was a class I wasn't super high on coming in, but I thought they were pretty solid last year. By the end of the year completely outperformed my expectations. There's not a single one that took that next step, I would argue there's not one that is even performing at the level they were at last year. Pretty crazy that every single one is performing worse than last year. 

 

Edit: This is my concern with bringing in portal guys / 5th year guys. It really can hinder development for others. I just wish the rule of thumb was do not keep a guy for his 5th year when you have others on the roster that are more than capable of filling that position. Same with Portal guys.   

Agreed, good post. All these guys are still developing However whiffing on an entire class hurts bad. My curiosity is, to your point, how they did fairly well last year and tanked this year. None are on pp…most are in and out of the lineup other than schmaltz. Tough to develop when the leash is that short. 

[The Sicatoka]

7 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

He will command a lot as a free agent.

How Frisch (with his above average skating and right-shot*) wasn't drafted still baffles me. 

 

*About 2/3 of the NHL are left shots. 

[scpa0305]

4 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

He will command a lot as a free agent. I think people greatly underrate how good Frisch is. He's not gonna jump right into the NHL, but he's gonna have a lot of offers after this season. He's a very good skater, fantastic defensively, great vision and hockey sense, almost always in the right spot and has some good offensive skill. 

I think and REALLY hope he stays. If he does, he wears the C and is the team's most important overall player, IMO.

I do think he could really help this team next year while also continuing to develop individually in a much easier league than the A.  One area I slightly differ from you is his vision/O game. This is an area he can continue to get better at. Maybe quarterback a pp unit. I would say the same thing about kleven. There are definitely areas of his game that need work. Specially his O game if he’s going to try and play pro for the long haul. The NHL and AHL are not forgiving leagues. You want to be as polished as possible before going there because you may only get one shot…especially if you’re an undrafted player.

[brianvf]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/chris-jandric-is-among-the-countrys-top-scoring-defensemen

Quote

"With this transfer portal, you never know what you're going to get," Berry said. "At the end of the day, you're hoping that you get a very good player and an outstanding person that can add to your culture with outstanding character. He's done it. He's checked every box. We were fortunate enough to have him for two years. I wish he would have been here all four years of his career. I know he says that all the time as well."

NCAA's top defenseman scorers

1. Lane Hutson, Boston University, 44 points
2. Luke Hughes, Michigan, 42 points
3t. Mike Benning, Denver, 34 points
3t. Jake Livingstone, MSU-Mankato, 34 points
5. Chris Jandric, North Dakota, 33 points

Most points by UND defenseman since 2001-02

1. Andy Schneider, 2002-03, 41 points
2. Chay Genoway, 2010-11, 37 points
3t. Christian Wolanin, 2017-18, 35 points
3t. Brad Miller, 2008-09, 35 points
5. Chris Jandric, 2022-23, 33 points*
6t. Chay Genoway, 2008-09, 32 points
6t. Robbie Bina, 2006-07, 32 points

[SuhakiYeahYeah]

[Wilbur]

Blake is the first player at UND where I've seen the dad and the son both score a goal live.  Old man at old REA of course. 

[Irish]

9 hours ago, AJS said:

Look at the Sophomore class as a whole. I've never seen anything remotely like it. It was a class I wasn't super high on coming in, but I thought they were pretty solid last year. By the end of the year completely outperformed my expectations. There's not a single one that took that next step, I would argue there's not one that is even performing at the level they were at last year. Pretty crazy that every single one is performing worse than last year. 

 

Edit: This is my concern with bringing in portal guys / 5th year guys. It really can hinder development for others. I just wish the rule of thumb was do not keep a guy for his 5th year when you have others on the roster that are more than capable of filling that position. Same with Portal guys.   

Our program problems in a nutshell - you would think our "culture" would include steady improvement.  If we get the reputation of not being able to develop players we'd better strap in for a bumpy ride.

[SiouxFanSince1990]

8 hours ago, stoneySIOUX said:

He will command a lot as a free agent. I think people greatly underrate how good Frisch is. He's not gonna jump right into the NHL, but he's gonna have a lot of offers after this season. He's a very good skater, fantastic defensively, great vision and hockey sense, almost always in the right spot and has some good offensive skill. 

I think and REALLY hope he stays. If he does, he wears the C and is the team's most important overall player, IMO.

That’s all fine and dandy, but is it important for teams to get him signed now, or let him develop another year at the college level. I’m sure he has preferences on which organizations he’d like to play for.