2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[ND_Texan]

11 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Smartest thing Johnson could ever do is stay. A lot of minutes up for grabs next year. Hopefully it’s not a locker room issue. Doesn’t make sense for Moore to get all of these starts…

Wholeheartedly agree. His year has been clouded by a bad injury. Could never get on a roll. There's nowhere better to pursue his career than where he's at now. Some hard work in the off season and, as someone mentioned, some focused coaching will do wonders. I still think he has a good future at UND.

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Adam’s sat a lot because of his defense as a freshman and sophomore but sure turned it on after that. I hope Johnson stays and becomes a big part of # 9

[tnt]

25 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Some of the things Moore has done in the defensive zone this year. You either have it, or you don’t. He ain’t got it.

So then does that hold for Johnson as well?  Moore had a good year last year.

[ND_Texan]

11 minutes ago, tnt said:

So then does that hold for Johnson as well?  Moore had a good year last year.

I think the big difference is Moore hasn’t suffered a setback from serious injury. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Players should sit for poor perfomance not one single mistake , players need to play loose and not worry if they make a mistake they will get benched and we have seen this season some players are held accountable and some are not and some are way more scruntinized. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Just now, ND_Texan said:

I think the big difference is Moore hasn’t suffered a setback from serious injury. 

Need Johnson suffer an injury this year?

[tnt]

46 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Phenomenal question…I’ve honestly never seen anything like this before.

I mean I remember when Wolanin used to sit as an underclassmen so shaw could play (which used to garner plenty of eye rolls)…but this is straight wacky.

Which makes me wonder if this is strictly a hockey decision. If his last game was an exhibition game, I find it strange he hasn’t at the least been the extra skater since many of the defensemen have had issues.  

[tnt]

3 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

I think the big difference is Moore hasn’t suffered a setback from serious injury. 

When was the setback?  The injury was before he came here.  

[ND_Texan]

10 minutes ago, tnt said:

When was the setback?  The injury was before he came here.  

He was injured the first half of this season. Remember he had a season ending shoulder injury his last season with Sioux Falls in 2021. I hope that doesn’t continue to nag him. 

[siouxforce19]

7 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

He was injured the first half of this season. 

Huh? Who are we talking about? Bast was the only defenseman that missed significant time due to injury in the first half. 

[tnt]

Just now, siouxforce19 said:

Huh? Who are we talking about? Bast was the only defenseman that missed significant time due to injury in the first half. 

Was wondering, because I only recall him as a healthy scratch.  

[ND_Texan]

12 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Huh? Who are we talking about? Bast was the only defenseman that missed significant time due to injury in the first half. 

You hadn’t heard? A very well kept secret. 

[scpa0305]

2 hours ago, ND_Texan said:

I think the big difference is Moore hasn’t suffered a setback from serious injury. 

 I’ve honestly wondered if this was the case…one of the only plausible reasons 

[Irish]

5 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

Schloss does a good job…he’s more of a marketing tool though.  He isn’t going to press hard like a journalist covering an NHL team.

Im actually fine with that. We really don’t need negative press right now. I’ve heard indirectly/directly from one brother of a high end recruit and one dad of a higher end recruit that there is risk going the UND route. We need to keep the press positive and keep pulling in talent 

This worries me - what kind of risk?

[ND_Texan]

7 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

 I’ve honestly wondered if this was the case…one of the only plausible reasons 

If you followed the Carlos Correa injury story you’ll understand. 

[Big A HG]

6 minutes ago, Irish said:

This worries me - what kind of risk?

 

Playing a brand of hockey that doesn't lend itself to improving your draft stock among mediocre players and a mediocre head coach.  Remember, we want culture kids only here now.

[Goon]

3 hours ago, brianvf said:

I think most of us would be shocked if he doesn't enter the portal.  But if he for some reason stayed to get a ton of ice time next season, I'd be all for it.

I would be highly shocked if he was here next season. 

[scpa0305]

4 minutes ago, Goon said:

I would be highly shocked if he was here next season. 

Well he’s either 100% injured or 100% leaving…if it were both be more confused than ever 

[Wilbur]

The part that sucks is that they let Morrow walk to bring in Johnson, and it hasn't worked out with Johnson obviously.  That's life, it happens, we were on the wrong side of the coaches' gut feeling on something.

If we were top three in the NCHC and a playoff lock it's not as big of an issue.  We all know the current state of things though.  

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

56 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

The part that sucks is that they let Morrow walk to bring in Johnson, and it hasn't worked out with Johnson obviously.  That's life, it happens, we were on the wrong side of the coaches' gut feeling on something.

If we were top three in the NCHC and a playoff lock it's not as big of an issue.  We all know the current state of things though.  

A guy I skate with is a UMass fan and said Morrow regressed this year. I don't think he'd be the solution for our current defensive woes.

[Irish]

13 hours ago, Big A HG said:

 

Playing a brand of hockey that doesn't lend itself to improving your draft stock among mediocre players and a mediocre head coach.  Remember, we want culture kids only here now.

Any indication Berry is aware of this and has an inclination to change - because if not we could be in real trouble.

 

[AJS]

I feel a bit like some of the Football posters, where everything coming from them is negative. I can't imagine it's fun to post and I know it's not fun to read it. Same complaints over and over. I am going to pivot a bit. This being the 2023-24 thread. I do like the potential. Of the returners, freshman class, if necessary, a small impactful group of portal guys.

This might sound overly dramatic, but I think this is the most important offseason UND has had in a long time. The moves that we'll see will show if Berry "gets it" or he doesn't. Some things I'm going to watch closely.

• Portal (Exits):
  • # 6: Going to happen, so not going to dwell on it. 
  • #32: Needs to happen. This would be Berry making a tough decision. The caveat here being if they are planning on carrying 4 Goalies. #32 cannot be the #2 goalie next year.
  • #5 / #11: Guys looking for playing time. More depth guys. Hope they stay, but also wouldn't signal a huge issue if they left
  • ANYBODY ELSE: Specifically looking at 18, 21, 24, 29. This would tell me that communication was broken between the player and Coaching staff. They should have large rolls next year. This would be an indication that Berry doesn't "get it". 
• 5th Years:
  • #15: Important guy to return.
  • #28: Only if the decision was between him and going into the portal (for a player of his caliber). I would rather see 18, 21, 29 fill his spot as they could do that. This was a crucial misstep this past off season of the Coaching staff. I will never understand bringing back a player whose roll is easy filled by other guys already on roster. 
  • #13. Under no circumstance 

 

What's my hope? That UND is a program where young talent goes to develop. What's my fear? That this turns into a less successful version of Mankato. By that I mean the older the player the better. That this past year was just a speed bump and the players believe in this coaching staff. Especially the young talented ones that myself and others felt maybe didn't get the same shake as others. I'll be concerned if young talent leaves. You see those spots filled by lets be honest, average 5th years or Band-Aids from the Portal that were brought in, because the staff didn't have enough Freshman who were ready. I'm not anti-portal, I think it's important when used in certain situations. I'm very anti-portal when it's done because there wasn't foresight by the coaching staff (i.e. the defensive additions this year). 

Will be an interesting few weeks once this season ends.  

[AJS]

18 hours ago, Oxbow6 said:

29 couldn't crack lineup for weeks now he's in and playing well.

18.....in and out. He's flat out skilled. Zero rope.

21 was a difference maker almost every night he played.....in one game in last 6.

26 is a flat out top 6 talent but was buried for weeks.

22 was the best forward Friday then slides down to the 4th line

The grace given to players on this team is far from equal......and unfortunately that's IMO why this team has no margin of error from here on out to make the NCAA

Would this be a fair statement. I don't know why it just recently clicked. The start of the year went so sideways that Berry started coaching scared. What I mean by that is his roster decisions became more and more focused on who he felt was less likely to make a mistake on any given shift. What does that mean? More minutes to more experienced players. Low risk / Low reward became really important. 

Look at this years Sophomore class. They might have the worst developmental curve of any class in the history of college hockey from Freshman to Sophomore year. 

This year really is a shame. The name of the game wasn't who has a higher ceiling or even who the better player is, it was who is less likely to make a mistake. Low risk / Low reward.  

[Kevin G]

2 hours ago, AJS said:

Would this be a fair statement. I don't know why it just recently clicked. The start of the year went so sideways that Berry started coaching scared. What I mean by that is his roster decisions became more and more focused on who he felt was less likely to make a mistake on any given shift. What does that mean? More minutes to more experienced players. Low risk / Low reward became really important. 

Or to put it another way, it kinda seems like he's been coaching to not lose today, with less concern about developing guys for tomorrow or next weekend or next month.

So let me pose a question: Has the expectation of the coaching staff and the fanbase to compete for a national championship every year started to hinder the program's ability to develop talent? Because developing talent can result in losing (hopefully just briefly) and/or poor play, and whenever we lose or play poorly, all the boo birds and negative Nancys come out of the woodwork and start calling for the coach to be fired. 

[siouxforce19]

4 minutes ago, Kevin G said:

Or to put it another way, it kinda seems like he's been coaching to not lose today, with less concern about developing guys for tomorrow or next weekend or next month.

So let me pose a question: Has the expectation of the coaching staff and the fanbase to compete for a national championship every year started to hinder the program's ability to develop talent? Because developing talent can result in losing (hopefully just briefly) and/or poor play, and whenever we lose or play poorly, all the boo birds and negative Nancys come out of the woodwork and start calling for the coach to be fired. 

I think Berry needs to figure out a balance between developing the younger guys and still putting the most successful team on the ice. I have felt for a few years now that we have sacrificed development of some of our younger players in favor of borderline overplaying the veterans. It’s been going on before this season but I think people overlooked it because things were going relatively well.