2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[Blackheart]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

If you were doing final inspection check-out and the room smelled minty-fresh, you knew. 

 

Pretty sure minty fresh smell and Walsh Hall didn’t cross paths very often.

[The Sicatoka]

7 minutes ago, Blackheart said:

Pretty sure minty fresh smell and Walsh Hall didn’t cross paths very often.

The only "fresh" you'd commonly find around Walsh was "fresh Hell". 

Normally found on weekends in stairwells. 

[Kevin G]

12 hours ago, Kevin G said:

Agree. And as for the d-core, coach ‘em up!

 

11 hours ago, Irish said:

Who exactly has been coached up lately - this team has regressed in the off season

If next year's d-core is as young as we expect, then the gauntlet has been laid at the coaching staff's feet. Here you go, coaches, show us what you can do. The progress of next year's d-core should be a metric used to determine whether we've got the right staff in place.

[SiouxFanSince1990]

7 hours ago, AJS said:

This is one I’m watching. Will tell me a lot if Berry has learned or not. This is a clear case of someone who cannot come back. 

Albrecht was one of our best forwards the past few months. You need guy that will give you 100% every shift.

[SiouxFanSince1990]

Would it be a terrible idea to try and teach the defensive position to Judd for next season? I know that’s crazy, but could it work?

[AJS]

1 hour ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Albrecht was one of our best forwards the past few months. You need guy that will give you 100% every shift.

Coinciding with the team not being able to score? I don’t dislike either 13 or 28. I also believe you can easily have those two spots covered next year. I would rather see Emerson play than having to watch either one take up that roster spot. This team has talent, play them.
 

Recruit and develop. Really interested in this off-season. I’m sure those who want 13 & 28 back will get their wish. If it happens, it’ll be another step in the wrong direction for this program imo.

[dustnyou]

1 hour ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Would it be a terrible idea to try and teach the defensive position to Judd for next season? I know that’s crazy, but could it work?

Yes that’s a terrible idea. Judd is very effective in front of the net. He screens well and he’s hard to move. His play doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet but he’s responsible for a lot more goals than most people on this board realize. Every once in a while he makes a high skill / highlight play as well. He’s a good power forward. 

[Frozen4sioux]

14 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Kleven is ready to move on.

Gaber will probably get buried in the minors if he leaves now.

Gaber, I can't see anything more than a few token months in the Coast.

Just doesn't have anywhere near enough of the tools to be successful in the American let alone the National.

Best bet, come back, try and be a superstar, and catch some fire and hype and maybe play teams against each other till some team tosses him a NHL game to sign after the season next year... 

That's his only hope of pro hockey.

 

[Kab]

How can next years team be good when losing so many players off this years mediocre team?

this years rotation reminded me of Sather’s team trying to find the the right players to play together.

‘which team had the worst results vs. expectations?

football, basketball or hockey

[AJS]

16 minutes ago, Kab said:

How can next years team be good when losing so many players off this years mediocre team?

this years rotation reminded me of Sather’s team trying to find the the right players to play together.

‘which team had the worst results vs. expectations?

football, basketball or hockey

I really do believe this. If this Coaching staff can get out of its own way, they will be good next year. Still convinced talent was never the issue with this year's team, the Coaching staff just did an unbelievably awful job of utilizing it. Starts this off-season when constructing the roster. 

[UNDMOORHEAD]

2 hours ago, Kevin G said:

 

If next year's d-core is as young as we expect, then the gauntlet has been laid at the coaching staff's feet. Here you go, coaches, show us what you can do. The progress of next year's d-core should be a metric used to determine whether we've got the right staff in place.

I think the last time they had four freshman d was when Stetcher, Thompson, Ladue, and Ausmus came in. If I remember correctly Ladue and Stetcher played most of the games that year. I think Thompson and Ausmus split time. I might be wrong, but that's how I remember it.

[brianvf]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-has-offseason-reconstruction-project-ahead

Good article from Schloss with quotes from Berry.

Quote

The coaching staff won't have much time for reflection.

A busy offseason is ahead and the Fighting Hawks will have a lot of work to do to reconstruct a roster that will look significantly different next season — especially on the back end.

Six players are out of college eligibility — forward Mark Senden, forward Gavin Hain, defenseman Chris Jandric, defenseman Ryan Sidorski, defenseman Ty Farmer and goaltender Drew DeRidder.

At least four others will get NHL offers.

Defenseman Tyler Kleven is expected to sign with the Ottawa Senators.

Three others will have decisions to make.

Forward Judd Caulfield will likely get an offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2019. Forward Riese Gaber, an undrafted free agent, will field offers from a handful of NHL teams. Defenseman Ethan Frisch, also an undrafted free agent, will be getting at least one NHL offer.

Considering UND healthy scratched several NHL draft picks this season, the Fighting Hawks could lose others to the NCAA transfer portal.

Quote

"Instead of just leaving it to chance and guessing what's going to happen, we've already laid the groundwork with communication and talking," UND coach Brad Berry said after Friday's game. "We have a pretty good idea of what some guys are going to have the opportunity to do, and they'll do that. At the end of the day, it will be going back home, having those conversations and then figuring it out from there. It just doesn't happen right now, figuring it out. We've done that weeks beforehand as far as getting an indication."

It would be a big boost for UND if Gaber opts to return for his senior season or if Frisch or Caulfield opt to use their COVID year to come back for a fifth season.

"I think it comes down to their heart and what they want to do," Berry said. "I think a lot of those guys have opportunities to play pro hockey and that's a great thing. But I remember last year and those conversations we had earlier, and they mulled it around a little bit. When you take a hard loss like this (Friday), it really kind of makes you look at yourself a little bit — you want to come back and do it again kind of thing. I'm not saying they will. But at the end of the day, I think they give a hard look and say, 'Man, I'm not ready to give this up. I want to keep wearing that North Dakota jersey.'"

Quote

Senden, who opted to return in 2022-23 for his fifth season, spoke to the players in the locker room after the loss to St. Cloud State.

"I love what Mark Senden said in the locker room after," Berry said. "He said, 'Guys, don't take it for granted. Don't take any day for granted about putting on that game jersey, the practice jersey. It's a privilege to do that.'

"I firmly believe that some of these guys that have opportunities with eligibility, it will resonate with them. It might not have a month ago or two months ago, but after you lose your last game of playing college hockey, it resonates."

Quote

The NCAA transfer portal already has more than 70 graduating players in it. Non-graduates can enter beginning Monday and college hockey teams will immediately begin recruiting them.

 

[brianvf]

Goaltender

UND loses DeRidder, who got off to a slow start in 2022-23, but had a strong finish.

That leaves Jakob Hellsten and Kaleb Johnson on the roster.

The Fighting Hawks have one committed goalie recruit right now — Hobie Hedquist of the British Columbia Hockey League's Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

It's improbable that UND heads into next season with a goalie tandem as unproven as Hellsten (.875 save percentage in 2022-23) and Hedquist (.911 in the BCHL), which means the Fighting Hawks will grab a goalie out of the transfer portal for a third-straight season.

The prospect of being a backup for a third year also leaves Hellsten's return in question.

If Hellsten returns, Hedquist still has another year of junior eligibility left and could play one more. If Hellsten leaves, that increases the likelihood of Hedquist coming to Grand Forks in the fall along with the transfer.

[brianvf]

Defense

UND's major reconstruction project will be on the back end.

Half of the blue line will be gone. Jandric, Sidorski and Farmer are out of eligibility. Kleven is expected to turn pro.

Even more could follow. Frisch will have an opportunity to go. And any time players are getting scratched this day and age, they are portal risks. Brent Johnson, a third-round pick of the Washington Capitals, didn't play once after Dec. 3.

Either way, a big freshman class is set to come.

Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Abram Wiebe is the headliner of the group. At 6-foot-3, Wiebe will give UND some size on the back end. His return to the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League this season has been an excellent one for his development. He's the No. 2 defenseman scorer in the league, averaging nearly a point per game.

Offense won't be the hallmark of his game early in his college career. But he should be able to defend early and develop offense as time goes along.

Draft-eligible defensemen Jake Livanavage and Andrew Strathmann appear likely to come in as true freshmen.

They bring more of an offensive element. They're both 5-foot-10 left-handers. Livanavage generates offense through his skating. Strathmann has the highest skill level of any of UND's incoming defensemen. He's a great skater, sees the ice well and can get into scoring areas. But he will need to round out his defensive game in order to secure important minutes.

Minnesota Wild draft pick Nate Benoit and Alberta Junior Hockey League defender Tanner Komzak are big, steady defenders, who figure to battle for lineup spots. Komzak is a right-hander — something UND will lack if Frisch leaves.

The incoming blue liners are promising, but it's difficult to ask freshmen to play big minutes on defense in the NCHC.

UND will need to supplement the freshmen with at least one older transfer. If Frisch signs, it will probably need two.

The Fighting Hawks will have an enticing carrot to dangle for potential portal defensemen — an opportunity to compete for a spot on the top of UND's prolific first power-play unit. That job is up for grabs with Jandric's graduation.

[brianvf]

Forward

If Gaber and Caulfield opt to return, UND's forward group could be elite next season.

If they don't, the Fighting Hawks will be very young but skilled.

Jackson Blake is the most dynamic player in the NCHC and UND is adding another player who plays very similar in Jayden Perron of the United States Hockey League's Chicago Steel.

Perron might not have Blake's tenacity in the corners and hard areas, but the Winnipeg native has an elite skill level, can create his own space, is an excellent setup man and an underrated finisher.

Some of UND's other young players are due for progressions, including NHL draft picks Dylan James, Owen McLaughlin, Ben Strinden and Jackson Kunz.

UND has one other forward recruit who is guaranteed to come in — 6-foot-1 winger Michael Emerson of the Chicago Steel. Emerson plays a direct game and goes to the net every chance he gets. He's been a big scorer in the USHL this season. He's third in goals (29) and sixth in points (56). Most of his goals come from the top of the paint.

One area UND will be lacking, especially if Caulfield leaves, is size and strength. With the departures of Senden and Hain, UND is losing a lot of physicality up front. Those two played a lot of UND's toughest minutes in recent years.

This is where UND could look to add a player out of the transfer portal — a big, strong veteran to complement the younger, smaller skill guys like Blake, McLaughlin and Perron. If that player can play center, it would be ideal.

[siouxforce19]

There’s been a lot of discussion about the portal for a defenseman and goaltender, but I actually was wondering about a forward. Like if they could find another Connor Ford type who could win draws. I thought that area couldn’t use some improvement. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

So what will that say to recuits if we have nhl draft picks enter the portal, not a job look. 

[brianvf]

I agree with Schloss that our forward group has the chance to be elite next season.  It will be a deep and talented group.
My only HOPE is that Berry lets them play in a more wide-open system.  We'll have the ability to play and BEAT teams next season playing a more run-n-gun style.
Will it mean that we'll also allow more goals...of course, but we probably will anyway with a new goalie and almost entirely new and young d-corps.

I was never a "hater" of Senden and Hain like some on this group, but I do agree that they gobbled up valuable minutes and had a slower, more grinding style of play.
I think we're a stronger team next year, especially on the front end.

We'll have the depth to have almost 3 scoring lines and one grinding/shut-down line.
Berry just needs to utilize them effectively rather than give the shut-down line the majority of the minutes.

[The Sicatoka]

Schloss-math at defense has my antenna up:

"UND will need to supplement the (five) freshmen with at least one older transfer. If Frisch signs, it will probably need two." 

He sees 5 + 1 if Frisch stays.
He sees 5 + 2 if Frisch goes.

Five freshmen would replace: 2 3 6 7 25. 

If Frisch stays we'd still need a portal? That means 4 or 24 leaves or they plan on running 9D next year.
If Frisch goes we'd still two portals? That means 15 and either 4 or 24 leaves or they plan on running 9D next year.
 

[The Sicatoka]

1 minute ago, brianvf said:

We'll have the depth to have almost 3 scoring lines and one grinding/shut-down line.

This is the direction the game is going; adapt or perish. 

[The Sicatoka]

9 minutes ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

So what will that say to recuits if we have nhl draft picks enter the portal, not a job look. 

Oh my, imagine a 2021 round 2 (#58 overall) by Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick going portal and leaving! 

Wait, he went from Minnesota to Denver last summer: Tristan Broz

Take a breath. 

[nodakgirl93]

11 minutes ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

So what will that say to recuits if we have nhl draft picks enter the portal, not a job look. 

I guess they are not team first as Berry claims. But seriously they need to do what they think is best for them. 

[Kevin G]

11 minutes ago, brianvf said:

I agree with Schloss that our forward group has the chance to be elite next season.  It will be a deep and talented group.
My only HOPE is that Berry lets them play in a more wide-open system.  We'll have the ability to play and BEAT teams next season playing a more run-n-gun style.
Will it mean that we'll also allow more goals...of course, but we probably will anyway with a new goalie and almost entirely new and young d-corps.

I was never a "hater" of Senden and Hain like some on this group, but I do agree that they gobbled up valuable minutes and had a slower, more grinding style of play.
I think we're a stronger team next year, especially on the front end.

We'll have the depth to have almost 3 scoring lines and one grinding/shut-down line.
Berry just needs to utilize them effectively rather than give the shut-down line the majority of the minutes.

Excellent, excellent summary. 

"My only HOPE is that Berry let's them play in a more wide-open system." That is the million-dollar question. Or will Berry employ 11-27-13 as his top, minutes-eating line.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

1 hour ago, Frozen4sioux said:

Gaber, I can't see anything more than a few token months in the Coast.

Just doesn't have anywhere near enough of the tools to be successful in the American let alone the National.

Best bet, come back, try and be a superstar, and catch some fire and hype and maybe play teams against each other till some team tosses him a NHL game to sign after the season next year... 

That's his only hope of pro hockey.

 

Gucci, Adams, and even Mismash should be talking to him about what to expect. He could probably make more from NIL auto commercials than he will in the coast.

[Frozen4sioux]

8 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

Gucci, Adams, and even Mismash should be talking to him about what to expect. He could probably make more from NIL auto commercials than he will in the coast.

Exactly.