2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[siouxweet]

15 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

You mean he works really hard…I wouldn’t say he was one of our best Fs. Fs need to be productive, he really isn’t whatsoever.

I wouldn't completely agree with this.  What about a checking line that is designed to shut down the top line of other teams? 

[scpa0305]

14 minutes ago, siouxweet said:

I wouldn't completely agree with this.  What about a checking line that is designed to shut down the top line of other teams? 

My point is that he wasn’t one of our best forwards. He definitely works hard though, I agree with that.

[AJS]

Updated ideal off-season for the Forwards.

• Lose: 10, 13, 19

• Keep / Return: 17, 28

• Incoming: Emerson, Perron

15F, replace grit w/ skill. Don’t worry, there are guys currently on roster who can play that shutdown roll. Overall, much more talented group. Also, this would handcuff the Coaches a bit with having to actually play talent. Give them less room for questionable lines, etc.

[scpa0305]

43 minutes ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Shout out to 4,6,18,20 and 21 forget about the portal and work hard in the off season and show everybody what your made of. 

Reading the schloss article this morning makes me hate the portal even more. Talking about picking up 1-2 D and potentially a F…are we trying to hide the fact we’re pushing out good young players?

Develop the players we have. Open spot on the top pp for a transfer? We’re bringing in multiple skilled Dmen…we have Moore who should get that opp. Not sure what’s going on anymore. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Easier to just grab players from the portal then coach the players you , meaning Berry and crew , recruited. 

[scpa0305]

I didn’t see the transfer portal as a negative going into this year, but I do now. The chance to get an old skater for a year is enticing, but I think it’s a significant negative long term and will hurt our recruiting of higher end players. 

[Oxbow6]

25 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Reading the schloss article this morning makes me hate the portal even more. Talking about picking up 1-2 D and potentially a F…are we trying to hide the fact we’re pushing out good young players?

Develop the players we have. Open spot on the top pp for a transfer? We’re bringing in multiple skilled Dmen…we have Moore who should get that opp. Not sure what’s going on anymore. 

You know who was not mentioned in that article?   

 

 

 

18

[fightingsioux4life]

20 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

I didn’t see the transfer portal as a negative going into this year, but I do now. The chance to get an old skater for a year is enticing, but I think it’s a significant negative long term and will hurt our recruiting of higher end players. 

The portal should be used to plug holes that come up every once in a while, not as a substitute for recruiting and developing your own players. Despite all the upheaval in collegiate athletics the past couple of seasons, that remains the heart and soul of every successful program. If Berry and company cannot do that, it will be time to move on.

Next season is huge for this coaching staff and the program as a whole. The early 1990's were ugly and I have no wish to relive them.

[sparky8701]

I think it's a multi-year process, involving a season of pain. Abandon the transfer portal and 5th year players unless there's an extenuating circumstance (late decommit/injury/signing) or the player is a game changer. 

Recruiting and then managing that pipeline I think is at the heart of our problems, and how things get fixed. 

I'm not sure why Stephen Halliday changed his commitment to OSU, former teammate of Gaber's too - they were electric together in the USHL. 

We know with certainty that Scott Morrow, Massimo Rizzo, and Cole Spicer did not want to play another year of junior and as a result decommitted.

Spicer has potential to be a good 3-4 year player. The other 3 listed are legit difference makers. 

Meanwhile we bring in Farmer, Sidorski + Jandric and Ferner the year before on D. Scott Morrow was a star at Shattuck and high in NHL CSS rankings, yet coaching staff insisted he play in the USHL for a season. That's either a skill evaluation misstep, or a cop out due to being logjammed at D. 

Moore and Johnson haven't taken steps. Bast is just a head scratcher. Look at his junior numbers - nothing there indicates he could become a meaningful player at this level. 

5th years from Hain and Senden, who are both fine but don't move the needle much, takes minutes from players that we needed development from this season. We got 1 decent season from Ashton Calder. 

We've done nothing to recruit or develop a goalie since Scheel left. 

[fightingsioux4life]

2 minutes ago, sparky8701 said:

I think it's a multi-year process, involving a season of pain. Abandon the transfer portal and 5th year players unless there's an extenuating circumstance (late decommit/injury/signing) or the player is a game changer.

I would much rather watch a young team learn as the season goes on than a bunch of fifth year portal guys who were cast-offs from their former teams. And no, I would not be the first person on here complaining about the early season struggles. Those struggles would be worth it if it led to the development of a confident and talented team come March.

[Oxbow6]

22 is Nick Schmaltz Lite.  Kid has great hands and vision. If this staff is constantly worried about grinding out 2-1 or 0-0 shootout wins this kid will be wasted moving forward. Has to be at worst 2nd line center next season. 

[dustnyou]

4 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

22 is Nick Schmaltz Lite.  Kid has great hands and vision. If this staff is constantly worried about grinding out 2-1 or 0-0 shootout wins this kid will be wasted moving forward. Has to be at worst 2nd line center next season. 

Hopefully 22 makes a similar fresh to soph jump as Scmaltz did defensively. 

[fightingsioux4life]

2 minutes ago, dustnyou said:

Hopefully 22 makes a similar fresh to soph jump as Scmaltz did defensively. 

Which will only happen if he gets actual playing time. And not just during the Manitoba and/or U.S. Under 18 games.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

41 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

You know who was not mentioned in that article?   

 

 

 

18

I noticed that too. Brad must not have any insight on him, but he isn't getting much if any scholarship money next season.

[Irish]

1 hour ago, sparky8701 said:

I think it's a multi-year process, involving a season of pain. Abandon the transfer portal and 5th year players unless there's an extenuating circumstance (late decommit/injury/signing) or the player is a game changer. 

Recruiting and then managing that pipeline I think is at the heart of our problems, and how things get fixed. 

I'm not sure why Stephen Halliday changed his commitment to OSU, former teammate of Gaber's too - they were electric together in the USHL. 

We know with certainty that Scott Morrow, Massimo Rizzo, and Cole Spicer did not want to play another year of junior and as a result decommitted.

Spicer has potential to be a good 3-4 year player. The other 3 listed are legit difference makers. 

Meanwhile we bring in Farmer, Sidorski + Jandric and Ferner the year before on D. Scott Morrow was a star at Shattuck and high in NHL CSS rankings, yet coaching staff insisted he play in the USHL for a season. That's either a skill evaluation misstep, or a cop out due to being logjammed at D. 

Moore and Johnson haven't taken steps. Bast is just a head scratcher. Look at his junior numbers - nothing there indicates he could become a meaningful player at this level. 

5th years from Hain and Senden, who are both fine but don't move the needle much, takes minutes from players that we needed development from this season. We got 1 decent season from Ashton Calder. 

We've done nothing to recruit or develop a goalie since Scheel left. 

This is exactly accurate - and quite an eyeopener as to how our current coaching staff operates - throw in slow play and here we are.

[nodakgirl93]

2 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

Reading the schloss article this morning makes me hate the portal even more. Talking about picking up 1-2 D and potentially a F…are we trying to hide the fact we’re pushing out good young players?

Develop the players we have. Open spot on the top pp for a transfer? We’re bringing in multiple skilled Dmen…we have Moore who should get that opp. Not sure what’s going on anymore. 

This right here. Can u imagine being an underclassman on this team in and out of the lineup just for berry to pick a senior out of the portal and give them ice time over you. 

[iluvdebbies]

1 hour ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I would much rather watch a young team learn as the season goes on than a bunch of fifth year portal guys who were cast-offs from their former teams. And no, I would not be the first person on here complaining about the early season struggles. Those struggles would be worth it if it led to the development of a confident and talented team come March.

Yeah ok ...you bitched nonstop about slow starts under Hak.... what do you think he was doing during the first half of the season #development.

[Kevin G]

On 3/18/2023 at 11:14 AM, 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 (with a young, promising roster). The progress of next year's d-core should be a metric used to determine whether we've got the right staff in place.

Addendum: Filling up next year's roster with more portal players than absolutely necessary and thereby burying young, promising players in our own pipeline would equal a failure of coaching.

[fightingsioux4life]

1 minute ago, iluvdebbies said:

Yeah ok ...you bitched nonstop about slow starts under Hak.... what do you think he was doing during the first half of the season #development.

Some of those slow starts involved teams that shouldn't have started slow. But people like you would not tolerate any criticism of Hakstol and denigrated anyone who dared question anything he did. But if you want to defend our current approach, then by all means do so.

[Oxbow6]

2 hours ago, Oxbow6 said:

22 is Nick Schmaltz Lite.  Kid has great hands and vision. If this staff is constantly worried about grinding out 2-1 or 0-0 shootout wins this kid will be wasted moving forward. Has to be at worst 2nd line center next season. 

To piggyback onto this....if 28 comes back he'll play top 6 minutes like 10 did this season. 17 28 centered by 22. Getter setter scorer. Other top 6. 9 8 26. 

BB can figure out the bottom 6.

[The Sicatoka]

But somebody get 22 a sandwich. 

[Kevin G]

21 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

But somebody get 22 a sandwich. 

He's going to need something like this.

 

[tnt]

2 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Which will only happen if he gets actual playing time. And not just during the Manitoba and/or U.S. Under 18 games.

You don’t think he got playing time this year?  He got way more than Dylan James.

[jk]

2 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

The portal should be used to plug holes that come up every once in a while, not as a substitute for recruiting and developing your own players. Despite all the upheaval in collegiate athletics the past couple of seasons, that remains the heart and soul of every successful program. If Berry and company cannot do that, it will be time to move on.

Next season is huge for this coaching staff and the program as a whole. The early 1990's were ugly and I have no wish to relive them.

Haven't you just described how they have used the portal?  They had issues at G and D and plugged those holes with the portal.  There was not one portal forward on the team this year..

Not in reply to you necessarily, but the bulk of the complaints are about forward usage.  I'm sorry people's pet forward did not earn the ice time or line placement you desired, because they weren't good enough and didn't earn it.  18 got his shot and for whatever reason did not have it.  It's hard for fans to let go of their imagined ceilings for guys, but you have to open your eyes.  Likewise, 22 is going to be a great player, but early he struggled defending, and in the O zone the play was dying on his stick.  He needed to be moved down.  He's a gorgeous skater and I expect him to be great in the next few years.

Goaltending is a huge issue and I have no idea how they let it come to this.  To me it's the giant question mark hanging over KG.  I assume he calls the shots on both recruiting and development there (maybe I'm wrong), but having to go three straight years without a home grown goalie is not acceptable.

On defense, since Sanderson and Kleven they've just missed.  Either missed on guys they wanted or went after the wrong ones.  This next batch has to hit or it will likely be the end of the current regime.  I'd say portal usage to fix the D misses has been very good.  Jandric and Sidorski were both better than solid, and Farmer was just ok. 

[AJS]

56 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

To piggyback onto this....if 28 comes back he'll play top 6 minutes like 10 did this season. 17 28 centered by 22. Getter setter scorer. Other top 6. 9 8 26. 

BB can figure out the bottom 6.

8 is not a Top 6 talent imo