2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[fightingsioux4life]

3 hours ago, brianvf said:

I still have a hard time believing that St Thomas would jump ship from the CCHA to the NCHC just a couple years after they joined the CCHA.
They just joined the CCHA in 2021.  I'm assuming that the CCHA would make them pay a decent fee for leaving, much like the rule that the NCHC has in place.

Looking at the insane realignment going on in collegiate sports today, l wouldn't rule anything out.

[brianvf]

34 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Looking at the insane realignment going on in colligate sports today, l wouldn't rule anything out.

Yeah, for sure.  Something is gonna have to give if all these schools rumored at going DI start actually doing it.  They'll all need to fit somewhere.

[cberkas]

According to Brad in the Laurila article, Dillon Simpson is the new coach. 

I don't like it, as it's his first coaching job and I'm also not sold on always hiring a former UND player. If they wanted a former UND player, then get someone with coaching experience. 

[The Sicatoka]

Roster. Check.

Captains. Check.

Now, the most important season line item as defined by @geaux_sioux:

Do we have a fishbowl?
Somebody, please, channel your inner Evan Trupp or Coltyn Sanderson and wear one, for @geaux_sioux's sake, ... please. 

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

8 hours ago, cberkas said:

According to Brad in the Laurila article, Dillon Simpson is the new coach. 

I don't like it, as it's his first coaching job and I'm also not sold on always hiring a former UND player. If they wanted a former UND player, then get someone with coaching experience. 

It doesn't concern me that much being it's a 3rd assistant coach. 

[The Sicatoka]

Quiet reality: 

You spend more than three seasons with an AHL franchise you're being kept around for more than on-ice play.
You've effectively become a de facto coach within the organization. 

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=123970 

 

PS - The final threshold has been broken. Assuming a Simpson hire, UND has a payroll coach that could be my kid. 

[tnt]

8 hours ago, cberkas said:

According to Brad in the Laurila article, Dillon Simpson is the new coach. 

I don't like it, as it's his first coaching job and I'm also not sold on always hiring a former UND player. If they wanted a former UND player, then get someone with coaching experience. 

If he can get the players and especially the defense to play with the passion and love for UND that he did, I'm good with it.   Maybe it would have been nice if he had coaching experience somewhere, but I think he has a good background of knowledge and maybe some connections through his dad, and I sure wouldn't mind someone with his personality and passion talking to a recruit's parents.  I think Nick Oliver only had Junior assistant coach experience before St. Cloud hired him as an assistant, and that was with two full time positions, so I think you can see big time coaching potential before you have much experience.  I'm sure Smaby would have been preferable, but some guys that have that experience aren't going to take a pay cut unless they might be the next man up if you know what I mean. 

[AJS]

Love the Simpson hire. Get young with that 3rd assistant. Recruiting has been solid, no doubt, but I think more youth on the Coaching staff will help. 

[tnt]

2 minutes ago, AJS said:

Love the Simpson hire. Get young with that 3rd assistant. Recruiting has been solid, no doubt, but I think more youth on the Coaching staff will help. 

Good point, he will also be very relatable with the players, and maybe a good go between when issues arise that could derail a team.  

[The Sicatoka]

8 minutes ago, AJS said:

Love the Simpson hire. Get young with that 3rd assistant. Recruiting has been solid, no doubt, but I think more youth on the Coaching staff will help. 

KG is a generational shift from Bubs and Dane.

Simpson is a generational shift from KG. 

... just realized that. 

[geaux_sioux]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

Roster. Check.

Captains. Check.

Now, the most important season line item as defined by @geaux_sioux:

Do we have a fishbowl?
Somebody, please, channel your inner Evan Trupp or Coltyn Sanderson and wear one, for @geaux_sioux's sake, ... please. 

No bowl, no banner

[SpudsSioux]

1 hour ago, tnt said:

If he can get the players and especially the defense to play with the passion and love for UND that he did, I'm good with it.   Maybe it would have been nice if he had coaching experience somewhere, but I think he has a good background of knowledge and maybe some connections through his dad, and I sure wouldn't mind someone with his personality and passion talking to a recruit's parents.  I think Nick Oliver only had Junior assistant coach experience before St. Cloud hired him as an assistant, and that was with two full time positions, so I think you can see big time coaching potential before you have much experience.  I'm sure Smaby would have been preferable, but some guys that have that experience aren't going to take a pay cut unless they might be the next man up if you know what I mean. 

Spot on. They weren't going to get Smaby. Not just a paycut, but he knows his next step is an Associate coach position with the current trajectory he's on. I'm fine with a young guy without experience for a 3rd position if it's because his coaching career got started late because he was playing pro hockey (Trupp was this way as well. As soon as he was done playing, his coaching climb has happened fast).

Above all, I'm just glad there is a 3rd and that it's a D guy. Hoping that takes some off of Karl's plate and he can hit goaltending evaluation and recruiting harder.

 

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, AJS said:

Love the Simpson hire. Get young with that 3rd assistant. Recruiting has been solid, no doubt, but I think more youth on the Coaching staff will help. 

100% agree. Sending Simmer out on recruiting trips, he can relate better to kids that age. I think it's a super smart hire.

[siouxforce19]

I think it’ll be good to have Dillon around, particularly this season with 4 freshmen defensemen considering he was captain of a UND team that went to the Frozen Four with 4 freshmen defensemen. 

[ChadR]

Real good hire.

[nodakvindy]

21 hours ago, brianvf said:

I still have a hard time believing that St Thomas would jump ship from the CCHA to the NCHC just a couple years after they joined the CCHA.
They just joined the CCHA in 2021.  I'm assuming that the CCHA would make them pay a decent fee for leaving, much like the rule that the NCHC has in place.

If 10 happens, it's St. Thomas and a likely Summit rebrand with Fenton taking it in. (again synergy)  The Summit needs a team sport with other numbers shaky follow Western Illinois departure.  I like a LIndenwood addition for both as well as that shores up the Summit on a number of fronts and makes Summit football possible, bringing everything under a single TV package.

[brianvf]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/dillon-simpson-named-new-und-hockey-assistant-coach

Quote

"Throughout my career, I always knew I wanted to get into coaching once I was finished playing," Simpson said. "When I left North Dakota, it was always about trying to find a way back there.

"The place has always meant a lot to me. My favorite years of playing hockey are still when I was there. That program, the culture, the people involved with it, I always kept in touch and I always wanted to be a part of it and add to what they've built. For me, Grand Forks is a special place. I met my wife there. I enjoyed living there. For us, it's a no-brainer."

Quote

"We were looking for someone to work with young defensemen, developing them and nurturing them," Berry said. "There's also the connectivity of having a younger coach on staff, a guy closer to the age of our players, to connect with them.

"Now, you have a guy who played in the NHL and AHL and who mentored young players in the AHL to help them get to the NHL. That was a big deal for us. And it's having that connection as well. He fit what we were looking for to a 'T.'"

Quote

Jackson will continue working with the forwards and running the penalty kill.

Goehring will work with the goaltenders and run the power play. Goehring, who worked with the defensemen last season, will pick up added duties working with Berry on five-on-five play, postgame video review and pre-scouting opponents.

Quote

Berry, who interviewed about 20 candidates, emphasized that being a former UND player was not a requirement for the job.

The two other finalists alongside Simpson were not UND alums.

They were Youngstown Phantoms associate head coach Andy Contois and Northstar Christian Academy coach Dallas Steward, a former assistant at Michigan Tech who won Clark Cups with Chicago and Sioux Falls. Contois played at Northern Michigan. Steward played at Alaska Anchorage.

 

[fightingsioux4life]

36 minutes ago, nodakvindy said:

If 10 happens, it's St. Thomas and a likely Summit rebrand with Fenton taking it in. (again synergy)  The Summit needs a team sport with other numbers shaky follow Western Illinois departure.  I like a LIndenwood addition for both as well as that shores up the Summit on a number of fronts and makes Summit football possible, bringing everything under a single TV package.

I think 10 is as big as the NCHC should ever get. The WCHA before realignment was 12 teams and it was just a little too big and cumbersome.

[scpa0305]

39 minutes ago, nodakvindy said:

If 10 happens, it's St. Thomas and a likely Summit rebrand with Fenton taking it in. (again synergy)  The Summit needs a team sport with other numbers shaky follow Western Illinois departure.  I like a LIndenwood addition for both as well as that shores up the Summit on a number of fronts and makes Summit football possible, bringing everything under a single TV package.

100%…nchc is going to need St Thomas. They are going to start running here soon.

[fightingsioux4life]

44 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Bring in Mankato, St. Thomas. Drop Miami. Done.

There are people at Miami who think they should leave the NCHC. So that could happen in a few years.

[Green Banner]

2 hours ago, brianvf said:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/dillon-simpson-named-new-und-hockey-assistant-coach

 

Sounds like a banner year to me.

[SiouxForever]

2 minutes ago, Green Banner said:

Sounds like a banner year to me.

Team goes as far as the D-corps + goalie this year imo. Offense should not be a problem at all - no excuses there. 

[burd]

They have good team speed and some scorers on offense this year, which should earn opponents’ respect, which should be a good thing for the young D while they get used to the D-1 game.   Speed really helps the back check too.

[nodakvindy]

3 hours ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Bring in Mankato, St. Thomas. Drop Miami. Done.

Replace Mankato with Lindenwood and you've got something that makes sense.  Mankato has seen a sizable enrollment drop, not as bad as St. Cloud, but they are not a bastion of stabilty either, and I don't see them ever going D1, so they bring very little to the table.  Their recent success is a product of being the big fish in a small pond, and I'd want to see if it can withstand the coaching change before I'd think of adding them.

 

[jk]

One thing I recall about Simpson is his play in the national semifinal game, one that ended in bitter fashion, his senior year.  MN was fairly impressive that year, and in that game they kept setting a guy up on the back door and trying to thread a pass through to him, especially on the PP.  There were several times it looked like it was going to connect, but at the last moment Simpson got his stick on the puck.  I felt at the time he single handedly kept that game in reach.  

He did not quite have NHL feet, but had a good head for the game.  Last year's squad gave up quite a few beautiful goals, which are not pretty if you're on the wrong side of them, things like those back door plays.  So if he can help the defensemen shut that down, as he did, then sign me up.