2023 Early Departures & Portal Transfers

[Big A HG]

Just now, siouxfan512 said:

Because bad programs or small programs can't have good players?

I get what you're saying and it is frustrating that we may not have more high end guys that are ready to jump in. It would be nice to get a Cooley or a Fantilli here and there, but it is what it is. At this point I'm more concerned with what we DO have and what we do with it next year.

 

Of course small schools can have good players, but his one season with Lindenwood was a statistical anomaly compared to the rest of the kid's career so far.  I certainly hope he does well and can carry over his success from Lindenwood, but we're UND...trying to compete with the likes of Duluth, Denver, Minnesota, Michigan, etc on a national stage.  There's a reason this kid was at AIC and Lindenwood and there's no reason we have such a poor roster accounting problem from those in charge that we have to bring in talent from low-end schools to band-aid some major recruiting problems.

Why are so few top talent kids suddenly refusing to come here?  Are they even recruited?  Why are so many others that do commit transferring away from a program like UND?  What's going on here?  Why am I the bad guy for pointing out some obvious issues?  College athletics are almost entirely about recruiting no matter what sport, and UND is in major decline in that department, especially considering the resources UND offers.

[scpa0305]

2 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Tell me you no nothing about roster construction, style of play, recruiting balance, this kid's game in general without telling me you no nothing about roster construction, style of play, recruiting balance, this kid's game in general.

I mostly agree with you…but the OP does make kind of a funny point. I mean, this is depth beyond depth. He’s basically had one good year. Not against the move…but we should all temper the expectations.

[MoSiouxFan]

2 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Yeah I saw that…good numbers though (including +/-) given he was in the box so much. Will def have to tame it down unless we’re way up (which hasn’t happened all that often lately  )

For sure!

[Big A HG]

3 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Tell me you no nothing about roster construction, style of play, recruiting balance, this kid's game in general without telling me you no nothing about roster construction, style of play, recruiting balance, this kid's game in general.

 

I "no" nothing...sure.  Let's roll with that.  We have such a strong track record of NCAA success under Berry the last seven seasons and am painfully unaware of how well Berry has managed his roster over the past 24 months.  I am stoopid.

[stoneySIOUX]

1 minute ago, Big A HG said:

 

Of course small schools can have good players, but his one season with Lindenwood was a statistical anomaly compared to the rest of the kid's career so far.  I certainly hope he does well and can carry over his success from Lindenwood, but we're UND...trying to compete with the likes of Duluth, Denver, Minnesota, Michigan, etc on a national stage.  There's a reason this kid was at AIC and Lindenwood and there's no reason we have such a poor roster accounting problem from those in charge that we have to bring in talent from low-end schools to band-aid some major recruiting problems.

Why are so few top talent kids suddenly refusing to come here?  Are they even recruited?  Why are so many others that do commit transferring away from a program like UND?  What's going on here?  Why am I the bad guy for pointing out some obvious issues?  College athletics are almost entirely about recruiting no matter what sport, and UND is in major decline in that department, especially considering the resources UND offers.

I understand where this is coming from, but you're arguing two different points. You're upset about UND's current pipeline vs. UND adding a player that directly fits a need based on the available portal players. This is a really smart add right now. 

[stoneySIOUX]

Just now, Big A HG said:

 

I "no" nothing...sure.  Let's roll with that.  We have such a strong track record of NCAA success under Berry the last seven seasons and am painfully unaware of how well Berry has managed his roster over the past 24 months.  I am stoopid.

My bad. I made two typos.

I shouldn't have come at ya. I'm just annoyed with the constant berating of this program. This move was a smart move. I've really liked our additions and many of our subtractions, for that matter. 

[The Sicatoka]

14 minutes ago, MoSiouxFan said:

Not that crazy about all the major penalties and game misconducts, though.

Minus Kleven plus Johannes. Net better.   

And we needed a guy to "wear the badge" to protect our smaller forwards. 

[Big A HG]

Just now, stoneySIOUX said:

I understand where this is coming from, but you're arguing two different points. You're upset about UND's current pipeline vs. UND adding a player that directly fits a need based on the available portal players. This is a really smart add right now. 

 

I don't disagree that it might be a smart add right now...it most certainly is.  My problem with it, especially when you go back and read my initial comment that you quoted, is that Berry's management of the roster via recruiting and the portal has led to a fifth year season from Lindenwood being a "good pickup".  Name another program at our [theoretical] level pulling similar kids from similar schools and competing in Frozen Fours.  Is Michigan or Minnesota or Denver using Lindenwood band aids for their programs?  Maybe they are and I'm unaware.

[Oldguy]

Johannes is a bruiser that also scored 29 points in 28 games, and he's a guy that has always wanted to be at UND.  Can't fault bringing in a guy like that.  Now, how about a defenseman?

[Big A HG]

5 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

My bad. I made two typos.

I shouldn't have come at ya. I'm just annoyed with the constant berating of this program. This move was a smart move. I've really liked our additions and many of our subtractions, for that matter. 

 

We're on a forum, I take nothing personal.  If I did, I'd have left a long time ago!   If someone isn't berating the program, then our program becomes stale and stagnant and doesn't live up to its assumed potential.  I'm tired of sunshine and roses only because of Berry won a title 7 years ago.  That was epic.  But, elite programs typically don't put up with what our beloved UND hockey program is going through at the moment without a change in leadership.  Our rivals have far surpassed us in a short amount of time and our future is pretty grim at the moment.  It is what it is....I still LOVE my Sioux, but I want what's best for the program.  

 

Edit:  For the record, I'm not berating the program.  UND as a whole should be an amazing hockey school and more often than not, it is.  I'm berating head coach Brad Berry.

[siouxfan512]

6 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

 

Of course small schools can have good players, but his one season with Lindenwood was a statistical anomaly compared to the rest of the kid's career so far.  I certainly hope he does well and can carry over his success from Lindenwood, but we're UND...trying to compete with the likes of Duluth, Denver, Minnesota, Michigan, etc on a national stage.  There's a reason this kid was at AIC and Lindenwood and there's no reason we have such a poor roster accounting problem from those in charge that we have to bring in talent from low-end schools to band-aid some major recruiting problems.

Why are so few top talent kids suddenly refusing to come here?  Are they even recruited?  Why are so many others that do commit transferring away from a program like UND?  What's going on here?  Why am I the bad guy for pointing out some obvious issues?  College athletics are almost entirely about recruiting no matter what sport, and UND is in major decline in that department, especially considering the resources UND offers.

No, I share many of the same frustrations. But who knows what some of these new kids will bring. Maybe they come in and a few of them end up being game changing players. I'd definitely like to see more consistency in recruiting and certainly in our on ice production. 

Tough to deal with missing the tournament a few times now after consistently making it for so many year and also having so many Frozen 4 appearances. The Hak years were definitely a fun time to be a fan given the players we were watching and the success we had.

Would also be great to get back to some good goaltending. Seemed like we had an endless string of good goalies for about 15 years.

[The Sicatoka]

5 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

I don't disagree that it might be a smart add right now...it most certainly is.  My problem with it, especially when you go back and read my initial comment that you quoted, is that Berry's management of the roster via recruiting and the portal has led to a fifth year season from Lindenwood being a "good pickup".  Name another program at our [theoretical] level pulling similar kids from similar schools and competing in Frozen Fours.  Is Michigan or Minnesota or Denver using Lindenwood band aids for their programs?  Maybe they are and I'm unaware.

If this wasn't just a drop-in replacement for Caulfield (but with some edge) I'd be concerned. 

[Mhockey]

5 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

Name another program at our [theoretical] level pulling similar kids from similar schools and competing in Frozen Fours.  Is Michigan or Minnesota or Denver using Lindenwood band aids for their programs?  Maybe they are and I'm unaware.

Quinnipiac did alright this year after adding a portal player from LSS and I don't consider LSS a great program.

[Big A HG]

Just now, siouxfan512 said:

No, I share many of the same frustrations. But who knows what some of these new kids will bring. Maybe they come in and a few of them end up being game changing players. I'd definitely like to see more consistency in recruiting and certainly in our on ice production. 

Tough to deal with missing the tournament a few times now after consistently making it for so many year and also having so many Frozen 4 appearances. The Hak years were definitely a fun time to be a fan given the players we were watching and the success we had.

Would also be great to get back to some good goaltending. Seemed like we had an endless string of good goalies for about 15 years.

 

I agree, but you have to play the odds with your roster.  Literally anyone could be a great player by that metric, they just need a chance.  Well, sure I guess.  But, how many great players were found with blind luck and how many were clearly destined to be great because they were recruited by a number of elite programs, NHL teams are interested in them, etc.  When you have a number of great options that are willing to come to UND, you can then be a bit selective when it comes to style and culture or whatever cliche or buzzword you want to use.  But, our elite talent options seem very limited lately and now many of the kids we do have don't even want to stay.  Where there's smoke there's usually fire.

[stoneySIOUX]

8 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

 

We're on a forum, I take nothing personal.  If I did, I'd have left a long time ago!   If someone isn't berating the program, then our program becomes stale and stagnant and doesn't live up to its assumed potential.  I'm tired of sunshine and roses only because of Berry won a title 7 years ago.  That was epic.  But, elite programs typically don't put up with what our beloved UND hockey program is going through at the moment without a change in leadership.  Our rivals have far surpassed us in a short amount of time and our future is pretty grim at the moment.  It is what it is....I still LOVE my Sioux, but I want what's best for the program.  

 

Edit:  For the record, I'm not berating the program.  UND as a whole should be an amazing hockey school and more often than not, it is.  I'm berating head coach Brad Berry.

I understand your thought. I'm doing everything in my power to focus on moving forward and I like the move. I really, really liked Johannes' game against LU last year. He had a solid year last year for a bad, but hard-nosed team. He's a really solid fit for next year's team and looks like Judd, but meaner. The 23-24 needs that kind of player on the bottom 6, IMO.

[Big A HG]

2 minutes ago, Mhockey said:

Quinnipiac did alright this year after adding a portal player from LSS and I don't consider LSS a great program.

Quinnipiac had something like three total transfers.  One was a sophomore this year and he was the only player in the top 11 in scoring that was a transfer portal kid.  They also had one fourth year senior and your LSSU guy was a third line defensemen.  Nordqvist, the kid from LSSU, was arguably LSSU's best defenseman, LSSU being a better program than Lindenwood, and was only a third line defenseman for Quinnipiac.

I'm not saying you can't have transfer portal kids, totally wrong.  You need to use the portal to your advantage, but it should be a means of the rich getting richer instead of band-aiding a roster where 3/4 of the team up and left or graduated.

[Dustin]

33 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Someone reach out to Alex Heinert and Midco and have them replay the Lindenwood games to we can scout what we're getting.  

Same for the Omaha games (Berg). 

With the college winter sports seasons over, Midco has already been playing replays for quite a while now.  Just watch the schedule and these games will show up eventually.

[Oxbow6]

Kind of not excited to see 11 13 27 be slotted into BB's top 6 next season......

[Walsh Hall]

13 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

 

Our rivals have far surpassed us in a short amount of time and our future is pretty grim at the moment. 

Over the next 20 years, taking the average finish in the pairwise as a metric, how many programs will have a better result than UND?

[The Sicatoka]

11 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

Kind of not excited to see 11 13 27 be slotted into BB's top 6 next season......

If he does that with all the other options, well ...

 

 

[siouxweet]

21 minutes ago, Oldguy said:

Johannes is a bruiser that also scored 29 points in 28 games, and he's a guy that has always wanted to be at UND.  Can't fault bringing in a guy like that.  Now, how about a defenseman?

There are lots of kids out there that  have always wanted to play at UND, doesn't mean they should.  This feels like when you went to a store like Walmart and Target and they have those big bins of DVDs and all the good ones are gone and you just grab a mediocre one for the sake of grabbing one.

[stoneySIOUX]

3 minutes ago, siouxweet said:

There are lots of kids out there that  have always wanted to play at UND, doesn't mean they should.  This feels like when you went to a store like Walmart and Target and they have those big bins of DVDs and all the good ones are gone and you just grab a mediocre one for the sake of grabbing one.

His game was noticeable last year against LU and he had a really good season. He's not a top line winger, and if you're expecting to have UND fill that spot in the portal, you're sadly mistaken. He's filling an immediate hole left by Judd.

Again, this feels like two different conversations. Yes, it makes sense that UND shouldn't be dipping this hard into the portal. However, this is a great pick up for the immediate needs of the team. 

[dustnyou]

15 minutes ago, Walsh Hall said:

Over the next 20 years, taking the average finish in the pairwise as a metric, how many programs will have a better result than UND?

0

[jdub27]

37 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

If someone isn't berating the program, then our program becomes stale and stagnant and doesn't live up to its assumed potential.

This made me chuckle a little bit. Won't argue that a passionate fan base is (mostly) a positive for a program but if you think that that program will go stale if people don't complain on a message board and social media, well, I just disagree.

I can assure you the people in, behind and running the program live and die more with the wins and losses than pretty much everyone else. 

[Walsh Hall]

4 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

This made me chuckle a little bit. Won't argue that a passionate fan base is (mostly) a positive for a program but if you think that that program will go stale if people don't complain on a message board and social media, well, I just disagree.

I can assure you the people in, behind and running the program live and die more with the wins and losses than pretty much everyone else. 

Likewise, If you don't want a relationship to be stale and stagnant, the best course of action, and practice largely accepted by the experts, is to berate the other party.