2023 Early Departures & Portal Transfers

[fightingsioux4life]

27 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/defenseman-bennett-zmolek-commits-to-und

Excellent. 

[siouxfan512]

I have to say that I really like the addition of size to our line up. 

I don't know enough about Pyke but I like that both Zmolek and Johannes seem to be physical players. I'm not for gooning it up or playing cheap, but player hard and physical and making opponents actually think about going into the corners with you is a good thing. 

Hard not to be a bit skeptical after the way this year ended (though there was plenty of promise at the end with the way they were playing), but I do like the potential in some of these transfers. Who knows, maybe some of them click right away and become a solid unit. Hopefully a few of the freshman can understand what will be needed of them and step right into their roles.

I never considered Moore to be dominant, but I wish we could have kept him around. That being said, maybe getting a whole new unit that can grow together won't be a bad thing. Hopefully they can gel quickly.

[scpa0305]

Added a need. Has some years left…we don’t need a PP guy so at worst a depth add. If he can turn into his brothers…solid defensive defensemen. 

[MGsioux]

1 hour ago, cberkas said:

GPL was talking about he red shirted and he was coming back.

I know his dad , if und makes an offer he would take it in a heartbeat , the question really is how good is he and is he the right fit.  Neither michgan team recruited him originally 

[scpa0305]

3 hours ago, brianvf said:

Matt Staudacher, Dman from UMN, entered the portal.
He's a leftie, but he does have two years of eligibility left.

Maybe someone for Berry to check out...although he's a MI native so UM or MSU wouldn't be a surprise destination for him.

Would he make either of those teams? 

[brianvf]

32 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Would he make either of those teams? 

Not sure on that. 
Some UMN posters on GPL had him in their top 6 for next season before he announced he was going portal. Not that that means much. 

[siouxfaninseattle]

2 hours ago, siouxforce19 said:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/defenseman-bennett-zmolek-commits-to-und

Welcome to UND!!

[hockeytherapy13]

Does anyone think there’s a possibility Brent Johnson opts to stick around? I lean towards “no” but he’s a right handed defenseman that would get more playing time than he did last year. Still probably not going to happen but just food for thought that I wanted to throw out there and see what you all thought. 

[Kevin G]

16 minutes ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

Does anyone think there’s a possibility Brent Johnson opts to stick around? I lean towards “no” but he’s a right handed defenseman that would get more playing time than he did last year. Still probably not going to happen but just food for thought that I wanted to throw out there and see what you all thought. 

I'm wondering the same thing. I keep checking to see if he's latched onto another program, and so far he hasn't (at least not that I've seen). 

[Kevin G]

5 hours ago, brianvf said:

Matt Staudacher, Dman from UMN, entered the portal.
He's a leftie, but he does have two years of eligibility left.

Maybe someone for Berry to check out...although he's a MI native so UM or MSU wouldn't be a surprise destination for him.

 

1 hour ago, MGsioux said:

I know his dad , if und makes an offer he would take it in a heartbeat , the question really is how good is he and is he the right fit.  Neither michgan team recruited him originally 

Here is Matt Staudacher's EP page. I might be misreading it, but it looks like he'd have three years of eligibility left (since the COVID season doesn't count). He played at Shattuck St. Mary's and then for Muskegon in the USHL. Undrafted. Never been a scorer. Consistently positive +/-. Good size (6'1", 194 lbs). 

[siouxforce19]

25 minutes ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

Does anyone think there’s a possibility Brent Johnson opts to stick around? I lean towards “no” but he’s a right handed defenseman that would get more playing time than he did last year. Still probably not going to happen but just food for thought that I wanted to throw out there and see what you all thought. 

I do not think there’s a chance. There’s no guarantee he would even get more playing time here next year. The guy didn’t play for months here. Bridge is effectively burned. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

9 minutes ago, Kevin G said:

 

Here is Matt Staudacher's EP page. I might be misreading it, but it looks like he'd have three years of eligibility left (since the COVID season doesn't count). He played at Shattuck St. Mary's and then for Muskegon in the USHL. Undrafted. Never been a scorer. Consistently positive +/-. Good size (6'1", 194 lbs). 

He would have two years. If he was a RHD it would make him a lot more attractive, but a responsible stay at home D is what this next years team will need. 

[Kevin G]

4 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

He would have two years. If he was a RHD it would make him a lot more attractive, but a responsible stay at home D is what this next years team will need. 

Ah right, he's used three of his five academic years. I forgot about that.

[Siouxfancrazy92]

8 hours ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

Does anyone think there’s a possibility Brent Johnson opts to stick around? I lean towards “no” but he’s a right handed defenseman that would get more playing time than he did last year. Still probably not going to happen but just food for thought that I wanted to throw out there and see what you all thought. 

Hearing he had offers from MI, Q Pac, Merrimack and Ohio State. Chose Ohio State. 

[burd]

It's so nice to see all the cultural diversity we're able to develop through the portal.   

[scpa0305]

8 hours ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

Does anyone think there’s a possibility Brent Johnson opts to stick around? I lean towards “no” but he’s a right handed defenseman that would get more playing time than he did last year. Still probably not going to happen but just food for thought that I wanted to throw out there and see what you all thought. 

I’ve thought about that a lot. Tons of growth can happen those upperclassman years and I honestly think he’d get a ton of PT and could most likely run our PP. But….No way he comes back  For how much he sat last year, something happened. I doubt the staff os welcoming him back. 

[cowboys5xsbs]

We got a defensmen  time to celebrate

[SuhakiYeahYeah]

Costantini is going to Western Michigan

[bale31]

You got a good one with zmolek. He was the conference freshman of the year for us.

[stoneySIOUX]

44 minutes ago, SuhakiYeahYeah said:

Costantini is going to Western Michigan

Idk about you all, but that feels like a really odd fit. But, they did lose a lot of bodies, so he's gonna have opportunities. Wish him the best, just not against his old team 

[brianvf]

1 hour ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Idk about you all, but that feels like a really odd fit. But, they did lose a lot of bodies, so he's gonna have opportunities. Wish him the best, just not against his old team 

Agreed.  He'll probably get slotted into a higher spot that he would have here, considering they lost their entire high scoring top line.
It'll be interesting to see how he does...he had such a great start to his career here...no idea what happened last year with him just disappearing from the scoring.

[tnt]

1 hour ago, bale31 said:

You got a good one with zmolek. He was the conference freshman of the year for us.

Is there an offensive upside he can tap into going forward from his freshman year, or is he going to be a defensive defenseman that can outlet the puck? 

[Kevin G]

2 hours ago, SuhakiYeahYeah said:

Costantini is going to Western Michigan

 

1 hour ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Idk about you all, but that feels like a really odd fit. But, they did lose a lot of bodies, so he's gonna have opportunities. Wish him the best, just not against his old team 

My son and I got to visit briefly with Matteo at the Western Michigan series in Kalamazoo. He got checked hard into the boards during the Friday night game and was in street clothes on Saturday night. We thought he may have hurt his wrist or arm or something. Happened to bump into him in the concourse on Saturday before the game, asked him if he was okay. He said he was fine and was just sitting for precautionary reasons. He seemed to have a great attitude. Very friendly. Wish it would have worked out for him with UND. Wish him the best at WMU.

 

[bale31]

He had a bit of offense to him his freshman year, but I'd say he's probably more defensive.

I was also wrong. He was on the all-rookie team, not rookie of the year.

[Kevin G]

1 minute ago, bale31 said:

He had a bit of offense to him his freshman year, but I'd say he's probably more defensive.

I was also wrong. He was on the all-rookie team, not rookie of the year.

Too late. I've already penciled him in as "Cale Makar 2.0."