I Ranger Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 There is an article on USCHO that says Kessel will choose today and has a press conference set for tomorrow. Sources say its the Goofers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 There is an article on USCHO that says Kessel will choose today and has a press conference set for tomorrow. Sources say its the Goofers. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Don't really think it amounts to a hill of beans where he goes....Waaaaayyyy too much hype will translate into a bust as a college player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthDakotaHockey Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Frankly, I took, am sick of the Kessel hype. Ain't gonna give it any more lip service. Let's read the newspapers, and ignore the kid, except to ride him ruthlessly when he is in the WCHA. Remember how we used to chide Gopher fans for being obsessed with Parise. Let's not return the bad habit with Kessel. Can anyone say Dave Spehar??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxtatoo42 Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Frankly, I took, am sick of the Kessel hype. Ain't gonna give it any more lip service. Let's read the newspapers, and ignore the kid, except to ride him ruthlessly when he is in the WCHA. Remember how we used to chide Gopher fans for being obsessed with Parise. Let's not return the bad habit with Kessel. Can anyone say Dave Spehar??? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i remember watching him in the state tournament in 96 and thinking he was a fat lazy puck hog. He wouldn't come into his own zone to get the puck, i remember him sitting out by the red line suck-holing, not going into the corners in the offensive zone, but just sick with the puck. I don't remember him being a standout for the gophers. I'm not going to say he had a terrible college career, but for all the hype he got, he definately wasn't the go to gopher at any point in his 4 yrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Frankly, I took, am sick of the Kessel hype. Ain't gonna give it any more lip service. Let's read the newspapers, and ignore the kid, except to ride him ruthlessly when he is in the WCHA. Remember how we used to chide Gopher fans for being obsessed with Parise. Let's not return the bad habit with Kessel. Can anyone say Dave Spehar??? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This kid is going to be a dominant player right away, I was really hoping he would not choose the Goofers. They already had a very good recruiting class before Kessel if this is true. I can't believe the BADgers could not land this kid, he will take some heat when the Goofs play in Madison next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I thought Kessel did a fine job at the WJC, and I think he'll be a great college player. However, the old man scheduling a press conference for a college hockey siging, let alone all of the coy press snippets the past few months, just screams "restraining order" in the future. Good luck, and a case of Advil, to Eaves or Lucia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I sensed that Kessel would be a better fit in the gophers system and would be more excited to play an up tempo game, rather than the clutch/grab/hold style the Badgers play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmidtdoggydog Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Modified by moderator to convert text of copyrighted article to link COLLEGE HOCKEY: Gophers leader for Kessel? 3/02/05 Andy Baggot Wisconsin State Journal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyeagle Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I sensed that Kessel would be a better fit in the gophers system and would be more excited to play an up tempo game, rather than the clutch/grab/hold style the Badgers play. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nice....I can see the BADger faithful on USCHO working themselves into a frenzy now over this accusation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I could be wrong on this one, but I think Kessel has the best chance of having a Kariya-like freshman impact on NCAA hockey of anyone in the last decade. Not Kariya points, as they are harder to come by these days, but that kind of domination. He'll have to adjust to having less time and space than he is used to, especially on regulation rinks. Also, for those who note his production against college teams this year, I will just say that playing in exhibitions, with backups in the lineup and an incomplete effort by college teams, will be different from playing against men determined to prevent goals, with all the sticks and elbows that will bring. From a UND perspective, the timing could be better, as I wouldn't mind having Greene and Jones out to combat the boy. His play in the WJC has me dreading the prospect of Kessel flying up the ice on a big rink. If anyone can put the extra room to use, it will be him. Here's the good part: whether he goes to Wisconsin or Minnesota, I don't see UND, CC, Denver or anyone else in the league giving him and his team a free pass. (BTW, the adjustment to sticks and elbows that the boy will face will also be an issue for a young player like Toews.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I could be wrong on this one, but I think Kessel has the best chance of having a Kariya-like freshman impact on NCAA hockey of anyone in the last decade. Not Kariya points, as they are harder to come by these days, but that kind of domination. He'll have to adjust to having less time and space than he is used to, especially on regulation rinks. Also, for those who note his production against college teams this year, I will just say that playing in exhibitions, with backups in the lineup and an incomplete effort by college teams, will be different from playing against men determined to prevent goals, with all the sticks and elbows that will bring. From a UND perspective, the timing could be better, as I wouldn't mind having Greene and Jones out to combat the boy. His play in the WJC has me dreading the prospect of Kessel flying up the ice on a big rink. If anyone can put the extra room to use, it will be him. Here's the good part: whether he goes to Wisconsin or Minnesota, I don't see UND, CC, Denver or anyone else in the league giving him and his team a free pass. (BTW, the adjustment to sticks and elbows that the boy will face will also be an issue for a young player like Toews.) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hopefully if Greene stays he will give him a welcome to college hockey with one of his pancake body checks. Kessel will come flying up the ice with his head down and Greene will nail him. Welcome to the WCHA kid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.B.T.G. Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Geez. I guess Minnesota will win the National Championship for the next four years with this kid....why even have season? Can't wait for Sioux "D" to escort him into the boards a the The Ralph!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Frankly, I took, am sick of the Kessel hype. Ain't gonna give it any more lip service. Let's read the newspapers, and ignore the kid, except to ride him ruthlessly when he is in the WCHA. Remember how we used to chide Gopher fans for being obsessed with Parise. Let's not return the bad habit with Kessel. Can anyone say Dave Spehar??? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Perhaps he is over-hyped. That doesn't mean he won't great. But if he had been interested in, and picked, the Sioux I seriously doubt this would be the direction of discussion. Kessel is the real deal and I expect him to be great whereever he goes. Just so long as it is in the WCHA, anywhere else would be an absolute WASTE. We need to quit pretending there is more than 1 elite conference in hockey... I am a little suprised that it appears that Kessel never considered North Dakota seriously. Particularly after Toews gave his verbal. Toews may well be competing with Kessel for #1 overall in the 2006 draft. I would have thought that the chance to play with someone like Toews would have intrested him. But if he was no interested in Grand Forks, so be it. We should do OK. The nice thing about being North Dakota is, OH NO, we might have to settle for the second best recruiting class in the nation last year. Hey Gopher fans, just remember one thing. Woog wouldn't have considered him or even let him play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skateshattrick Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Kessel is a special player. He was when he was a PeeWee on the Madison Capitals and he was this last year when he played with the Madison Capitals. To contend otherwise is lack of objectivity or sour grapes. However, I'm not sure that I agree that he's the next coming and will transform whatever team he is on into an NCAA champion. Zach Parise was not able to do that, nor were a number of Gopher greats in the 80's and 90's such as Mike Crowley. You could make the case that he has more speed and potentially more scoring ability than Zach, but I could make a pretty strong case that Zach is a better overall player. He is truly going to make UM or UW better, but it is still a team game. Having said that, I sure would have liked to see him in a Sioux uniform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skateshattrick Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Kessel is a special player. He was when he was a PeeWee on the US World Junior Team and he was this last year when he played with the Madison Capitals. To contend otherwise is lack of objectivity or sour grapes. However, I'm not sure that I agree that he's the next coming and will transform whatever team he is on into an NCAA champion. Zach Parise was not able to do that, nor were a number of Gopher greats in the 80's and 90's such as Mike Crowley. You could make the case that he has more speed and potentially more scoring ability than Zach, but I could make a pretty strong case that Zach is a better overall player. He is truly going to make UM or UW better, but it is still a team game. Having said that, I sure would have liked to see him in a Sioux uniform. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oops! I meant the US World Junior Team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Kessel is a special player. He was when he was a PeeWee on the Madison Capitals and he was this last year when he played with the Madison Capitals. To contend otherwise is lack of objectivity or sour grapes. However, I'm not sure that I agree that he's the next coming and will transform whatever team he is on into an NCAA champion. Zach Parise was not able to do that, nor were a number of Gopher greats in the 80's and 90's such as Mike Crowley. You could make the case that he has more speed and potentially more scoring ability than Zach, but I could make a pretty strong case that Zach is a better overall player. He is truly going to make UM or UW better, but it is still a team game. Having said that, I sure would have liked to see him in a Sioux uniform. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Based on his performance at the World Juniors, I would say that at this point he is a defensive liability at best. That does not mean that he is lazy or won't improve, but he let his man skate by him and score in the crease at least twice aginst the Swiss. To be lazy requires years of proof. i.e. Thomas Vanek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Nice....I can see the BADger faithful on USCHO working themselves into a frenzy now over this accusation. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Call them like I see them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux_Hab-it Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 If you think Parise got mugged in the WCHA wait until you see what happens to a little waif like Kessel. Parise was stocky and tough so he could take a licking and keep on ticking. Kessel looks very good in patty-cake hockey like the game with the Swedes but we'll see what happens to Kessel's game when the going truly gets tough. I don't believe he will be the impact player in the WCHA that everyone is expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC_transplant Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 "To be lazy requires years of proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux-per Villain Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 If you think Parise got mugged in the WCHA wait until you see what happens to a little waif like Kessel. Parise was stocky and tough so he could take a licking and keep on ticking. Kessel looks very good in patty-cake hockey like the game with the Swedes but we'll see what happens to Kessel's game when the going truly gets tough. I don't believe he will be the impact player in the WCHA that everyone is expecting. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hopefully Kessel will end his college career the same as Parise......zero national championships Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmidtdoggydog Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Phil Kessel Sr. was asked directly if his son had decided to go to Minnesota. "He hasn't," the father said. "It's truly up in the air." I don't mean to overanalyze, but if it is truly up in the air, why is the family announcing a decision tomorrow. They waited this long, why not a little longer? The signing date isn't until April, I believe. Will it just pop into his head before he makes the call tonight? None of it makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianvf Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Kessel's girlfriend and some of his closest friends from the NTDP will be on the Minneapolis campus in the fall. Girlfriend's going to Minnie? That makes the decision easy for him.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Ranger Posted March 2, 2005 Author Share Posted March 2, 2005 I think the only reason the decision is taking so long is because he always was going to Minny but had all the Wisc. stuff in the back of his mind. It took long because he has all the abuse he will get from the Badger backers in the back of his mind. If it was a decision between say Minny and UND the decision would have been made a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertibm Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Frankly, I took, am sick of the Kessel hype. Ain't gonna give it any more lip service. Let's read the newspapers, and ignore the kid, except to ride him ruthlessly when he is in the WCHA. Remember how we used to chide Gopher fans for being obsessed with Parise. Let's not return the bad habit with Kessel. Can anyone say Dave Spehar??? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Are you comparing Kessel to Sephar? Are you stoned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Girlfriend's going to Minnie? That makes the decision easy for him.... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> He's obviously never seen the chickies along State Street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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