2024-25 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[brianvf]

13 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Don’t we typically run with 8 D?

Yes but I wouldn't be surprised if another D came in...otherwise you're left with only four D with NCAA experience being that Komzak barely played last year.

[siouxforce19]

4 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Yes but I wouldn't be surprised if another D came in...otherwise you're left with only four D with NCAA experience being that Komzak barely played last year.

Did we not have only 4 D with NCAA experience at the start of this season? It just seems unnecessary to me to add a 9th D. 

[Oxbow6]

5 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Yes but I wouldn't be surprised if another D came in...otherwise you're left with only four D with NCAA experience being that Komzak barely played last year.

One game every couple years isn't huge experience.  How about you develop Komzak?

[brianvf]

15 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Did we not have only 4 D with NCAA experience at the start of this season? It just seems unnecessary to me to add a 9th D. 

14 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

One game every couple years isn't huge experience.  How about you develop Komzak?

<shrugs>

They may very well keep it at the current roster.  I just wouldn't be surprised to see more movement.

[Walsh Hall]

13 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

One game every couple years isn't huge experience.  How about you develop Komzak?

One of the multiple reasons I hate the portal.  From Komzak’s perspective it’s real easy to leave to go somewhere he’s basically guaranteed playing time.  From the team’s perspective it must be tempting to take a known commodity instead of hoping a player develops to a similar level.

At least we are in the trading up side of the portal equation, but I hate it.

[siouxforce19]

1 minute ago, Walsh Hall said:

One of the multiple reasons I hate the portal.  From Komzak’s perspective it’s real easy to leave to go somewhere he’s basically guaranteed playing time.  From the team’s perspective it must be tempting to take a known commodity instead of hoping a player develops to a similar level.

At least we are in the trading up side of the portal equation, but I hate it.

Funny enough, Komzak was MacDonald’s D partner in juniors. 

[Oxbow6]

5 minutes ago, Walsh Hall said:

One of the multiple reasons I hate the portal.  From Komzak’s perspective it’s real easy to leave to go somewhere he’s basically guaranteed playing time.  From the team’s perspective it must be tempting to take a known commodity instead of hoping a player develops to a similar level.

At least we are in the trading up side of the portal equation, but I hate it.

You ruin your ability to recruit talented players with upside if given time to develop because you're seen as a peudo used car salesman. Then it becomes chippas (@gfhockey) or bust.

[stoneySIOUX]

1 minute ago, Oxbow6 said:

You ruin your ability to recruit talented players with upside if given time to develop because you're seen as a peudo used car salesman.

I'd say MacDonald is a talented player with upside, but I do see your point.

[AJS]

1 hour ago, brianvf said:

Projection based on current info:

Defense (8):
JR - Zmolek
SO - Livanavage, Wiebe, Komzak, MacDonald
FR - Jubenvill, Strathmann, Emery
 

Goalie (3):
SR - Semptimphelter
JR - Johnson
SO - Hedquist

Benoit enters portal...wouldn't be surprised if another Dman enters as well.
So still room for another RHD to come in via portal, maybe a JR/SR to balance the classes a little.

Lock this in. Do not add a 9th for next year. 

[Oxbow6]

2 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

I'd say MacDonald is a talented player with upside, but I do see your point.

Agree.......and so was Constantini. 31 points this season says we gave up on him too soon IMO.

[stoneySIOUX]

13 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

Agree.......and so was Constantini. 31 points this season says we gave up on him too soon IMO.

I remember him getting A LOT of shots as a sophomore and he didn't deliver. Hindsight 20/20, of course. He had a good year. Where would he have slotted into this year? My guess is the team saw him bottom six and he didn't want it. 

[Oxbow6]

41 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

I remember him getting A LOT of shots as a sophomore and he didn't deliver. Hindsight 20/20, of course. He had a good year. Where would he have slotted into this year? My guess is the team saw him bottom six and he didn't want it. 

Schmaltz......"Hold my beer".

......and let's not forget the missed NCAA Lovefest with Hain and Senden that year. 

Seems some definitely get jettisoned quick while others have rope that is pretty long. 

[scpa0305]

1 hour ago, siouxforce19 said:

Did we not have only 4 D with NCAA experience at the start of this season? It just seems unnecessary to me to add a 9th D. 

If he stays…I have a hunch Komzak will be ready. Big athletic kid. Lat bloomer. Put him in the right spots and see how it goes.

[ChetSteadman]

6 hours ago, brianvf said:

Projection based on current info:

Forward (15):
GR - Jamernik
SR - Berg, Kunz, Schmaltz, Montgomery
JR - Blake, McLaughlin, James, Strinden
SO - Perron
FR - Swanson, Boisvert, Croal, Littler
X - Portal

Defense (9):
JR - Zmolek
SO - Livanavage, Wiebe, Benoit, Komzak, MacDonald
FR - Jubenvill, Strathmann, Emery
 

Goalie (3):
SR - Semptimphelter
JR - Johnson
SO - Hedquist

Caleb MacDonald comes to UND out of the portal.
Looks to be a solid add for sure, although he is LHD, so we'll be short on RHD for next season unless some more moves are coming.  And that SO class of Dmen is large.
Solid pipeline coming from UAF from the looks of it.

Should just hire their head recruiter.  Seems to be doing all the heavy lifting.  

[scpa0305]

1 hour ago, Oxbow6 said:

Schmaltz......"Hold my beer".

......and let's not forget the missed NCAA Lovefest with Hain and Senden that year. 

Seems some definitely get jettisoned quick while others have rope that is pretty long. 

At times he passes the eye test and he did have that nice frosh year. But…I’m a big numbers guy, especially for those players getting offensive looks. This guy has had the longest leash of all time. I honestly think I would have quadrupled his goal total assuming I could drop 10-15 or so. In all seriousness, hopefully he bounces back next year. We’ll need him.

[scpa0305]

1 hour ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

He's still bottom six. He’s gone for a reason.

He just put up 30+ pts on a team that went to the ncaas. We def could have used him. Had a nice frosh year too.

[stoneySIOUX]

1 hour ago, Oxbow6 said:

Schmaltz......"Hold my beer".

......and let's not forget the missed NCAA Lovefest with Hain and Senden that year. 

Seems some definitely get jettisoned quick while others have rope that is pretty long. 

Replacing Schmaltz, fair. But he was bottom 6. So, I still don't think he would have been happy with bottom 6, which is likely why he left. I'm not arguing we couldn't have used him, by the way. I just don't think he would have accepted his role.

[fightingsioux4life]

25 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Replacing Schmaltz, fair. But he was bottom 6. So, I still don't think he would have been happy with bottom 6, which is likely why he left. I'm not arguing we couldn't have used him, by the way. I just don't think he would have accepted his role.

I agree with you. No point in hanging onto someone who doesn't want to be here.

[hockeytherapy13]

3 hours ago, brianvf said:

Projection based on current info:

Forward (15):
GR - Jamernik
SR - Berg, Kunz, Schmaltz, Montgomery
JR - Blake, McLaughlin, James, Strinden
SO - Perron
FR - Swanson, Boisvert, Croal, Littler
X - Portal

Defense (9):
JR - Zmolek
SO - Livanavage, Wiebe, Komzak, MacDonald
FR - Jubenvill, Strathmann, Emery
X - Portal

Goalie (3):
SR - Semptimphelter
JR - Johnson
SO - Hedquist

Benoit enters portal...wouldn't be surprised if another Dman enters as well.
So still room for another RHD to come in via portal, maybe a JR/SR to balance the classes a little.

I remember Schloss saying that Wiebe actually likes playing on the right side. He did do it quite a bit this year too so I’m guessing he will be one of the right-sided guys next season. He’s a guy who really developed well defensively this year and I’m excited to see how his offensive side develops 

[hockeytherapy13]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

If he stays…I have a hunch Komzak will be ready. Big athletic kid. Lat bloomer. Put him in the right spots and see how it goes.

If I remember correctly, he ended up playing in that game against the gophers this year because Pehrson was hurt . And although he had limited minutes, he did well with the time he had. Kept it simple and physical and didn’t have any glaring gaffes 

[brianvf]

 

[hockeytherapy13]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

At times he passes the eye test and he did have that nice frosh year. But…I’m a big numbers guy, especially for those players getting offensive looks. This guy has had the longest leash of all time. I honestly think I would have quadrupled his goal total assuming I could drop 10-15 or so. In all seriousness, hopefully he bounces back next year. We’ll need him.

I think it’s important that he stays 4th line center because he really is a reliable defensive forward.  Let him kill penalties too but there is no excuse for him being on the power play as late in the season as he was. It took until the 2nd to last home game (thankfully we were at home for the playoffs) for him to get a goal. That type of impotence has no business being on the power play of a team with hopes to go deep in the NCAAs.

[Kevin G]

15 hours ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

I think it’s important that he stays 4th line center because he really is a reliable defensive forward.  Let him kill penalties too but there is no excuse for him being on the power play as late in the season as he was. It took until the 2nd to last home game (thankfully we were at home for the playoffs) for him to get a goal. That type of impotence has no business being on the power play of a team with hopes to go deep in the NCAAs.

This. I just do not understand Schmaltz's usage. Absolute head scratcher. He seems like an awesome kid and has a reputation for being defensively sound, but there's been so little offensive production. Even on the third line, he's miscast, let alone the PP.

It reminds me of how former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would play utilityman Nick Punto every freaking day. When it came to Punto, Gardenhire could not help himself. In 2007, Punto was one of the worst hitters in baseball (OPS+ of 53 where an OPS+ of 100 is exactly average; 53 is just awful) yet Gardenhire played Punto in 150 games. And in over a quarter of those games, Gardenhire put Punto first or second in the batting order. It was so bizarre.

Anyway, I'm glad I got that old Twins gripe off my chest. Here's hoping that Schmaltz lights the lamp 20 times next year.

[brianvf]

Projection based on current info:

Forward (15):
GR - Jamernik
SR - Berg, Kunz, Schmaltz, Montgomery
JR - McLaughlin, James, Strinden
SO - Perron
FR - Swanson, Boisvert, Croal, Littler
2X - Portal

Defense (8):
JR - Zmolek
SO - Livanavage, Wiebe, Komzak, MacDonald
FR - Jubenvill, Strathmann, Emery

Goalie (3):
SR - Semptimphelter
JR - Johnson
SO - Hedquist

Sounds like the Blake news is imminent and potentially already done.
With that news, we're looking like we might need 1-3 forwards to add (depends on if Littler, Klee, or both/neither are ready).  I'd guess that one of those two will come this fall and we'd grab two out of the portal.  Hopefully Wilkie or another faceoff specialist can be added, which would allow Berry to put OMac on the wing.

Losing Blake will be tough, as it seemed like so much of the offense went thru him at times this year.  He'll need to clean up his giveaways/turnovers and add some strength to succeed at the next level.

I expect big jumps from a few forwards...guys like James, OMac, and Perron have the skill...another year will be huge.  Steady progression from guys like Jammer, Berg, Kunz, and Strinden as well.

[brianvf]

Welcome aboard, Carter Wilkie:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-picks-up-commitment-from-rit-center-carter-wilkie

Quote

Wilkie narrowed it down, made recruiting visits to UND and Wisconsin, then gave a verbal commitment to play for the Fighting Hawks in 2024-25.

"It was a crazy couple of days, honestly," Wilkie said. "It was a tough decision, for sure. It was quick to narrow it down, especially when a program like North Dakota calls you. I wanted to go see it. It was a great experience. I'm happy with where I'm going now. I'm hoping my phone dies down a little bit now."

Wilkie, the highest-scoring player to enter the portal this offseason, has one year of eligibility remaining.