Thoughts On Next Year

[brianvf]

I agree, and how many other 20+ goal players might there be between Zajac, Spirko, Stafford Toews and Duncan.

I'd add Porter and Kozek to that list as well.

Porter showed flashes of brilliance this year, if he can make that consistent next year, he will be a force. And Kozek and Duncan finished the BCHL regular season tied for 1st in the league in goals, so both should be able to put the puck in the net.

[brianvf]

In my opinion he is much more polished than Chucko and it is not even close. I am glad we got the better of those two Salmon Arm players.

I agree. Before the season started, people were hyping both Zajac and Chucko, but IMO Chucko didn't come close to living up to the hype. He seemed to disappear for games at a time, while Zajac just kept getting better as the games got more important. I would take either Spirko or Zajac over Chucko anyday.

I can't wait to see how Spirko and Zajac progress next season....

[sagard]

I think Zajac has the potential to be as good or almost as good as Parise next year. Plus he is bigger and better on faceoffs. He is responsible defensively and is a good passer although he needs to become a better playmaker to match Parise. In my opinion he is much more polished than Chucko and it is not even close. I am glad we got the better of those two Salmon Arm players.

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I think most who follow this stuff closely expected Zajac to do better than Chucko this year, and likely next year as well.

Next year I'm hoping Chucko turn into a 30-35 point player and give the Gophers the physical presence that they desparately need against WCHA opponents.

Year three is where I think Chucko will outperform Zajac, simply due to Zajac will not likely still be playing college hockey. Kind of like how Sertich/Guathier/Sterling drastically out performed Parise and Vanek this year.

[schmidtdoggydog]

"" The other factor to remember is Moreland.  FM Jets don't have him on their webpage, but I'm told he has been doing well there?""

I personal wouldnt say consider Moreland. In the FM recent playoff games, they swetp the Blizzards 3-0. According to their website..www.fmjets.com, Moreland didnt play in any of those games.  There biggest player recently has been Brent Olson, hes committed to the AirForce. Throughout there regular season, Phil Fox & Chris Myhro were there togo guys, now along is Brent Olson. According to their website to, they have 5 players leaving to play DI after this season.

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Moreland broke his thumb about a month or so ago on a Jets swing through Montana. I believe he underwent surgery to repair the broken bone(s).

Of the 5 players that have already signed, at least 3 are going to the Atlantic Hockey Association, which isn't exactly a powerhouse (Canisius tied for second in the league last year; Mercyhurst gave BC a run before the Eagles were smoked by the Sioux during the regionals):

Quinnipiac 34

Canisius 31

Mercyhurst 31

Holy Cross 29

Sacred Heart 27

Connecticut 22

Bentley 17

Army 13

American Int'l 12

[jk]

Kind of like how Sertich/Guathier/Sterling drastically out performed Parise and Vanek this year.

I have been thinking of this all year, as Gauthier, Tambellini, Sterling/Sertich and Eaves excelled. It was an exceptional year for forwards, and Parise and Vanek were at the top of the class. Unfortunately, they left.

Just think how good BC would have been if they all had followed through with their psychological commitments there.

[dagies]

I think most who follow this stuff closely expected Zajac to do better than Chucko this year, and likely next year as well. 

I think this is correct in a lot of cases, but a couple of the gopher spin masters had a different point of view which didn't work out to well for them.

Yes, unfortunately (or fortunately I suppose) Chucko appears to have a longer college career ahead of him than Zajac.

Zajac certainly exceeded my expectations this year.

Sioux and Gopher fans both have been very spoiled with very high achieving freshmen as of late (Vanek, Parise, et al). While both teams may continue to have someone come in with that potential (Kessel?, Toews?) in future years at some point fans of one or both teams are going to come down WAY too hard on some poor freshmen players for not carrying our teams.

[#1siouxfan22]

[redwing77]

Beiswenger wouldn't be a bad option, but I don't know anything about him. Also, the goaltender from the FM Jets, Oklund, was an alternate for the U-18 team. May be a quick, cheap fix. I really don't think Hakstol should spend a ton of time on finding a 3rd string goaltender.

Okland is only a junior in hs.

He has only played 9 games this season with a 3.53 GA and a Save % of .867. Not that great but he is only a junior he could get better since he is suppose to be the number 1 guy for the jets next season.

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Didn't realize that, but not surprised. I thought Finley was a senior.

[Siouxman]

I like the idea of Porter, Prpich and Fabian out there causing problems as a third line.

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Depending on who he is skating with, I am predicting that Fabian will have a mild breakout year next season. He has the size, the energy, and the skill to score 10-15 goals. Furthermore, he now knows that he has the skill and ability to score at this level. While the Sioux should certainly have some excellent scorers as posted above, depth counts and I think Fabian could be a big part of the depth. He will provide a much greater scoring impact next year.

[crosby_87]

Anyone talking about how moreland hasnt played lately for the jets is right...he hasnt been but theres a good reason for that. He is the starting goalie for the Bismarck Bobcats. Haha sorry if somebody already said that but i just had to because it was bugging me.

[Mad Man]

I know for a fact that Chad would give his left *** to play for the Sioux. Besides, it couldn't hurt to have a 6'-3" guy in practice giving our forwards a different look in the net.

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I don't know about Chad, but Aaron Vickar did.

[#1siouxfan22]

Anyone talking about how moreland hasnt played lately for the jets is right...he hasnt been but theres a good reason for that. He is the starting goalie for the Bismarck Bobcats. Haha sorry if somebody already said that but i just had to because it was bugging me.

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They are talking about Matt Moreland the forward for the jets not Kasey Moreland the goalie for bismarck.

[redwing77]

Bored and tooling around. I wanted to tool around and give a few prospects from the AJHL, but their website kinda sucks. But here is the BCHL candidate I found. My criteria was that he be the high in scoring, 19 years old or younger, and consistant from year to year (if possible). If I figure out where I can find others, I'll post them.

Alan Mazur - Coquitlam

[Mad Man]

Bored and tooling around.  I wanted to tool around and give a few prospects from the AJHL, but their website kinda sucks.  But here is the BCHL candidate I found.  My criteria was that he be the high in scoring, 19 years old or younger, and consistant from year to year (if possible).  If I figure out where I can find others, I'll post them.

Alan Mazur - Coquitlam

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I wouldn't care too much about how high scoring the D-man is but rather what his +/- rating is. There are already offensive type d-men coming in. If Greene or Smaby turn pro the Sioux will need to fill the void of a big tough stay at home defenseman.

[redwing77]

[ftnsiouxhockey]

[schmidtdoggydog]

[Greene said he hasn't decided yet.

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What? You mean the "vodka" source might be giving bad or misleading information?! Greene says he hasn't decided; Hakstol says it's 50/50; for now that seems a bit more reliable!

[jloos]

I wouldn't care too much about how high scoring the D-man is but rather what his +/- rating is.  There are already offensive type d-men coming in.  If Greene or Smaby turn pro the Sioux will need to fill the void of a big tough stay at home defenseman.

Lee may fit that mold, and Radke was supposed to, but other than those two I don't see either of the other D-men being much of an offensive threat. Jones has 2 points in 41 games for the USND team. Chorney had 4 goals and 28 assists - which was about the same as the rest of the SSM D. I've seen him play a few times, and he is a very solid D-man, but not someone I would say is offensive minded.

Jones for sure, and I would think Chorney would fit the mold as stay at home D - although neither is all that big. I think Lee will also be more of a stay at home player at this level, although he does have the skills to be more offensive minded. Regardless, I don't think the Sioux have another Roche type player coming in.

[Goon]

Lee may fit that mold, and Radke was supposed to, but other than those two I don't see either of the other D-men being much of an offensive threat. 

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We only need a couple of Offensive defensemen, we don't need a bunch of Pylons like Minnesota had this season. They have hardly any defensive defensmen and it cost them against us. Defensemen should play defense. I think Lee will be that guy to lead the power play. I think Radke showed flashes of greatness so he probably can fill that role too.

Edited April 13, 2005 by Goon

[DAR]

[siouxnami]

Not to disagree with you Goon but I did not see any flashes of greatness from Radke last year. I saw a lot of mistakes and I think that is why he was benched towards the end of the year. Hopefully that did not hurt his confidence for next year. Let's hope he does the things he needs to do this summer to improve his game because we will need him next year.

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Hey if our goaltenders can survive Blais, Radke can survive this year...

[sagard]

We only need a couple of Offensive defensemen, we don't need a bunch of Pylons like Minnesota had this season. They have hardly any defensive defensmen and it cost them against us. Defensemen should play defense. I think Lee will be that guy to lead the power play. I think Radke showed flashes of greatness so he probably can fill that role too.

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Wow. You make me feel like the team I root for will have little chance against the Sioux in the coming years with the group of defense they currently have.

Of course I'm sure none of the three Sioux freshmen defensemen will wear down next season, and definetly not at the end of the year at the Frozen Four when they are playing the best teams who are playing their best.

I think you are right on with Lee though, he seems to be very calm when he has the puck and able to make good passes or take the hard shot when he is the open player.

[brianvf]

Not to disagree with you Goon but I did not see any flashes of greatness from Radke last year. I saw a lot of mistakes and I think that is why he was benched towards the end of the year.

I agree with Goon. Toward the end of the season, Radke played very well for a couple weeks, and then he was benched as the games got more important. I remember commenting on it during those games that he was playing better. I think he will have a very good soph year.

[dagies]

I agree. I would have liked to see Radke play more this year, but he seemed fairly solid at the end of the year. Will be fun to watch him develop next year.

[PCM]

I agree with Goon.  Toward the end of the season, Radke played very well for a couple weeks, and then he was benched as the games got more important.  I remember commenting on it during those games that he was playing better.  I think he will have a very good soph year.

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Radke scored the game-winning goal in the second game against Bemidji. It was a nice slapshot right off the draw. He played the next two games against Denver and had a couple of nice slapshots right off faceoffs, but didn't score. It did demonstrate his potential, however.