yzerman19 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Gophs have a lot of talent up front, but so does UND. Chucko<Porter (NHL disagrees, but Chucko didn't show me much last year) Hirsch<Murray (although he does drive the net well) Kessel <>Toews (noone knows yet) Irmen<Stafford (the NHL thinks so too) Wheeler<Zajac (Wheeler might have potential, but Zajac has shown his-both 1st rounders) Potulny<>Spirko(depends on which Potulny, pre or post X-mas last year) The rest of the NTDP guys against our BCHL guys is a toss up I think CC is the favorite and Denver, MN and UND are all close behind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Frazee (will take over for Briggs before Christmas) Why would if take that long (see Spirko video). ".........And you thought you hated us before!!!!"Â <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually, I'm quite sure that this is true. Here are my Gopher thoughts. Kessel will be the leading freshman goal scorer. Toews because of his end to end style of play will be the leading freshman point scorer. Kessel is the real deal. I would say Minnesota will be good offensively, however, I suspect that Wheeler will disappoint based on his performance at Green Bay (admittedly a bad team). Just because Gretzky was a great player doesn't make him a great scout. Also will the real Irmen & Potulny please come forward. If they play like the second half, the Gophers will be hurting. I believe they will play like the first half. Hirsch is the big question mark. Either way he deserves a better coach than Lucia. Let me explain. The kid is either mentally ill, and should have NEVER played in the frozed four OR he just did something dumb and Lucia was out of control in trying to control the media (not allowing the footage to be shown). I see the Gophs finishing 3 or 4, but making a run late. Defense and physical play will be the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 I'm starting to think that the gold colored glasses in the MN corner have finally corrupted their reality. I was cruising around their forum and they are talking about the U18 championships going on right now, and some guy actually made the comment that it's time for Phil Kessel to show the Canadians who the real "next one" is. Now I will always route for the USA, and I hope we win, but have some perspective folks. Phil Kessel is a talented kid, but to compare him to Sidney Crosby is going a bit far. Sidney's dominating a talent pool that is the greatest in junior hockey at 17. There is a big difference between playing for NTDP and playing in the Q. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Why would if take that long (see Spirko video). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 I agree, although I will always doubt the quality of NTDP players. I keep saying that Wheeler reminds me of Tallackson. Kessel will have a very good year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC_transplant Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Hirsch is the big question mark. Either way he deserves a better coach than Lucia. Let me explain. The kid is either mentally ill, and should have NEVER played in the frozed four OR he just did something dumb and Lucia was out of control in trying to control the media (not allowing the footage to be shown). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A) Mentally ill - Tyler's parents wanted him to play in the NCAA Regional. Lucia and his staff said no way. B) Control the Media - I've read this a few places that the U was intimidating people about the video. I haven't seen one shred of evidence related to this. Shed some light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slap Shot Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 The funny thing about the WCHA is that rarely do predictions come to fruition. It seems that the teams picked to win the conference rarely do and therefore I as a Gopher fan am very hesitant to think they will win the title. While UND loses quite a bit this year, I think they have proven that with Hakstol they should not be forgotten. Not sure about how the whole league fills out, but if UND can be physical enough enough next year, and have quality goaltending, I think you guys are looking at Top 3 finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxfan13 Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 as far as i can tell for the games i saw wheeler play this year...which was a fair amount, i think its safe to say hes going to be a big time player eventually...maybe not next yr but eventually forsure...its also interesting to compare wheelers stats to millers...before millers injury that is. miller was about 10 pts behind wheeler at that time, which is pretty good if you ask me..considering the great ones praise ...granted they were both on a 10th out of 11th place team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux_Hab-it Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 I'm starting to think that the gold colored glasses in the MN corner have finally corrupted their reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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