2005-06 ND Highschool Hockey

[Jack Mickleson]

For all future references: ND's best defenseman's name is spelled Tyler Jundt.

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This is the most preposterous comment that I

[#1siouxfan22]

Who is being scouted by the NHL?

[Jack Mickleson]

Who is being scouted by the NHL?

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David Fischer of Apple Valley.

[ND Pride]

Jundt lives in Williston. That drive to Fargo every weekend and to Minneapolis for the select teams and elite teams is just too far. I would still list him with Peterson and Galt.

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I know he lives in Williston. The select teams do not always go to Minneapolis, certainly not every weekend. Kids from Williston have been on select teams before. My point is that simply proclaiming the player to be the best defenseman in the state or on a par with other top defensemen does not mean he is on that level. No one has provided any objective evidence (scouting opinions, elite selection and participation, etc) to show that he is on that level. I would like to see some evidence that shows why he should be considered on a par with these elite players and I have seen no evidence other than individual personal opinion. Maybe he is the next Bobby Orr but tell me why that is the case.

[ND Pride]

There is no such thing as objective evidence to say who is the "best." You can put up all the stats you want, but "best" is purely subjective. Yes, Galt has better offensive numbers, but my opinion is that Jundt is at least at his level, maybe not offensively, but definitely defensively. Take it or leave it, that's what it is. Also, he's my former doubles partner, so I had to give him a shout-out. (I also got tired of only hearing about North and wanted to start a different debate, to be perfectly honest.)

As for the HS Elite League, there is no way that he isn't good enough to be on Team Great Plains. I would think that playing #1 singles and doubles for the Williston tennis team may have taken up too much of his time to be included on the roster.

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That's fine. Some kids are too busy to play with other fall sport obligations. I agree that when you get down to it the ultimate decision of who is best can be described as somewhat subjective because various factors and personal preferences play into the interpretation of the many "indicators" or as I call them "objective evidence" of excellence. Objective evidence would include things like offensive numbers, +/-, recognition by Junior A scouts, etc, etc. The labeling of "best" is not purely subjective or totally subjective as part of the decision is based on criteria that some group of people would agree on. In any case good luck to him in his upcoming season and hopefully other people from around the state will get a chance to see him play and give him whatever credit he deserves.

[specifics]

I've heard this debate about Galt and Jundt go on long enough. Erick Galt is no doubt the top defenseman on the Team Great Plains Elite One hockey team. Not only is Galt a coach's dream on defense, he is better than most forwards... even from his defensive role. I do not believe Jundt was invited to try out for Team Great Plains, but I could be mistaken. Not only is Galt the 2nd leading scorer of all defensemen, he is out scoring MANY future NHL draft picks... think about it.

[alum05]

Who have the been the top forwards on Great Plains so far? How are the ND boys doing in terms of points?

[siouxfan3]

All them teams are is a bunch a crap, if u go to a bigger ND school ur gonna get asked before someone from a smaller school. Take Ross Monson for example he had what 17 points? There are 5 juniors and a sophmore on the williston team with more points than him. And a freshman with just as many. And Kris Graalum from Shanley 14 points seriously. Why didnt any of these Williston kids get asked to play. Its not that these kids arent talented enough, its that they just dont get a chance.

[ND Pride]

All them teams are is a bunch a crap, if u go to a bigger ND school ur gonna get asked before someone from a smaller school. Take Ross Monson for example he had what 17 points? There are 5 juniors and a sophmore on the williston team with more points than him. And a freshman with just as many. And Kris Graalum from Shanley 14 points seriously. Why didnt any of these Williston kids get asked to play. Its not that these kids arent talented enough, its that they just dont get a chance.

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It is best to research a topic before you toss out uninformed opinions. First, let me say that Williston has a nice team and they should have a very good one this year as well. Best of luck to them and I hope they get all the recognition they deserve. That said, I have to take issue with a comparison of points between players from Williston and Bismarck High. The comparison does not make a lot of sense. Here is why: Last year Bismarck filled their schedule with out of conference teams such as Fargo South, Grafton, Red River, Roseau, Moundsview, and East Grand Forks. Williston on the other hand, and I do realize that they have travel problems because of their location, played such powerhouses as Billings, WKCI and GVC. They pumped in 16 goals in total against those teams. In addition they played Kittson Central and Shanley. Now I would expect the Bismarck kids would have notched a ton of goals against those teams too. My point is that your comparison of goals/assists does not wash unless the teams on the schedule are of the same level of quality. Williston needs to play some tougher competition to get better and that is hard given their location. Maybe some Canadian teams would be an option - not sure how that would go with North Dakota High School Activities Association.

The size of the school, in and of itself, is not relevant. Plenty of kids from Grafton have played on select teams and Shanley is not that big either. If you check the district select programs there are kids from Williston, Hazen-Beulah and Bottineau and other smaller communities. What you seem to be totally unaware of is the fact that kids who make the select teams have the best chance of being on a high school elite team. The select teams are chosen from an OPEN TRYOUT. So if you want more Williston kids on Elite teams then get them to select tryouts and if they are good enough to make that team then they will have a great shot at an elite team.

If you think kids from the big school sit on their hands and have all the hockey opportunities given to them you are wrong. They travel for their opportunities and some have gone as far as Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Orlando for their competitive development and exposure.

So basically your conclusions are all wrong. If these kids don't get asked it is because they are not putting themselves in situations where they get exposed to tryouts to objectively determine if they are among the top players in the state. Some of them may well deserve to be on those teams. We will never know unless they make the effort to participate in the North Dakota Select Hockey Programs.

[siouxfan3]

No, the selects is a big joke to, one year a kid from williston tried out and they told him that he would be on the team but he had to travel down to grand forks the next weekend to try out against some grand forks kids who werent able to make the try outs. whats with that? if the kids cant make the set try outs they shouldnt be on the team there shouldnt be seperate tryouts for the kids who couldnt make itor spots reserved for them. thats why these kids arent trying out for the teams, cuase its a waste of money to go down to the try outs and get screwed like that.

[specifics]

Siouxfan3... Your knowledge of hockey in North Dakota and beyond is obviously very minimal. If a representive from a USHL team takes interest in a player and asks him if he will come play for that team, and is then injured or sick during tryouts is it reasonable to think that the coach of that team will forget about that player and select a weaker player that was able to attend the tryout. No. Thats not how hockey works and thats not how life works. In that regard, North Dakota Select coach's have seen almost all the kids coming to tryout at some point in time and know their calibur. So if some very talented players from lets say Grand Forks, Fargo, Grafton, and Minot are unable to attend the tryout but express their interest in playing for that team to the coach, he is going to leave some slots for those players to try to earn. Because that is what these players have to do, EARN the spots. They want to put together the best possible team that they can, and thats what they are going to do. So by sending those Williston boys to tryout against the Grand Forks kids as you claim, is actually just sending them to tryout against other players, that were just unable to make the tryouts, players that wanted to be there, that should have been there, but for some reason (injury,illness,funeral,wedding...) they werent. And if the kids from Grand Forks are better, the have every right to be on that team. So if the kids from Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, etc. are better than the kids from Williston, do those kids from Williston deserve to make the team ahead of them. No way.

[ND Pride]

No, the selects is a big joke to, one year a kid from williston tried out and they told him that he would be on the team but he had to travel down to grand forks the next weekend to try out against some grand forks kids who werent able to make the try outs. whats with that? if the kids cant make the set try outs they shouldnt be on the team there shouldnt be seperate tryouts for the kids who couldnt make itor spots reserved for them. thats why these kids arent trying out for the teams, cuase its a waste of money to go down to the try outs and get screwed like that.

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Your story seems a little inconsistent or unusual. You say a kid tried out and was told he was on the team but that he had to come to another tryout. Hard to follow exactly what happened in the situation you are trying to describe.

Whatever the case, the select program has provided exposure for kids from all over the state. There are kids from Williston right now who were at district select tryouts so it is used by kids from that area. Great players such as Danny Irmen, Ryan Potulny, Phil Lamoureux, and many others have received great exposure from the program and the USA Hockey National Festival. Check out their website and you can see how many kids from all over the state have participated. Kids in selects have moved on to higher levels of hockey including the NAHL, USHL, DI and DIII college programs. The program has been identifying and promoting the top talent in North Dakota.

Sounds like you have a lot of negativity towards some programs that have done a lot of good for North Dakota kids from all over. If something negative happened in the past I would hope it would not deter others from trying to enhance their development and exposure by trying out for this program.

[X2theZ]

No, the selects is a big joke to, one year a kid from williston tried out and they told him that he would be on the team but he had to travel down to grand forks the next weekend to try out against some grand forks kids who werent able to make the try outs. whats with that? if the kids cant make the set try outs they shouldnt be on the team there shouldnt be seperate tryouts for the kids who couldnt make itor spots reserved for them. thats why these kids arent trying out for the teams, cuase its a waste of money to go down to the try outs and get screwed like that.

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I think what your refering to is when one of the grandforks bantam A teams made the national tournement they had to miss select tryouts to attend the tournament. The people on the north dakota amatuer hockey board decided it would be fair to allow them to tryout. They would pick the top ten players and they would make the team flat out. The next number of bubble players, how ever many they felt were worthy, would then have to tryout with the players that were unable to attend the tryouts due to earning a spot at the U14 National tournament. I think now that siouxfan3 knows this we won't have to worry about him/her rant and rave over how unfair selects is. On the other hand since he/she probably was cut, do to lack of ability he will continue to blame others for his misfortunes.

[ND Pride]

I think what your refering to is when one of the grandforks bantam A teams made the national tournement they had to miss select tryouts to attend the tournament. The people on the north dakota amatuer hockey board decided it would be fair to allow them to tryout. They would pick the top ten players and they would make the team flat out. The next number of bubble players, how ever many they felt were worthy, would then have to tryout with the players that were unable to attend the tryouts due to earning a spot at the U14 National tournament. I think now that siouxfan3 knows this we won't have to worry about him/her rant and rave over how unfair selects is. On the other hand since he/she probably was cut, do to lack of ability he will continue to blame others for his misfortunes.

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Thanks for clarifying the situation with that lesson in history. Siouxfan3 must be carrying a chip for a long time because the last time a Grand Forks Bantam team went to Tier II Nationals was in 2002 - long time to hold a grudge and ignore current activities by the selects. Like I said there are a number of Williston kids on the 92, 91 etc district select teams. It was also a cheap shot for him to specifically name and criticize two current select team members. Easy to hide behind a screen name and run down other people.

[X2theZ]

Thanks for clarifying the situation with that lesson in history. Siouxfan3 must be carrying a chip for a long time because the last time a Grand Forks Bantam team went to Tier II Nationals was in 2002 - long time to hold a grudge and ignore current activities by the selects. Like I said there are a number of Williston kids on the 92, 91 etc district select teams. It was also a cheap shot for him to specifically name and criticize two current select team members. Easy to hide behind a screen name and run down other people.

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[specifics]

Siouxfan3- When are players selected for teams because of the points they had the previous season? It's not reasonable to compare points between players to figure which of the two is indeed a better player. Is it possible a player get 10 lucky goals in a season and finish with 20 total? Is it possible for a very talented player to be snake bitten and finish with 10? Yes and Yes. Just because your the leading scorer in the state that does not always mean your the best player, or best scorer for that matter.

While on the topic... Have you ever heard of role players? Do want Wayne Gretzky on your checking line? Would you put Donald Brashear on your number one power play? These are roles that these athletes play. No team wants 18 pure goal scores. Think about that...

[specifics]

18 Pure goal scorers? Sounds like a team that would win some games.

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Really? Who would play defense, block shots, kill penalties,... and so on. That MIGHT win you games in high school but last time I checked teams pick up players for reasons other than if they can put the puck in the net. There would be chaos with no defensive role players, what would a team of goal scorers do against a team equally talented, but had good defense aswell? They would not do anything, they would lose.

[Mr. Blanston]

Really? Who would play defense, block shots, kill penalties,... and so on. That MIGHT win you games in high school but last time I checked teams pick up players for reasons other than if they can put the puck in the net. There would be chaos with no defensive role players, what would a team of goal scorers do against a team equally talented, but had good defense aswell? They would not do anything, they would lose.

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Specifics, your hockey knowlegde is supreme. You are a student of the game and I, for one, am honored to be able to read your colorful insight. Thank you.

[ND Pride]

Dakota Hockey magazine published their fall 2005 issue. The publication comes out of Bismarck and here is their high school preseason rankings for the East and West:

East

1. Fargo South

2. Grafton

3. Grand Forks Central

4. Jamestown

5. Grand Forks Red River

6. West Fargo

7. Fargo North

8. Fargo Shanley

9. Wahpeton

West

1. Williston

2. Minot

3. Bismarck

4. Devils Lake

5. Hazen-Beulah

6. Bismarck Century

7. Dickinson

8. Mandan

9. Bottineau

Most people who have posted on this board tend to argee with the top two and the bottom two in the East and West. The middle rankings have much less consensus.

[WWPKD]

Dakota Hockey magazine published their fall 2005 issue.  The publication comes out of Bismarck and here is their high school preseason rankings for the East and West:

East                                           

1.  Fargo South                             

2.  Grafton   

3.  Grand Forks Central                 

4.  Jamestown                               

5.  Grand Forks Red River             

6.  West Fargo                               

7.  Fargo North                               

8.  Fargo Shanley                           

9.  Wahpeton   

West

1. Williston

2. Minot

3. Bismarck

4. Devils Lake

5. Hazen-Beulah

6. Bismarck Century

7. Dickinson

8. Mandan

9. Bottineau

                             

Most people who have posted on this board tend to argee with the top two and the bottom two in the East and West.  The middle rankings have much less consensus.

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These rankings make me laugh, ha. Since i dont know or care much about west hockey, ill just get to the point, the author of these rankings and the magic eight ball they used to make these picks should be cast from society and never allowed to return. Jamesmestown is about three or four places too high on that list and RR is three too low. With those changes it starts to resemble what the real 2005 ND High School Boys Hockey East region will look like.

[ND Hockey 4]

[soohockey15]

[X2theZ]

from previous post:

Red River is right where they belong? Behind Jamestown? Are you kidding me? Jamestown? And Central should be much lower as well. They lost their entire team from last year (And for those who do not believe that Marto wasn't their entrie team, they might not have made it to state last year, let alone reach the championship game without him). Red River, on the other hand, returns their leading scorer, Marc "10-Bears" Mihulka, who I have heard as been tearing up the Elite league this fall and should be a sleeper pick for Mr. Hockey. However, preseason rankings do not matter, but when the boys from the south side of GF see this poll this will get them even more fired up to defend their 2004-2005 State Championship.

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[soohockey15]

from previous post:

Red River is right where they belong? Behind Jamestown? Are you kidding me? Jamestown? And Central should be much lower as well. They lost their entire team from last year (And for those who do not believe that Marto wasn't their entrie team, they might not have made it to state last year, let alone reach the championship game without him). Red River, on the other hand, returns their leading scorer, Marc "10-Bears" Mihulka, who I have heard as been tearing up the Elite league this fall and should be a sleeper pick for Mr. Hockey. However, preseason rankings do not matter, but when the boys from the south side of GF see this poll this will get them even more fired up to defend their 2004-2005 State Championship.

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"Marc "10-Bears" Mihulka, who I have heard as been tearing up the Elite league this fall "

Who'd you hear that from? Him?

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[WWPKD]