CoteauRinkRat Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 http://insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/F...tsteam_0352.htm You have to love this "Fighting Indigenous People" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsioux Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 Six of the top 9 are WCHA, it never gets any easier around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux_Hab-it Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 What are they smoking at INCH. I would rate the incoming Sioux talent as the the #1 of all time let alone this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 What are they smoking at INCH. I would rate the incoming Sioux talent as the the #1 of all time let alone this season. Unless some of our guys are way better than my impressions I don't think the point is above arguing that MN's class could be better than UND's. I personally don't think the gap is very big, but I can't argue with their opinion. After putting the following comparison together I will admit that the gap would have to be quite small. I still believe the argument can be made the MN's crop is better, and I can understand the arguments that UND's is better. Arguments for MN is that, though it is a smaller class, they likely have a couple of players who will be an edge above what UND can put on the ice. Arguments for the Sioux is that this appears to be such a strong class almost all the way through the depth. To have the apparent quality of these players down through a large class is likely very unusual if not unprecedented. While the class might not possess a potential star goalie like Frazee (which IS a big deal IMO) and a Kessel, the 2nd tier is just as talented as what MN can put out there and there's more of it. I can dig it both ways. I mostly look forward to digging watching the Sioux skate this year! Toews < Kessel = Toews could be just as good or better. Or he might not be. He certainly looks to be an outstanding player, but he's also very young, and has not played, consistently, the level of competition that Kessel has. So when evaluating players on paper, it's easier to have confidence that Kessel would be the better of the two, at least this year. Kozek < Wheeler = Wheeler give MN the OTHER top 5 draft pick. Draft pick doesn't mean anything but anyone hoping that Wheeler's relatively paltry USHL numbers might spell B-U-S-T probably had to take some note of the recent WJC tryouts where Wheeler raised some eyebrows. From what I've been picking up Kozek might be an awfully good one too. Draft position doesn't necessarily tell the whole story as he doesn't possess Wheeler's "NHL size". Kozek might turn out to be a smaller version of Bo. I'll give Wheeler the nod because he's a good skater with size who can shoot. Kozek is a good skater who can shoot. Lee > Anderson = I'm not sold that Lee is going to come gunning out of the gate, but from what I've picked up over time he's almost if not as offensively skilled and might be a bit better defensively, and he's got better size. Maybe not a large difference between these players, but even if Lee doesn't outshine Anderson Chorney has a chance to as it appears he IS that good. And Chorney has no one to match up against. Watkins = Bostrom - Both are supposed to be very fast, skilled players. I'll rate they cancel each other out. Bostrom is 3/4 of a year older than Watkins. Both have played a year of juniors and done very well. Frazee - Top rated goalie recruit and has experience to prove his hype. Goalie is an extremely important position and getting a really good one is difficult. Walski doesn't even merit a comparison. MN's group takes a large step up just on a recruit like this. Oshie = Stoa = Oshie is a first round pick who doesn't have a lot of size, Stoa is a 2nd rounder with "NHL size". So maybe I'm underestimating Oshie. But he's coming out of high school and Stoa has been tested successfully against a higher caliber of competition. Stoa's knock is a potentially Tallacksonian effort. Oshie could win this comparison big time or this could end up pretty even. With Oshie's unknowns I'll rate it even. Finley - MN has no incoming recruit to match up against Finley. Is the big man ready for D1 primetime? Or will he take a year or so to catch up to the game? Again, he's relatively young, though not Toews young. Jones - MN has no one available to match up with what looks to be a very good defensive defenseman. Chorney - Chorney performed well at Shattuck last year and shined in junior level competition this spring and summer. If Lee falters Chorney could challenge Anderson for who the best defenseman is between these 2 rookie classes. Duncan - Duncan could potentially step in for Watkins to challenge Bostrum if Watkins falters. Duncan is small but fast and could score a ton at midget and junior A levels. Miller - Miller is coming off of an injured shoulder. Not considered the talent of a Wheeler but after a slow initial start to the season last year kept pace scoring-wise with phenom Blake Wheeler. Miller than hurt his shoulder to end the season and Wheeler continued to improve. Hard to say if Wheeler would have left him behind or not. Miller's numbers were not stellar, but if Wheeler can be said to have been held back because his team wasn't any good, is it possible the same could be said of Miller? Yet it's fair to say that Miller's numbers might have been better than they would have been because he had Wheeler on the team? What I don't remember anymore is if they assisted much on each other's goals very often last year. Martens - Could be a good, solid player for the Sioux Alexander - Might find ice time hard to find Walski - we won't compare him to Frazee for his own sake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirHinn Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 Please! Walski>Frazee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux_Hab-it Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 I'll take a complete player like Toews over Kessel anyday and anytime you are talking a D-man taken in the top 10 of the first round like Lee you can scratch off two of the MN pick-ups not just one. Furthermore, just the sheer volume of blue chip players coming to the Sioux negates the pick-ups of the Goofs. Finally, we'll see whether Frazzled does as well in the WCHA traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSiouxp4U Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 Towes is something special, you will all find that out very soon and I will leave it at that. He is one of those players who makes them around them better, not relying on those around him. GO SIOUX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runninwiththedogs Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 And so on and so on, you get the point. Don't worry so much about the Gophers recruiting class being ranked by INCH slightly higher than the UND class. Think more about the big picture and worry about who's slightly higher in the PWRs when the season gets going! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Good post, championships are won in March and April not in the pre season. I still think UND is going to be a top team, maybe not first, but UND doesn't need to win the league to win the NCAA title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 Both teams have to be incredibly pleased with the players they are bringing in. UND has to replace the defensive core that anchored the last two seasons success. The Gophers needed to add the offense that can get them back to the top THIS year. From my view both have met their needs, and picked up some other major additions, ie (Toews, Frazee). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slap Shot Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 I think what's more interesting than discussing whether or not some guy thinks UND or UM is #1, is that a program like Maine didn't even make his Top 15. How much room will Tim Whitehead get, especially considering he lost perhaps the best goaltender in the country? btw, shouldn't the title of this thread be, "INCH rates UM's class #1" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 I think what's more interesting than discussing whether or not some guy thinks UND or UM is #1, is that a program like Maine didn't even make his Top 15. How much room will Tim Whitehead get, especially considering he lost perhaps the best goaltender in the country? btw, shouldn't the title of this thread be, "INCH rates UM's class #1" <{POST_SNAPBACK}> An interesting thought. And yes, it should be INCH's Top 5 classes (after Michigan) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 ...How much room will Tim Whitehead get, especially considering he lost perhaps the best goaltender in the country?...<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I would be surprised if it turns out that Maine doesn't have one of the top two classes in the East. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Considering how much the WCHA dominated the hockey scene last season, looking at these classes leads me to believe that should continue for the next couple of seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willistonsioux Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Good post, championships are won in March and April not in the pre season. I still think UND is going to be a top team, maybe not first, but UND doesn't need to win the league to win the NCAA title. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> they only won the ncaa title once when they won the wcha title so i think we should take 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux18 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 they only won the ncaa title once when they won the wcha title so i think we should take 2 <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This is most certainly not true. UND won both the WCHA league title and the national championship in... 1963 (Tied for 1st) 1980 1982 1987 1997. There was no league affiliation in 1958-1959. Old W.I.H.L. had disbanded in March of '58 and after the 58-59 season, the WCHA was organized. The Sioux finished second in the league in 1999-00, but won the Final Five championship and the national title. I'll take first in the league if it's ok with the rest of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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