Prospective Recruits

[nascar99]

24 minutes ago, cberkas said:

Outside McKenna on Medicine Hat:

Ryder Ritchie Unsigned Wild pick

Liam and Markus Ruck big drop in points after Liam on the team

Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll 

 

Ritchie was rumored to Boston University last week, although there's speculation he goes to wherever McKenna goes. We'll see. He showed a lot of flashes in the Memorial Cup Final last night, you can see why the Wild took him in the 2nd.

[beastandco]

42 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

Ritchie was rumored to Boston University last week, although there's speculation he goes to wherever McKenna goes. We'll see. He showed a lot of flashes in the Memorial Cup Final last night, you can see why the Wild took him in the 2nd.

Michael Russo (Wild’s writer) said that Ritchie is going to BU in a podcast released today. He said look out for the official announcement this week.
 

I would replace Penn State with BU in McKennas top 3. I do not see McKenna going outside of the state of Michigan. Outside of those two, I only see him entertaining traditional blue bloods.

[nascar99]

Really wonder where Roger McQueen will play next year. Could go back to the Dub to play for a full year, but there's a decent chance he's outgrown junior and needs a higher level of competition. Can't go to the A, nowhere close to NHL ready at current moment. He's certainly someone I could see at Michigan or North Dakota for a year or two.

Will depend on who drafts him and where they want him. Would be nice to get a Brandon to UND pipeline going though.

[SJHovey]

I think it will be interesting to see, in future years, how programs adapt to what we are seeing this year, and whether we see the same sort of timing of commitments coming out of the CHL.

I tend to think that even as the natural flow of kids from the CHL to the NCAA becomes the "norm," we are still going to see a bunch of the high end kids wait until after the draft in late June to decide exactly what they are going to do.  That means that programs like UND are going to be sitting here in late June with maybe a forward or defense spot on the roster unfilled, waiting to see what the recruits, their handlers and their drafting teams decide.  The college programs won't know whether they are going the NCAA route, or not, or if so, which school, until fairly late in the game.

We could then see a bunch of kids sort of sitting in purgatory each summer, not knowing whether their school is going to send them back to the USHL for another season, or ask them to come in as freshmen that fall.

[nascar99]

5 minutes ago, SJHovey said:

I think it will be interesting to see, in future years, how programs adapt to what we are seeing this year, and whether we see the same sort of timing of commitments coming out of the CHL.

I tend to think that even as the natural flow of kids from the CHL to the NCAA becomes the "norm," we are still going to see a bunch of the high end kids wait until after the draft in late June to decide exactly what they are going to do.  That means that programs like UND are going to be sitting here in late June with maybe a forward or defense spot on the roster unfilled, waiting to see what the recruits, their handlers and their drafting teams decide.  The college programs won't know whether they are going the NCAA route, or not, or if so, which school, until fairly late in the game.

We could then see a bunch of kids sort of sitting in purgatory each summer, not knowing whether their school is going to send them back to the USHL for another season, or ask them to come in as freshmen that fall.

I think it'll depend on what the trend is with 1st time eligible commits on August 1. If more of the 2009 born CHLers start committing on August 1 2025 and shortly after that, then teams will have more time to plan out/stagger their recruiting classes.

The current issue is that the new rules coming into effect last November is that you had all of the 2004 born overagers, 2005s, 2006s, 2007s, and 2008s in the entire CHL become NCAA eligible overnight. We knew that plenty of the 2004s would commit to CCHA/ECAC/Atlantic schools with a handful ending up in the NCHC/B1G/Hockey East, but we didn't know if/when 2005s, 2006s, 2007s, and 2008s would commit. Tons of 2005s have, and we've seen an increase in 2006s/2007s/2008s commit in recent months. But there are still plenty uncommitted, many of whom are 2025 Draft eligible and then a ton of em are 2026 Draft eligible.

Very intrigued to see how everyone in junior & NCAA hockey adapt.

[atxsioux]

What's the specific eligibility issue with Carter bear? Assuming someone heard through the grape vine that he is missing too many core credits that he cant get done in time over the summer?

 

Obviously outside of McKenna he seems like the next best guy to go out and get. Seems to be a player Jax and co would love based on how he plays.

[nascar99]

3 minutes ago, atxsioux said:

What's the specific eligibility issue with Carter bear? Assuming someone heard through the grape vine that he is missing too many core credits that he cant get done in time over the summer?

 

Obviously outside of McKenna he seems like the next best guy to go out and get. Seems to be a player Jax and co would love based on how he plays.

Ben Kindel, Braeden Cootes, Cameron Schmidt, Lynden Lakovic, Roger McQueen (if healthy), Nathan Behm are in/around the Carter Bear tier of Dub forwards I'd like to add. But who knows how many of them want to play in the NCAA, they could just sign their ELCs after being drafted.

[atxsioux]

I should’ve clarified just wingers, I must’ve missed kindel when I was looking at lists. he’d be a nice get
 

Brady Martin would be awesome to see him run guys through the glass but he’s an OHL guy so think odds are slim

[beastandco]

1 hour ago, nascar99 said:

Ben Kindel, Braeden Cootes, Cameron Schmidt, Lynden Lakovic, Roger McQueen (if healthy), Nathan Behm are in/around the Carter Bear tier of Dub forwards I'd like to add. But who knows how many of them want to play in the NCAA, they could just sign their ELCs after being drafted.

There is going to be players that are simply not NCAA eligible and there will also be players that sign their ELC and play more games in the CHL.

There is not a ton of buzz about these guys going to the NCAA. I don’t really see why a lot of these guys would wait until after the draft to commit if they are being picked outside of the top 5. Misa and Martone make sense because they could potentially make an NHL roster. Also, there probably is only 20/30 CHL draft eligible players that could make the jump to NCAA next year.

[nascar99]

11 minutes ago, beastandco said:

There is going to be players that are simply not NCAA eligible and there will also be players that sign their ELC and play more games in the CHL.

There is not a ton of buzz about these guys going to the NCAA. I don’t really see why a lot of these guys would wait until after the draft to commit if they are being picked outside of the top 5. Misa and Martone make sense because they could potentially make an NHL roster. Also, there probably is only 20/30 CHL draft eligible players that could make the jump to NCAA next year.

Assuming they have their credits done to be eligible, NHL teams would steer their prospects to the NCAA instead of going back to junior/signing pro. Boston has done that with several of their prospects who they drafted out of European junior & weren't under pro contracts (Jellvik, Svedeback, Locmelis, Nassen, Kostadinski)

[ChadR]

From Schloss:

If a steady stream of them follow Reschny and Verhoeff to UND — like, perhaps, generational defenseman Landon DuPont of the Everett Silvertips — we may some day look back on last week like the night Parise committed.

[nascar99]

8 minutes ago, ChadR said:

From Schloss:

If a steady stream of them follow Reschny and Verhoeff to UND — like, perhaps, generational defenseman Landon DuPont of the Everett Silvertips — we may some day look back on last week like the night Parise committed.

Not gonna get my hopes up about DuPont. Just has the feel of Denver or Michigan to me.

[sioux24/7]

51 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

Not gonna get my hopes up about DuPont. Just has the feel of Denver or Michigan to me.

I’ve heard he walks around with UND gear on. 

[Blackheart]

1 hour ago, sioux24/7 said:

I’ve heard he walks around with UND gear on. 

That would be good, right?

[nodakgirl93]

1 hour ago, sioux24/7 said:

I’ve heard he walks around with UND gear on. 

In your dreams?

[beastandco]

Schloss said in his pod that an agent of a 2008 player stated to him that he wanted to go to UND immediately after the Reschny and Verhoeff news broke. It sounds like a top 2026 NHL draft eligible player has UND as his top choice. It sounds like a western Canadian player. 

He talks about it 29:00 - 31:00 minute mark of the pod. 

[SuhakiYeahYeah]

14 minutes ago, beastandco said:

Schloss said in his pod that an agent of a 2008 player stated to him that he wanted to go to UND immediately after the Reschny and Verhoeff news broke. It sounds like a top 2026 NHL draft eligible player has UND as his top choice. It sounds like a western Canadian player. 

He talks about it 29:00 - 31:00 minute mark of the pod. 

I'm thinking Chyz was a home run hire.

[brianvf]

34 minutes ago, beastandco said:

Schloss said in his pod that an agent of a 2008 player stated to him that he wanted to go to UND immediately after the Reschny and Verhoeff news broke. It sounds like a top 2026 NHL draft eligible player has UND as his top choice. It sounds like a western Canadian player. 

He talks about it 29:00 - 31:00 minute mark of the pod. 

20 minutes ago, SuhakiYeahYeah said:

I'm thinking Chyz was a home run hire.

Fill that last forward spot with another blue chipper and this upcoming season looks like a real fun one.

And agreed on Chyz. So many people were talking about what a great hire he would be for this type of role before Jax was hired.  And man, he sure has done a lot in just a few weeks...pretty damn impressive.

I was never really a "Berry hater", but I really don't think the roster would look anywhere near this good if he would have still been head coach.

[beastandco]

21 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Fill that last forward spot with another blue chipper and this upcoming season looks like a real fun one.

And agreed on Chyz. So many people were talking about what a great hire he would be for this type of role before Jax was hired.  And man, he sure has done a lot in just a few weeks...pretty damn impressive.

I was never really a "Berry hater", but I really don't think the roster would look anywhere near this good if he would have still been head coach.

On the open forward spot, he stated that he had no idea which direction they would go. Either direction they go, it will be a player they are really high on. He also said that if they are targeting a high end player, sharing the ice with Reschny and Verhoeff makes it that much easier to land one. 
 

I can honestly say that UND hockey is trending upwards. That’s something I haven’t been able to do in a few years.

[scpa0305]

13 hours ago, beastandco said:

Schloss said in his pod that an agent of a 2008 player stated to him that he wanted to go to UND immediately after the Reschny and Verhoeff news broke. It sounds like a top 2026 NHL draft eligible player has UND as his top choice. It sounds like a western Canadian player. 

He talks about it 29:00 - 31:00 minute mark of the pod. 

Beuker?

[nascar99]

7 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Beuker?

That's certainly possible, but it could be any of Ryan Lin, Daxon Rudolph, Shaeffer Gordon Carroll, Carson Carels, either of the Ruck Twins, Chase Harrington

[SJHovey]

18 hours ago, beastandco said:

There is going to be players that are simply not NCAA eligible and there will also be players that sign their ELC and play more games in the CHL.

There is not a ton of buzz about these guys going to the NCAA. I don’t really see why a lot of these guys would wait until after the draft to commit if they are being picked outside of the top 5. Misa and Martone make sense because they could potentially make an NHL roster. Also, there probably is only 20/30 CHL draft eligible players that could make the jump to NCAA next year.

A lot of podcasts are interviewing these players, and frequently they are asked a variation of the question, "so, after the draft, obviously you want to move on to the NHL, but if that won't happen this year, do you think you go back to your junior team or do you go to the NCAA?"

For the most part you hear them say, a) they think they are ready for the NHL, and the NHL is the goal, and b) they will talk to the team that drafts them and listen to what they have to say about what is best for their development.

So, basically, NHL teams are going to decide whether these high end kids go to the NCAA, and if so, probably which school will be best for them.

It is going to be absolutely key that UND develop relationships that are positive with the NHL gm's and their staffs.

I should note, however, that I have also heard a few kids talk about their loyalty to their junior program, and their dream of winning a Memorial Cup.  If it is left up to the kid, I don't think we can underestimate the possibility of that loyalty winning out over a chance to play against tougher competition in the NCAAs for some of these kids.

[NoDak Hockey Nation]

20 hours ago, atxsioux said:

What's the specific eligibility issue with Carter bear? Assuming someone heard through the grape vine that he is missing too many core credits that he cant get done in time over the summer?

 

Obviously outside of McKenna he seems like the next best guy to go out and get. Seems to be a player Jax and co would love based on how he plays.

Wonder if Bear stays in the WHL for a year to recover and finish those courses. Then goes NCAA for a year in 2026-27

[atxsioux]

Players waiting on the draft to commit to teams while UND was able to pitch to Reschny well enough that he just committed regardless seems to be a positive sign. Seems like a sign that he just wants to be here which is awesome. 

[siouxforce19]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

Beuker?

 

1 hour ago, nascar99 said:

That's certainly possible, but it could be any of Ryan Lin, Daxon Rudolph, Shaeffer Gordon Carroll, Carson Carels, either of the Ruck Twins, Chase Harrington

Some of these guys already have interest in UND, so I would be curious if the player Schlossman is referring to is someone who didn’t previously have interest in UND, or if getting Reschny and Verhoeff would be what tipped it in UND’s favor from someone who has us on their list.