Prospective Recruits

[scpa0305]

7 minutes ago, .357 said:

Not necessarily. Reschny & Verhoeff are two examples of very high-end players who chose UND because they thought it was the best development arc for their transition to the NHL. They say as much in their interviews about that being the reason why they're coming here. Granted, their reasons may be different than a local boy like Strinden who has NoDak in his veins, but at least they're not whoring themselves out to the highest bidder. If it were all about money, these two would have wound up at Michigan or Penn St & not even considered UND. 

Landon Dupont is another very high-end player who could very likely end up at UND or DU, but it won't be because these two schools are outbidding teams in the B1G & Hockey East. Heck, even Michigan St. is building a juggernaut & they have publicly stated that they won't be throwing obscene amounts at players to lure them there. 

A player whose first concern is how much cash he'll get for going to a school is a huge red flag for coaches who are interested in him.

MSU’s biggest draw is their coach.

[nascar99]

19 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

MSU’s biggest draw is their coach.

1000% spot on. Nightingale took the dormant doormat of the B1G to national title contender in just 2 years. Doing that for a program that hadn't won 20 games since 2008, at a basketball school that spends most of its athletics budget on football, is insanely impressive. They were getting the scraps of 2 & 3 star recruits before & now they're in on most 4 & 5 star recruiting battles.

[atxsioux]

Basketball and hockey are similar in that they've got your atypical smaller schools that will remain competitive in the new landscape due to history, facilities, great coaching staffs. If money was the end all be all then you'd see Creighton, Villanova, Gonzaga, etc falling off a cliff in college basketball but they're not. These schools will also be willing to dump most of their rev share to basketball due to football not being in the picture (Similar to how UND will funnel a majority of rev share money to hockey)

[beastandco]

21 minutes ago, .357 said:

Not necessarily. Reschny & Verhoeff are two examples of very high-end players who chose UND because they thought it was the best development arc for their transition to the NHL. They say as much in their interviews about that being the reason why they're coming here. Granted, their reasons may be different than a local boy like Strinden who has NoDak in his veins, but at least they're not whoring themselves out to the highest bidder. If it were all about money, these two would have wound up at Michigan or Penn St & not even considered UND. 

Landon Dupont is another very high-end player who could very likely end up at UND or DU, but it won't be because these two schools are outbidding teams in the B1G & Hockey East. Heck, even Michigan St. is building a juggernaut & they have publicly stated that they won't be throwing obscene amounts at players to lure them there. 

A player whose first concern is how much cash he'll get for going to a school is a huge red flag for coaches who are interested in him.

I agree with everything you stated but I think it’s worth noting that Reschny and Verhoeff didn’t come here without any NIL money. They definitely could have left some money on the table but I do think UND is more competitive in the NIL landscape than people realize. They aren’t competing with Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State but I don’t think they land Reschny, Verhoeff, and Williams if they are offering a fraction of other schools. 
 

The only reason why these kids are considering Penn State is because of money and it’s a joke to me. I don’t think Penn State has one player currently in the NHL. I do think it is a red flag for a prospect for them to choose Penn State when there is no tradition, winning history, and notable alums.

[nascar99]

4 minutes ago, beastandco said:

I agree with everything you stated but I think it’s worth noting that Reschny and Verhoeff didn’t come here without any NIL money. They definitely could have left some money on the table but I do think UND is more competitive in the NIL landscape than people realize. They aren’t competing with Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State but I don’t think they land Reschny, Verhoeff, and Williams if they are offering a fraction of other schools. 
 

The only reason why these kids are considering Penn State is because of money and it’s a joke to me. I don’t think Penn State has one player currently in the NHL. I do think it is a red flag for a prospect for them to choose Penn State when there is no tradition, winning history, and notable alums.

I agree with you for the most part, although I think it's important to note that the 2025 Frozen Four run is a major boon for Penn State's recruiting & overall brand. As NCAA Hockey has gotten far more attention than it used to in the overall hockey world landscape (I think Cale Makar is one of the biggest reasons why, now CHLers being eligible will have an even bigger impact), going on Frozen Four/National Championship runs will do wonders for programs. There's a chance Mikey Berchild isn't committed to Denver if the Pioneers don't win the 2022 and 2024 National Championship.

[beastandco]

11 minutes ago, atxsioux said:

Basketball and hockey are similar in that they've got your atypical smaller schools that will remain competitive in the new landscape due to history, facilities, great coaching staffs. If money was the end all be all then you'd see Creighton, Villanova, Gonzaga, etc falling off a cliff in college basketball but they're not. These schools will also be willing to dump most of their rev share to basketball due to football not being in the picture (Similar to how UND will funnel a majority of rev share money to hockey)

UND will be able to funnel a lot of money into their hockey team via revenue sharing. Big Ten schools pay other sports like football and basketball before they get to hockey. Since revenue sharing is capped, UND’s budget will likely be higher than a lot of competitors because of hockey is the focus of UND athletics.

[beastandco]

 

[cberkas]

24 minutes ago, beastandco said:

UND will be able to funnel a lot of money into their hockey team via revenue sharing. Big Ten schools pay other sports like football and basketball before they get to hockey. Since revenue sharing is capped, UND’s budget will likely be higher than a lot of competitors because of hockey is the focus of UND athletics.

And those schools, like Penn State are putting money to volleyball after football both basketball programs. 

We've all seen this over and over a team full of high end and/or first rounders doesn't make you a National Champion. You could be like Toronto and spend all the money on 5 players and hope to win a round or be Florida and get the right pieces to win Cups. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

1 hour ago, beastandco said:

 

He wouldn't share it if there weren't some traction.

[scpa0305]

9 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

He wouldn't share it if there weren't some traction.

I’m thinking the same thing, it’s probably 50/50. But I’m sure we’re in the equation.

[beastandco]

36 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

I’m thinking the same thing, it’s probably 50/50. But I’m sure we’re in the equation.

If there wasn’t any traction, he wouldn’t say anything. He doesn’t want his mentions filled with Martone speculation for no reason. He knows that fans will take any Martone to UND talk and run with it. He probably heard something through the grapevine and planted the seed. 
 

There is still no reason to believe that Martone is going to UND, but we might be on the short list of teams that he would consider.

[nascar99]

6 minutes ago, beastandco said:

If there wasn’t any traction, he wouldn’t say anything. He doesn’t want his mentions filled with Martone speculation for no reason. He knows that fans will take any Martone to UND talk and run with it. He probably heard something through the grapevine and planted the seed. 
 

There is still no reason to believe that Martone is going to UND, but we might be on the short list of teams that he would consider.

If Martone is told to go NCAA by the Flyers, wondering if Briere & Jones would steer him to a particular program like Penn State or allow him to pick wherever, which could still be Penn State.

[scpa0305]

2 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

If Martone is told to go NCAA by the Flyers, wondering if Briere & Jones would steer him to a particular program like Penn State or allow him to pick wherever, which could still be Penn State.

Well for what it’s worth…he follows both the Michigan hockey and football programs on Insta 

[nascar99]

8 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Well for what it’s worth…he follows both the Michigan hockey and football programs on Insta 

Michigan was the first program that he was linked to, but that was months ago.

[tnt]

My concern is that if some of these guys don’t really want to go to college hockey and only do so at the behest of the team that drafted them, will they be all in and be a great teammate when some adversity strikes, either as a team or individually?

[beastandco]

5 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

If Martone is told to go NCAA by the Flyers, wondering if Briere & Jones would steer him to a particular program like Penn State or allow him to pick wherever, which could still be Penn State.

I have read that the Flyers want him to go the college route. Penn State has been rumored for months and now he is drafted to a team that is a couple hundred miles away. If Penn State isn’t the team, UND could have a real chance. He still probably ends up in the Big Ten. 
 

 

[beastandco]

10 minutes ago, tnt said:

My concern is that if some of these guys don’t really want to go to college hockey and only do so at the behest of the team that drafted them, will they be all in and be a great teammate when some adversity strikes, either as a team or individually?

Good point. How are these guys going to treat an NCAA regional game? Especially when they know they will join their NHL team hours after their final college game. This could explain how the Big Ten teams haven’t won in the past decade. 

[nascar99]

Just now, beastandco said:

Good point. How are these guys going to treat an NCAA regional game? Especially when they know they will join their NHL team hours after their final college game. This could explain how the Big Ten teams haven’t won in the past decade. 

It could explain why all of the B1G plus Boston University and Boston College haven't won in forever. There was noise floating around about how Rinzel's play dipped for Minnesota in the 2nd half of the season after it was clear the Blackhawks wanted to sign him, indicating that his mind was already partially out the door, ready to turn pro.

Another theory is that these elite teams/blue bloods just don't have/recruit good enough depth/culture guys that we've talked about before, the types that stay 3-4 years. @tnt is correct bringing this up. It's the one thing that Minnesota tends to do well on a consistent basis, although they might focus on it too much to a fault.

[brianvf]

I'm gonna laugh if the scoop on the biggest NCAA recruit in history ends up being Jordan Schmaltz.   

 

[atxsioux]

Looks like Schmaltz actually broke it lol

[burd]

1 hour ago, brianvf said:

I'm gonna laugh if the scoop on the biggest NCAA recruit in history ends up being Jordan Schmaltz.   

 

As that college hockey legend, gfhockey, would say:   We didn't want him.  

[cberkas]

It would be hilarious if Penn State missed the NCAAs. 

 

[Und Princess]

2 minutes ago, cberkas said:

It would be hilarious if Penn State missed the NCAAs. 

 

It sure would be @cberkas

[brianvf]

6 minutes ago, cberkas said:

It would be hilarious if Penn State missed the NCAAs. 

 

Just mind-boggling to me that he's going there.
I mean, he's gonna be the #1 pick next year regardless, but going to a school that has no history at all of sending/preparing players for the NHL is crazy to me.

[cberkas]

9 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Just mind-boggling to me that he's going there.
I mean, he's gonna be the #1 pick next year regardless, but going to a school that has no history at all of sending/preparing players for the NHL is crazy to me.

They are going to hang that participation banners next to the we got McKenna banner