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Prospective Recruits


dagies

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I am a little skeptical that Gleason will be drafted highly. Great player, but not an NHL type body (who knows with the "new" NHL). Hard to say he looked so good on Thursday, but Rochester Century will me mediocre. Fienhage will come in like every other big defensive defender. He will look out of place for 0.5 to 1.5 seasons and then become a shutdown defender. Blood will come in 08. My guess is that next year we have:

Blood

Fienhage

Marto

LaPoint

Genoway

Jones

1 or 2 More?

Corbin McPherson?

Andrew MacWilliam?

Does this mean we get to have "Sign Fienhage Now!" threads? :lol:

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I am a little skeptical that Gleason will be drafted highly. Great player, but not an NHL type body (who knows with the "new" NHL). Hard to say he looked so good on Thursday, but Rochester Century will me mediocre. Fienhage will come in like every other big defensive defender. He will look out of place for 0.5 to 1.5 seasons and then become a shutdown defender. Blood will come in 08. My guess is that next year we have:

Blood

Fienhage

Marto

LaPoint

Genoway

Jones

1 or 2 More?

Corbin McPherson?

Andrew MacWilliam?

I think we will bring in one more recruit also.

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I have seen Finehage play 8-10 times and I dont see a 2 year player. I see 4 for sure, I am not as high on him as some people. With your recruits coming in I would think he is a 6th or 7th guy. I will admit that is more of a compliment to your incoming players than it is a question of Finehage's talent.

Four for sure? Maybe you never saw Mike Commodore, Matt Smaby, Joe Finley, Matt Greene when they first came here. Different people develop at different paces, but to say 4 for sure is odd in light of the names I just put forth. Also, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he an "A" prospect. If not, I thought he was highly regarded in some circles.

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No kidding. I sure hope they win this year, because next year is looking like a growing pains year. At least Marto and Lapoint are getting good playing time this year and looking solid for freshmen.

I would have said the same thing about Michigan this year, and the year after they were supposed to win it in 1997. Both teams lost a lot and still seem to have come out as contenders, so you never know.

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Keep in mind that we are also bringing in some gritty forwards that play hard both ways. This will lift some of the pressure off of our defense, which is looking like it will consist mostly of more mobile, puck moving D-men. While this goes away from the big, punishing defense that UND is typically known for, it may allow the offense to open up and create a more explosive transition.

Either way, I think it is a good mix. Jones is physical, but not overly large. Blood and Fienhage will be big punishing D-men that may take 1/2 a season to adjust (although Blood is doing well in the USHL, seemless transition much like LaPoint last year). Gleason, Marto, Genoway, and LaPoint will be great at moving the puck up the ice and jumping into the play. Also, I think that Marto, LaPoint, and Genoway will be positionally solid by next year and should do just fine.

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This potential lineup does not instill a whole lot of confidence in this fan.

I don't think it will be as bad as you think.

I am fine with the play of Genoway, Jones, Marto, and LaPoint. Genoway will be one of the most skilled dmen in the league at moving the puck next year, Jones will be a good physical dman, and Marto and LaPoint have looked great so far this season...neither of them play like freshmen, which is the most you can ask from frosh dmen being thrown into a starting WCHA lineup. Both of them will be very good next year and will help anchor our d-corps with Genoway and Jones. That's a decent starting 4 right there. Add in Blood, who appears to be doing very well in the USHL, and another physical guy in Fienhage, and I think our defense will be fine.

Even with the departures of Oshie, Duncan, Chorney, and Finley, I think our team will be better than most people think next year. Our forwards will certainly have to work hard to make it into the lineup (there will be like 17 of them!), and our freshmen class of forward recruits is easily the best in the nation.

We might be lacking in experience compared to this year, but skill-wise the Sioux will be fine next season IMO. It will come down to how well Eidsness and Walski play in net. I'm guessing Hakstol will rotate them until one true starter emerges. But that is the only "question mark" entering the 08-09 season that I can see.

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Four for sure? Maybe you never saw Mike Commodore, Matt Smaby, Joe Finley, Matt Greene when they first came here. Different people develop at different paces, but to say 4 for sure is odd in light of the names I just put forth. Also, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he an "A" prospect. If not, I thought he was highly regarded in some circles.

Finehage is a CSS A prospect - you don't get on that list by accident. Doesn't guarantee him being a high draft pick but it is a good indicator what NHL evaluators think of him.

Typical Gopher envy/jealosy. :D

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Four for sure? Maybe you never saw Mike Commodore, Matt Smaby, Joe Finley, Matt Greene when they first came here. Different people develop at different paces, but to say 4 for sure is odd in light of the names I just put forth. Also, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he an "A" prospect. If not, I thought he was highly regarded in some circles.

Yes, I believe he is rated as an "A" prospect. I remember seeing that. Excellent point above. He has NHL size just like those guys above.

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Finehage is a CSS A prospect - you don't get on that list by accident. Doesn't guarantee him being a high draft pick but it is a good indicator what NHL evaluators think of him.

Typical Gopher envy/jealosy. :D

No winning with some of you ;) It's my opinion, I would guess I have seen him play more than most of you. I appreciate your faith in your coaches and other rankings, I think the kid is overrated, has has slow feet and a ways to go with his hands. Last time I checked his name wasn't any of the above, that argument is mute :D I have been wrong before as has CSS. No envy, I will be able to watch him on TV as much as you will.

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No winning with some of you ;) It's my opinion, I would guess I have seen him play more than most of you. I appreciate your faith in your coaches and other rankings, I think the kid is overrated, has has slow feet and a ways to go with his hands. Last time I checked his name wasn't any of the above, that argument is mute :D I have been wrong before as has CSS. No envy, I will be able to watch him on TV as much as you will.

Here is some proof for you. Read the CSS report on Gopher David Fisher-I will give you he is a different player if you give me he had better hands and feet than Finehage does. Watch Fisher this weekend and tell me he is all he was cracked up to be. Right now, he is a four year player.

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Here is some proof for you. Read the CSS report on Gopher David Fisher-I will give you he is a different player if you give me he had better hands and feet than Finehage does. Watch Fisher this weekend and tell me he is all he was cracked up to be. Right now, he is a four year player.

1. I've seen Cory play since PW.

2. Maybe Fisher would have develped differently had he attended a different school. ;)

Seriously, there are never any guarantees (see Jason Herter). Cory is on track to be a high draft pick and a 2-3 year player. We'll see what actually happens.

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Here is some proof for you. Read the CSS report on Gopher David Fisher-I will give you he is a different player if you give me he had better hands and feet than Finehage does. Watch Fisher this weekend and tell me he is all he was cracked up to be. Right now, he is a four year player.

It's one thing to come on an opponent's board and give your opinion, it's another to say you know for a fact that a player won't be good enough to leave early. I don't go on the Minnesota board and say I know for a fact Patrick White is overrated and he will never make it as a pro. That is only an example, it is not what I actually think of White. By the way, my point was that guys like Commodore had horrible feet when they came here, and magically he became a great defender. Maybe Lucia only recruits players with everything polished, or players don't improve as much under him, but there is something to be said for a coach that can see potential and develop that into a solid player. I'm not saying he won't be here 4 years, only saying that with the track record of Hakstol in developing players like that, it sure isn't out of the realm of possibility that he could leave early.

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-Off topic question- Has anyone considered what impact the 2014 Winter Olympics will have on college hockey players if the NHL does not lend out it's players for the event. For instance, say Danny Mattson comes in for the '10 season as a freshman, plays a couple years and then has a chance to sign a big NHL deal, or he can stay in school a couple years and play in the Olympics before going to the NHL...Anyone else think that this could potentially be a huge coup for college hockey and help to alleviate the epidemic of early departures? Obviously it wouldn't eliminate it all together, but could help keep a few guys around...

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I don't think any University has ever had the track record of identifying and developing Big NHL defensmen as UND has in the past 8 years. Thus I will lend my faith to the staff who have been successful like no others and blowoff what a Gofer fan thinks.

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-Off topic question- Has anyone considered what impact the 2014 Winter Olympics will have on college hockey players if the NHL does not lend out it's players for the event. For instance, say Danny Mattson comes in for the '10 season as a freshman, plays a couple years and then has a chance to sign a big NHL deal, or he can stay in school a couple years and play in the Olympics before going to the NHL...Anyone else think that this could potentially be a huge coup for college hockey and help to alleviate the epidemic of early departures? Obviously it wouldn't eliminate it all together, but could help keep a few guys around...

I think in the end it will be tough to get away from the NHL players in the Olympics, it brings a lot of positive press and attention to the NHL and I don't buy giving it back to the amatures.

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