Prospective Recruits

[AJS]

@Walsh Hall kind of nailed it. You follow recruiting for a long time and what you learn after awhile is really wait until the year before that player is expected on campus to really evaluate. If your definition of "blue-chipper" is first rounder, there are only a handful each year. What happens here though is everyone that commits elsewhere at that time is this gigantic loss. Take Cooley out as he's as unique of a guy as there every has been. Some turn out to be, but most don't. I think it's safe to say that recently Flemings trajectory is not what was expected when he committed to Notre Dame. 

It's just so odd that when you look at the Top 20 in USHL scoring, that UND has the most with 3 on the list. That does not include the NTDP guys, where I think you'd have 5 or 6 really high end, but still, I don't know how you look at next years Freshman class and think that recruiting is a concern. 

Going back to my original statement, it's tough to really get an accurate read on a guy in his first year in Juniors, but we'll see how Strathmann / Perron / Slipec end up next year. 

 

[nodakgirl93]

17 hours ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Honest question here. How does the recruiting process work? Does Berry drive around and talk to these kids? Do we really know which players Berry is keen on? Please explain. Thanks.

I know after Boeser decomited from Wisco Hakstol made the trip to waterloo and had coffee with brock. 

[gfhockey]

1 hour ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Why would a player not want to play here / NCHC? 
Barn is best in the country, training area is world class , charter flights to away games very few bus rides. Play in a full barn with very loyal fans. Basically get treated like royals, Berry better figure this out because this will fall on his shoulders if we have a very hard working team but lacking on talent.no reason not to play here unless Berrys style of play or personality does fit with there players. I can’t quite figure out what the draw of the big 10 is especially in Minnesota , no fans no excitement .

Exactly this year. Hard working team but not much talent

[Goon]

1 hour ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Why would a player not want to play here / NCHC? 

Have you seen the weather outside? 

[Goon]

9 minutes ago, gfhockey said:

Exactly this year. Hard working team but not much talent

No talent? Are you drunk already? Gaber, Schmaltz, Costantini, Frisch, Sanderson. Not a lick of talent. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

We're not recruiting players to live in town fifty years. They're here for school (and vocational training). 

No, but kids grow up under the impression college is the best however many years of your life.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

1 hour ago, skateshattrick said:

I disagree if you are including Duluth. Duluth is a dirty, depressing city with even worse weather than Grand Forks. Minneapolis aka Gotham City used to be nice before it turned into the crime capital of the Midwest, but hockey is also not the top sport. Ann Arbor is nice, but hockey is way down on the list behind football, basketball and probably other sports. I get Denver and ASU, but not the other ones. On the other hand, we do out recruit Duluth and St. Cloud most years. 

I'll give you Duluth, I like it for the outdoor recreation but if you're playing a D1 sport you don't have much spare time, and probably didn't grow up biking/skiing/etc.

Is Dinkytown dealing with a crime influx? My understanding is most of the issues are far away on the other side of the river.

[Blackheart]

14 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

I'll give you Duluth, I like it for the outdoor recreation but if you're playing a D1 sport you don't have much spare time, and probably didn't grow up biking/skiing/etc.

Is Dinkytown dealing with a crime influx? My understanding is most of the issues are far away on the other side of the river.

Dinkytown is a cesspool.  Don't know if there is an influx of crime but there's always some random crap going on down there.

[tnt]

56 minutes ago, Goon said:

No talent? Are you drunk already? Gaber, Schmaltz, Costantini, Frisch, Sanderson. Not a lick of talent. 

The funny thing is that people point to players in other leagues that are doing well, and why do these teams get these players.  Guess what, Calder and Ford were top goal scorers in the WCHA last year, so maybe it is just that much harder to come by goals and points in the NCHC. 

[ChetSteadman]

It’s Grand Forks….  Not exactly great.

[tnt]

5 minutes ago, ChetSteadman said:

It’s Grand Forks….  Not exactly great.

Yeah, it's not Murderapolis or communist China!

[ChetSteadman]

4 minutes ago, tnt said:

Yeah, it's not Murderapolis or communist China!

Agree on that, you wouldn’t catch me anywhere near that place, not my thing.  Grand Forks on the other hand is in the middle of nowhere with jack**** to do.

[Goon]

From Brad's article today. He picked UND over Denver and Omaha.  

Quote

 

Q. When you were being recruited, did you have interest from other teams or did you commit early to UND with your older brother, Gabe, being here?

A. It was between here, Denver and Omaha. It really ended up coming down to here and Denver.

 

 

[Goon]

59 minutes ago, tnt said:

The funny thing is that people point to players in other leagues that are doing well, and why do these teams get these players.  Guess what, Calder and Ford were top goal scorers in the WCHA last year, so maybe it is just that much harder to come by goals and points in the NCHC. 

I think both have been great additions to the team. Ashton Calder is fourth on the team in points, missed five games to an upper-body injury. Connor Ford plays third on the team in points. Plays on the PP and the PK and leads the nation in faceoff wins. I don't think he's been horrible. 

[Sweethockey]

Calder gets a little time and space, it’s in the net. Ford’s numbers for faceoffs speak for themselves.

[dustnyou]

4 hours ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Why would a player not want to play here / NCHC? 
Barn is best in the country, training area is world class , charter flights to away games very few bus rides. Play in a full barn with very loyal fans. Basically get treated like royals, Berry better figure this out because this will fall on his shoulders if we have a very hard working team but lacking on talent.no reason not to play here unless Berrys style of play or personality does fit with there players. I can’t quite figure out what the draw of the big 10 is especially in Minnesota , no fans no excitement .

Maybe a Twin Cities metro kid that only plans on one year of college puck wants to stay close to home… girlfriend, family, parents, aging grandparents can go to the games, etc. if he plays for the local team. There’s lots of other reasons why. 

[Goon]

For those keeping track at home, forward Riese Gaber is tied for second in the NCHC in points, and tied for 10th in points nationally. 

[brianvf]

1 hour ago, Goon said:

For those keeping track at home, forward Riese Gaber is for second in the NCHC in points, and tied for 10th in points nationally. 

And he's one that wasn't super highly touted or deemed a blue chippah when he committed.

I'd take a player like Gaber, who more than likely will stay at UND for four years, over a player like Cooley who will play 1-2 years max at UMN.  We've seen this happen so often lately...these teams with a ton of young blue chippahs can't close the deal in the NCAA tourney over the older teams.  We'll see what Michigan can do this year in the NCAA tourney, if they can finally get over the hump.

Would I have liked to have seen Cooley play for UND next year?  Of course.  But our current group of incoming forward recruits are all having outstanding years in the USHL...and they will all be in college longer than 1-2 years.

[tnt]

I think our 2016 championship team is an example of a great way to build a roster.   Get some 1st round talent that stays a couple years like Boeser and Schmaltz, add some overage talent that has developed into NHL caliber guys like Poolman, and LaDue, mix in a couple guys that you developed into NHL talent like Caggiula and Stecher, then  add in some mid round guys like Gersich, Poganski, Luke Johnson, and Wolanin, then fill out with character guys that will go through a brick wall for you, like Trevor Olson, Colten St. Clair, Gage Ausmus, Bryn Chyzyk, and Coltyn Sanderson, and get solid goaltending even from the back ups. (Cam Johnson, Matt Hrynkiw).    That is what I call a balanced roster.   First round talent is certainly a component if you can get them, as long as they don't already have one foot in the NHL.    

[The Sicatoka]

College hockey was, is, and will probably always be, dominated by rosters of juniors and seniors. 

[SiouxFan100]

11 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

College hockey was, is, and will probably always be, dominated by rosters of juniors and seniors. 

That’s a long time

[Goon]

20 minutes ago, tnt said:

  First round talent is certainly a component if you can get them, as long as they don't already have one foot out the door.    

Fixed your post.   There's only so many first rounder in the NHL draft, too. 

[SiouxScore]

Schloss has in his notes Cooley was deciding between Minnesota and North Dakota. Another head to head loss. I know Hak was an absolutely relentless recruiter and maybe that is the difference or maybe Hak was just better at closing the deal.

[brianvf]

47 minutes ago, SiouxScore said:

Schloss has in his notes Cooley was deciding between Minnesota and North Dakota. Another head to head loss. I know Hak was an absolutely relentless recruiter and maybe that is the difference or maybe Hak was just better at closing the deal.

Yeah that's a tough one when it was down to just us and UMN.  Different if he was down to UMN and like BC/BU/MI or something, but if we were in the mix...makes it tougher.
Can't win them all, but certainly want to win some of them.

[gfhockey]

44 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Yeah that's a tough one when it was down to just us and UMN.  Different if he was down to UMN and like BC/BU/MI or something, but if we were in the mix...makes it tougher.
Can't win them all, but certainly want to win some of them.

When’s last won we won vs then offer to offer 

 

not walk ons