roper1313 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Rushmore did a great review of Gopher freshman and I thought it would be nice if some Sioux supporters did one for the Freshman class. WARNING, this will be long. Oshie- WOW, what a great suprise coming straight out of high school!! There were thoughts that he might not be ready for DI hockey, but he quickly ended that conversation. TJ is a pure goal scorer. He is one of those guys that can just find the back of the net. The biggest surprise is his physical play. At 5'10" 165 lbs. (he looks more like 180) not exaclty a imposing guy, but hits like a mack truck and seems to thrive on contact. Thanks goodness he came direclty out of high school, because if he played in the USHL this year he IMO he'd be one and done. Let's hope St. Louis keeps him down here to season a few more years. Only negative is that he needs to work on his skating, but certainly is getting the job done. Toews- Do you remember what you were doing at age 17? We all knew that he had unlimited potential and the preseason draft ratings lent to some very high expectation. Maybe they were too high at the beginning of the year, but he is develping into a world class power forward. At 6'2" 180 Jonny has a lot of room to grow and develop into a beast in the corners. He's so tough to knock off the puck right now I can't imagine what he'll be like in a couple of years. What's great? shot, hands, and face offs. What needs some work? he just needs to get older and bigger. Sky's the limit for this kid. Duncan- Prototypical UND small forward. Fast, with great hands. We all saw the numbers he put up in the BCHL and knew there was some talent, but I didn't think he would have a large an impact during his freshman year. Best thing about Duncan is that with his size he'll be here all four years!! Seems to play real well with Toews and Stafford, and that should be a deadly combination for the remainer of the year and next year as well. Right Drew?? Kozek- Great grinder who is really played well on the fourth line. Plays a lot bigger than is size and seems to have the ability to bury the puck when needed. He will be a great third liner for UND. Watkins- I can't give much of an opinion on him. He hasn't stood out in my mind, but that is not necessarly a bad thing either. Hopefully, someone can give a better review than this. Martens, Alexander, Miller- Typical freshman year, we haven't needed them, yet and hopefully they are doing the things behind the sceens to garner some ice time next year. Lee- Lots of hype after a great HS career, and being named to Wold Jr. as a senior in HS. You can see the great puck skills and seems to see the ice well on the powerplay. Brian's play in the defensive zone needs some work as he has been prone to coughing up the puck in the corners. He should fill in the 6'3" frame and needs to learn the physical side of being a defenseman. He has a great wrister that seems heavy and accurate, but I'd love to see him develope a big slapper. The slapshot is overrated imo, but on the powerplay it is something he could use to keep the penalty killers off balance. The good thing is that he will be around for at least one more year, and may need 2 more before he is a flight risk. Chorney- I knew nothing about him and I have been pleasently surprised. He seems to blend some good puck skills with sound defensive zone play. Should be a solid defensman for the Sioux for 3 more years. Jones- Very similar skill set to Chorney, but with a lot more attitude. He seems to find himself in the box quite a bit, but I like to see this in a freshman. He will lean to be aggressive without not taking a stupid penalty. Does anyone else with Zack was about 3 inches taller? He's got that nasty streak that his brother had. Finley- What a monster. I've really been impressed with how he has developed. Most big d-men take a year to adjust to the speed of the college game, but I think that Joe has develped in about 1/2 the time. I don't see him making many bad decisions and has been able to cover up those errors with his freakishly long reach. He's only going to get better and will develop into a major force in front of the net and in the corners. I look at him and think he can put 20-30 pounds on that frame, yikes!! Walski- Doing what he is supposed to be doing. Taking the load off of JPar and Phil during practice. Will he develope into a backup of Phil?? Summary- This is long enought, but I've been thrilled with this freshman class. Much better than the class of 2001(?). If they continue to develop and stick around this class could, become one of the best UND has seen. What do you think?? That's a lot of F'ing freshman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetch Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I have to say something about slapshots or the Big onetimers - the ones where they try & set a guy up & he takes a Big swing & drills it into the goal. I have seen this attempted alot this year - But don't remember many going in ? Would'nt a well placed hard shot be better - Like the 1st goal Drew put in last Friday (No one saw that - It was too hard a shot to be seen) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Oshie- The biggest surprise is his physical play. At 5'10" 165 lbs. (he looks more like 180) not exaclty a imposing guy, but hits like a mack truck and seems to thrive on contact. That's old information. He is bigger than that -- more like 5-11 185. But he is a surprisingly physical player for his size. Great idea for a thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walsh Hall Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Oshie and Toews are superb. The rest of the Freshman forwards are likely going to be 4 year players that will be the types of guys that lead to championships. I'm highly impressed with the group and if there aren't any early departures this team will be incredible next year. The SIoux and Gophers next year could be teams that are mentioned in the "all-time greats" debate if there aren't a glut of pro signing. The thought of Toews and Stafford together next year gives me chills. I've been the least impressed with Lee on the blue-line. He has the skills, but needs to get physical. Teams are banging him around and it effects him too much. Chorney and Jones and extremely solid for Freshman (minus that awful giveaway by Chorney on Sat. night) and Finley has improved beyond my expectation given his age and size. He doesn't look lost at all and doesn't look ackward. On a learning curve I rank him ahead of Commie, Greene, and Smaby. I hope he keeps improving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roper1313 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 I have to say something about slapshots or the Big onetimers - the ones where they try & set a guy up & he takes a Big swing & drills it into the goal. I have seen this attempted alot this year - But don't remember many going in ? Would'nt a well placed hard shot be better - Like the 1st goal Drew put in last Friday (No one saw that - It was too hard a shot to be seen) Fetch- I agree with your opinion on the slap shot. Most youth hockey players spend too much time on it. I think that Brian will need it in his arsenal to make that next step. The wrister is great from the slot on in, but is not as effective from way out at the point. IMO, Lee does not have the shot that Stafford does. Not many people in the world do. That was a great shot. My 4 year old thought it was great when the puck got stuck in the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THETRIOUXPER Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I'll tell you one thing, Johnny Toews has turned the corner, that's good for us and bad for anyone that has to play us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIOUXELEVENS Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Turned the corner he is past the corner and cruising chicks on main If and a big if we keep this freshman class together and slow down early departures from the upperclass there will be more banners being hung in the REA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Oshie and Toews are superb. The rest of the Freshman forwards are likely going to be 4 year players that will be the types of guys that lead to championships. I'm highly impressed with the group and if there aren't any early departures this team will be incredible next year. The SIoux and Gophers next year could be teams that are mentioned in the "all-time greats" debate if there aren't a glut of pro signing. The thought of Toews and Stafford together next year gives me chills. I've been the least impressed with Lee on the blue-line. He has the skills, but needs to get physical. Teams are banging him around and it effects him too much. Chorney and Jones and extremely solid for Freshman (minus that awful giveaway by Chorney on Sat. night) and Finley has improved beyond my expectation given his age and size. He doesn't look lost at all and doesn't look ackward. On a learning curve I rank him ahead of Commie, Greene, and Smaby. I hope he keeps improving. That is the problem though "if there are no early departures". I would say Smaby and Stafford are very likely to sign. I don't think there will be anyone else besides those two. They will leave two large voids in the line-up and will set next year's team back. Let's just hope we have seen the last of Potulny and Irmen as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Turned the corner he is past the corner and cruising chicks on main If and a big if we keep this freshman class together and slow down early departures from the upperclass there will be more banners being hung in the REA. Yes, NCAA participation banners... Oh wait we don't do that. Great thread Roper, BTW you misspelled Kozak's name I would have to say that this is an incredible class, I hope that there are no 1 and dones, but with Toews being a potential #1 there is a risk there. I expect a championship from this class, but I did from Zach Par's as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux_Hab-it Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Can you imagine that some year soon Johnny could be doing give and goes with Sid the Kid. Time to start genetically engineering D-men with swivel joints and jock straps that eject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THETRIOUXPER Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Or possibly with TJ for the next few years, as the Blues have a shot at a top3 pick this year. Oh, and maybe Backes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fs1 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I believe Kosek will be a big time scorer before he is done here. You can see the guy has a great shot and I have heard he wins almost every shooting competition in practice. He is a third or fourth liner now,but look who is ahead of him on the first 2 lines. His day will come when he is on one of those lines. I see him as a first or second liner and a big time scorer. Remeber his numbers in the BCHL were right up at the top in goals and total points. I think this weekend we may have seen the beginning of what is to come with him. He has an incredibly quick and accurate shot and he plays all out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I expect a championship from this class, but I did from Zach Par's as well. We may yet, Mr. Frodo....we may yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1 Sioux Fan Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I have to say something about slapshots or the Big onetimers - the ones where they try & set a guy up & he takes a Big swing & drills it into the goal. I have seen this attempted alot this year - But don't remember many going in ? Would'nt a well placed hard shot be better - Like the 1st goal Drew put in last Friday (No one saw that - It was too hard a shot to be seen) There has been one timer's going in the net all season signed by Drew Stafford. He had one or two on Duluth and two on the Tech, both on seperate nights - about as far as my memory goes back. The art of the one timer is a skill that has to be mastered, that's mainly why you don't see a lot of it in college hockey and a lot of it in pro hockey. The Sioux need to exploit Staffords incrediably hard one timers with setup plays, which seems to be already happening. The biggest thing in lining up a one timer is the pass, which Drew has been setup perfectly several times this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopski Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 drew, if youre reading this...please dont go pro after this year! we love you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Duncan- Prototypical UND small forward. Fast, with great hands. We all saw the numbers he put up in the BCHL and knew there was some talent, but I didn't think he would have a large an impact during his freshman year. Best thing about Duncan is that with his size he'll be here all four years!! Seems to play real well with Toews and Stafford, and that should be a deadly combination for the remainer of the year and next year as well. Right Drew?? Kosek- Great grinder who is really played well on the fourth line. Plays a lot bigger than is size and seems to have the ability to bury the puck when needed. He will be a great third liner for UND. Watkins- I can't give much of an opinion on him. He hasn't stood out in my mind, but that is not necessarly a bad thing either. Hopefully, someone can give a better review than this. I think these three players are the keys to sucess of the Fighting in the future in my opinion. We kind of have idea what Oshie, Toews can do they are both amazing players with unbelieveable talent and skill, however, the other three frosh have done pretty good too in my opinion. Kosek has an amazing snap shot and I believe he has the potential to score twenty goals, he has really impressed me even as a fourth line player. I got to see his shot fist hand in the third period of Saturdays game. Teslik was lucky to see it because it was screaming. Duncan is an older Freshman and is pretty shifty, awesome player with a knack for the puck. Watkins, although he hasn't been as impressive as the other four is going to be good player. I am just hoping he is as good as the Ulmer boys were, has the abilities and will probably be a great player in the years to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roper1313 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 Great thread Roper, BTW you misspelled Kozak's name Thanks I made the change. The s and z are too close on the keyboard for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I think these three players are the keys to sucess of the Fighting in the future in my opinion. We kind of have idea what Oshie, Toews can do they are both amazing players with unbelieveable talent and skill, however, the other three frosh have done pretty good too in my opinion. Kosek has an amazing snap shot and I believe he has the potential to score twenty goals, he has really impressed me even as a fourth line player. I got to see his shot fist hand in the third period of Saturdays game. Teslik was lucky to see it because it was screaming. Duncan is an older Freshman and is pretty shifty, awesome player with a knack for the puck. Watkins, although he hasn't been as impressive as the other four is going to be good player. I am just hoping he is as good as the Ulmer boys were, has the abilities and will probably be a great player in the years to come. Huh? Oh, you said shifty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Curious Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Oshie- WOW, what a great suprise coming straight out of high school!! There were thoughts that he might not be ready for DI hockey, but he quickly ended that conversation. TJ is a pure goal scorer. He is one of those guys that can just find the back of the net. The biggest surprise is his physical play. At 5'10" 165 lbs. (he looks more like 180) not exaclty a imposing guy, but hits like a mack truck and seems to thrive on contact. Thanks goodness he came direclty out of high school, because if he played in the USHL this year he IMO he'd be one and done. Let's hope St. Louis keeps him down here to season a few more years. Only negative is that he needs to work on his skating, but certainly is getting the job done. I would have to disagree with the comment on Oshie skating. While he certainly isn't the best skater on the team, I have rarely seen an instance that would suggest he needs help with his footwork. I have been more impressed with his hard skating and back/fore checking than his scoring. We all knew he would put up points, but who would have thought he would have immediately become such a great two-way player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxtatoo42 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Oshie- WOW, what a great suprise coming straight out of high school!! There were thoughts that he might not be ready for DI hockey, but he quickly ended that conversation. TJ is a pure goal scorer. He is one of those guys that can just find the back of the net. The biggest surprise is his physical play. At 5'10" 165 lbs. (he looks more like 180) not exaclty a imposing guy, but hits like a mack truck and seems to thrive on contact. Thanks goodness he came direclty out of high school, because if he played in the USHL this year he IMO he'd be one and done. Let's hope St. Louis keeps him down here to season a few more years. Only negative is that he needs to work on his skating, but certainly is getting the job done. I would have to disagree with the comment on Oshie skating. While he certainly isn't the best skater on the team, I have rarely seen an instance that would suggest he needs help with his footwork. I have been more impressed with his hard skating and back/fore checking than his scoring. We all knew he would put up points, but who would have thought he would have immediately become such a great two-way player. anyone else remember a guy on the team a couple years ago that everyone bashed because he was the ugliest skater in the league?? (Bo) who cares how ugly he skates, he's the s&!t and does nothing but hustle, sometimes too much in my opinion as he's coming off the ice, in some cases, 15 to 20 seconds before the rest of his line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THETRIOUXPER Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I don't think you just become a two way player at the drop of a hat, it's something that is installed in you early on, or should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Oshie- WOW, what a great suprise coming straight out of high school!! There were thoughts that he might not be ready for DI hockey, but he quickly ended that conversation. TJ is a pure goal scorer. He is one of those guys that can just find the back of the net. The biggest surprise is his physical play. At 5'10" 165 lbs. (he looks more like 180) not exaclty a imposing guy, but hits like a mack truck and seems to thrive on contact. Thanks goodness he came direclty out of high school, because if he played in the USHL this year he IMO he'd be one and done. Let's hope St. Louis keeps him down here to season a few more years. Only negative is that he needs to work on his skating, but certainly is getting the job done. I would have to disagree with the comment on Oshie skating. While he certainly isn't the best skater on the team, I have rarely seen an instance that would suggest he needs help with his footwork. I have been more impressed with his hard skating and back/fore checking than his scoring. We all knew he would put up points, but who would have thought he would have immediately become such a great two-way player. I think if there was a #1 area for him to improve on this would be it. It doesn;t mean he's bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 My additions to this wonderful thread topic: Oshie: PCM updated the size thing, but I say he's really doing a great job in all facets of the game. Similarly to what Roper said, I think Oshie needs to work on the same thing Porter needs to work on: getting stronger on his skates. No, he's not a Earl-esque (blow on him and he falls down) type of problem in that regard, but the stronger on his skates he can be, the better. Look at Stafford and Zajac. Those two are the embodiment of strong on their skates. Duncan: Nothing to add here. I really like what he's doing on the ice. And, maybe the only thing that hasn't been mentioned is that he seems to bring a feistier attitude to whichever line he's on. I greatly admire a guy who is my height who can take the game to people who are bigger than he is. Kozek: (I spelled it right! ) I agree with Goon, Duncan, Kozek, and Watkins are the future leaders of this team. Kozek is finally starting to catch up with the DI level whereas Watkins seems to be struggling a bit in the offensive zone. The one thing I like about Kozek is that he has a vicious attitude towards physical play. And he'll take on anyone right now! He's starting to rush the net and darned if that's not going to help him offensively. Watkins: The guy can play defensive hockey however he has been somewhat snakebitten in the offensive zone. Sure, he's put on a line that doesn't give him much for playing time, but I think he'll improve vastly. Especially if he works on conditioning and his game during the off season. Toews: Monster. He's the best player on the team in terms of going high on a goaltender and that's saying something with players like Oshie and Stafford also on the team. He's not destined to wear a Sioux jersey for long. Possibly only one more season Finley: If growth was the measure of what makes a great defenseman, Finley is the Rookie of the Year. He has developed in one season FAR better than any other freshman in all facets of the game he's expected to play in. He looked awkward and tentative when he was first on the ice. Afraid to do anything lest he take a penalty. Now, though he's not quite at the point where he'd dominate (and he may never get there...), he's getting closer to it every game. It's been amazingly easy to track his progress. Lee: There are only two points of his play that I'm not very keen on: His shot and his physicality. He has size and, though he is not a bruiser by any means, I still think he could use his size better. He needs to show less fear. I know we rag on our players when they get called for a penalty but that doesn't mean you take away from your game to ensure you don't get called. Good checks get called all the time in this league. His shot: No, I'm not talking about slapshot vs. wrist shot. His shot takes FOREVER to get off unless he's already rushing the net. More than just learning a slap shot, I think Lee needs to work on getting his shots off faster. A one timer is something Lee isn't very good at because his shot is so cumbersome at times. He's going to be a good one, but he definitely needs to quicken the pace on his shot. Chorney: More offensive minded than Jones by a long shot but just as defensively reliable. He's the defensive surprise of the year, IMO. I expected Jones to acclimate to the DI game faster because of the program where he came from, but I didn't expect it from Chorney. This guy knew the game almost right away. I'll tell you something: When I watched him play at the Ralph while he was with Shattuck, I did see he had tremendous talent, but not quite as polished as I saw him when he donned the Sioux jersey. I still think he needs to work on shot accuracy. Jones: This guy is solid defensively. He's got grit and attitude to spare. However, he needs to work on his emotions. This is his only shortcoming in my opinion. He's no longer playing like a freshman. We'll need him to play as solid as he has of late to have any shot at making it deep into the playoffs. Edit: Forgot about the rest. Saw Martens play vs. Harvard and thought he was a hard worker and put everything into his game while he was on the ice. He potentially has Fabian's game written all over him. Miller is fast and has an offensive upside, but he's so light on his skates.... The rest haven't really played to factor into anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Miller is fast and has an offensive upside, but he's so light on his skates.... I thought you said I was old and slow. Make up your mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I thought you said I was old and slow. Make up your mind! You're fast with wit and can sometimes be offensive to even the staunchest of the opposition EDIT: Ok... you don't have much of an offensive upside... I tried though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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