Smaby signs

[termie]

Finley improved greatly during the season. He's going to be great.

[jloos]

These are the exact same comments that we heard after Greene's and Smaby's freshman year. IMO Finley progressed better than those two during his freshman year. I didn't notice him much during the year, which is a good thing for a big, young stay-at-home defenseman.

Exactly. Smaby looked pretty bad at times his freshman year. IMO he improved more than any current Sioux player. He was a big reason the Sioux had so much success this season. Finley should have been a senior in high school this season. He has progressed nicely and will likely be a very good stay at home D-man, although I don't think he will ever be as physical as Greene or Smaby. He has a couple more inches of reach that will allow him to use his stick more. Finley is a great skater for his size, I would be very happy to have him captain the team in two years before moving on - like Greene and Smaby.

[redwing77]

Exactly. Smaby looked pretty bad at times his freshman year. IMO he improved more than any current Sioux player. He was a big reason the Sioux had so much success this season. Finley should have been a senior in high school this season. He has progressed nicely and will likely be a very good stay at home D-man, although I don't think he will ever be as physical as Greene or Smaby. He has a couple more inches of reach that will allow him to use his stick more. Finley is a great skater for his size, I would be very happy to have him captain the team in two years before moving on - like Greene and Smaby.

Exactly why I say that Finley will be a monster for the Sioux. I mean, with posters starting to spread the dislike of the guy like posters have done for Commodore, Greene, Smaby.... and maybe a few others, how could Finley not turn into a monster?

[sioux rube]

Good luck to you Matt and enjoy the rest of your semester.You have come a long way since your freshman year and are ready for the next step in your career.

[jk]

Here are a few snapshots from the last three years:

Met Matt (a high school senior) and his dad at Sensers watching the Sioux play Denver in the WCHA playoffs. During a break in play, Brad Berry was interviewed, and Matt commented on what a great guy he is. Also, when Matt stepped away for a minute, his dad commented that Matt is a tiger on the ice - very aggressive.

I attended the UND/MN series in Grand Forks a few games into Matt's UND career, and he leveled more forwards than all the other defensemen combined. He kept holding the blueline very aggressively, and although he missed a few times (yielding opportunities), his physical play was a big reason the MN forwards wanted nothing other than to find the bus by late on Saturday.

At the 2005 Frozen four practice between the Thursday and Saturday games, Berry and Smaby spent some time on one-on-one drills, and I was reminded of our initial meeting. [On that note, I get the sense that Coach Berry is a huge part of this program right now. His impact on recruiting and teaching and his rock solid presence seem nearly as important as Hakstol's role.]

During the Friday game at Mariucci in January, when an emotionally and physically worn UND team was getting embarrassed by MN, Smaby was the only defenseman who seemed capable of handling the puck. He kept making the right play, and kept hitting people. Eventually the dam broke and the Sioux were overwhelmed, but it was clear to me then that Smaby was the most important skater on the team, while the younger defensemen were still developing.

In another MN game this year, Matt wiped Potulny out at center ice. Although the FSN guys tried to suggest it was an elbow, it was just one of his classic open-ice hits. It was also classic in another sense, because the recipient was one of the opponent's best players. He famously took Marty Sertich out of the whole weekend (not by injury, but by effectiveness) by rocking him early on Friday, and he apparently hit Slattengren so hard he drove him right out of college hockey.

Overall, Smaby had a terrific college career. He skated a regular shift as a true freshman on a league champion. He played a big role as a crushing defenseman who mostly avoided the penalty box as the 2005 team advanced to the national title game. And he topped it off by teaching the next generation what it means to be a Sioux defenseman, while captaining the team to a repeat Frozen Four trip in 2006.

Congratulations and good luck.

[siouxnami]

Here are a few snapshots from the last three years:

Met Matt (a high school senior) and his dad at Sensers watching the Sioux play Denver in the WCHA playoffs. During a break in play, Brad Berry was interviewed, and Matt commented on what a great guy he is. Also, when Matt stepped away for a minute, his dad commented that Matt is a tiger on the ice - very aggressive.

I attended the UND/MN series in Grand Forks a few games into Matt's UND career, and he leveled more forwards than all the other defensemen combined. He kept holding the blueline very aggressively, and although he missed a few times (yielding opportunities), his physical play was a big reason the MN forwards wanted nothing other than to find the bus by late on Saturday.

At the 2005 Frozen four practice between the Thursday and Saturday games, Berry and Smaby spent some time on one-on-one drills, and I was reminded of our initial meeting. [On that note, I get the sense that Coach Berry is a huge part of this program right now. His impact on recruiting and teaching and his rock solid presence seem nearly as important as Hakstol's role.]

During the Friday game at Mariucci in January, when an emotionally and physically worn UND team was getting embarrassed by MN, Smaby was the only defenseman who seemed capable of handling the puck. He kept making the right play, and kept hitting people. Eventually the dam broke and the Sioux were overwhelmed, but it was clear to me then that Smaby was the most important skater on the team, while the younger defensemen were still developing.

In another MN game this year, Matt wiped Potulny out at center ice. Although the FSN guys tried to suggest it was an elbow, it was just one of his classic open-ice hits. It was also classic in another sense, because the recipient was one of the opponent's best players. He famously took Marty Sertich out of the whole weekend (not by injury, but by effectiveness) by rocking him early on Friday, and he apparently hit Slattengren so hard he drove him right out of college hockey.

Overall, Smaby had a terrific college career. He skated a regular shift as a true freshman on a league champion. He played a big role as a crushing defenseman who mostly avoided the penalty box as the 2005 team advanced to the national title game. And he topped it off by teaching the next generation what it means to be a Sioux defenseman, while captaining the team to a repeat Frozen Four trip in 2006.

Congratulations and good luck.

Great Post, I'll miss Matt...

[dagies]

Here are a few snapshots from the last three years:

Met Matt (a high school senior) and his dad at Sensers watching the Sioux play Denver in the WCHA playoffs. During a break in play, Brad Berry was interviewed, and Matt commented on what a great guy he is. Also, when Matt stepped away for a minute, his dad commented that Matt is a tiger on the ice - very aggressive.

I attended the UND/MN series in Grand Forks a few games into Matt's UND career, and he leveled more forwards than all the other defensemen combined. He kept holding the blueline very aggressively, and although he missed a few times (yielding opportunities), his physical play was a big reason the MN forwards wanted nothing other than to find the bus by late on Saturday.

At the 2005 Frozen four practice between the Thursday and Saturday games, Berry and Smaby spent some time on one-on-one drills, and I was reminded of our initial meeting. [On that note, I get the sense that Coach Berry is a huge part of this program right now. His impact on recruiting and teaching and his rock solid presence seem nearly as important as Hakstol's role.]

During the Friday game at Mariucci in January, when an emotionally and physically worn UND team was getting embarrassed by MN, Smaby was the only defenseman who seemed capable of handling the puck. He kept making the right play, and kept hitting people. Eventually the dam broke and the Sioux were overwhelmed, but it was clear to me then that Smaby was the most important skater on the team, while the younger defensemen were still developing.

In another MN game this year, Matt wiped Potulny out at center ice. Although the FSN guys tried to suggest it was an elbow, it was just one of his classic open-ice hits. It was also classic in another sense, because the recipient was one of the opponent's best players. He famously took Marty Sertich out of the whole weekend (not by injury, but by effectiveness) by rocking him early on Friday, and he apparently hit Slattengren so hard he drove him right out of college hockey.

Overall, Smaby had a terrific college career. He skated a regular shift as a true freshman on a league champion. He played a big role as a crushing defenseman who mostly avoided the penalty box as the 2005 team advanced to the national title game. And he topped it off by teaching the next generation what it means to be a Sioux defenseman, while captaining the team to a repeat Frozen Four trip in 2006.

Congratulations and good luck.

Excellent post, jk.

I, too, sense from Hak's comments over time that he credits Berry significantly with the success of the team.

[sagard]

I won't miss him. He seemed to deliver even harder hits than Matt Greene. His hit this year on Potulny was violent, but he also KO'd Grant his freshmen season at Mariucci.

[The Sicatoka]

I think the record is skipping.

- "Hey, we got a great young big D!"

- "What an unremarkable freshman year."

- "Oh my, what a sophomore year turn-around!"

- "Why's he leaving after just his junior year?"

Dare I say apply those to Commodore, Greene, Smaby, and I'd expect Finley too.

To Matt Smaby I say thank you for staying for a junior year (you could have taken TBL's money a year ago) and leading by example and setting the standard for what will be the most capable defensive unit in the WCHA next year. Helping those four freshmen learn and develop, and become four battle-tested sophomores, is more valuable to Sioux hockey than we'll ever understand.

[Rick]

I do wish matt well in his future, but he is not ready for the nhl.

Those of us who went to the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers game last Friday night at the United Center will probably disagree you. You're judging Smaby based on one mistake in one game. Tampa Bay is judging him on the other 128 games he's played for UND. Since they were trying to get him signed last year, they must like what they see. If Matt Smaby was going to the Blackhawks, he'd be their top defenseman right now. Without mentioning names, there are defensemen on Chicago's team that would have a difficult time making the Sioux roster. There's a couple that have size and can hit, but The Sicatoka has better foot speed than most of them.

Edmonton has a lot better defensemen than Chicago. Guys like Pronger, Spacek, Staios and Bergeron are making it difficult for Matt Greene to crack the Edmonton line-up. We had a chance to talk with Greene and he's working hard and trying to take advantage of every opportunity, but it's going to be difficult to play ahead of any of these guys this year. It all depends on which organization you're with, and if Matt Greene was with Chicago right now, he'd be in their line-up every night.

Bochenski didn't get a lot of playing time last Friday. He played a regular five on five shift the first two periods, but didn't see much ice in the third period. He was on a line with Mark Cullen, but Bo didn't get any power play or penalty kill time.

I was surprised that Mark played a regular shift, played the penalty kill, played on four on four situations and also got some power play time. He is adjusting well to the NHL. While The Sicatoka was bragging about his foot-speed [as compared to the Chicago defensemen] but Cullen would walk him like he's a 4th line Pee Wee.

[The Sicatoka]

But my sources (and you) tell me Cullen is pretty slow when it comes to getting to autographs. I could be a contender!

[Rick]

But my sources (and you) tell me Cullen is pretty slow when it comes to getting to autographs. I could be a contender!

It all depends what you're contending for.

We ate at the Red Light Restaraunt which is fairly close to the United Center. Now, the people who were going into the establishment next door to the Red Light were "contenders".....you should've seen them.

[jloos]

If Matt Smaby was going to the Blackhawks, he'd be their top defenseman right now. Without mentioning names, there are defensemen on Chicago's team that would have a difficult time making the Sioux roster.

The Blackhawks have the second best D rookie in Brent Seabrook and also have Cam Barker who was a top five pick in last years (2004) draft.

Smaby is a good player, but like Greene and Commodore, he will probably not be a huge impact player in the NHL right away.

[Tommiejo]

Contrats to Matt & I hope he makes the big club soon. That way I can go see Matt on a nightly basis. Hey folks he'll fit right in down here in Tampa Bay. Well at least I think so I don't know about everybody else.

SIOUX FAN SINCE 1973

[stafford_rules]

Radke made Cummings run for the protection of the penalty box.

gosh, Kyle is one fiesty mutha!

[Shawn-O]

gosh, Kyle id one fiesty mutha!

Gotta love those Western Canadian kids....McMahon, Prpich, Radke, etc......mean streaks a mile long.....

[Goon]

Finley improved greatly during the season. He's going to be great.

I agree with that statement I don't the team should push Finley to the pros just yet, I think Joe will be the needed presence in front of the next next season. I think Joe is developing nicely.