Kessel returning to the "U"?

[buckysieve]

The lack of heart and desire of the Gopher hockey team at the end of the season the past two years really befuddles me.

I agree the Gophers lacked heart and desire at the end of last year but not the year before like you say. The Gophers actully played very well in the Final Five semi-final against CC in '05. I know they lost 3-0 but it was just one of those games where we couldn't buy a goal. The 3-0 score was not indicative of how the game was played at all. Then the next day they played the first two periods pretty well against the sioux, especially considering that one of their best players suffered some type of emotional breakdown the night before. Then a week later the Gophers dominated Maine and Cornell. I know it was on home ice but they still played extremely well for those two games. They didn't play great in Columbus but at least they showed some heart in the third period and made the game close.

This is not a two year problem. It happened last year and that's it and I'll be shocked if it happens this coming season. I expect them to play with a huge chip on their shoulder and have a great post-season.

[Slap Shot]

Maybe it's not all that bad:

In defense of Kessel

Whether one of those vying for a roster spot is center Phil Kessel -- Boston's first-round pick (No. 5 overall) in last month's draft -- is still to be determined. A recent ESPN The Magazine article -- in which members of the Columbus Blue Jackets' staff were critical of Kessel's performance in the NHL combine held a few weeks before the draft -- led to the Bruins intervening in defense of their prospect.

``I read the piece, too, and some of it was taken out of context," said Chiarelli. ``Phil, I think he was a little hurt by it. I know he was a little hurt by it. We've talked to certain people about it and there weren't apologies but it was like, `This isn't what we meant.' What's done is done. We talked to Phil after the article and I think he's feeling better. Donny Sweeney talked to Phil and had a good conversation."

As to a decision to return to the University of Minnesota for his sophomore season or turn pro, Kessel is still contemplating his options.

``I think he's still looking at both sides," said Chiarelli. ``I know there was something written about him saying he was going back and that might have been his thoughts at the time, but it's a difficult decision. We're going to look at it closely in short order here. In his own mind, he's still debating. Another year in Minnesota would be very good. He could dominate. It's always good to dominate a year. But maybe after that your skills don't really develop as they should. You get into some lazy habits so it wouldn't disappoint me if he was to go back. He's a hell of a player and he's going to be a core part of the franchise."

[PCM]

This is not a two year problem. It happened last year and that's it and I'll be shocked if it happens this coming season.

I agree. Every team is different. Lucia has certainly shown that he knows how to win national championships. That's why I don't think coaching has much to do with it. Sometimes a combination of coaching and player leadership is enough to overcome problems and sometimes it isn't. I won't go so far as to say that next season's Gopher team will be better than last season's, but I certainly won't assume that last season' Minnesota meltdown will carry over into next season.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

I agree. Every team is different. Lucia has certainly shown that he knows how to win national championships. That's why I don't think coaching has much to do with it. Sometimes a combination of coaching and player leadership is enough to overcome problems and sometimes it isn't. I won't go so far as to say that next season's Gopher team will be better than last season's, but I certainly won't assume that last season' Minnesota meltdown will carry over into next season.

I would have to disagree. The poor old Don has a bad case of "Girls Gone Wild" and in typical Gopher fashion it was swept under the rug. I understand that the rabid Gopher faithful would have likely called for his head if he had benched any of his star players and since it involved many of them he was stuck between a rock and hard place. He is also stuck with many of them as returns along with a problem from a couple of years back that is now too taboo to discuss. His goaltending is still suspect (being generous here) and even the Gopher faithful are wondering if a leader will emerge from the current cancer and raise the Phoenix from the ashes. You can have all the talent in the world but without players that have the required character and play for what is on the front of the Jersey you can expect a rerun of last season.

[buckysieve]

I would have to disagree. The poor old Don has a bad case of "Girls Gone Wild" and in typical Gopher fashion it was swept under the rug. I understand that the rabid Gopher faithful would have likely called for his head if he had benched any of his star players and since it involved many of them he was stuck between a rock and hard place. He is also stuck with many of them as returns along with a problem from a couple of years back that is now too taboo to discuss. His goaltending is still suspect (being generous here) and even the Gopher faithful are wondering if a leader will emerge from the current cancer and raise the Phoenix from the ashes. You can have all the talent in the world but without players that have the required character and play for what is on the front of the Jersey you can expect a rerun of last season.

You can have all the delusional thoughts you like, but it doesn't make them true. You make it sound like this program is in complete dissaray. After reading your post it's hard to believe they even finished .500 last year, let alone in 1st place.

Things go in cycles. Z. Parise's frshman year the Sioux went completely into the tank the second half of the season as bad as any team I've seen while the Gophers went on to win the ncaa title. Not for one second did I think there was something wrong with the Sioux program. I could have said the same things about that team that your saying about the Gophers, like they don't have enough character or heart and they're all pre madonna's. The reality is that in all sports, with all teams sometimes you don't perform well down the stretch for what ever reason. But it certainly doesn't mean that the sky is falling down on the program like you imply. Everything is fine in Gopherland, trust me.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

You can have all the delusional thoughts you like, but it doesn't make them true.

Everything is fine in Gopherland, trust me.

Who is delusional

[Slap Shot]

You can have all the delusional thoughts you like, but it doesn't make them true. You make it sound like this program is in complete dissaray. After reading your post it's hard to believe they even finished .500 last year, let alone in 1st place.

Things go in cycles. Z. Parise's frshman year the Sioux went completely into the tank the second half of the season as bad as any team I've seen while the Gophers went on to win the ncaa title. Not for one second did I think there was something wrong with the Sioux program. I could have said the same things about that team that your saying about the Gophers, like they don't have enough character or heart and they're all pre madonna's. The reality is that in all sports, with all teams sometimes you don't perform well down the stretch for what ever reason. But it certainly doesn't mean that the sky is falling down on the program like you imply. Everything is fine in Gopherland, trust me.

lol - seeing his post quoted in yours reminds me why I have him on ignore. I guess the Gophers won 2 NC's despite Don Lucia?

[Sioux_Hab-it]

lol - seeing his post quoted in yours reminds me why I have him on ignore. I guess the Gophers won 2 NC's despite Don Lucia?

I must admit this was a great idea on your part. Just put any Sioux fan who knows more about hockey than you do on ignore and you have created your own little Gopher Chat site for free. As for the Don think about this, at both CC and UMTC he had his best seasons with players that had been recruited by the previous staff.

[Cardinal]

I must admit this was a great idea on your part. Just put any Sioux fan who knows more about hockey than you do on ignore and you have created your own little Gopher Chat site for free. As for the Don think about this, at both CC and UMTC he had his best seasons with players that had been recruited by the previous staff.

Hasn't Hakstol had a lot of success (although no national titles, unlike Lucia) with players Blais recruited?

[sprig]

Hasn't Hakstol had a lot of success (although no national titles, unlike Lucia) with players Blais recruited?

Hak and Berry were the previous staff under Blais, so it's hardly comparable.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Hak and Berry were the previous staff under Blais, so it's hardly comparable.

Don't make them look bad/dumb Sprig or they will they will place you on ignore too. Or maybe that is your plan all along

[cavedurtis]

Don't make them look bad/dumb Sprig or they will they will place you on ignore too. Or maybe that is your plan all along

Oh yeah, all this amazing knowledge and insight about the Gopher program and it's inner workings from somebody that a couple months ago couldn't distinguish Phil Kessel from Erik Johnson.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Oh yeah, all this amazing knowledge and insight about the Gopher program and it's inner workings from somebody that a couple months ago couldn't distinguish Phil Kessel from Erik Johnson.

Sorry I was the one who was has always preached that Toews > One Move. When it comes to EJ even though he is a Dman I would even concede the ROY is his to lose. Go back and do your homework.

You really know that the poor old trolls have nothing better to do with their time when they have to hang around Sioux.com 365 days of the year. They can deny it all they want but they truly our obsessed with our team

[Slap Shot]

Hasn't Hakstol had a lot of success (although no national titles, unlike Lucia) with players Blais recruited?

Lucia won NC's in his 3rd and 4th years as HC at Minnesota. The 2002 team included 11 juniors/seniors and the 2003 team included 3 seniors. About 50% of the 2002 roster were Woog's recruits, the vast majority in 2003 were Lucia's. And my comment was that the obvious argument being made by a select few here is the Gophers must have won those 2 NC's despite Don Lucia. Whether or not they were his recruits is irrelevent to the bigger picture - they won two years in a row. How'd he manage to get out of the way enough for that to happen? Must have been the assistants.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Gopher obfuscating.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Lucia won NC's in his 3rd and 4th years as HC at Minnesota. The 2002 team included 11 juniors/seniors and the 2003 team included 3 seniors. About 50% of the 2002 roster were Woog's recruits, the vast majority in 2003 were Lucia's. And my comment was that the obvious argument being made by a select few here is the Gophers must have won those 2 NC's despite Don Lucia. Whether or not they were his recruits is irrelevent to the bigger picture - they won two years in a row. How'd he manage to get out of the way enough for that to happen? Must have been the assistants.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Gopher obfuscating.

A thinly veiled adjustment of the facts, as given how far in advance your team gets its recruits the sophomores and freshmen were already lined up. So yes back to your regularly scheduled Gopher Sci-Fi.

[Siouxman]

Lucia won NC's in his 3rd and 4th years as HC at Minnesota. The 2002 team included 11 juniors/seniors and the 2003 team included 3 seniors. About 50% of the 2002 roster were Woog's recruits, the vast majority in 2003 were Lucia's. And my comment was that the obvious argument being made by a select few here is the Gophers must have won those 2 NC's despite Don Lucia. Whether or not they were his recruits is irrelevent to the bigger picture - they won two years in a row. How'd he manage to get out of the way enough for that to happen? Must have been the assistants.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Gopher obfuscating.

Regardless of who did the recruiting, if Woog had still been coach neither of those national championships would have happened. I give Lucia credit for that. Even from the booth, Woog isn't watching the same game as the rest of the world.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Regardless of who did the recruiting, if Woog had still been coach neither of those national championships would have happened. I give Lucia credit for that. Even from the booth, Woog isn't watching the same game as the rest of the world.

I wouldn't disagree with you on that point and would add that although Buetow assembled the CC teams that the Don did well with, Buetow likely wouldn't have done as well with them. The Don seems to a good coach when he steps in and the talent is in place and stable. However, as a disciplinarian, people person, or someone who keeps a handle on his teams life outside of hockey, well I believe the proof is in the pudding at the end of his CC career and regarding the current problems at UMTC. Let the frothing of the trolls commence.

[sprig]

Don't make them look bad/dumb Sprig or they will they will place you on ignore too. Or maybe that is your plan all along

That would be good if I'm not already. Need a gophers only thread as they seem to like it here better than on gpl.

[Handsome Rob]

".......like they don't have enough character or heart and they're all pre madonna's."

Captain grammer here, just as a side note it should be prima donna

[jallengarry]

I agree. Every team is different. Lucia has certainly shown that he knows how to win national championships. That's why I don't think coaching has much to do with it. Sometimes a combination of coaching and player leadership is enough to overcome problems and sometimes it isn't. I won't go so far as to say that next season's Gopher team will be better than last season's, but I certainly won't assume that last season' Minnesota meltdown will carry over into next season.

What the H*ll is this? You reply with a well reasoned, objective viewpoint???....I'm befuddled.....You started drinking again didn't you?....j/k.

Gezzz....Kessel is taking so long to decide we've gone from actual discussion on the topic, to good ole' sioux- gopher trash talk....and now it seems we're tiring of that. COME ON PHIL, just stay already baby!!

[jallengarry]

Oh.....and Cap. "grammer".....it's g,r,a,m,m,A,r......LOL!!!

In an act of shameless self-promo.....how sweet is my avatar Goph Fans???

[Sodbuster]

Uh.... by the look on your face....looks like you're taking a dump in that thing.

[buckysieve]

I wouldn't disagree with you on that point and would add that although Buetow assembled the CC teams that the Don did well with, Buetow likely wouldn't have done as well with them. The Don seems to a good coach when he steps in and the talent is in place and stable. However, as a disciplinarian, people person, or someone who keeps a handle on his teams life outside of hockey, well I believe the proof is in the pudding at the end of his CC career and regarding the current problems at UMTC. Let the frothing of the trolls commence.

Yeah, you're right. The Don is a horrible coach. Seven years, 2 NCAA Titles, 2 Broadmoor Trophies, a MacNaughton Cup, #1 ranked recruiting classes, five straight years with #1 seed in ncaa tourney, the only coach in ncaa history to land the #1 NHL draft pick. How will this program ever survive? I can't believe we've allowed this clown to coach this long.

You are so completely off base with EVERYTHING you say about the Gopher program it's laughable. Let me ask you this question Mr. know it all about Gopher hockey. If the Don is such a bad coach then how did he get verbal commitments from 4 of the top 8 NHL draft picks? The elite players in the world for their age group deciding to play for Lucia over any other coach in the nation speaks volumes. You should just stop now before you lose your last shred of credibilty.

[sagard]

... The Don seems to a good coach when he steps in and the talent is in place and stable...

That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said about Lucia and the Gophs.

[buckysieve]

I must admit this was a great idea on your part. Just put any Sioux fan who knows more about hockey than you do on ignore and you have created your own little Gopher Chat site for free. As for the Don think about this, at both CC and UMTC he had his best seasons with players that had been recruited by the previous staff.

This post is priceless. For years Sioux fans do nothing but talk about what a horrible coach Doug Woog was, but now apparently they want to hate Lucia so much that Woog is receiving the credit for assembling the two NCAA title teams won under Lucia. Quite a turnaround. Who would have thought Sioux fans thought so highly of the Wooger?