The Upcoming Special Season

[jk]

Warning: Long and Optimistic ... but things are so quiet that is seemed like a good time for it.

I've been known to sandbag a bit, to save myself from disappointment, avoid jinxes and to keep expectations from getting too lofty, but I've been thinking that I should tell any friends of mine who are just peripheral Sioux fans that they should pay attention this year. Because this has the potential to be a special year.

At the risk of devaluing the word, that would make this the fourth year in a row we will have the privilege of following a "special" team.

Three years ago, UND was just a powerhouse. Up front, it had Parise/Bochenski/Murray at the top, excellent depth throughout the lines, and contributing freshmen like Porter and Stafford mixed in. The airtight defense had perhaps three future NHLers in front of an emerging goaltending star in Parise. The season ended with a painful loss to the eventual surprise champs, but it was still a heck of a ride. One strong memory I have is how the forward depth was revealed on the PK and 4-on-4 situations. For a while it seemed like Blais could just toss the next two guys on the bench out there, regardless of who they were. Parise/Bochenski, Murray/Lundbohm and guys like Fylling, Genoway, Porter and Stafford were all rolled out to great effect, as UND dominated 4-on-4 that year.

The following year's team earned a place in the hearts of many Sioux fans by overcoming adversity. Parise, Bochenski and Blais all left in the offseason, with a lively discussion on the process and ultimate choice for head coach. The World Junior tournament, while a terrific showcase for the arena and program, was also a distraction in the middle of the season. When the Sioux started playing better in Colorado Springs and still came home with two losses, it seemed like the blow that might crush them. Down the stretch, they had to cope with the captain's DUI, "routine" injuries to Murray, Prpich and Greene, and the extraordinary event that was Robbie Bina's injury. With a bench short of forwards and defensemen, the Sioux punished, wore out and flat-out dominated their opponents on the way to the national title game, where they again failed to get any breaks against Denver. The hallmark was the ridiculously punishing defense, but I'll always remember Canady, Massen and Fabian changing the tone of the game with every shift, getting the puck into the zone and pounding the boards. It was a great way for Canady and Massen to finish their Sioux careers.

Watching last year's team was like watching a long-legged colt trying figure out how everything works and with only a hint of what it could become when it gets it all figured out. With more than half the roster being freshmen (and most of them true freshmen), the team predictably had its trying moments. All along the way, though, there were suggestions of spectacular talent. If you left your seat, you risked missing something spectacular. By crunch time, the team relied on Parise in net to cover for their mistakes while they turned loose two genuinely first-line quality scoring lines. (Brian Elliott and Wisconsin allowed 5 goals in the last 29 periods of the year, if you don't count the 4 goals they allowed to UND in 3 periods in that stretch.) If it wasn't Oshie and Toews beating people in open ice, it was Zajac and Spirko beating them along the boards. Ultimately, a poor defensive game by much of the team, from the net out, against BC ended what was an exciting year, as we watched boys mature into older boys.

This year is must-see hockey because we might get to see what happens when the older boys grow into men. We can't know who will step up and be the surprise contributors, and the team will be relying on many players to not only match, but improve, outstanding years last year, but at its core this team may be blessed with stars who have the potential to shine unusually brightly. Toews' second year may be reminiscent of Heatley's at Wisconsin. He was individually dominant, with NHL size and elite skills, but ultimately there was only so much he could do, as there wasn't much around him at the end of Sauer's reign. Toews looks to be similarly talented, but he's doubly blessed in that he has terrific players around him to share the puck with. I don't even know what Oshie's second year may be reminiscent of ... perhaps some force of nature. When he gets ahold of a turnover high in the defensive zone and turns it around, he seems to leave all the other participants, friends and enemies alike, in his wake as he heads to the net. To summarize, I think Toews and Oshie are capable of having Hobey-type seasons thie year. (Full disclosure requires me to disclose that I thought Travis Zajac was going to be one of the nation's best players last year even as a sophomore, and I overshot.) The combination of very top echelon stars with a good deep group of forwards, a maturing defense and solid goaltending makes this a team we may be reminiscing about for years. I'm sure they'll have their issues along the way, and they may not win it all, but it should be fun to watch.

[PCM]

Great summary, jk. I can't disagree with anything you've written.

I, too, believe that this year's Sioux team is capable of great things, even a national championship.

Entering my tenth year as a die-hard Sioux fan, if there's one thing I've learned it's that the team that wins it all needs a few breaks along the way. Few teams are so dominant that they can win a conference championship, a league tournament championship, the NCAA regionals and the Frozen Four.

Like you, I have a good feeling about this year's Sioux team. If nothing else, I expect to see some fun, exciting and very entertaining hockey. It should be a great season.

[dagies]

jk, you reinforce why your posts are "must reads" when I'm on a message board. I can't add anything, nor detract from any of your points, other than you missed on complaining about the officiating.

Like you, one of my greatest memories of the 2004-05 team is the play down the stretch of the Massen/Canady/Fabian line. IMO both Canady and Massen earned a career's worth of appreciation in 2 months for how they ended their Fighting Sioux careers. That ended up being my favorite line to watch on the ice, at the end.

There are certainly questions to be answered with this team, but the potential is there for a special team, and I'm looking forward to the puck dropping on another great season of FIGHTING SIOUX HOCKEY.

[sioux7>5]

Great summary, jk. I can't disagree with anything you've written.

I, too, believe that this year's Sioux team is capable of great things, even a national championship.

Entering my tenth year as a die-hard Sioux fan, if there's one thing I've learned it's that the team that wins it all needs a few breaks along the way. Few teams are so dominant that they can win a conference championship, a league tournament championship, the NCAA regionals and the Frozen Four.

Like you, I have a good feeling about this year's Sioux team. If nothing else, I expect to see some fun, exciting and very entertaining hockey. It should be a great season.

I to think this team could do great things this season. It is a little scary with all the talent the Sioux lost, but what I am really looking forward to is to see what freshman is going to step up and be the outstanding player that we are all going to be talking about. I just hope it is a great season for the players and all us fans alike. Go Sioux!

[Sioux_Hab-it]

I can't wait

[brianvf]

Excellent post jk.

[siouxnami]

I fiugre the Sioux to finish 8th in the WCHA this year...

[Goon]

OH RAH...

[dagies]

As fans we have been very blessed to have recent freshmen the caliber of Parise, Toews, Oshie, etc. This may be a year when our freshmen look more like the normal of a few years ago, much like Watkins or Kozek last year. This is not a criticism of those named, nor of our incoming class. Just a statement about the exceptional talent this program has brought in lately.

I just hope to avoid unreasonable expectations for a freshman player to have to live up to. It's a tough enough adjustment on its own.

[DAR]

If our top incoming forwards (Vandevelde, Forney and Zajac) can reach 10 goals that has to be considered a great freshman season for any of those three. I think Vandevelde is the most likely to reach that mark but we shall see. Look at Wheeler the #5 pick in the draft.....he barely reached 10 goals as a frosh. Anything beyond 10 goals as a frosh has to be considered a great freshman season. That being said no one expected Oshie to blow up like he did last year. So ya never know.

[Sioux]

If our top incoming forwards (Vandevelde, Forney and Zajac) can reach 10 goals that has to be considered a great freshman season for any of those three. I think Vandevelde is the most likely to reach that mark but we shall see. Look at Wheeler the #5 pick in the draft.....he barely reached 10 goals as a frosh. Anything beyond 10 goals as a frosh has to be considered a great freshman season. That being said no one expected Oshie to blow up like he did last year. So ya never know.

i am optomistic on forney getting 15 g, while vandy and zajac will be 10 g each

[AZSIOUX]

LETS GO SIOUX

LETS GO SIOUX

LETS GO SIOUX

LETS GO SIOUX

[Fetch]

Random thoughts

I wish sparky was still here - I was almost certain he would of been here 4 yrs

- If there is a such thing as a sophmore slump were in trouble

- But I too have enjoyed the past couple yrs of improving & being there at the end - But we need the whole enchilada

- I hope Lammy has a UNREAL yr - He kept Parise on his best game - I hope Greico does the same

- There was something about the 1st time you see Oshie skate that you knew he was special

- It is hard to imagine the teams we could have had, if they had to stay (4 yrs) we would be so spoiled

- I'm not complaining about what we do get to see - But just imagining the talent that could gel, through out the league, sure would be awesome - I have to admidt, I have got more interested in the pros, every year - but I'm not there 100%

---There are worse places to live in the WCHA

[Goon]

i am optomistic on forney getting 15 g, while vandy and zajac will be 10 g each

I will up you five on each person Say Fourney 20 and Zajac 15.

[dagies]

Wow, I sure hope you guys are right.

I think I'd be very happy if they hit 25 goals between them.

[THETRIOUXPER]

That being said no one expected Oshie to blow up like he did last year. So ya never know.

Just trying to feed my own ego here, but I believe the above statement to be false. Some of us knew about what was to come once TJ laced them up at the Ralph. Any way, here's hoping our incoming freshmen have a great year, best of luck to all.

[redwing77]

I'd just like us to go out there and play our hardest and best game in and game out. Projecting our freshmen goal totals only sets us up for boom or bust type celebrations. Look at Wheeler. He was selected #5 in the draft and coming into Minnesota, people thought he would be a huge contributer, even if the contributions came during the second half of his freshman campaign. 9 goals is respectable for a freshman, but not where he was drafted. If Wheeler were drafted where everyone else in the hockey world thought he'd be drafted (between 20th overall and the last pick in the first round), I'd say he was right on par with the selection and no one would really use Wheeler as a poster child for anything. Thanks to a delusional Gretzky, Wheeler's "bar of expectations" is huge so a 10 goal freshman campaign (which most people would have thought great for a 2nd-9th round draft pick) is a disappointment for a top 5 draft pick.

EDIT: Sorry, the above paragraph is my opinion. I'm sure there were Gopher fans who expected not much out of Wheeler or were happy with Wheeler's performance both as a freshman and thus far.

That being said, none of these guys (Forney, Vandevelde, Zajac) were drafted that high (if at all in Zajac's case). I would be happy if they scored when it mattered. I'd much rather Forney score 2 goals (both game winners) than have him score 10 goals when the goals were meaningless. No, I won't turn away a double digit goal total on any freshman, but I think all expectations should be placed on the shoulders of the team as a whole, not on the shoulders of a select few.

[tnt]

I will up you five on each person Say Fourney 20 and Zajac 15.

You honestly think that Forney is going to practically match what Toews and Oshie did last year? Never say never, but don't be disappointed if together they only produce 15 goals +/- 5 goals. If that did happen, it would surprise me much more than what Oshie and Toews did last year. Vandevelde might put up better numbers than those two, although I suspect he won't really get going until the second half. That is my hope for the three of them, that they can hit their stride the second half of the season. Any kind of early production would be like gravy.

[siouxguyinstpaul]

I fiugre the Sioux to finish 8th in the WCHA this year...

How do you figure that? - just curious.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

How do you figure that? - just curious.

He is joking which is why he inserted the wink.

[DMT]

If Wheeler were drafted where everyone else in the hockey world thought he'd be drafted (between 20th overall and the last pick in the first round), I'd say he was right on par with the selection and no one would really use Wheeler as a poster child for anything.

I don't think the draft has anything to do with how players will play in college. Look at that same 2004 draft, Zajac went 20th and Chucko went 24th. At the time, I don't think the expectations were any different for the two of them, and look how that played out.

Back to this season, I would be happy with 20 point seasons from any (or all) of the freshman forwards.

[siouxnami]

I don't think the draft has anything to do with how players will play in college. Look at that same 2004 draft, Zajac went 20th and Chucko went 24th. At the time, I don't think the expectations were any different for the two of them, and look how that played out.

Back to this season, I would be happy with 20 point seasons from any (or all) of the freshman forwards.

Also note that Wheeler went 5 in 2005 while Kessel went 5 in 2006. Kessel is a much better player than Wheeler and a legit top 5 pick.

[redwing77]

Yeah, Vanek and Kessel were legit at #5 and both were better than Wheeler. I just view draft location in the first round in such a way that the top 5 are as close to "can't miss" prospects as one can project, the top 10 are the "elite prospects" and the rest of the first round are those prospects with uspides superior to the rest of the draft. I don't see Wheeler as a "can't miss" prospect, which is why I'm so hard on him. You're right that I shouldn't really use this to judge how a player fares in college, but both Vanek and Kessel were "can't miss" prospects who did pretty darn good in college even their freshmen years.

[brianvf]

I'm not going to put huge expectations on the shoulders of any of our incoming freshmen. I don't expect any of them to have huge seasons like Oshie or Toews, but would still love to see it.

I also don't expect Oshie or Toews to have soph slumps.

Hopefully Lammy has a great season!

[sprig]

first round are those prospects with uspides

Are those extra limbs?