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Help Malone Out


jk

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I'm just providing a public service for that portion of the public that happens to be a blue-chip recruit trying to choose between UND and other schools.

When you've narrowed it down to the last few schools, obviously there are just good choices left, and it comes down to priorities and preferences.

If your priority is to become a professional hockey player, you should choose the school that best prepares players for the next level. How better to prepare to be a professional than to be treated like one in college? UND is consistently noted for being run the most like a professional organization, with players held accountable for their preparation and performance. You earn it, you get it. Just like in the real world. At UND, it's been known as "skate or sit."

If you're a forward and you like to attack and score, look at the parade of elite forwards that have skated into Grand Forks, filled the scoresheet, and advenced to the pros. In just the last few years:

- Brandon Bochenski was a Hobey finalist and is skating with the Chicago Blackhawks.

- Zach Parise was a Hobey finalist, WJC gold medalist, and is with the NJ Devils.

- Brady Murray was the WCHA ROY, WJC gold medalist, and earned a professional job in Switzerland.

- Drew Stafford was a WJC gold medalist, and is with the Buffalo Sabres.

- Travis Zajac was on the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team and is with the NJ Devils.

- T.J. Oshie was a freshman scoring sensation who will be with the St. Louis Blues soon (too soon for Sioux fans, but right on track for his career).

- Jon Toews was also a freshman revelation and WJC gold medalist who will be with the Chicago Blackhawks next year.

The fun part is that these guys all thrived as freshmen. Because they earned it, they were able to play with the team's best players. Here are UND's leading freshman scorers in each of the last five years:

Bochenski 32

Parise 61

Murray 46

Zajac 39

Oshie 45

How'd the top-scoring freshmen do at another top school (say, Wisconsin, for instance)?

Leavitt 24

MacMurchy 24

Earl 27

Pavelski 45

Skille 21

I know where I'd go if I wanted to play up-tempo hockey and score goals, even as a freshman.

If your priority is winning (well, first of all, UND wants you), then you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to consistently be among the nation's top teams. The most consistent winners over the last ten years have been UND, Michigan, BC and Minnesota. Other teams like Denver, Wisconsin, St. Cloud and Duluth have risen up for a few years to achieve success, then some have faded back to the pack. How much staying power Denver and Wisconsin will have at the top remains to be seen.

To be honest and fair to the players, most of them came to UND with vast potential, and most of the credit for becoming great players goes to them. They did the work. To achieve their goals, they also chose to develop at a place with the training facilities that would help them become the best players they could be. The REA's lovely features in the stands and concourse attract the attention of the press and fans, but it's the access to the inside of the rink that makes all the difference to the players.

I'll stop there, with professional aspirations, scoring, winning and development. Anyone else who wants to further aid the public is welcome to help.

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Very persuasive. UND is clearly THE choice for me.

I plan on holding a press conference today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 3:00 Central, to announce my committment to the University of North Dakota mens hockey team, effective the 2007-08 season.

Seriously though, you make a lot of good points that I'm sure people could add on to.

I will add one: Grand Forks is NOT the hell hole that some fans of other programs make it out to be.

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I will add one: Grand Forks is NOT the hell hole that some fans of other programs make it out to be.
I agree with you. Mayor Deebs really said it best:

I'd rather be with the people of this town than the finest people in the world!

I hope Malone visits over homecoming. Should be a lot of positive energy in town that weekend.

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You've covered many topics. Academics is another discussion point. UND isn't an IVY League or Big 10 school but ranks highly in many aspects. The Sioux coaches have always stressed success in academics going back through the Blais era at least.

The Aerospace program is world renowned, and the School of Engineering and Mines is also well thought of (except for they let me slip through back in 1987. I imagine they've tightened things up since then).

Here's a fairly impressive list of School of Engineering and Mines Alumni. UND may not be a "big name" school, but it's obvious that it turns out high quality engineers and managers. I'm sure there are many other names that could be added to this list. The current president of Otter Tail Power, Chuck MacFarlane is an electrical engineering graduate of UND in 1987.

In 2004 the Princeton Review listed UND as 14th on the list of top 25 Entreprenurial schools. You have to be doing something right there.

More on that ranking:

UND named one of top 25 entrepreneurial campuses

The University has been named one of

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Here's a fairly impressive list of School of Engineering and Mines Alumni.

If it wasn't for Harry Nyquist many things we take for granted today, like satellite radio and cell phones, just wouldn't be possible. His contributions to signal processing and controls theories (Nyquist frequency, Nyquist noise, Nyquist Theory, Nyquist stability criteria) are taught to every EE student in the world today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Nyquist

And he started out at little old UND.

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Lets see UND has a first class coaching staff, one of the BEST arena's in the world with state of the art training equipment, players get access to the arena when every they want, a great academic record, die hard community support & following and they are the #1 show in town a lot like the Montreal Canadiens or Vancouver Canucks. HUGE support from Alumni especially guys like Ralph Engelstad, Jason Blake, Zach Parise, guys like Ed Belfour and Mike Commodore bringing the Stanley Cup back to Grand Forks.

You would Get to play for a coach like Dave Hakstol who will be in the NHL some day. He is one of the most intelligent people I know and would do anything for his players. Play for Mr. Champioship Cary Eades who has as many rings as fingers. As head coach He has won 4 Minnesota State high school champs, one USHL National championship, 2 NCAA rings as a player at UND and one as an assistant coach. A chance to work individually with a guy like Dane Jackson who played pro hockey for 11 years.

I would guess that the Sioux have been the most winningest team in all of College hockey over the last 10 years. Playing in the Frozen four 5 of the last 10 years, playing in the title game 4 times during that run winning it all twice. Plus winning the WCHA title 5 times in 10 years.

but the main reason I would want to come next year would be the possability to play with T.J. Oshie.

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Lets see UND has a first class coaching staff, one of the BEST arena's in the world with state of the art training equipment, players get access to the arena when every they want, a great academic record, die hard community support & following and they are the #1 show in town a lot like the Montreal Canadiens or Vancouver Canucks. HUGE support from Alumni especially guys like Ralph Engelstad, Jason Blake, Zach Parise, guys like Ed Belfour and Mike Commodore bringing the Stanley Cup back to Grand Forks.

You would Get to play for a coach like Dave Hakstol who will be in the NHL some day. He is one of the most intelligent people I know and would do anything for his players. Play for Mr. Champioship Cary Eades who has as many rings as fingers. As head coach He has won 4 Minnesota State high school champs, one USHL National championship, 2 NCAA rings as a player at UND and one as an assistant coach. A chance to work individually with a guy like Dane Jackson who played pro hockey for 11 years.

I would guess that the Sioux have been the most winningest team in all of College hockey over the last 10 years. Playing in the Frozen four 5 of the last 10 years, playing in the title game 4 times during that run winning it all twice. Plus winning the WCHA title 5 times in 10 years.

but the main reason I would want to come next year would be the possability to play with T.J. Oshie.

You are close but I believe Michigan has the most wins dating back the last 10 years.

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Michigan doesn't count because they are play in a weak league. J/K

That reminds me, why would any big time recruit want to play in any other league. In the WCHA you play in Great buildings at UND(11,400) Minnesota(10,000), CC(7,000), Denver(6,500) and Wisconsin (15,000)(wisconsin is really a basketball arena and the hockey team doesn't get to practice there and they play 2nd fidel and sometimes they play at bad time due to basketball getting 1st dibs).

Also you play in front of the great atmospheres at Duluth and St. Cloud. If you do good enough you goto the X for the WCHA final 5 and play in front of 19,000. Its not like the East coact who play in front of High school sized crowds.

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I know you included the J/K but as I did the math off the hockeydb site that thought crossed my mind about the difference in competetion between the CCHA and the WCHA. If my math is correct here are the numbers:

Michigan - 286 wins

North Dakota - 279 wins

Minnesota - 249 wins (just for grins, if someone wants to they can start a 279 > 249 bit) :silly:

That is a good question about recruits and It's obvious that the results on the ice for the WCHA indicate that there is a recruiting advantage for the reasons you mentioned.

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I know you included the J/K but as I did the math off the hockeydb site that thought crossed my mind about the difference in competetion between the CCHA and the WCHA. If my math is correct here are the numbers:

Michigan - 286 wins

North Dakota - 279 wins

Minnesota - 249 wins (just for grins, if someone wants to they can start a 279 > 249 bit) :silly:

That is a good question about recruits and It's obvious that the results on the ice for the WCHA indicate that there is a recruiting advantage for the reasons you mentioned.

So this what we are looking at UND from 1996 to present, or the past seasons we have 30 more wins than the Goofs? Well, that is very interesting. On top of that Michigan feasts on a weaker league so I am not all that concerned about that small margin of 7 less wins.

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if you are a recruit and have UND, uofmtc and michigan to pick from then you really have a god thing going :silly: the wins are very similar with those numbers but personally i will take the 2 national titles along with the great number of wins. thats why we play every year and love sioux hockey because we are lucky as hell to know we have a very solid chance of winning a title EVERY year. not many teams can say that besides a few each in the top conferences.

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