Goon Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 Gare Joyce on KO bet the proprietor that young Kyle Okposo would be in the line-up of the New York Islanders this season. Unless there are tectonic shifts, it doesn't look like that's happening. I suppose that he might sign after the Gophers' season is at an end and take a quick tour of the NHL like Jack Johnson did last spring. But that wasn't in the spirit of the bet. I figured that Okposo was NHL-ready at the end of last season Sounds like he might still win the bet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontroguy Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Not that it's worth arguing about but I don't see how losing your best player makes the team better. We lost Wheeler? Okposo has not been our best player this year. Should have been, but for whatever reason, it has not been working for him. We lose a body, so that leaves your team short. Stoa went out in the 1st series, and Carmen effed it up, and was ineligible for the 1st half. So even though he was not our best, it will shorten up the bench which is never good. It's too bad, for the kid that he did not go pro before the season started. Then none of this discussion would be happening.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 We lost Wheeler? Okposo has not been our best player this year. Should have been, but for whatever reason, it has not been working for him. We lose a body, so that leaves your team short. Stoa went out in the 1st series, and Carmen effed it up, and was ineligible for the 1st half. So even though he was not our best, it will shorten up the bench which is never good. It's too bad, for the kid that he did not go pro before the season started. Then none of this discussion would be happening.... wheeler may be your best player right now but i dont think his upside is what KO's is overall. there is a reason wheeler is still in school and thats because the coyotes fkd that pick up big time. no other reason at all. like ive said previously, its not wheelers fault he was picked #5 but when you are a boatload of expectations are placed on you shoulders right or wrong and he hasnt done much up until this season. will he end up being a nice player for phoenix? he may be but its taking them longer than anticipated to find out. carmen will be a nice addition but the loss of KO and stoa at the beginning really hurts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 wheeler may be your best player right now but i dont think his upside is what KO's is overall. there is a reason wheeler is still in school and thats because the coyotes fkd that pick up big time. no other reason at all. like ive said previously, its not wheelers fault he was picked #5 but when you are a boatload of expectations are placed on you shoulders right or wrong and he hasnt done much up until this season. will he end up being a nice player for phoenix? he may be but its taking them longer than anticipated to find out. carmen will be a nice addition but the loss of KO and stoa at the beginning really hurts Comparing number 1 overall picks it would appear that Mueller is a heck of a lot better than Wheeler. I think the reason he is in the NHL right now is he is not ready and may never be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxTupa Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 I don't think Wheeler is any farther behind than Stafford was when he was a Junior. The only difference might be that Stafford turned a big corner as a JR, and started leading the team. Both were very high picks with similar builds. I think Wheeler will be great based on his size and hands. Unfortunately for guys like me, you can't teach size. Wheeler will be fine. We'll see if he takes the reigns and puts the team on his back during the stretch. They sure need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THETRIOUXPER Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 I don't think Wheeler is any farther behind than Stafford was when he was a Junior. The only difference might be that Stafford turned a big corner as a JR, and started leading the team. Both were very high picks with similar builds. I think Wheeler will be great based on his size and hands. Unfortunately for guys like me, you can't teach size. Wheeler will be fine. We'll see if he takes the reigns and puts the team on his back during the stretch. They sure need it. Stafford was a leader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Stafford was a leader? Of course. He wrote, produced and directed the music video of "Fabian". That's definite leadership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxTupa Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 He led the nation in shorties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THETRIOUXPER Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Of course. He wrote, produced and directed the music video of "Fabian". That's definite leadership. He was here for three years, and aside from the two weeks in 05 when the World Juniors were here, that stupid fabian thing was about the extent of his leadership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxTupa Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 At Alfond Arena in Maine, UND was looking for a big win to start the season. Overtime, player covers puck in the crease and Hak gets to choose any player to take the penalty shot. He chooses (or somebody chooses, if it wasn't Hak) Stafford. Stafford buries it with a wrister below the stick-side elbow. That clutch performance shows a lot of maturity and skill that players can look up to. There are many other examples, but his production was way up that 3rd year. From my perspective, Stafford gained a lot of poise and leadership that year. Maybe others see it differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THETRIOUXPER Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 At Alfond Arena in Maine, UND was looking for a big win to start the season. Overtime, player covers puck in the crease and Hak gets to choose any player to take the penalty shot. He chooses (or somebody chose) Stafford. Stafford buries it with a wrister below the stick-side elbow. That clutch performance shows a lot of maturity and skill that players can look up to. There are many other examples, but his production was way up that 3rd year. From my perspective, Stafford gained a lot of poise and leadership that year. Maybe others see it differently. Not sayng that stafford doesn't have skills, he does, I just never saw him as a leader. Hell, Kaip is a leader, Porter was a leader, Greene was a leader, and none of those guys ever got handed a puck in a clutch situation (like a penalty shot) and were told "now go win this thing for us." My point is that you can be a leader and not have the best "skills" and vise versa. Unless, of course, your name happen to be Johnny Toews, then you have it all. Hell, Johhny Toews can even drop th "f bomb" in a tv interview and get away with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxTupa Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Not sayng that stafford doesn't have skills, he does, I just never saw him as a leader. Hell, Kaip is a leader, Porter was a leader, Greene was a leader, and none of those guys ever got handed a puck in a clutch situation (like a penalty shot) and were told "now go win this thing for us." My point is that you can be a leader and not have the best "skills" and vise versa. Unless, of course, your name happen to be Johnny Toews, then you have it all. Hell, Johhny Toews can even drop th "f bomb" in a tv interview and get away with it. I definitely agree with all of that. My original point was that Wheeler's college career looks a little like Stafford's did. The difference is in the numbers. When Stafford was called on to play a bigger role in the team's offense he did. His first years he had guys like Parise, Bochenski, and Murray to deflect to. Wheeler had a similar situation with Potulny, Irmen, and more recently Okposo. Without those guys the true test will be whether Wheeler can carry the team and boost his production. Because at this point, the Gophers need an offensive leader pretty badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontroguy Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 wheeler may be your best player right now but i dont think his upside is what KO's is overall. there is a reason wheeler is still in school and thats because the coyotes fkd that pick up big time. no other reason at all. like ive said previously, its not wheelers fault he was picked #5 but when you are a boatload of expectations are placed on you shoulders right or wrong and he hasnt done much up until this season. will he end up being a nice player for phoenix? he may be but its taking them longer than anticipated to find out. carmen will be a nice addition but the loss of KO and stoa at the beginning really hurts Hard to judge upside. I loved the way Okposo would dig the puck out of the boards, and he was a grinder type player. For whatever reason, it was not happening. I am told he was a bit of a lockeroom cancer, and that his teammates won't miss him, but that sounds like a lot of baloney to me. Although he was not producing, they will miss his presence. We get Carmen back, but we will still be basically short 2 guys we were counting on. Maybe they will play better as a team, but they have been pretty unselfish so far, so I do not think that is an issue. In fact, one of our biggest downsides has been one too many passes and too few shots, so maybe a little more selfishness would be a good thing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bison fan north of GF Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 unless Minnesota ends after North Dakota does or starts before North Dakota, he wouldn't miss that much school. All of our players were back before the start of school last year and they only missed finals week, which finals can be arranged to be taken sooner. As much as this hurts the Gophers, I wouldn't count them out just yet. They might surprise us and no one can underestimate anyone in this year's WCHA. Stinks to be the Gophers right now, and we just need to remember that this could happen to us, not counting Grieco leaving of course. Money, money, money - what ever happened to play sports to burn off excess energy, stay off booze and drugs, but concentrate on getting an education and prepare to hold down a real job. The youth of america is in dream land, they want a cushy job with big money. Well forget it, there may be some out there but they dont last long, you get cut, canned, downsized, merged or fired so you better be prepared with a good education. A stint in the pros is no picnic either for most players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejm Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Money, money, money - what ever happened to play sports to burn off excess energy, stay off booze and drugs, but concentrate on getting an education and prepare to hold down a real job. The youth of america is in dream land, they want a cushy job with big money. Well forget it, there may be some out there but they dont last long, you get cut, canned, downsized, merged or fired so you better be prepared with a good education. A stint in the pros is no picnic either for most players. Clearly you're dealing with some "other" issues... wanna share? I have the name of a wonderful therapist I can share with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirtcoach Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Clearly you're dealing with some "other" issues... wanna share? I have the name of a wonderful therapist I can share with you. Yeah, that booze and drugs comment was way outta bounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dallassiouxfan Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service...rticleid=347925 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dallassiouxfan Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service...rticleid=347925 "He has skill and character in abundance" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Speaking of character, Dale Tallon was interviewed on the Blackhawks' website about 11.5 months ago after returning from the WJC. Of course he raved about JT after the show he put on there, but he also said he told JT that Chicago was ready for him whenever he was ready, whether that was tomorrow or six months from now. He basically implied that he talked to JT about signing after the WJC. He then said that JT is a captain and didn't want to let his college teammates down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux Traveler Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Sign's contract. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AsPN...p&type=lgns He will earn $850,000 each year of the deal and is eligible for bonuses that could reach a maximum of another $850,000 per season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Sign's contract. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AsPN...p&type=lgns He will earn $850,000 each year of the deal and is eligible for bonuses that could reach a maximum of another $850,000 per season. pretty much every top round pick gets that same deal plus incentives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 at least its not the WHL, where the isles wanted him to go if he left minny last summer okposo to bridgeport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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