Local players in the pros

Fasching will play with Matt Moulson and David Legwand in his first game. That makes me sad.

Didn't realize how easy it is to find NHL streams...

Fasching just scored

Goal for Fasching

Will get reviewed but that was pure Fasching!!!

Pure Fasching is right...bull move to the front of the net and slams it home.

His second shift in the NHL.

Think he's a little excited? Pretty easy kid to pull for...his game reminds me of Andres Lee, but I think Hudson has a chance to be even better.

I thought players don't develop at Minnesota? :biggrin2:

Beauty Hudson... Pure power play there

@frozen4champs wrote:

Fasching just scored

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc ="s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCtPCy-d7LAhWFaz4KHVYTAiwQhlQILQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Famp.twimg.com%2Fv%2Fc8aaaac9-ba63-42ca-8e39-91e8cd65721a&usg=AFQjCNG2w_Zr59jOR7yxv8YscgoQfZ6UvA&sig2=TMC7xtd7GSHoCkHrAfakdg"

Sweet goal

The Sabres won with goals from Fasching, Sam Reinhart, and Jack Eichel.

Fasching is the oldest of the three.

Travis Boyd scores his 20th for AHL Hershey.

@gopher6 wrote:

@frozen4champs wrote:

Fasching just scored

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc ="s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCtPCy-d7LAhWFaz4KHVYTAiwQhlQILQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Famp.twimg.com%2Fv%2Fc8aaaac9-ba63-42ca-8e39-91e8cd65721a&usg=AFQjCNG2w_Zr59jOR7yxv8YscgoQfZ6UvA&sig2=TMC7xtd7GSHoCkHrAfakdg"

He still made the wrong choice.

I keeeed

Very happy for him - what a way to start your NHL career!

Phil Kessel gets the assist on a beautiful 2-on-1 against Detroit. So far with a 4 point game, and 8:05 remaining.

@Steve MN wrote:

Phil Kessel gets the assist on a beautiful 2-on-1 against Detroit. So far with a 4 point game, and 8:05 remaining.

You live in the past?

@Bonin21 wrote:

@Steve MN wrote:

Phil Kessel gets the assist on a beautiful 2-on-1 against Detroit. So far with a 4 point game, and 8:05 remaining.

You live in the past?

Guess so.... didn't realize this was a replay... probably should have given the time of day, though.

And 5 points for the game yesterday

Mario Lucia signs with the Wild. He ended up with 110 points at ND for his career. Would you say that was a bit disappointing? By comparison, Kloos is at 107 points with 1 year left, Fasching had 96 points in 3 years, Warning had 97 points, and Boyd had 96 points in their 4 years here. For as highly touted he was I expected more points from him. Thoughts?

Mario is a good finisher. Sometimes point totals can be misleading. Often the system a kid plays in and who he plays with can have a significant impact on his numbers. Last year Mario scored 21 goals playing with one of the best dish guys in the country. Hinastroza's early departure hurt Mario on the offensive end. Boyd is a great example of a guy that didn't have the type of linemates conducive to putting up big points his first couple years at the U. Given the opportunity as a senior he was on a 50 point pace till he got hurt. Heck, Look at the opportunity Fasching got his first two years compared to Boyd's first two or three. Now throw in how your coach chooses to match up and the effectiveness of a teams PP and numbers become even more subjective. Mario was a very good college player when he was in a position to succeed, he was just good the rest of the time.

@poisondart wrote:

Mario is a good finisher. Sometimes point totals can be misleading. Often the system a kid plays in and who he plays with can have a significant impact on his numbers. Last year Mario scored 21 goals playing with one of the best dish guys in the country. Hinastroza's early departure hurt Mario on the offensive end. Boyd is a great example of a guy that didn't have the type of linemates conducive to putting up big points his first couple years at the U. Given the opportunity as a senior he was on a 50 point pace till he got hurt. Heck, Look at the opportunity Fasching got his first two years compared to Boyd's first two or three. Now throw in how your coach chooses to match up and the effectiveness of a teams PP and numbers become even more subjective. Mario was a very good college player when he was in a position to succeed, he was just good the rest of the time.

And look at how Boyd is performing in the AHL this year. He was incredibly underrated in his time here.

Exactly! Here's an example of a system benefitting a player; Johny Brodzinski, who I think is a true goal scorer, scores 11 goals in 50+ games in the USHL heads up to janU and is a 20 goal scorer 3 years straight. Motzko runs coaches a style that is geared fo play more offense and trade chances. Offensive players thrive when they get there. Granted the A is a much better level of hockey his numbers there are 14 goals in 55 games. Where you play can make all the difference in the world.....just ask Besse

Some of these may be a little bit off, but here are the career games played in the NHL for the last ten Gopher rosters (not including this year). Obviously as time goes on the older rosters get a ton of games. But wow, was that 12-13 team stacked... Leddy has over 400 games played which is why the 09-10 number is respectable.

Season - Games
14-15 - 45
13-14 - 45
12-13 - 631
11-12 - 599
10-11 - 632
09-10 - 601
08-09 - 188
07-08 - 1,271
06-07 - 2,340
05-06 - 2,097

@Bonin21 wrote:

Some of these may be a little bit off, but here are the career games played in the NHL for the last ten Gopher rosters (not including this year). Obviously as time goes on the older rosters get a ton of games. But wow, was that 12-13 team stacked... Leddy has over 400 games played which is why the 09-10 number is respectable.

Season - Games
14-15 - 45
13-14 - 45
12-13 - 631
11-12 - 599
10-11 - 632
09-10 - 601
08-09 - 188
07-08 - 1,271
06-07 - 2,340
05-06 - 2,097

If Danny Kristo would have played for the Gophers wouldn't he have made the show by now? :conf2: Or even played in one NHL game?

I think I understood that post... That isn't the classes it's the rosters.

@Bonin21 wrote:

I think I understood that post... That isn't the classes it's the rosters.

revised my hypothetical question.

Ben Marshall has been named to the ECHL all rookie team.

Charlie Lindgren got his first NHL win last night.

I have a lot of data on Gophers in the NHL that most people won't care about, but I'm going to spread it over a few posts.

Gophers vs. badgers vs. Whioux in the NHL

Gophers
19 players with appearances (10F, 9D)
955 GP - 151 G (.158 GPG) - 466 PTS (.488 PPG)
Three 50 point scorers in Wheeler, Okposo, and Kessel
Three 20 goal scorers in Wheeler, Okposo, and Kessel

badgers
20 players with appearances (9 F, 10D, 1G)
1015 GP - 146 G (.144 GPG) - 406 PTS (.400 PPG)
Three 50 point scorers in Pavelski, Stepan, and Suter
Three 20 goal scorers in Pavelski, Stepan, and Smith

Whioux
14 players with appearances (11 F, 3D)
774 GP - 155 G (.200 GPG) - 329 PTS (.425 PPG)
Three 50 point scorers in Toews, Parise, and Oshie
Five 20 goal scorers in Toews, Parise, Oshie, Nelson, and Stafford

The Gophers win the total points race. The badgers play the most games. The Whioux are the better goal scorers.

So who are the Gophers in the NHL? For reference, the four Gophers that had an NHL appearance last year but not this year are Leopold, Ballard, Bickel, and Alt.

The Forwards Part 1

Blake Wheeler
26-52-78 in 82 GP. Career highs in assists and points. Turning 30 this summer, he may take over the captaincy of the Jets going into next year. He led the team's forwards in ice time at 19:47 per game. He will look to hit 500 career points next year, currently at 440.

Kyle Okposo
22-42-64 in 79 GP. His point per game production is down for the second year in a row, but he did match a career high in assists. He will be one of the top UFA this summer, turning 28 later this month, if the playoff-bound Islanders don't lock him up.

Phil Kessel
26-33-59 in 82 GP. Like Okposo, his point per game production is down for the second year in a row and he hasn't hit 30 goals since 13-14. He has appeared in every game since the 2010-11 season. He was a + (+9) for only the second time in his career and first since 08-09.

He will be getting his first taste of playoff hockey since 12-13, and could be vital to the Penguins' Cup hopes after turning it on at the end of the season. He has 13-8-21 in 22 career playoff games.

Thomas Vanek
18-23-41 in 74 GP. Like Okposo and Kessel, his point per game rate is down for the second year in a row. Now 32, it's often hard to tell if his heart is in it anymore. He has one year left on his $6.5MM/year contract with the Wild. I think he gets discussed plenty in the Wild thread, and I don't have all that much to say about him.

Nick Bjugstad
15-19-34 in 67 GP. Unfortunately, the big man's career has been hampered by injuries and concussions. He seems to be turning it on at the right time, and it will be fun to watch him in his first playoff action with the surprise Panthers. He will turn 24 this summer, and hopefully will evolve into at least a solid 2C for a long time to come.

Part 2 and the Defense to come in the next few days.

The first few names for the US's entry to the IIHF World Championship have been announced. No Gophers yet (I hear they might add Fasching––twelve spots are still open). The only Minnesotan is Matt Hendricks, who captained the team last year.

The Forwards Part 2

Erik Haula
14-20-34 in 76 GP. Career highs in goals, assists, and points. In a surprise to most, became one of the biggest threats on the Wild offense every night at the end of the season. If he puts up a half a point a game next year, he may triple his $1MM year a contract or more.

Jordan Schroeder
2-2-4 in 26 GP. Still struggling to establish himself as an NHLer. An RFA this summer, I'd expect another 2-way contract somewhere.

Hudson Fasching - DEBUT IN 2015-16
1-1-2 in 7 GP. A week after his college career ended, he scored on his second NHL shift with a pure Fasching goal. Will be looking to make the big squad out of training camp next year, but I would expect at least some AHL time.

Kyle Rau - DEBUT IN 2015-16
0-0-0 in 9 GP. A Gopher fan favorite, it was good to see him get NHL time the year after graduating. Unfortunately he didn't get his first goal, but if he starts the season well in the AHL next year he should have another shot for it.

Jim O'Brien
0-0-0 in 4 GP. The short-lived Gopher played his first NHL games since 12-13 after spending time in the KHL and AHL. He is a UFA, so it'll be interesting to see where he plays hockey next year.

Defense to come in the next few days.

Brady Skjei with an assist so far for Rangers vs Pens today.

Bjugs puts Florida up 3-1. Nice to see him playing well again. He had a tough year

Skjei seems to be playing with McDonagh quite a bit. Good for him

It's amazing that Matt Cullen has been in the league for so long.

Skjei getting some ice time due to injuries, but he's averaging nearly 20 minutes a game and playing in crucial situations. There were a couple times tonight he used his big body behind the net to impose his will...the kid has the tools and the size.

@outofstateoutofmind wrote:

It's amazing that Matt Cullen has been in the league for so long.

What's amazing to me is that he still has his speed and has the energy at that age to grind. Thirty-nine years old.

@streakygopher wrote:

@outofstateoutofmind wrote:

It's amazing that Matt Cullen has been in the league for so long.

What's amazing to me is that he still has his speed and has the energy at that age to grind. Thirty-nine years old.
the Wild had him and gave up on him, typical MN sports team :censored:

@gopher6 wrote:

@streakygopher wrote:

@outofstateoutofmind wrote:

It's amazing that Matt Cullen has been in the league for so long.

What's amazing to me is that he still has his speed and has the energy at that age to grind. Thirty-nine years old.
the Wild had him and gave up on him, typical MN sports team :censored:

That's not how that situation played out, but facts have rarely gotten in your way if you want a rant.

@Beauner wrote:

@gopher6 wrote:

@streakygopher wrote:

@outofstateoutofmind wrote:

It's amazing that Matt Cullen has been in the league for so long.

What's amazing to me is that he still has his speed and has the energy at that age to grind. Thirty-nine years old.
the Wild had him and gave up on him, typical MN sports team :censored:

That's not how that situation played out, but facts have rarely gotten in your way if you want a rant.

The way i remember was Heater had a season ending injury so we couldn't use a compliance buy out on his contract thus we had no money to resign Cullen as a UFA.

Fasching added to the World Championship team.

@Bash Brother wrote:

Fasching added to the World Cup team.

The IIHF World Championship team.

Thanks. Thats what I meant.

Skjei to the IIHF World Championship.

Schroeder makes it too.

Kevin Wehrs is playing for Hungary in the IIHF World Championship.

@outofstateoutofmind wrote:

Kevin Wehrs is playing for Hungary in the IIHF World Championship.

There will lots of goals against when he is on the ice.

After staring at the GPL tweet with Nate Schmidt in it I finally realized what movie character he reminds me of fair or not:

@sec 16 row16 seat 16 17 wrote:

There will lots of goals against when he is on the ice.

He's only a -7 so far. I'd say that's a successful tourney at this point.