Any reason to believe we’ll add a player at the semester break? Someone give me some hope.
I’d put that at less than 1% and if he burns Kvasnickas year that is just beyond dumb even if he would be playing bottom 6 minutes consistently as it doesn’t make you a postseason team anyway. You aren’t adding an impact CHLer. This is the team
@upnorthkid not hoping for post season at this point. With falloon now out for a while, I was just hoping I won’t have to watch a 4th line with Harris and begley.
What is going on with these injuries the last 2-3 years. Feels like we barely ever had guys missing time out of the lineup really until last year. Is it an overwork thing or is there some turnover in our medical staff I don’t get it. How are Falloon and Thomas and Pahlsson (for much of last year) always getting put on the IR
@jupiter and @eric-vegoe hit on this this past podcast. The comments on FB to this image are more than entertaining. Some very off-the-wall type comments. Personally I’m trying to turn over a new leaf in the last couple of months and not engage with people on social media. Majority of these negative replies come from people who’ve never step foot and Mariucci or if they do it’s for a game like a BIG championship vs. Michigan. They have no solutions for the program just phantom answers.
As for me I’m on the far left of this meter. It was known back in June that this year might be a rough season. This team has all of the pieces to be a good team. Just need to figure it out. Look at PSU, they went 0-9 to start the BIG last season and ended up in the Frozen Four. Friday night vs. UMD, tv said something like this was the first time 5 years the Gophers weren’t into top 13. That’s a pretty good stat for any team in any college sport. Very few teams can make that claim.
This team is much more than one player away from solving all their issues. Bringing someone in is just desperation at this point. Bob had all the opportunity in the world to upgrade his roster during the offseason and chose to do so by adding Harris, Luedtke, Pritchard, and Mcglaughlin, and Luca. None of them are making an impact, and Rud and Begley have been playing regular minutes. Top 5 worst offseason roster management for this program 😉
This team is much more than one player away from solving all their issues. Bringing someone in is just desperation at this point. Bob had all the opportunity in the world to upgrade his roster during the offseason and chose to do so by adding Harris, Luedtke, Pritchard, and Mcglaughlin, and Luca. None of them are making an impact, and Rud and Begley have been playing regular minutes. Top 5 worst offseason roster management for this program 😉
Trust me, I agree with everything you said. Just curious to see if he shows any ounce of trying to improve/look in the mirror.
@jupiter and @eric-vegoe hit on this this past podcast. The comments on FB to this image are more than entertaining. Some very off-the-wall type comments. Personally I’m trying to turn over a new leaf in the last couple of months and not engage with people on social media. Majority of these negative replies come from people who’ve never step foot and Mariucci or if they do it’s for a game like a BIG championship vs. Michigan. They have no solutions for the program just phantom answers.
As for me I’m on the far left of this meter. It was known back in June that this year might be a rough season. This team has all of the pieces to be a good team. Just need to figure it out. Look at PSU, they went 0-9 to start the BIG last season and ended up in the Frozen Four. Friday night vs. UMD, tv said something like this was the first time 5 years the Gophers weren’t into top 13. That’s a pretty good stat for any team in any college sport. Very few teams can make that claim.
Trying not to react too aggressively given we were missing our theoretical C1 (and who knows how long he's actually been dealing with being sick) and a top D pair player last night, but I don't think I really agree with you at this point. This team absolutely has some nice pieces but the roster construction makes no sense. I'll write a separate longer post (I'm going to view it as a therapeutic endeavor as I care probably too much about Gopher hockey so this year is particularly painful), but as it stands, next year does not look to be better unless Bob (or whoever is the coach) overhauls a good portion of the roster given you have 3 guys leaving and they're 3 of your top players with a middle 6 F and 2 freshmen Dmen who are not game changers coming in.
Yes guys will get better throughout the year but you have a mix of clash of styles and a good chunk of this roster that either is not fast and heady enough to play a finesse game or not gritty enough to play a physical, tight checking game, with some either not being there yet or just not being high D1 caliber players who should be playing at all in their underclassmen years.
The worrisome part to me is some guys moving into bigger roles this year who you were not at all ready for it or are just not going to be capable of being high leverage players (think this is perhaps part of why Bob was more optimistic and has been... we'll go with surprised at how they've now looked on gameday through the first 9 games). I just don't see it with the current roster construction now with getting to see them on ice.
WI is not markedly more "talented" on paper than the Gophers, but they skated them into the ground while playing smart hockey, as did Duluth and MTU in 5/6 periods we played. If they're going to about face and play a different style (which is what Bob made it sound like) and are building to that, I'm fine with that but I would expect that to be being manifested in how they're being coached to play on gameday and have yet to see it
I didn't want to come on here and brag about being right but I was. I have been very vocal on the recruiting threads of the disaster that took place over the last couple of years. We essentially took two years off competitive recruiting. We took zero advantage of the chl while everyone passed us by. Why did I have more insight than the coaching staff?
I didn't want to come on here and brag about being right but I was. I have been very vocal on the recruiting threads of the disaster that took place over the last couple of years. We essentially took two years off competitive recruiting. We took zero advantage of the chl while everyone passed us by. Why did I have more insight than the coaching staff?
It was clear that the recruiting was not up to the standard the last couple cycles, between missing on the high end MN players and not hitting with any out of state difference makers (edit: besides Mooney). Losing so many due to early departures last season has hurt big time, but those things have to be planned for when you have a roster full of draft picks. The issue is, we had all off season to address those departures and did not sign a single high end replacement, let alone the 3 or 4 we needed to have a competitive team. Like you, I've been saying these same things since before the season started. Funny how the posters who mocked and gave me a hard time are nowhere to be seen now.
I didn't want to come on here and brag about being right but I was. I have been very vocal on the recruiting threads of the disaster that took place over the last couple of years. We essentially took two years off competitive recruiting. We took zero advantage of the chl while everyone passed us by. Why did I have more insight than the coaching staff?
It was clear that the recruiting was not up to the standard the last couple cycles, between missing on the high end MN players and not hitting with any out of state difference makers. Losing so many due to early departures last season has hurt big time, but those things have to be planned for when you have a roster full of draft picks. The issue is, we had all off season to address those departures and did not sign a single high end replacement, let alone the 3 or 4 we needed to have a competitive team. Like you, I've been saying these same things since before the season started. Funny how the posters who mocked and gave me a hard time are nowhere to be seen now.
They literally had pandoras box open after losing everyone last year and took zero advantage of the CHL like every other top program did is insane.
I didn't want to come on here and brag about being right but I was. I have been very vocal on the recruiting threads of the disaster that took place over the last couple of years. We essentially took two years off competitive recruiting. We took zero advantage of the chl while everyone passed us by. Why did I have more insight than the coaching staff?
It was clear that the recruiting was not up to the standard the last couple cycles, between missing on the high end MN players and not hitting with any out of state difference makers. Losing so many due to early departures last season has hurt big time, but those things have to be planned for when you have a roster full of draft picks. The issue is, we had all off season to address those departures and did not sign a single high end replacement, let alone the 3 or 4 we needed to have a competitive team. Like you, I've been saying these same things since before the season started. Funny how the posters who mocked and gave me a hard time are nowhere to be seen now.
They literally had pandoras box open after losing everyone last year and took zero advantage of the CHL like every other top program did is insane.
and they didn't even fill out the roster. What happened this summer is malpractice. I hope the AD is paying attention.
Which players on this roster are you "excited" for to grow into their games? The list is short. That is a MAJOR problem.
This team doesn't have any game changers coming in next year either.
Yes, Mooney is a fun player to watch. He has a long ways to go. Pritchard and Hendrickson are workers. They are viable middle tier wingers on a contending level team. Moe is showing legitimate promise. Gruba is a viable piece on a contender.
That is about it. This defensive core is not something to be excited about going forward.
Which players on this roster are you "excited" for to grow into their games? The list is short. That is a MAJOR problem.
This team doesn't have any game changers coming in next year either.
Yes, Mooney is a fun player to watch. He has a long ways to go. Pritchard and Hendrickson are workers. They are viable middle tier wingers on a contending level team. Moe is showing legitimate promise. Gruba is a viable piece on a contender.
That is about it. This defensive core is not something to be excited about going forward.
Mooney is the only high end forward on this team. There are some nice pieces but they are complementary players and none who are capable of driving play on their own. I like Ziemer, solid all around game. Hendrickson has some grit to his game and seems to have enough skill to create chances. Lamb can be a goal scorer but nowhere near the hobey finalist some on this site thought he might be. Not really too excited about any of the other forwards, Pritchard seems to bring a physical element with a bit of skill so maybe he develops into a solid player. As far as defense goes, outside of Mittlestadt and Thomas it's pretty depressing. Whipple has improved so hopefully that continues and he can get up to their level. I'm not as high on Gruba as others, and I don't think anything needs to be said about the rest.
As is we have no extra players tomorrow (unless one of the four ill/injured comes back); if we lose anyone else wouldn’t we want to find an extra warm body just to have some flexibility? I don’t expect another player to necessary change the trajectory of this team’s play, but from a standpoint of player fatigue, running with a short bench for an extended period of time can’t be the best option. 🤷♀️
Which players on this roster are you "excited" for to grow into their games? The list is short. That is a MAJOR problem.
This team doesn't have any game changers coming in next year either.
Yes, Mooney is a fun player to watch. He has a long ways to go. Pritchard and Hendrickson are workers. They are viable middle tier wingers on a contending level team. Moe is showing legitimate promise. Gruba is a viable piece on a contender.
That is about it. This defensive core is not something to be excited about going forward.
Mooney is the only high end forward on this team. There are some nice pieces but they are complementary players and none who are capable of driving play on their own. I like Ziemer, solid all around game. Hendrickson has some grit to his game and seems to have enough skill to create chances. Lamb can be a goal scorer but nowhere near the hobey finalist some on this site thought he might be. Not really too excited about any of the other forwards, Pritchard seems to bring a physical element with a bit of skill so maybe he develops into a solid player. As far as defense goes, outside of Mittlestadt and Thomas it's pretty depressing. Whipple has improved so hopefully that continues and he can get up to their level. I'm not as high on Gruba as others, and I don't think anything needs to be said about the rest.
i think its a flow down the roster thing. Mooney, Hendrickson, and Zeimer are all top 6 talents on a contending team or will grow into them. Pritchard and Moe will grow to middle 6 guys.
The problem is you don't have the upperclassmen buffer. There are 4 upperclassmen forwards. One is a 4th line/healthy scratch guy who works hard but knows his limitations. Ludtke is coming back from a serious injury and is now sick. Lamb has always been a secondary scorer who can't make an offense go and Jimmy Clark works hard and is a good passer, but he's a 7th rounder for a reason. you either need those guys to be minute eaters and matchup problems (they're not) or play a physical/grinding style to shut down teams and lead by example (they don't and never have). So now you have a trickle down of our young guys, many of whom are on the younger side comparatively to the rest of the country, who are not high end guys to begin with, are being thrown into situations they physically don't match up against older guys who have been there before and you get exactly this.
There's a reason Pritchard looks like one of the most comfortable freshmen as he's almost 21 and gets who he is after playing 2 full years post HS in the USHL. Ditto on a guy like Falloon. Guys like Zeimer or Mooney can step in and be fine. Guys like Moe really should've had more the runway Hendrickson did (with the post NTDP USHL year or just additional USHL year in general). Unless you're a first round talent (Mooney is despite his size driving him down in actual draft slot), the days of coming in at 18 are going away for 2+ post HS years of junior but our roster is chalk full of guys who shorted that path by one year in large part because of exactly what's been mentioned in taht we had mass efflux.
That's the hard part to know what to make of it when you have Moe (18), Zeimer (19), Mooney (18), Hendrickson (20) against WI and Finley (21), Fitzgerald (23), Horbach (23), Kukkonen (22), Morrissey (22) and Tassy (24). They're going to look like shit unless they're just head and shoulder more talented. The BC series told us this isn't a bunch of 1st rounders we snuck in, but even game 2 of that series the team figured it out because BC couldn't just outphysical us like WI can with size and experience. Similar to the UND series. But this type of matchup is an absolute nightmare for this kind of team similar to the UMD series and MI/PSU/MSU are just going to be more talented than we are. That's on Bob for not addressing it, but it's not surprising at all to see WI stranglehold us with the general roster makeup up front and who's playing right now.
WI is not markedly more "talented" on paper than the Gophers, but they skated them into the ground while playing smart hockey, as did Duluth and MTU in 5/6 periods we played. If they're going to about face and play a different style (which is what Bob made it sound like) and are building to that, I'm fine with that but I would expect that to be being manifested in how they're being coached to play on gameday and have yet to see it
Yeah… this is where I have to question how good of a coach Motzko is because there are teams like Western that didn’t need Cooley and Lacombe and 6 NHLers to win a championship (Bump also had zero goals in the NCAAs I believe), meanwhile this roster can barely compete and has zero cohesion or identity. I actually kinda liked what he did with the lines last night but from what I watched (was at the bar watching Penguins/Wild and NFL too) they were just throwing the puck around a lot and when they did have possession they did nothing with it. Having one of your three competent D out definitely hurts and it’s not like the blue line is oozing with talent to begin with. But getting outshot badly by an ok Wisconsin team is rough.
And yeah the roster construction obviously has its holes, you have no first line center or 1D pairing (Thomas could be the anchor of a first pairing but LM shouldn’t be the main driver). You have competent complimentary guys like Ziemer, Mooney, Lamb, and Hendrickson but none of the centers really belong on the first line and there’s a reason Moore shoved them all down the lineup a year ago.
WI is not markedly more "talented" on paper than the Gophers, but they skated them into the ground while playing smart hockey, as did Duluth and MTU in 5/6 periods we played. If they're going to about face and play a different style (which is what Bob made it sound like) and are building to that, I'm fine with that but I would expect that to be being manifested in how they're being coached to play on gameday and have yet to see it
Yeah… this is where I have to question how good of a coach Motzko is because there are teams like Western that didn’t need Cooley and Lacombe and 6 NHLers to win a championship (Bump also had zero goals in the NCAAs I believe), meanwhile this roster can barely compete and has zero cohesion or identity. I actually kinda liked what he did with the lines last night but from what I watched (was at the bar watching Penguins/Wild and NFL too) they were just throwing the puck around a lot and when they did have possession they did nothing with it. Having one of your three competent D out definitely hurts and it’s not like the blue line is oozing with talent to begin with. But getting outshot badly by an ok Wisconsin team is rough.
And yeah the roster construction obviously has its holes, you have no first line center or 1D pairing (Thomas could be the anchor of a first pairing but LM shouldn’t be the main driver). You have competent complimentary guys like Ziemer, Mooney, Lamb, and Hendrickson but none of the centers really belong on the first line and there’s a reason Moore shoved them all down the lineup a year ago.
Coaching is obviously part of how well a team performs but there does seem to be something about chemistry based more on how each individual player decides to play, how intelligent they are in their play and how well they happen to mesh that is beyond coaching. We've all seen teams like Western that are not the most talented team, but the best playing at the right time, ending up winning the big one. But for every Western, there are a number of other teams with similar talent that never mesh the same way. A good coach increases the odds, but even with a good coach, everything else has to fall into place for this to happen. So I don't think you can conclude that because the Gophers don't look like Western last year that Motzko is a bad coach. (You would have concluded the same last year for PSU coach at this point of season, whose team ended up in FF.) UMD, in most years they won, I did not feel like they were the most talented team, and everyone talked like Sandalin was the greatest coach since Herbie, but UMD hasn't been reaching the FF regularly lately. He hasn't lost all his coaching ability.
They definitely seem to be under-performing given they have a decent amount of talent. But I don't pretend to know what all is driving this or what all the options were for Bob in the off-season, other than I'm guessing Bob didn't have $700,000 to buy McKenna or even some cheaper CHL players. And I don't know if he tried to get any CHLer's that didn't bite or just never even tried the option.
Sorry but I don't think the issues this season have anything to do with chemistry, as if finding the right line combos will suddenly solve the problems. The main issue seems to be talent, followed by identity. We don't look good in any of the three zones, can't break the puck out effectively, aren't passing well or creating rushes through the neutral zone, so our zone entries are garbage, but we also don't have the ability or attitude to dump and chase and get a forecheck going. We get hemmed in our own zone way too frequently. Special teams are horrendous, I don't think I can recall a Gopher team with this bad of a power play. We can't play a finesse game because we don't have the ability to out skill anyone, but are too soft to play a heavy aggressive style, so we see a team that just looks overwhelmed with no answers.
It's interesting to read the posters reflections and thoughts here. For myself, I did not have high expectations for this season as I saw this clearly as a rebuilding year with hopes the team will learn and grow as the season moves along. This team is clearly not going to be a contender, but there are moments I have seen where they exhibit some good shifts and hopefully as the season wears on, they will assume an identity and cohesion much like Penn State certainly did last year. You could see it in their team last year the second half for sure of the year.
There is skill on this team. Give them a chance, it's not even November yet. The season is long and let's give them a chance to get healthy again as well and hang hopes for a stronger second half of the season. For now, though, I don't believe this team has hit bottom yet...so rough seas still lay ahead, I think.
One thing that is clearly not clear to me from very early on, why is it that this entire roster was not filled to capacity given that we always seem to have injuries during this first half of the season. What's up with that? Not filling up that last spot in the roster is certainly not helping matters any.
Gotta agree with both sides of the ledger here (cop out I know). For starters this team is bad, like really bad. It’s exactly what you’d expect a team full of freshmen and sophomores playing in key roles to look like, none of which are instant impact guys (sans Mooney).
But I gotta disagree with the notion that because they’re going through it the first month of their freshman & sophomore seasons, that means they won’t make an impact as upperclassmen. I know it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now, but as an avid college hockey follower, you see this ALL THE TIME. Take Duluth and Wisconsin as two recent examples of a trend that happens all over college hockey. Both were awful last year, got older, and are competitive now. How did Quinnipiac and Western all of a sudden put juggernaut teams on the ice? It didn’t happen over night. Guys got older & more experienced.
That being said, it’s ugly right now. The coaching staff made their bed and now they have to sleep in it.
Gotta agree with both sides of the ledger here (cop out I know). For starters this team is bad, like really bad. It’s exactly what you’d expect a team full of freshmen and sophomores playing in key roles to look like, none of which are instant impact guys (sans Mooney).
But I gotta disagree with the notion that because they’re going through it the first month of their freshman & sophomore seasons, that means they won’t make an impact as upperclassmen. I know it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now, but as an avid college hockey follower, you see this ALL THE TIME. Take Duluth and Wisconsin as two recent examples of a trend that happens all over college hockey. Both were awful last year, got older, and are competitive now. How did Quinnipiac and Western all of a sudden put juggernaut teams on the ice? It didn’t happen over night. Guys got older & more experienced.
That being said, it’s ugly right now. The coaching staff made their bed and now they have to sleep in it.
Pt. 2
What worries me is what a lost season could do to recruiting and potential transfers. In the current college landscape, are kids looking for life boats in the transfer portal in February if things get ugly? Are other college coaches looking to poach recruits off our pipeline? What could a season as bad as this one is trending do to the “culture” of the locker room and program as a whole. We’ll know who was committed to the program and who was in it for themselves by the end of the season.
And I’m doubling down that if they can keep this group together they’ll be back in the mix as early as next year, even with how incredibly ugly things are now. Age & experience matters THAT much. You see it all the time all over college hockey.
WI is not markedly more "talented" on paper than the Gophers, but they skated them into the ground while playing smart hockey, as did Duluth and MTU in 5/6 periods we played. If they're going to about face and play a different style (which is what Bob made it sound like) and are building to that, I'm fine with that but I would expect that to be being manifested in how they're being coached to play on gameday and have yet to see it
Yeah… this is where I have to question how good of a coach Motzko is because there are teams like Western that didn’t need Cooley and Lacombe and 6 NHLers to win a championship (Bump also had zero goals in the NCAAs I believe), meanwhile this roster can barely compete and has zero cohesion or identity. I actually kinda liked what he did with the lines last night but from what I watched (was at the bar watching Penguins/Wild and NFL too) they were just throwing the puck around a lot and when they did have possession they did nothing with it. Having one of your three competent D out definitely hurts and it’s not like the blue line is oozing with talent to begin with. But getting outshot badly by an ok Wisconsin team is rough.
And yeah the roster construction obviously has its holes, you have no first line center or 1D pairing (Thomas could be the anchor of a first pairing but LM shouldn’t be the main driver). You have competent complimentary guys like Ziemer, Mooney, Lamb, and Hendrickson but none of the centers really belong on the first line and there’s a reason Moore shoved them all down the lineup a year ago.
Coaching is obviously part of how well a team performs but there does seem to be something about chemistry based more on how each individual player decides to play, how intelligent they are in their play and how well they happen to mesh that is beyond coaching. We've all seen teams like Western that are not the most talented team, but the best playing at the right time, ending up winning the big one. But for every Western, there are a number of other teams with similar talent that never mesh the same way. A good coach increases the odds, but even with a good coach, everything else has to fall into place for this to happen. So I don't think you can conclude that because the Gophers don't look like Western last year that Motzko is a bad coach. (You would have concluded the same last year for PSU coach at this point of season, whose team ended up in FF.) UMD, in most years they won, I did not feel like they were the most talented team, and everyone talked like Sandalin was the greatest coach since Herbie, but UMD hasn't been reaching the FF regularly lately. He hasn't lost all his coaching ability.
They definitely seem to be under-performing given they have a decent amount of talent. But I don't pretend to know what all is driving this or what all the options were for Bob in the off-season, other than I'm guessing Bob didn't have $700,000 to buy McKenna or even some cheaper CHL players. And I don't know if he tried to get any CHLer's that didn't bite or just never even tried the option.
I’m not comparing this team to Western, comparing the 2023 team that didn’t win to Western would be more than fair though. Or some of the Cows teams that manhandled the gophers the two years before. Thats more why I was getting at there, this current team is a combination of missed recruiting and mediocre coaching imo. I do think it can and should be coached above the complete incompetency we’ve seen the last few games but I’m not trying to pretend it’s a B1G title contender this year.
I don’t disagree with a lot of what you’re saying but it’s college and the coaches recruit these players, this isn’t the NHL where a new coach might be at odds with a GM about a team is constructed and one of them has to go. If they can’t recruit players to fulfill their vision then either the vision needs to adjust or maybe it’s time for a new one. The speed isn’t great and yet they still constantly do that stupid throw the puck off the glass breakout that never works and suddenly every other game looks like they’re playing against Q. In the offensive zone they’re trying to do the probing long possession offensive strategy with one competent offensive Dman on the entire roster who was on the third pairing a year ago and questionable center talent. Last year with Moore he probably would’ve benefited from two guys who crash the net hard and yet he was constantly playing with Ziemer and Snuggy who play the exact opposite way. With Brodzinski it was kinda the opposite where he played with two speed demons that he never meshed with and was this weird slow perimeter player for three years until he finally got to play with Nelson and Nevers and used his body in a slower more methodical grinder line. Those are just a few examples off the top of my head where coaching decisions almost certainly caused or exacerbated chemistry problems.
Every coach has blind spots including cup winning coaches and I don’t think Motzko is a bad/terrible coach. But the stuff you talk about re chemistry and intelligence is a product of coaching on some level whether it be recruiting, line combos, what they do in practice, or even accountability.
One thing that is clearly not clear to me from very early on, why is it that this entire roster was not filled to capacity given that we always seem to have injuries during this first half of the season. What's up with that? Not filling up that last spot in the roster is certainly not helping matters any.
I believe the option was left open so if they needed someone, they could look for an appropriate and more tailored add (forward vs. D) vs. someone who could get asked to fill a roll they may not be as well-versed in. Don’t know where they would get this addition from.
I trust the coaching staff still has a plan and I will try not to get to down on this team as a lot could change between now and April. Try not to panic…yet. 😬
The biggest slap in the face of it all was bob was polishing of this team's roster off with a d3 add (Not the first time) while most the other top programs were nabbing 1st/2nd round nhl picks from the chl...
Whoever the next coach is must have someone on staff from the NDTP. We need a direct connection to that program to get us a recruiting advantage like MSU has right now.
I’ll ask again, are we really going to not even fill our roster??
You have coaches like Hastings (for good reason) complaining about not being able to add a goalie because of roster limitations. Yet, we added a D3 hockey player and preceded to leave the final spot open.
It’s too bad that the local media isn’t paying much attention, because these are legitimate questions that he should need to answer.
The season ticket holder Q&A with Bob is in a couple weeks, and it could be an interesting one.
Not to excuse the Gopher's situation --- the hockey is almost unwatchable, and not seeing much forward progress for the team, but for perspective:
Current notable records:
BC 2-4-1
BU 3-5-1 (and they hit the portal and CHL heavy)
Denver 4-3-1 (with a couple of stinky losses)
Western Michigan 4-3 (but losses to Ferris St and SCSU)
Like many I figured this would be a step back year, but I didn't know there was hole behind the team. It's one thing to lose, it's another for a team to look so far away from winning. On paper this team has more talent then its showing - not sure how fix it.
Give me Moe, Mooney, Pritchard, and Hendrickson for forwards, and Thomas and Middlestat on D (not a top pair). Nobody else really moving the needle for me right now.
@maroon_and_gold that is my biggest concern as well. He needs to be on a team with some offensive skill and flow in order to keep developing his game. He has higher aspirations and no attachment to Minnesota. Unless something significant changes with this offense this year, I see no chance for him to be back next year.
The Gophers fell out of the top 20 this week.This should be a big motivation for them the rest of the season. If they can get healthy and start improving they can be much more competitive this season.
They will turn it around. Sky not falling. Lots of hockey left and lots of fight left in the tank and lots of improvement from young players coming. Talk of firing Motzko is stupidity right now. March is a long ways away and this team will be improved before then. Lots of hockey left.
Ludtke no chance this weekend, then next week has to get his energy back
Yes this comment is speculation, but that certainly sounds like Mono to me. No, I don't pretend to be a doctor, nor do I know anything directly, but, having had mono myself, and having read enough of other athletes that have had it, that seems almost certainly it. A couple weeks out, then working stamina/energy back up.
Would definitely explain why Bob didn't say too much about it other than being "viral." Assuming Bob knows for sure what it was that Ludtke was sick with (seems likely he would know) he's not going to go telling the public about specific illnesses that individual players have.
The biggest slap in the face of it all was bob was polishing of this team's roster off with a d3 add (Not the first time) while most the other top programs were nabbing 1st/2nd round nhl picks from the chl...
There aren't many 1st/2nd round picks coming from CHL to NCAA. Most of the players coming form the CHL are lower round draft picks or undrafted.
That said, when half your team leaves/graduates and you need to fill spots, a 4th or 5th round draft pick who has two years of playing time in the CHL can be a benefit. I posted before CHL players started commiting to NCAA programs that Bob is unlikely to use the CHL as he is very slow to change. He was also slow to use the portal.
I spoke with a parent of a player several years ago (no longer on the team). This parent new Bob well and had suggested adding a specific player from the portal to fill an unexpected hole in the roster. A player this parent knew well. Bob didn't know the player was in the portal and even said "yeah, I should look into the portal."
I am frustrated by the lack of recruiting last year as well as the lack of use of the CHL this year (after we knew how many holes were to be filled).
