Will be interesting to see if Larson brings any of his guys over. I imagine Burnevik and Hall would be top of the list, perhaps Roed or Urness. Not sure there'd be any interest in any of their D men, which is unfortunate. Hopefully Luca stays as well.
Will be interesting to see if Larson brings any of his guys over. I imagine Burnevik and Hall would be top of the list, perhaps Roed or Urness. Not sure there'd be any interest in any of their D men, which is unfortunate. Hopefully Luca stays as well.
Tanner Henricks is a defenseman that he better bring with him. He was injured most of the season.
Ziemer has familiarity with Larson from the 2025 World Juniors. Can only hope it is a strong connection.
Will be interesting to see if Larson brings any of his guys over. I imagine Burnevik and Hall would be top of the list, perhaps Roed or Urness. Not sure there'd be any interest in any of their D men, which is unfortunate. Hopefully Luca stays as well.
Tanner Henricks is a defenseman that he better bring with him. He was injured most of the season.
Forgot about Henricks, he'd be a good add.
FWIW burnevik follows gopher hockey on instagram
I'm not thrilled about the hire but I also realize I'm "not in the know." This is my favorite sports team and switching allegiances is not an option. So, I either accept it and continue to support the program, or call it a day.
I'll be re-upping by season tickets and be there to cheer on the team as I have in the past.
I do, however, reserve the right to complain again in the future.
Good luck Coach Larson, I hope this is the chance you've been dreaming of and are able to make the most of it.
@gopherpuck44 He was way before this. Just not reading into this as something new with Larson getting the job. He could have just grown up a fan, which still means something.
I'm NOT happy about this, but will see how this develops.
New Coach needs to remember that Minnesota is a B1G Ten school and the college requirements may be different to transfer in some of his players. In fact there are a LOT of differences so he might be overwhelmed at first. Good Luck Coach I hope you are ready for all this.
I'm not running out to buy tickets yet but we'll see what happens.
QoGH
New Coach needs to remember that Minnesota is a B1G Ten school and the college requirements may be different to transfer in some of his players. In fact there are a LOT of differences so he might be overwhelmed at first. Good Luck Coach I hope you are ready for all this.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
I'm NOT happy about this, but will see how this develops.
New Coach needs to remember that Minnesota is a B1G Ten school and the college requirements may be different to transfer in some of his players. In fact there are a LOT of differences so he might be overwhelmed at first. Good Luck Coach I hope you are ready for all this.
I'm not running out to buy tickets yet but we'll see what happens.
QoGH
I thought you said you were done with the program if Larson was hired?
Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
Not very objective
Feels like we should see some movement on the roster in the coming weeks, so thought it'd be fun to look ahead and give my thoughts. I've been updating this write-up over the course of the season and figured it was the right time to post with the coaching hire finalized - it's long, bear with me
I'm also much more excited about Larson after his presser. Was (what we know of) the process perfect? No. Is it the flashiest hire ever? No. But there aren't a ton of successful mid-major coaches to pull from like other sports and it's hard to fully judge his time at SCSU considering the entire university is on the downturn. Round out a good staff, retain/attract the right roster pieces, instill a winning system that fits our guys and Larson can absolutely be successful here. Anyways...
Forwards
Current roster - top 9 options: Ziemer, Mooney, Moore, Moe, Hendrickson. First two are obvious. Moore absolutely has another gear (or two) that we saw in flashes this year. Same with Moe, to a lesser extent. The MSU game he played top line was encouraging. We need some better C options and I think he's one. Hendrickson should spend the entire offseason with a puck - he was always around it this year, and there's a high ceiling there with some added polish and finishing ability
Incoming recruits - exciting pieces: Humphreys, Kvas, W Cullen is a good injection of talent. Like Humphreys/Kvas as older freshmen who have produced where they're at. Humphreys another C option. Wyatt should be a first rounder and no reason to think he can't have some immediate impact before growing into a real driver. Can't admit to watching a ton of these guys but we need more team speed/puck carrying/play driving ability overall and I feel like these three have those traits
Potential transfers: Obvious candidates from SCSU are Burnevik and Hall. Burnevik as a bigger-bodied shooter would give us something we don't really have. Hall would be an experienced C option with good/not great production. IMO he could be what we thought we were getting in Ludtke (still hopeful he can get there too with another full offseason). Hard to speculate outside of the SCSU guys but for fun... Cullen Potter might want another school again? Conrad Fondrk - MN kid on BU, plays center, may want a larger role?
4th line: B Cullen for sure for the family ties. Lots of guys on the current roster/pipeline that could be here but imagine we'll see some turnover among them. Regardless of who the guys are I want them to play physical, make their D remember you on the forecheck, no more drive-bys
Overall: I think this forward group can compete. We need an impact transfer or two, there's some weight to shed, and if we can get a top-end CHL guy obviously do it and figure out the rest after. But there is talent here, we just need more cohesive/complementary team play and we'll get more out of that talent. Which leads me to...
Defense
Current roster: Keep Whipple for sure. Great physical attributes and started to use them to his advantage more last year. Rombach has potential and maybe the right staff can start to unlock it in a more sheltered role... not an overnight thing, but if he can improve his skating, he'll be able to buy himself more time/space to make better decisions. Was always going to be a long curve though
Incoming recruits: Grimes is developing well. I'm optimistic about him being a solid player right away, but also recognize we have two guys with good USHL resumes not panning out (Gruba and McLaughlin), so trying to temper it. If anybody has some insight here into stylistic things about his game that compare him favorably to the others would love to learn more. Harper can come in if he wants, can't turn away that kind of talent otherwise... he'll have his moments both good and bad if so but love the future for this kid. Think the whole board is in agreement that Phillips goes back to junior
Potential transfers/CHL: Again starting with SCSU - Henricks would be a great start. Mobile/big/creative/right-handed. We need those things. Burkholder feels most realistic of the MN guys playing elsewhere to me. Potentially some overlap with Harper in that he's small/righty/offense-first? But would be a fine problem to have IMO. Aside from transfers - D should be our core CHL and NIL focus. Lots of uncommitted, highly ranked names out there and we should be in on all of them
Overall: We really need some play drivers that help us better transition and connect the three zones. For class balance/pipeline mgmt I like the idea of older guys or 1-2 year studs. We just looked lost at times last year and we need to raise both ceiling and floor here to get back to contending fast
Goalies
Keep LDP. Got hung out to dry a lot this year but still good numbers. Seems hungry to keep improving based on the few clips I've heard from him too. Airey is likely gone. Ideal scenario is a Souliere type, older guy who isn't expecting the lion's share of starts but will provide steady play when called upon. Anders Miller and Xavier Wendt are WHL guys with MN ties, probably too close to Casey's timeline to be realistic, but wouldn't mind a little competition either
Lots subject to change and looking forward to seeing it come together. Maybe I'm delusional. But we need some excitement and positivity in here and I'm hopeful we'll have reasons for it soon. Rah!
@phil-the-thrill Great post.
As far as SCSU transfer options:
Burnevik and Henricks are great adds.
Hall/Thoreson/Roed/Urness are options.
Lot of moving parts still. Guessing the next few weeks will be very informative.
Feels like we should see some movement on the roster in the coming weeks, so thought it'd be fun to look ahead and give my thoughts. I've been updating this write-up over the course of the season and figured it was the right time to post with the coaching hire finalized - it's long, bear with me
I'm also much more excited about Larson after his presser. Was (what we know of) the process perfect? No. Is it the flashiest hire ever? No. But there aren't a ton of successful mid-major coaches to pull from like other sports and it's hard to fully judge his time at SCSU considering the entire university is on the downturn. Round out a good staff, retain/attract the right roster pieces, instill a winning system that fits our guys and Larson can absolutely be successful here. Anyways...
Forwards
Current roster - top 9 options: Ziemer, Mooney, Moore, Moe, Hendrickson. First two are obvious. Moore absolutely has another gear (or two) that we saw in flashes this year. Same with Moe, to a lesser extent. The MSU game he played top line was encouraging. We need some better C options and I think he's one. Hendrickson should spend the entire offseason with a puck - he was always around it this year, and there's a high ceiling there with some added polish and finishing ability
Incoming recruits - exciting pieces: Humphreys, Kvas, W Cullen is a good injection of talent. Like Humphreys/Kvas as older freshmen who have produced where they're at. Humphreys another C option. Wyatt should be a first rounder and no reason to think he can't have some immediate impact before growing into a real driver. Can't admit to watching a ton of these guys but we need more team speed/puck carrying/play driving ability overall and I feel like these three have those traits
Potential transfers: Obvious candidates from SCSU are Burnevik and Hall. Burnevik as a bigger-bodied shooter would give us something we don't really have. Hall would be an experienced C option with good/not great production. IMO he could be what we thought we were getting in Ludtke (still hopeful he can get there too with another full offseason). Hard to speculate outside of the SCSU guys but for fun... Cullen Potter might want another school again? Conrad Fondrk - MN kid on BU, plays center, may want a larger role?
4th line: B Cullen for sure for the family ties. Lots of guys on the current roster/pipeline that could be here but imagine we'll see some turnover among them. Regardless of who the guys are I want them to play physical, make their D remember you on the forecheck, no more drive-bys
Overall: I think this forward group can compete. We need an impact transfer or two, there's some weight to shed, and if we can get a top-end CHL guy obviously do it and figure out the rest after. But there is talent here, we just need more cohesive/complementary team play and we'll get more out of that talent. Which leads me to...
Defense
Current roster: Keep Whipple for sure. Great physical attributes and started to use them to his advantage more last year. Rombach has potential and maybe the right staff can start to unlock it in a more sheltered role... not an overnight thing, but if he can improve his skating, he'll be able to buy himself more time/space to make better decisions. Was always going to be a long curve though
Incoming recruits: Grimes is developing well. I'm optimistic about him being a solid player right away, but also recognize we have two guys with good USHL resumes not panning out (Gruba and McLaughlin), so trying to temper it. If anybody has some insight here into stylistic things about his game that compare him favorably to the others would love to learn more. Harper can come in if he wants, can't turn away that kind of talent otherwise... he'll have his moments both good and bad if so but love the future for this kid. Think the whole board is in agreement that Phillips goes back to junior
Potential transfers/CHL: Again starting with SCSU - Henricks would be a great start. Mobile/big/creative/right-handed. We need those things. Burkholder feels most realistic of the MN guys playing elsewhere to me. Potentially some overlap with Harper in that he's small/righty/offense-first? But would be a fine problem to have IMO. Aside from transfers - D should be our core CHL and NIL focus. Lots of uncommitted, highly ranked names out there and we should be in on all of them
Overall: We really need some play drivers that help us better transition and connect the three zones. For class balance/pipeline mgmt I like the idea of older guys or 1-2 year studs. We just looked lost at times last year and we need to raise both ceiling and floor here to get back to contending fast
Goalies
Keep LDP. Got hung out to dry a lot this year but still good numbers. Seems hungry to keep improving based on the few clips I've heard from him too. Airey is likely gone. Ideal scenario is a Souliere type, older guy who isn't expecting the lion's share of starts but will provide steady play when called upon. Anders Miller and Xavier Wendt are WHL guys with MN ties, probably too close to Casey's timeline to be realistic, but wouldn't mind a little competition either
Lots subject to change and looking forward to seeing it come together. Maybe I'm delusional. But we need some excitement and positivity in here and I'm hopeful we'll have reasons for it soon. Rah!
Pretty well stated. The best lineups I’ve put together for next season are unfortunately the ones without Pahlsson. He can transfer. I’d be willing to keep Gruba just based off of what he did in the USHL, maybe a new coach can tap into that, but I also won’t be heartbroken if he decides to move on.
Gruba decommitted from SCSU and Larson. Don’t think their staff loved the way it went down either. Not sure on their relationship now. Bottom line is Gruba shouldn’t be playing on a contending team.
Add Burvenik, Hall, Henricks, Roed. Retain your top players. Get aggressive with NIL. Bring in the recruits and let’s compete. I am optimistic about next season. No reason they can’t be a contender right away.
@mikeeruzione11 any concerns with LJ mooney leaving? He doesn’t have the gopher ties.
@mikeeruzione11 any concerns with LJ mooney leaving? He doesn’t have the gopher ties.
I have no zero inside insight. It is slightly concerning considering he doesn’t have the Minnesota ties and family.
I will say he seems to be friends with the USNDTP guys and seems to have had a hand in getting Humprheys to commit.
Personally, I’m not really concerned about Mooney leaving. Tbc I have zero insight on any of this. Just a fan posting on a forum. But it seems like he loves being a Gopher and, as others have mentioned, has his USNTDP boys here and Humphreys on the way. Who knows how much the players had any idea that Motzko was stepping down after his season but regardless, I don’t really know why you would help pitch the U to a friend of yours and get him here all just to then leave. Could be completely wrong but right now it’s definitely not my top concern.
Burnevik would make 9 USNTDP grads on next years roster (includes Phillips and Cullen).
Burnevik would make 9 USNTDP grads on next years roster (includes Phillips and Cullen).
Comes from a SCSU family. What are the odds he hits the portal? It's gotta be a tough spot as a player from "F you for leaving coach" to "hey can I come with." What a grab that would be.
Henricks is really the big one. Fills the biggest need currently.
Mick Hatten article on Max Rud playing for Motzko (Before Larson was announced):
Of note:
Of the 20 Gophers with eligibility left, 10 are NHL Draft picks, so Rud is not expecting a mass exodus.
"I think we're all in kind of the mindset about it," he said on Monday, March 23. "It's going to be a weird change. Whoever steps in line next, we've all just got to stay together and trust in the next guy, whoever it is."
From Russo’s latest article:
Curious if they were to bring in Cullen if it would have to be on more of an informal basis. They are, and rightfully so, picky about coaches possessing a college degree. I assume that would rule out Phil Kessel 😉
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
Phil can coach the weight room 😉Curious if they were to bring in Cullen if it would have to be on more of an informal basis. They are, and rightfully so, picky about coaches possessing a college degree. I assume that would rule out Phil Kessel 😉
Phil can coach the weight room 😉Curious if they were to bring in Cullen if it would have to be on more of an informal basis. They are, and rightfully so, picky about coaches possessing a college degree. I assume that would rule out Phil Kessel 😉
as well as be the team chef
Phil can coach the weight room 😉Curious if they were to bring in Cullen if it would have to be on more of an informal basis. They are, and rightfully so, picky about coaches possessing a college degree. I assume that would rule out Phil Kessel 😉
as well as be the team chef
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
Yes I'm still here, not going to get season tickets but I am on Board for now.
Coyle really is a snake.
QoGH
Coyle really is a snake.
I'm curious as to what makes him a snake in all this. Was it the lack of a "Gopher hire"?
Yeah, I don’t get that sentiment. I was a little disappointed with the scope of Coyle’s search but otherwise I’m happy who we got. Especially after yesterday’s press conference and hearing how people who know Larson talk about him. “Snake” seems like a bit much in regards to Coyle. Also, when the only real option for a “Gopher hire” is Potulny then I’m more than ok with going with Larson.
I was a little disappointed with the scope of Coyle’s search
Even on this note, if those Coyle tapped were truly as adamant as they say about Larson being a great pick, then I don't really have much quarrel with not making it a "nationwide" search like it was originally worded. If he ended up zeroing in on Larson that much, then you simply gotta go with the gut on that.
Yeah IDK, part of the problem with the hockey world is a lot of these guys going off their gut and making stale hires and listening to the same inner circle of people etc. Not just here but in the NHL world you see it a ton, it's why you see someone like Patrick Roy getting rehired despite being a terrible coach. I know people want to see the upside in this hire and that's fine, I just think it's pretty negligent not to at least reach out to some of the better candidates like Barr and see what they bring to the table. IMO he checks off more boxes in terms of what I would've liked to see in a coach and has higher upside. I think his resume is more impressive and we aren't looking at it and saying "well he missed the NCAA for 3 years straight BUT!".I was a little disappointed with the scope of Coyle’s search
Even on this note, if those Coyle tapped were truly as adamant as they say about Larson being a great pick, then I don't really have much quarrel with not making it a "nationwide" search like it was originally worded. If he ended up zeroing in on Larson that much, then you simply gotta go with the gut on that.
Obviously I hope Larson does a good job here and there's reasons to think he could but the search wasn't ran very competently from what I can tell and if Coyle is consulting Lou Nanne then yikes lol.
All I can hope is that even he's if not the best candidate on paper he does well with the opportunity, sometimes coaching hires don't necessarily need to make perfect sense from that lens.
Yeah IDK, part of the problem with the hockey world is a lot of these guys going off their gut and making stale hires and listening to the same inner circle of people etc. Not just here but in the NHL world you see it a ton, it's why you see someone like Patrick Roy getting rehired despite being a terrible coach. I know people want to see the upside in this hire and that's fine, I just think it's pretty negligent not to at least reach out to some of the better candidates like Barr and see what they bring to the table. IMO he checks off more boxes in terms of what I would've liked to see in a coach and has higher upside.I was a little disappointed with the scope of Coyle’s search
Even on this note, if those Coyle tapped were truly as adamant as they say about Larson being a great pick, then I don't really have much quarrel with not making it a "nationwide" search like it was originally worded. If he ended up zeroing in on Larson that much, then you simply gotta go with the gut on that.
Obviously I hope Larson does a good job here and there's reasons to think he could but the search wasn't ran very competently from what I can tell and if Coyle is consulting Lou Nanne then yikes lol.
How do people presume to know how the search was done when we hear scraps of rumors? How do we know Coyle didn't call Barr, Hendrickson, David Carle, or any other number of potential candidates and got a 'not interested'? And just because he consulted certain alumni doesn't say how much weight he put into each opinion. Some of that can be as much about keeping donors and alumni connected and happy (especially alumni who have lots to potentially donate and whose opinion is widely broadcast in MN).
(Oh yeah, never mind. Forgot this was the internet for a minute there.)
Well there's no evidence that he did contact Barr and we've heard the names that were contacted. And given how short this whole process was it seems likely that there weren't like 10 other candidates that got interviewed that we don't know about. You're right I'm not acting on perfect info here but these assumptions are reasonable imo. This goes beyond whether he contacted that one particular coach or not, the list of names that eventually got interviewed isn't exactly inspiring.How do people presume to know how the search was done when we hear scraps of rumors? How do we know Coyle didn't call Barr, Hendrickson, David Carle, or any other number of potential candidates and got a 'not interested'? And just because he consulted certain alumni doesn't say how much weight he put into each opinion. Some of that can be as much about keeping donors and alumni connected and happy (especially alumni who have lots to potentially donate and whose opinion is widely broadcast in MN).
(Oh yeah, never mind. Forgot this was the internet for a minute there.)
@trixr4kids😁🍻
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Well there's no evidence that he did contact Barr and we've heard the names that were contacted. And given how short this whole process was it seems likely that there weren't like 10 other candidates that got interviewed that we don't know about. You're right I'm not acting on perfect info here but these assumptions are reasonable imo. This goes beyond whether he contacted that one particular coach or not, the list of names that eventually got interviewed isn't exactly inspiring.How do people presume to know how the search was done when we hear scraps of rumors? How do we know Coyle didn't call Barr, Hendrickson, David Carle, or any other number of potential candidates and got a 'not interested'? And just because he consulted certain alumni doesn't say how much weight he put into each opinion. Some of that can be as much about keeping donors and alumni connected and happy (especially alumni who have lots to potentially donate and whose opinion is widely broadcast in MN).
(Oh yeah, never mind. Forgot this was the internet for a minute there.)
Well Coyle said he was doing a nation wide search for a new head coach, he is terrible at telling the facts
Aloha!
Well there's no evidence that he did contact Barr and we've heard the names that were contacted. And given how short this whole process was it seems likely that there weren't like 10 other candidates that got interviewed that we don't know about. You're right I'm not acting on perfect info here but these assumptions are reasonable imo. This goes beyond whether he contacted that one particular coach or not, the list of names that eventually got interviewed isn't exactly inspiring.How do people presume to know how the search was done when we hear scraps of rumors? How do we know Coyle didn't call Barr, Hendrickson, David Carle, or any other number of potential candidates and got a 'not interested'? And just because he consulted certain alumni doesn't say how much weight he put into each opinion. Some of that can be as much about keeping donors and alumni connected and happy (especially alumni who have lots to potentially donate and whose opinion is widely broadcast in MN).
(Oh yeah, never mind. Forgot this was the internet for a minute there.)
Well Coyle said he was doing a nation wide search for a new head coach, he is terrible at telling the facts
Based upon what?
What exactly am I missing in Barr's resume that makes him head and shoulders above Larson, besides youth?
Priority number one is keeping Ziemer and LJ.
Cullen-Mooney-Ziemer could be a real fun option next year.
Recruiting the guys of 2 different title winners that were previously terrible programs and turning aorund/not having a 3 year spell of no NCAA's at another previously bad program in a tough conference. in fairness time will tell with him, maybe he goes backwards next year who knows but so far I'd argue it's better.
@johnny-five his teams got better Larson has gotten worse once he ran out of Motzko players
This year is an exception to that for sure but every team has a rebuild year here or there, including the blue bloods.@johnny-five his teams got better Larson has gotten worse once he ran out of Motzko players
@johnny-five his teams got better Larson has gotten worse once he ran out of Motzko players
Cmon man. Let’s not act like Larson can’t coach. Not sure that Herbie Brooks would win at St Cloud right now.
That doesn’t change the fact that the optics of the “nationwide” search by Coyle are not good. He’s in Kansas City while zoom interviewing Potulny and Larson.
Both things can be true at once. Larson is a good coach. The optics of the coaching search run by Coyle are not ideal.
We will have a good idea of where his head is at when we see how many Huskies he poaches and how many Gophers are told to find somewhere else to play.
He gave all the correct answers at his presser. Unless he’s a good liar, he doesn’t seem like he’s treating next year as anything but a win now opportunity.
@johnny-five his teams got better Larson has gotten worse once he ran out of Motzko players
I get that but 3/5 non NCAA years and no NCAA tourney wins. I mean....picking at straws now on both sides. I'm fine with Larson I would've been fine with Barr. To me, there was no 1A slam dunk that was realistic (Pat F).
I guess I'm gonna hop on the Larson bandwagon, and like I stated earlier, the next 3 weeks is critical with roster management.
@johnny-five his teams got better Larson has gotten worse once he ran out of Motzko players
Go on and head back to GopherHole
I had a feeling about Lucia when hired and I have that feeling again now. I’m really pumped up for what’s coming. Listening to coach Larson talk he made me a believer instantly and can understand what Coyle meant when he said he just wanted to hear more of what he had to say all the time and kept going back to that. I don’t know, that’s a pretty good sign to me he’s able to push the right buttons. He definitely came across that getting the most out of his players isn’t an option it’s a priority and expects that same thing or even more from himself. He’s in a better place here with expectations he’s eager to take on with everyone willing to want the same. I don’t know who wouldn’t want to play for that kinda guy at a program with this much tradition? Combine the grit he’s clearly about with talent and that’s a great recipe for success. My oldest is a senior at the U next year already so he better get this thing turned around quick😁 looking forward to more games and time on campus!
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger