Neutral Zone scouts really liked Townsend at the USA Hockey 17 Camp.
"Arguably snubbed by NTDP not getting an invite to camp and then falling in the USHL Draft to the third round... best pure skater in the group; he’s smooth, he’s quick, he’s balanced, he’s fast and can maintain top speed with ease... Townsend, who is coming off a 54 goal season in 45 games this season had 3 in 5 games here... curls and spins off checks in the corners, he makes effortless saucer passes and works give and go’s down low in the offensive zone. He played center and wing here and was good in both positions... last week we saw Sam Rinzel, the best uncommitted prospect in the state of Minnesota; Townsend might be #2."
Neutral Zone scouts really liked Townsend at the USA Hockey 17 Camp.
"Arguably snubbed by NTDP not getting an invite to camp and then falling in the USHL Draft to the third round... best pure skater in the group; he’s smooth, he’s quick, he’s balanced, he’s fast and can maintain top speed with ease... Townsend, who is coming off a 54 goal season in 45 games this season had 3 in 5 games here... curls and spins off checks in the corners, he makes effortless saucer passes and works give and go’s down low in the offensive zone. He played center and wing here and was good in both positions... last week we saw Sam Rinzel, the best uncommitted prospect in the state of Minnesota; Townsend might be #2."
Sounds like great news! I assume he could have gone anywhere he wanted?
Yes. We have arguably 6-7 guys in our pipeline that could essentially go anywhere they wanted. The best part is they all seem like multiple year guys except for maybe Whipple or Moore depending on how good they are freshman year. Townsend, Clark, and Ziemer all project to be here for 3+ years and Rinzel 2+
Based on recent recruiting and team success we should be a hot option.
F Danny Nelson – MG (uncommitted)
F Beckett Hendrickson – USDP (Gopher)
F Teddy Townsend – EP (Gopher)
D John Whipple – Tonka/SSM (Gopher)
D Will Skahan – STA (BADger)
F Brodie Ziemer – SSM (Gopher)
G Carsen Musser – USDP (uncommitted)
are all top prospects plus stud non-Minnesotans
F Macklin Celebrini – SSM (uncommitted)
F Cole Eiserman – SSM (BU)
Two of the players from Maroon and Gold's list.
We now have 4 players off this list in addition to Oliver Moore and Javon Moore. Five of the six commitments are forwards. Most come in 2024.
It seems like we may lose a decent amount of players after this year. We have 6 senior skaters listed on the roster (I don't know how many have or would use the 5th year of eligibility). How many may leave early (Faber, Knies, etc)?
We have 4 incoming skater recruits scheduled for 2023 (2F + 2D).
For anyone that would like to get a peek at some of the latest commitments, the NTDP U17 team will be at the Super Rink for a couple of games during the annual NAHL Showcase. They play the Johnstown Tomahawks on Friday, September 16th at 8:45 p.m. and the Maine Nordiques on Saturday, September 17th at 7:15 p.m.
He's the real deal. He's a puck lucky goal-scorer that's kind of like a Pat Micheletti who can really skate," said Shattuck coach Tom Ward, who noted that the Eiserman family in Massachusetts hockey circles is akin to the Brotens or the Michelettis in Minnesota, so this is a huge committment for the Gophers.
"He is going to get the people in Mariucci up out of their seats. He's an electric kind of player," Ward said, offering comparisons to former Gophers goal scorers like Tim Harrer and Thomas Vanek. "He's a flat-out goal-scoring machine."
I would but we just keep getting top end recruits so why stop now?!!?!? I mean think how good we could be with real leadership amirite! ? ? ?
I would expect the 'leadership' to be better this year btw... but of course winning makes all problems go away... so I don't expect a lot of problems this year either.
I would but we just keep getting top end recruits so why stop now?!!?!? I mean think how good we could be with real leadership amirite! ? ? ?
I would expect the 'leadership' to be better this year btw... but of course winning makes all problems go away... so I don't expect a lot of problems this year either.
Hindsight’s 20/20 but do you think you’re more optimistic going into this season than you were last season or is it pretty much a toss up?
Probably a toss-up, I assume Cooley can more or less replace what Meyers did and the first line will be elite. After that it really depends if you think the current second line can outperform what Walker’s line did in games vs elite opponents (I’m sure they’ll be fine against the likes of Michigan state) and if any of the other depth guys can take a step forward. The elite D group is the same and should make Close’s life relatively easy compared to other goalies in the league. It’d also be nice to see if we have a potential upgrade in Bart (not gonna butcher spelling his name lol).
Also curious to see if Brodzinski can get anything going on a different line as he was glued to the hip of Walker/Blake and I think those three formed the 2nd PP unit (which wasn’t very effective). He definitely has some deficiencies in his game but one can hope that he improves and maybe different linemates could help. Either that or maybe he plays lower down the depth chart vs other teams’ depth lines.
Probably a toss-up, I assume Cooley can more or less replace what Meyers did and the first line will be elite. After that it really depends if you think the current second line can outperform what Walker’s line did in games vs elite opponents (I’m sure they’ll be fine against the likes of Michigan state) and if any of the other depth guys can take a step forward. The elite D group is the same and should make Close’s life relatively easy compared to other goalies in the league. It’d also be nice to see if we have a potential upgrade in Bart (not gonna butcher spelling his name lol).
Also curious to see if Brodzinski can get anything going on a different line as he was glued to the hip of Walker/Blake and I think those three formed the 2nd PP unit (which wasn’t very effective). He definitely has some deficiencies in his game but one can hope that he improves and maybe different linemates could help. Either that or maybe he plays lower down the depth chart vs other teams’ depth lines.
We’ll see if Cooley can replace Ben’s overall toughness along the boards and defensive game, but he definitely has offense covered. My guess is by Christmas or maybe earlier he’ll be more or less Ben level which is crazy for a freshman, but that’s his expectation.
The success of the forward group IMO hinges on Pitlick and Huglen taking that next step development wise. All signs point to them making that step seeing how they were playing at the end of last season, and I’m confident they will.
But yes, that D group will make life easier on everyone.
I would but we just keep getting top end recruits so why stop now?!!?!? I mean think how good we could be with real leadership amirite! ? ? ?
I would expect the 'leadership' to be better this year btw... but of course winning makes all problems go away... so I don't expect a lot of problems this year either.
I have been watching long enough to know that at some point IN EVERY SEASON some players feel they are getting the shaft and that the "leaders" are holding them down. Sometimes you hear about it (usually if there is a losing streak or something) and sometimes you don't. Very few teams, especially teams with high end talent year in and year out, don't have it. Plus, there is a bias because we pay extra close attention being superfans and ignore that it happens elsewhere as well.
Same with coaches. Every year we hear about how "the coach has lost the lockerroom" or "[insert coach here] is out of touch!" when teams are struggling. Amazingly half those coaches find a way to "win back the lockerroom" or "turn it around" just a game or two later.
As I said before, I don't doubt for a second the stories we all heard, but to me the proof was in the pudding. When the chips were down the leaders were the ones that righted the ship and got us to the Frozen Four. The whiners are the ones who sat and pouted or left. (not all who left were whiners so please dont think I am saying that) If you ask me I will ride or die with the Ben Meyers crowd and let the primadonna whiners and their helicopter parents run off and get coddled somewhere else. We aren't some rinky dink D2 squad, we bring A+ talent every year. If you aren't willing to put in the work then you are replaceable. Period.
I don’t know much about Cooley other than he is a blue chipper. Sounds like a couple people are expecting as much from him as a freshman as we got out of Meyers as a junior. Is that fair? I never track stats but 30 points seems like a great season for a freshman.
The success of the forward group IMO hinges on Pitlick and Huglen taking that next step development wise. All signs point to them making that step seeing how they were playing at the end of last season, and I’m confident they will.
I also think these two (Pitlick & Huglen) are vital to the teams national title aspirations. Super talented players that IMO are really built for the college game.
Getting a little more out of Brodzinki in 5 on 5 play would help also.
I don’t know much about Cooley other than he is a blue chipper. Sounds like a couple people are expecting as much from him as a freshman as we got out of Meyers as a junior. Is that fair? I never track stats but 30 points seems like a great season for a freshman.
I think it’s fair to expect Cooley to score at a point per game pace or slightly over, which is consistent with what Beniers and Johnson did in their FR seasons at Michigan. Expecting him to replace anything else from Meyers (draws/defense/PK) seems like a bit much for any 18 year old, even a very talented one.
We have seven seniors this year. Knies, Faber and Cooley are almost definitely gone next year. According to the GPL recruits page, it looks like there are only two guys listed to come in next fall. Sorry if this is a naive question but will we see Bob and Co. scouting and signing a lot of guys this fall/winter? Do they probably already have guys who are going to play juniors this year that they want to keep tabs on? Just curious how this all works.
We have seven seniors this year. Knies, Faber and Cooley are almost definitely gone next year. According to the GPL recruits page, it looks like there are only two guys listed to come in next fall. Sorry if this is a naive question but will we see Bob and Co. scouting and signing a lot of guys this fall/winter? Do they probably already have guys who are going to play juniors this year that they want to keep tabs on? Just curious how this all works.
Up front we lose (most likely): Brodzinski, Nelson, Schmidt, Knies, Cooley. So far we have Moore and Clark coming in.
On D we lose Johnson, LaCombe, Staudacher, Faber and gain Rinzel and Rud.
Definitely some recruiting/portal work needing to be done.
