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.
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 7:45 p.m. and the Maine Nordiques on Saturday, September 17th at 6:15 p.m.
I’ll throw this out there one last time as the event is upon us. Please note that when I posted this earlier the times were incorrect (eastern time). The times in the quote now should be correct. Daily pass for the showcase is $25.00 ($15.00 for seniors). If you want to watch a lot of hockey the full showcase pass is $65.00 ($35.00 seniors)
For those unaware, the commits playing on this team are Cole Eiserman, John Whipple and Brodie Ziemer
LOL. I was thinking of taking my kids to this, but I am not paying $75 to watch NAHL hockey. I been to this in the past for free (when my kid had practice at the Super Rink). It is decent hockey, but they're just cashing in on all of the parents who drive from Florida or Connecticut to watch their kid's play.
Fun time in Blaine tonight. Most people I’ve seen jammed into one of the Super Rink’s arenas. Love Whipple’s game, smooth and for the most part really in control of things. Eiserman will give us some of those “holy crap” moments. The release on this wrist shot goal doesn’t really come across in this clip, but the collective gasp from the crowd was cool to be a part of.
Really fun to watch the U17 team Gopher commits last night and I came away impressed with all three. Eiserman's wrist shot in the clip that Iceburg posted made me jump out of my seat due to the quickness of the release and accuracy in all that traffic. He definitely flies the zone a good bit so there'll be some d-zone work that's needed but I don't think you really care too much about that with how much of a pure goal scorer he is.
As impressive as Eiserman was, I was just as impressed with Whipple's game as his skating, physicality, strong play on the blue line and puck control was all on display. Both him and Eiserman also have some grit in their game with neither backing down in the after the whistle scrums (against guys 3-4 years older than them) which I liked to see and feel has been missing from some of our recent top end guys. Ziemer didn't stick out quite as much but he still had a few scoring chances and I thought he played a really smart game overall.
Also, for goalies, if we aren't able to land Carsen Musser from the U18s, I'd gladly take Nick Kempf off last night's showing. I'm no goalie scout and the bounces went his way, but he definitely has the size and skill with great rebound control to be a good one at the next level.
Other non-Gopher commit (not yet at least) notes: Pretty crazy that Laurila played bantams last season as I thought he had a good game and fit right in. Hensler didn't stand out to me as much as I expected him to after watching him at HM last season, but it is just one game and he is still as smooth of a skater as ever.
Went and saw the U17’s play last night. Kind of a bad night for the whole team (they lost 7-0) so I’ll try to keep my claims and judgments pretty tame.
It’s obvious what sticks out from each of the three commits games. Eiserman is strictly offense. It’s exciting when he has the puck and he can absolutely fire the pill.
Whipple is the smoothest skater I’ve seen at that age in a long time. Hughes-like. Has great offensive instincts and is underrated defensively.
Ziemer is kind of a jack of all traits. Does everything pretty well. Can wheel in open ice and has excellent vision.
The team obviously looked pretty raw as the U17 team always does but it does excite me to imagine what these players will look like in two years time. Crazy to step back and think these 16 year olds didn’t look out of place against 19 and 20 year olds who already graduated high school and a guy like Laurila just came out of Bantams.
Mock draft has Moore as the first American taken. Seeing more and more of those where this is the case. Apparently he just screams Dylan Larkin to draft analysts.
May have had something to do with it. I’m assuming disease. Also I don’t think it’s been mentioned here but Hendrickson has been out the past couple weeks with an upper body injury.
Lol we played Bethel in an adult league tourney once and almost beat them, up 2-1 most the game but lost 3-2 after our team ran out of gas. Them playing a bunch of high schoolers and barely beating a depleted team is in brand ?
Not 100% but sounding like Jimmy Clark will stay in Green Bay rather than return to Edina for his senior season.
I hate to say I prefer that but from a Gopher fan perspective he’s definitely coming in next year and I’d much rather have him come in after a full year of juniors as supposed to straight out of high school.
Definitely good news for the team if true. I will not begrudge a recruit for making either decision but should allow him to make a larger impact in 2023-2024.
Not 100% but sounding like Jimmy Clark will stay in Green Bay rather than return to Edina for his senior season.
I hate to say I prefer that but from a Gopher fan perspective he’s definitely coming in next year and I’d much rather have him come in after a full year of juniors as supposed to straight out of high school.
Where did you hear he’s definitely coming in next year?
Simple math. We’ll lose Nelson, Brodzinski, Schmidt, Knies and 50/50 Cooley (not looking like it right now). We have Moore, Clark, and Hendrickson slated to come in. Still a couple forwards short. Plus if we push Clark back that would create a log jam for the next year as we may only lose one or two forwards off the 23-24 team.
Not 100% but sounding like Jimmy Clark will stay in Green Bay rather than return to Edina for his senior season.
I hate to say I prefer that but from a Gopher fan perspective he’s definitely coming in next year and I’d much rather have him come in after a full year of juniors as supposed to straight out of high school.
Where did you hear he’s definitely coming in next year?
BTW players are sometimes told they should play a year of juniors before coming to college... and sometimes the players take that information and leave high school a year early to get that experience ahead of time. If a player like Clark does well in Green Bay, then it makes it easier for the transition to college... if there would be a struggle for a player like that in the transition from HS to USHL, then there is an uncomfortable conversation coming about the next year because 'just playing' a year of juniors before coming isn't always the right move.
And every coach will say on record that they support whatever players decides to do with their path is fine... just that maybe that path includes finishing high school, playing juniors for a year and then coming to college.. or leaving high school early and playing a year of juniors -- sometimes two -- and then coming to college... or maybe finishing high school and playing a year of juniors is fine.
Roster management is very fluid and player development is rarely a straight line!
Playing devil’s advocate here. When Bob came here he said we were gonna try to get older. Fast forward a couple of years and he’s tearing up recruiting landing lots of high end kids.
We have a young team this year. From what I’ve loosely tracked we may get younger next year and we’re likely not going to get much older with high end 18 year old freshmen coming in every year.
At what point does Bob throw out his get old philosophy if he keeps landing these stud recruits? Is the trick getting them to stay? Is that how you get old? Because I vastly prefer 18 year old high end freshmen to the Mankato style formula.
Then again Huglen and Pitlick were 21 year old freshmen that absolutely ooze skill.
Idk just a talking point I guess. A bit of a ramble?
Bob's players may not be getting older in age, but they are coming in with more playing experience by playing more years in juniors instead of high school. I think Bob has also learned that at MN, getting older in age is not as easy as it sounds. This current year is a good example. He may have liked Perbix, Brinkman, Cruikshank, and Sorenson to stay, but at what cost? He would have gotten older, but would have lost an incoming recruit or 2 and maybe none of those would have been regulars. Best for both sides to move on. Same for McManus a couple of years ago. So far, other than Laffer, he really hasn't kept around any 5th year guys ( Rossini doesn't count in my eyes). This offseason may be different, but who knows, but I don't really see any of the the seniors staying. Maybe I could see Staudacher staying, as the Gophers will lose a ton on the backend. But with Yakesh, Rud and Rinzel coming in, there may not be room for him next year either. I would love for the Farm Kid to stay, but I see him getting a look by some team in the AHL. The big thing is I think Bob wants to get away from having to bring in huge freshman classes like the past 2 years, and get to the point where he brings in 5 or 6 instead of 10-11. This offseason he could lose 8 or 9 players again, but the following year could be more like 6.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Bob's players may not be getting older in age, but they are coming in with more playing experience by playing more years in juniors instead of high school. I think Bob has also learned that at MN, getting older in age is not as easy as it sounds. This current year is a good example. He may have liked Perbix, Brinkman, Cruikshank, and Sorenson to stay, but at what cost? He would have gotten older, but would have lost an incoming recruit or 2 and maybe none of those would have been regulars. Best for both sides to move on. Same for McManus a couple of years ago. So far, other than Laffer, he really hasn't kept around any 5th year guys ( Rossini doesn't count in my eyes). This offseason may be different, but who knows, but I don't really see any of the the seniors staying. Maybe I could see Staudacher staying, as the Gophers will lose a ton on the backend. But with Yakesh, Rud and Rinzel coming in, there may not be room for him next year either. I would love for the Farm Kid to stay, but I see him getting a look by some team in the AHL. The big thing is I think Bob wants to get away from having to bring in huge freshman classes like the past 2 years, and get to the point where he brings in 5 or 6 instead of 10-11. This offseason he could lose 8 or 9 players again, but the following year could be more like 6.
Yakesh isn’t playing every game for Sioux Falls plus he seems like a 2 years of juniors guy anyway, so maybe we can throw 55 another year.
I can see Nelson having a bit of a Justin Holl NHL career. Not a dominant college player but maybe he gets with an NHL club and just sticks because of his strength and defensive responsibility.
Here is the truth... you can talk all you want about what you are going to do when you come to the U (and in your first few years at the U...) but then you experience some new things over time and it can change your tune.
This same situation happened with Lucia. He did a great job of landing a wonderful mix of different types of players early in his days at the U (which led to titles). But then things started to change when the lure of the EJs, Kessels, Okposos, and others became stronger. The "drug" of landing elite level young talent eventually becomes hard to resist.
Being able to recruit so many high end young kids that you never had access to at a previous program is very hard to say "no" to. It is like a drug... you enter into the situation with a specific strategy that worked for you before... but then you get lured down a different path when see how much top young talent you can accumulate.
This isn't meant as an arrogance thing... but some people don't entirely realize what it is like when you have all of these doors open to you that were generally shut to you in the past. Despite the fact that the Gopher program hasn't been "the best" program over the last decade, the cachet of the U is very significant and still looms large over other schools in the area who may have done better in recent years.
When you mix that cachet with a really good coach (and you sit in the middle of the biggest area of the best youth hockey state in the nation)... and it is tough to stick to the mentality of "I want the team to get older."
God bless ya if you do go older but I guarantee you that, if you do, there will then be a segment of Gopher fans that will loudly complain that the recruiting isn't as good because they see these top young kids going to other places. It is the nature of the beast.
I guess that's part of the reason they pay Motzko (and Lucia before him) the kind of money they do. Do it your way coach but you will earn the money you get paid in part by dealing with some bulshit that you won't get just about anywhere else.
