Committed Recruits Update Thread

When you fill out the numbers starting from 1 for so long it's no surprise 25+ won't have many players over history.

Is this something that was done at some point?

I believe Ranta was the first player to go outside of 1-29 in a long time.

I get that the Gophers have stuck to traditional 1-35 hockey numbers (30-35 for goalies). But I hadn’t heard of the team filling out the roster starting at 1 and moving up. I always thought 2-29 were a free for all.

Gotcha. That is my interpretation also.

I have no idea what Eeyore is trying to say, but he's had a thing for me lately.

Broz with a goal tonight. Boynton suspended by USHL for his actions from last night.

[media] https://twitter.com/FargoForce/status/1391185141696016389 [/media]

Fargo and Chicago advance to the Clark Cup Final. Broz is tied with Chicago's Coronado in post season points.

They were pretty suspicious.

Damn auto correct

Saying "fill" wasn't the right term, but I meant they weren't allowed to go 30+, and 26-29 are pretty crappy hockey numbers. We need a 91, the best hockey number.

Will be an uphill battle because Chicago is a machine, but they've had a solid postseason regardless.

Fargo shuts out high scoring Chicago in game 1 of the Clark Cup. Huglen with a goal. Boynton is still suspended, and it will be interesting if he gets his starting job after the other goalie has won the last 2 games by shutout. Game 2 is tonight in Chicago.

[media] https://twitter.com/FargoForce/status/1393388673815785473 [/media]

[media] https://twitter.com/FargoForce/status/1396953079052967944 [/media]

[media] https://twitter.com/FargoForce/status/1396879977732263938 [/media]

”22 Minnesotans in final NHLCS rankings”

12. Chaz Lucius

28. Tristan Broz

37. Matthew Knies

98. Luke Mittelstadt

178. Brody Lamb

203. Connor Kurth

Button has "Chad" Lucius going to the Rangers at 15.

[media] https://twitter.com/TSNHockey/status/1400247895484518407 [/media]

https://twitter.com/scottcwheeler/status/1400456669218312206?s=21

? please let him play at Minnesota for at least two seasons ?

Last Gopher with this much hype?

Reilly?

Middlestadt?

This kid feels like he's more advanced than CM when he came in after high school.

I hope he wants to play at least a year of college with his brother.

I could almost argue that the last one at this level of hype was Kessel. Bjugstad and Rau were pretty hyped as well because of what they did in high school. But again, I love and hype all of the incoming recruits.

Kessel. Maybe Vanek?

Definitely Mittelstadt. People are forgetting how obsessed everyone was with him during but mostly before his time here

Unfortunately for Mittelstadt he has got to be one of the best examples of “could have used another year or two in college”. Would have benefited Minnesota, Casey and probably the Sabres. But intelligence and competency don’t seem to be traits valued by the ones in charge at Buffalo. It seems they saw that he had a decent season with the Gophs and a really good World Junior tournament and got him to Buffalo ASAP with zero forward thinking.

I'm thinking Kessel. He was as "can't miss" as anyone the Gophers had since Vanek.

Kessel - Eric Johnson - Casey Mittelstadt

I would argue that those players had more hype than Lucious though, but Chaz could be better than them.

There has never been “As the Lucius Turns”

Lucius is #7, Knies #31, Broz #87, Kurth #130. The common theme among these players is that Corey rated all of their skating below average.

[media] https://twitter.com/coreypronman/status/1404765148171014153 [/media]

He was not kind regarding their skating, though seems to have a favorable view overall. Important to note he bases it on NHL-level traits. Compete levels for all encouraging.

I would love to watch a video or get better insights about a players skating ability. I’m not a great enough hockey mind to identify the good skaters from the not so good. [mention]evegoe[/mention] maybe a suggestion for The Athletic?

Broz can wheel. At least he could at Blake.

I'm not super concerned when I read comments on skating. There are myriad examples of players who aren't pretty on their skates #Parise who have made a career in the NHL.

Then you have guys like KK and Brodin, who are examples of players who can do pretty much anything on skates their positions demand of them. They are fun to watch.

Pronman is grading extremely critically (period) on all the players he rates…Broz is/was an outstanding skater his sophomore year at Blake & I’ve got to believe his skating has only improved since then. Lucius is an average skater, but he’s absolutely a pure goal scorer with an outstanding release & shot. CL will likely be around at the U for 2 years max.

I'd take 3 or 4 Johnny Pohls on my college roster every damn time.

Scott Wheeler put together a good little article last year on the topic.

https://theathletic.com/1719126/2020/04/14/wheeler-a-guide-to-scouting-and-evaluating-nhl-draft-prospects-2020-update/

Video can be complicated to get a good grasp of skating as the quality really needs to be premium to get a good feel for it.

I think it can be somewhat easy to see guys who reach a high level of speed and can pull away from the pack to create breakaways -- Sammy Walker. He's got great acceleration, you don't see him caught very often and he's probably really balanced on his edges gliding. Someone like Ben Brinkman on the other hand has heavier feet and is fine once he gets going, but is probably on his edges a lot more with his glide. Also a player like Zach Parise seems like he gets around fine, but it takes him a lot of motion and effort from my perspective.

Looking at edgework for guys like Ryan Johnson is a great example of someone who has the four way mobility that scouts like in a defenseman. He is incredibly fluid adjusting to where he needs to move and gets there without making it look difficult. Jonas Brodin is probably the elite example of this. They're able to cut off attackers easily and keep a good gap.

I think you also look at the power skaters posses when they're moving on the ice and ability to skate through contact. Evaluating someone like Sampo Ranta shows you how dominant a player can be at controlling the puck and moving at high speed through contact. He has a powerful base to his skating with good knee bend. A flip side might be Casey Mittlestadt who was good in space and being creative, but he struggled with contact and powering through situations like those.

Looking at some of a forward's abiity to move laterally and create opportunities through change of pace are really important. Connor McDavid can go end to end, but what makes him so dangerous is his ability to cut across the ice, change speeds and manipulate gaps. Phil Kessel was one of the best Gophers I've seen in this area--almost untouchable coming up the ice on the big sheet with the puck on entries.

Maybe I can convice Wheeler to do something like this ahead of the draft as I agree skating is often talked about with prospects, but it's not always detailed well with video. I think the quality has something to do with it though as you'd like to find an iso camera in slow-mo to really show it.

What's funny is that Pronman did a piece that talked about most important attribute and overrated attribute for prospects.

https://theathletic.com/1713400/2020/04/06/nhl-scout-poll-what-counts-in-prospect-evaluation-who-does-it-best-and-worst/?article_source=search&search_query=skating%20evaluation

The results were 16% thought it was the most important one and 18% said it was the most overrated. I think hockey sense and compete and character are the trinity, although if you don't have enough skating or skill, then it doesn't matter much.

The NHL's best ever player: Fastest? Nope. Best skater? Nope. Best shot? Nope. But his hockey IQ was off the charts.

Most players that reach the NHL can skate - even the plodders. However there's a lot more that goes into including (some of these may overlap) are hockey sense, hands, vision, shot, passing ability, leadership, work ethic, hustle, durability, stamina...

I don't think anyone would confuse Phil Kessel as being the greatest skater, but he's one tough sonofabitch to knock off the puck, he has an innate ability to be at the right place at the right time and as previously noted a shot from hell.

Oh and the 5th forward in this years freshman class is Pitlick who can flat out fly. So not too worried

Agreed. I don't worry too much about who is or is not fast as long as the Gophers have a good mix.

Edge work and IQ are WAY more important than A - B speed!

Boynton Earns All-USHL Honors

https://gophersports.com/news/2021/6/14/mens-hockey-boynton-earns-all-ushl-honors.aspx

He spoke about this on the today’s Hockey Show podcast also. Sounds like he took some heat for being so critical of players skating (Beniers as average feels overly critical to me) He said vast majority of guys he see’s not be able to improve skating, and you only hear about those that do.

At time of commitment, it seemed most felt Luke Mittelstadt had best pro potential of all D in the state. Jack Peart has really flown by him over last 2 years. Hopefully Mittelstadt can have a strong year in USHL next year and be ready to make an impact following year.

Honestly, the whole speed thing is so overrated that it doesn't hold up under the slightest scrutiny. There's a huge list of elite NHL players who can't distinguish themselves with speed. The key is to skate well enough at that level so as not to disrupt the flow of the game. There's no waiting at the blue line for the slow guy.

Joel Otto is a classic example of this type of player. When he got to college, his coach deadpanned that he skated like a newborn colt. Then he went on to become an NHL all star and Olympic player.

Then there's flat out desire. As Glen Sonmor said about Johnny Pohl after he scored against CC in the regional game: (paraphrasing) "People say Johnny Pohl can't skate, but I've never seen anybody yet catch him on a breakaway."

Speed matters to a certain point. You're not going to win with a team full of plodders, but you don't the majority of your roster to be lightning quick either.

Scott Wheeler released his Top 100 today:

Lucius #8

Broz #45

Knies #75

Mittelstaedt #97

Scout quote very high on Mittelstaedt. Felt HS hockey held back development. Said raw talent above Peart (not better overall).

Lucius seems to be top 10 in most projections and Knies and Broz have huge swings in projections.

Kurth on USHL 2nd team all rookie.

[media] https://twitter.com/USHL/status/1408507603114774529/photo/2 [/media]

[media] https://twitter.com/ChrisDilks/status/1410275370465738758 [/media]

[media] https://twitter.com/USHL/status/1410698473435848704 [/media]