Gophers have to be recruiting West. He's a great player and from Edina.
If West plays hockey in college and we don’t get him, it will be a massive miss. And I don’t usually say that. But the Edina -> UM is too strong to not get him
It has been touched on here before, but West's football offers are from lower-tier programs (still a great accomplishment; not meant as a slight)...he has time to build up his football profile. As of now, however, hockey appears best path towards a professional career. You cannot begrudge him his choice if he just prefers football more.
I’m serious, offer all the Masons.
Mason West would be a beast. Great player.
Mason Kraft can flat out play. If you get Mason Kraft you may also get his brother. Get Mason to flip. He shouldn’t be going to Mankato.
Then offer Mason Jensen and see if he will play a couple years of juniors and commit to playing both ways.
While we’re at it let’s just flip Berchild and Lutner too!
I'm still waiting for Bobby Brink to flip to the Gophers
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Just a little tongue in cheek sarcasm for your Sunday morning. Btw I heard that tDon is on the phone with Parise right now.
I often think I am an old man, then hop on GPL and see GIFs/references I have to Google and am reminded of my relative youth. 😉
Both Freddie Schneider and Zac Zimmerman will be interesting to watch come August, if they commit early. Would imagine their options are essentially endless.
Is flipping Mason Kraft from Mankato asking a lot?While we’re at it let’s just flip Berchild and Lutner too!
I often think I am an old man, then hop on GPL and see GIFs/references I have to Google and am reminded of my relative youth. 😉
Both Freddie Schneider and Zac Zimmerman will be interesting to watch come August, if they commit early. Would imagine their options are essentially endless.
I’d be quite happy with both. Zimmerman more so
I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
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Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
A lot has changed since his commitment. He scored 40 points as a junior, huge jump as a senior. Also really seems Motzko likes to wait to see how guys transition to juniors before committing, which is generally a smart approach IMO.
I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
I read a tweet that hinted he was chubby and dropped weight recently. That’s very unusual for a high school hockey player as they’re usually skinny and trying to add muscle.I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
The preferred term is "husky".I read a tweet that hinted he was chubby and dropped weight recently. That’s very unusual for a high school hockey player as they’re usually skinny and trying to add muscle.I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
Why can't we find All-American goalies? We find stud defenseman and forwards who are electric...but we really struggle with
goalies who dominate games. I'm sixty-one years old, and can only name a few goalies who dominated the crease.
It's baffling.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
Okay. I'll buy that unique situation. So totally up to him if he stays at Mankato.
I guess I've followed the Zimmerman kid more.
The preferred term is "husky".I read a tweet that hinted he was chubby and dropped weight recently. That’s very unusual for a high school hockey player as they’re usually skinny and trying to add muscle.I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
Husky is never a preferred term.
I think we've gotten above average NCAA goaltending for a while now, pretty much every goalie under Bob falls into that category other than maybe 5th year Lafontaine. They haven't really had any NHL level goalies though other than Wilcox who didn't spend much time there.Why can't we find All-American goalies? We find stud defenseman and forwards who are electric...but we really struggle with
goalies who dominate games. I'm sixty-one years old, and can only name a few goalies who dominated the crease.
It's baffling.
Can confirm. LOL. When I was a kid Sears sold clothes and had a "Husky" section. As a pre-teen or teen, shopping with your grandma, you did NOT want to shop in the Husky section.The preferred term is "husky".I read a tweet that hinted he was chubby and dropped weight recently. That’s very unusual for a high school hockey player as they’re usually skinny and trying to add muscle.I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
Husky is never a preferred term.
Can confirm. LOL. When I was a kid Sears sold clothes and had a "Husky" section. As a pre-teen or teen, shopping with your grandma, you did NOT want to shop in the Husky section.
Indeed!
https://clip.cafe/the-ref-1994/oh-thanks-mother-rose-i-bought-the-husky-size-john/
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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would you have preferred they called it the chubby section???Can confirm. LOL. When I was a kid Sears sold clothes and had a "Husky" section. As a pre-teen or teen, shopping with your grandma, you did NOT want to shop in the Husky section.The preferred term is "husky".I read a tweet that hinted he was chubby and dropped weight recently. That’s very unusual for a high school hockey player as they’re usually skinny and trying to add muscle.I'm sure this has been discussed but how in the hell can Mason Kraft not be going to the Gophers? He's obviously good enough, his dad is alumni. If Bob recruited him and they said no I'd really want to know why.
I am by far not an expert on recruiting, but the fact he chose Kato may say something. If he chose Denver, UND, BC, BU, UMD etc then I would be more alarmed. I have no idea if he was offered by those schools, but one would assume he would have picked one of those over Kato if offered. Just spitballing.
Since Kraft committed he's lost 35 pounds. He's really put in the work and changed what everyone thought his trajectory would be.
Husky is never a preferred term.
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
I don't know what Motzko and Co are doing behind the scenes, not sure if they had any interest in this guy. But someone who played at Edina and is a point per game player in the USHL now flipping to WMU while we still have ZERO recruits this cycle. What is going on?
I think we've gotten above average NCAA goaltending for a while now, pretty much every goalie under Bob falls into that category other than maybe 5th year Lafontaine. They haven't really had any NHL level goalies though other than Wilcox who didn't spend much time there.Why can't we find All-American goalies? We find stud defenseman and forwards who are electric...but we really struggle with
goalies who dominate games. I'm sixty-one years old, and can only name a few goalies who dominated the crease.
It's baffling.
Not many NHL goalies come from college anyways. Sure there are a handful, but I feel like it’s maybe one a year that makes it. That’s a tough ask to always have that one goalie who makes it.
I don't know what Motzko and Co are doing behind the scenes, not sure if they had any interest in this guy. But someone who played at Edina and is a point per game player in the USHL now flipping to WMU while we still have ZERO recruits this cycle. What is going on?
Mason Moe was part of this cycle.
Guessing numbers are a mystery at this point and Cowan looks like to join WMU in the fall.
Moore, Townsend, Mooney arriving this year with Kvasnicka and Moe options as well. Lose Huglen, Snuggerud, Nevers, and Michel...open spots may depend on Wood and Moore. Portal could be an option to fill in with a more experienced player.
https://twitter.com/PuckPreps/status/1899972000334176581
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Morality Police
The 6'0 defenseman had 44 points in 27 games for Two Rivers High this season.
Nice production for a freshman defenseman
Is this true???
Formerly known as davey j.
I think we've gotten above average NCAA goaltending for a while now, pretty much every goalie under Bob falls into that category other than maybe 5th year Lafontaine. They haven't really had any NHL level goalies though other than Wilcox who didn't spend much time there.Why can't we find All-American goalies? We find stud defenseman and forwards who are electric...but we really struggle with
goalies who dominate games. I'm sixty-one years old, and can only name a few goalies who dominated the crease.
It's baffling.
Not many NHL goalies come from college anyways. Sure there are a handful, but I feel like it’s maybe one a year that makes it. That’s a tough ask to always have that one goalie who makes it.
I don't disagree that we have gotten average to above average goaltending. Have we got elite goaltending? That is a whole different story.
Here is another issue. When was the last time we RECRUITED a goalie who was above average? Lets ignore Nathan Airey for a bit because perhaps the book is not fully closed on him.
Souliere - maybe average Transfer (Canadien)
Close - maybe above average walk on (Canadien)
LaFontaine - above average one year elite Transfer (Canadien)
Moe - Below average Recruited transferred
Robson - Above average Transfer (Canadien)
Eric Schierhorn - Average Recruited
Adam Wilcox - High Above Average near elite college goalie Recruited
Kent Patterson - A little above average Walk On
Alex Kangas - One year wonder elite
You can quibble with the way I rated them. But the last goaltender that we RECRUITED who could lead us to the highest level was 13 years ago in Adam Wilcox.
WHile the transfer portal is important for filling in holes in your lineup, it should not be how we fill the goalie position because it creates too many potential misses. But, we are probably going to have to go to the portal next year for a goalie (and it would not shock me to see Airey transfer if we do not do a deep run into NCAA).
Agreed. For whatever reason they never seem to get the few NHL caliber goalies this state develops (Lindgren, Lyon, Oettinger being the only ones currently, Stalock retired recently), which to be fair there aren't many and those goalies have a lot of options, maybe they get scholarships that aren't offered here IDK. This team probably shouldn't need an NHL caliber goalie to win it all but you'd think they'd have more than just Stauber over the span of 40 years. I wonder if they offered his son a chance to play here or not.I think we've gotten above average NCAA goaltending for a while now, pretty much every goalie under Bob falls into that category other than maybe 5th year Lafontaine. They haven't really had any NHL level goalies though other than Wilcox who didn't spend much time there.Why can't we find All-American goalies? We find stud defenseman and forwards who are electric...but we really struggle with
goalies who dominate games. I'm sixty-one years old, and can only name a few goalies who dominated the crease.
It's baffling.
Not many NHL goalies come from college anyways. Sure there are a handful, but I feel like it’s maybe one a year that makes it. That’s a tough ask to always have that one goalie who makes it.
I don't disagree that we have gotten average to above average goaltending. Have we got elite goaltending? That is a whole different story.
Here is another issue. When was the last time we RECRUITED a goalie who was above average? Lets ignore Nathan Airey for a bit because perhaps the book is not fully closed on him.
Souliere - maybe average Transfer (Canadien)
Close - maybe above average walk on (Canadien)
LaFontaine - above average one year elite Transfer (Canadien)
Moe - Below average Recruited transferred
Robson - Above average Transfer (Canadien)
Eric Schierhorn - Average Recruited
Adam Wilcox - High Above Average near elite college goalie Recruited
Kent Patterson - A little above average Walk On
Alex Kangas - One year wonder elite
You can quibble with the way I rated them. But the last goaltender that we RECRUITED who could lead us to the highest level was 13 years ago in Adam Wilcox.
WHile the transfer portal is important for filling in holes in your lineup, it should not be how we fill the goalie position because it creates too many potential misses. But, we are probably going to have to go to the portal next year for a goalie (and it would not shock me to see Airey transfer if we do not do a deep run into NCAA).
Looks like Mason West has joined Fargo for the weekend, if not the rest of the season. Picked up an assist last night.
With divided up scholarships, it could be tricky on how to approach a goalie situation (much like depth players).
I think there has always been a belief (over the years... and probably rightfully so) that grabbing the 16/17 year old hyped goalie as a recruit is more risky. A la Jeff Frazee, etc
With a quality older goalie with a few years of junior hockey experience (but maybe less long term upside), you tend to have a better feel for what you are going to get. More mature and less mercurial.
Lucia's two title teams didn't have top notch goalies. Hauser and Weber won it all but nobody would look back and say either of them were "great".
Tough call. I personally prefer recruiting older goalies but I totally understand feeling frustration when you see a young guy succeed elsewhere.
With divided up scholarships, it could be tricky on how to approach a goalie situation (much like depth players).
I think there has always been a belief (over the years... and probably rightfully so) that grabbing the 16/17 year old hyped goalie as a recruit is more risky. A la Jeff Frazee, etc
With a quality older goalie with a few years of junior hockey experience (but maybe less long term upside), you tend to have a better feel for what you are going to get. More mature and less mercurial.
Lucia's two title teams didn't have top notch goalies. Hauser and Weber won it all but nobody would look back and say either of them were "great".
Tough call. I personally prefer recruiting older goalies but I totally understand feeling frustration when you see a young guy succeed elsewhere.
if I’m MN, I abuse the portal every single year for my goalie. There’s always a top notch aha, ccha etc guy available. Recruit someone local who’s happy to wear the M to be rostered and go mercenary for your guy each year unless you land a drafted guy that works out. I love the older goalies as I completely agree there’s way more data on predictability.
I think the only issue I have is that trying to replicate that Lucia approach only works if you have unreal talent surrounding an average goalie, which we don’t often get, 2 years ago being the closest they got to replicating that. You’re right though that it’s not easy to predict, I couldn’t tell you how good I’m gonna play any given day much less predict how some other goalie will do at the next level. I also realize you’re probably not gonna build your team around a goalie as far as recruiting strategy.
With divided up scholarships, it could be tricky on how to approach a goalie situation (much like depth players).
I think there has always been a belief (over the years... and probably rightfully so) that grabbing the 16/17 year old hyped goalie as a recruit is more risky. A la Jeff Frazee, etc
With a quality older goalie with a few years of junior hockey experience (but maybe less long term upside), you tend to have a better feel for what you are going to get. More mature and less mercurial.
Lucia's two title teams didn't have top notch goalies. Hauser and Weber won it all but nobody would look back and say either of them were "great".
Tough call. I personally prefer recruiting older goalies but I totally understand feeling frustration when you see a young guy succeed elsewhere.
if I’m MN, I abuse the portal every single year for my goalie. There’s always a top notch aha, ccha etc guy available. Recruit someone local who’s happy to wear the M to be rostered and go mercenary for your guy each year unless you land a drafted guy that works out. I love the older goalies as I completely agree there’s way more data on predictability.
Just look at UND, they do it every year and they haven't hit a stud yet the last 4 years. Nobody over .910 sv%. They've barely got average goaltending. It shouldn't be used as an every year thing but it can be to fill holes.
With divided up scholarships, it could be tricky on how to approach a goalie situation (much like depth players).
I think there has always been a belief (over the years... and probably rightfully so) that grabbing the 16/17 year old hyped goalie as a recruit is more risky. A la Jeff Frazee, etc
With a quality older goalie with a few years of junior hockey experience (but maybe less long term upside), you tend to have a better feel for what you are going to get. More mature and less mercurial.
Lucia's two title teams didn't have top notch goalies. Hauser and Weber won it all but nobody would look back and say either of them were "great".
Tough call. I personally prefer recruiting older goalies but I totally understand feeling frustration when you see a young guy succeed elsewhere.
if I’m MN, I abuse the portal every single year for my goalie. There’s always a top notch aha, ccha etc guy available. Recruit someone local who’s happy to wear the M to be rostered and go mercenary for your guy each year unless you land a drafted guy that works out. I love the older goalies as I completely agree there’s way more data on predictability.
Just look at UND, they do it every year and they haven't hit a stud yet the last 4 years. Nobody over .910 sv%. They've barely got average goaltending. It shouldn't be used as an every year thing but it can be to fill holes.
I'd put a lot less of that on their goalie and more that they've recruited an entire new portal of defensemen almost every year the last 4 years and it's resulted in them being very up and down. Driscoll was solid and with numbers better than Airey this year. Deridder was good at MSU for the 2 years prior to him leaving and moved to a team that they blew up and sucked when he came to UND. Persson was not a very good goalie at BSU so that one was 0% surprising. Semptenheiler was good not great at ASU.
What I'm saying is you do it to have someone equally available to compete every year while you try to hope you hit a home run on a young guy who's like Augustine. You're successful and you don't need to portal for 3-4 years. You miss, you portal for each of the years you don't for an at least above average guy. No reason to have it be Airey's job solo next year and we should absolutely be looking into the portal while also hoping to figure out who of the recruits still available could be the next Augustine.
I would prefer a developed goalie with an occasional portal guy. This year is a perfect situation where a portal goalie makes sense. The Gophers lost a long term starter, and Airey was limited in action last year. Ideally, I would have preferred a goalie coming in this year with 2 years left. I think if you continually bring in goalies with 1 year left ( Whioux ) it may ultimately hurt your recruiting as a young guy may pass on the school in favor of a school who has a record of staying with goalies. The next goalie coming in will be interesting. Does Bob go with another 1 year guy, 2 year guy or a young kid with 4 years eligibility left? I would have been ok with a young guy if I were 100% comfortable with Airey for the next 2 years. I still believe in Airey but would love to see a healthy competition next fall.
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I would love to know what Bob plan is for recruiting skaters. There doesn't seem to be any panic with regard to the lack of commits as we haven't seen any unusual NAHL players commit yet. That leads me to believe he has some sort of plan. But this is just such an unusual lack of activity I am mystified and can't wait to see the outcome.
Hopefully there is a plan.
I would love to know what Bob plan is for recruiting skaters. There doesn't seem to be any panic with regard to the lack of commits as we haven't seen any unusual NAHL players commit yet. That leads me to believe he has some sort of plan. But this is just such an unusual lack of activity I am mystified and can't wait to see the outcome.
Hopefully there is a plan.
I am confident that tBob has a plan. Last year Gruba and Pahlsson were late adds in the recruiting cycle (although not this late) and the CHL kids are not allowed to sign a LOI until August 1st. I know some of those players have announced their colleges already, but Bob and the U has always taken the approach of following timelines. I would bet that he has a CHL player lined up and they are going to announce it at a later date. He also has a tendency of waiting to announce portal adds and 5th year returnees ( which we don't have to worry about anymore ).
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https://www.youthhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/1334381
Always a big opportunity for players to make the NTDP -- little strange Tony Timmerman is included as Minnesotan in a lot of the releases as I don't think he really played much youth hockey like the other 10. Fitzhenry seems like the top talent out of this group. Seems curious that Nash Roed is playing at the camp, wonder if he's actually thinking about making the leap.
I would love to know what Bob plan is for recruiting skaters. There doesn't seem to be any panic with regard to the lack of commits as we haven't seen any unusual NAHL players commit yet. That leads me to believe he has some sort of plan. But this is just such an unusual lack of activity I am mystified and can't wait to see the outcome.
Hopefully there is a plan.
Am I the only one not really seeing the reason for panic? There aren’t a ton of holes to fill in the upcoming years. As fun as it would be to grab players every other week people do realize that recruits need to be assembled into a team eventually right?