I think Bob will offer the top cream of the crop 16 year old MN kids on August 1st but if they unfortunately don’t fall through (Berchild, Lutner, Trottier, West last year) then he’s more keen to wait and be more patient than to rush and commit a middle of the road 16 year old.
I know I’m in the minority on this board that thinks Kraft wasn’t a “miss” simply because I think we didn’t offer. If he proves himself in the WHL next season then he’ll likely get an offer and if he accepts it will be “woe is me” from the Kato crowd all over again like with Pritchard this year.
For example, I remember some on here (and on Twitter) banging the table for Deschene, Kor, Vanek types a few years ago. Those would’ve been panic commits in my opinion. Better to have a late bloomer like Pritchard fall in your lap than force it with a kid who’s likely not Gopher caliber but was the “next best option”.
That being said, if we miss on Schneider, Fitzhenry, Conboy, Geiger and Scott this year (Nelson already committed and Cullen doesn’t look like it’s happening) then alarm sirens will be sounding for me personally.
Even last year when they missed on Berchild and Lutner they still landed Kvasnicka and Moe.
Again it's not just mn talent, we just had Pandoras box open and we weren't in on any big names in chl, I refuse to believe we can't compete for those types of players. Also, again there is also almost zero downside to recruiting players, if they don't pan out you tell them to move along. To limit yourself to just the ones we have i just don't think is smart.
Are you saying that the Gophers should offer players and then drop them when a better players come available? Not sure if you want to be known for that.
It would be different if we were still getting top mn players.
What evidence do we have for this other than "Berchild went elsewhere"? The entire 2025 class - save Mooney - is good players from Minnesota. No coach is going to have a 100% hit rate on top local talent.
Obviously. West, berchild, cullens, fondrk, potter, nelson to name a few. There is no debating we haven't taken the last two cycles off. You couldn't have less recruits if you tried.
I think Bob will offer the top cream of the crop 16 year old MN kids on August 1st but if they unfortunately don’t fall through (Berchild, Lutner, Trottier, West last year) then he’s more keen to wait and be more patient than to rush and commit a middle of the road 16 year old.
I know I’m in the minority on this board that thinks Kraft wasn’t a “miss” simply because I think we didn’t offer. If he proves himself in the WHL next season then he’ll likely get an offer and if he accepts it will be “woe is me” from the Kato crowd all over again like with Pritchard this year.
For example, I remember some on here (and on Twitter) banging the table for Deschene, Kor, Vanek types a few years ago. Those would’ve been panic commits in my opinion. Better to have a late bloomer like Pritchard fall in your lap than force it with a kid who’s likely not Gopher caliber but was the “next best option”.
That being said, if we miss on Schneider, Fitzhenry, Conboy, Geiger and Scott this year (Nelson already committed and Cullen doesn’t look like it’s happening) then alarm sirens will be sounding for me personally.
Even last year when they missed on Berchild and Lutner they still landed Kvasnicka and Moe.
Is Gunnar Conboy the son of Tim Conboy? And if so will he be anti Gopher because his dad played for St Cloud?
Gunnar Conboy is the son of Tim Conboy. Hard to say what his mentality is. Some follow family ties; some do not care at all.
About the time Tim was playing there was some very strong rivalries between MN and UND and MN and SCSU and I would expect there to be quite a lot of hatred of the Gophers from any player who played for UND or SCSU (UMD too but less so). For the SCSU players it sounds more personal in that some of those players likely felt snubbed by the Gophers. Mark Parrish is the standard for Gopher hatred as he was snubbed by Woog while many of his Jefferson teammates were not. Tim would have also been in that Woog recruiting class although near the end of Woog's tenure.
I would be hopeful, but not optimistic that Gunnar would consider the Gophers.
Looking back at Tim's stats I had no idea he played pro hockey for soooo long. His last season was 2017-2018 (Gunnar was 9 years old). Tim left SCSU after only two seasons and played 14 years of mostly minor league pro hockey. Ended his career with 6 seasons in Germany.... yikes. Can't call Tim a quitter. He put in his time and likely rode many busses. Played 59 games in the NHL. I would kill for just one.
Would be a departure from the staff's usual approach at goalie, and I think a detour worth taking given Casey's upside. Going to be a fight to land him.
Gunnar Conboy is the son of Tim Conboy. Hard to say what his mentality is. Some follow family ties; some do not care at all.
About the time Tim was playing there was some very strong rivalries between MN and UND and MN and SCSU and I would expect there to be quite a lot of hatred of the Gophers from any player who played for UND or SCSU (UMD too but less so). For the SCSU players it sounds more personal in that some of those players likely felt snubbed by the Gophers. Mark Parrish is the standard for Gopher hatred as he was snubbed by Woog while many of his Jefferson teammates were not. Tim would have also been in that Woog recruiting class although near the end of Woog's tenure.
I would be hopeful, but not optimistic that Gunnar would consider the Gophers.
Looking back at Tim's stats I had no idea he played pro hockey for soooo long. His last season was 2017-2018 (Gunnar was 9 years old). Tim left SCSU after only two seasons and played 14 years of mostly minor league pro hockey. Ended his career with 6 seasons in Germany.... yikes. Can't call Tim a quitter. He put in his time and likely rode many busses. Played 59 games in the NHL. I would kill for just one.
Gunnar was coached by Nick and Jack Poehling at Lakeville North. Two guys that were recruited by and played under Bob Motzko.
I’m also getting impatient for a CHL blue chipper but on the other hand there is no correlation/causation between UND landing good players and Minnesota not landing a good player. We may have something in the works for all we know. Hopefully…
UND going nuclear, gopher fans on here calling me crazy for wanting one high end recruit. Unbelievable
I feel like we HAVE to get at least one high end CHLer just to keep up with the Jones’s. No there is no law saying CHL first round picks will be the ticket to a natty (historically it’s been older players) but I feel as a blue blood program you can’t sit on your hands with this new player pool available. Not saying we go off the deep end like Michigan but IMO we need 1.
Also worth noting UND lost Boisvert and Perron via The Portal following the coaching change. Those are gifted players who will be tough to replace in year one.
UND going nuclear, gopher fans on here calling me crazy for wanting one high end recruit. Unbelievable
I feel like we HAVE to get at least one high end CHLer just to keep up with the Jones’s. No there is no law saying CHL first round picks will be the ticket to a natty (historically it’s been older players) but I feel as a blue blood program you can’t sit on your hands with this new player pool available. Not saying we go off the deep end like Michigan but IMO we need 1.
In addition to the player, it keeps the brand in the news and headlines - reminds players that this is an attractive destination right now. Obviously, Minnesota is great destination when viewed over the long term, but in shorter windows, this can compound positively or negatively and lead to recruiting droughts --- which sorry to say, I feel like we are in now.
timing would fit perfectly for him to come in in 2026 and be the backup for whoever remains of Airey and di Pasquo prior to picking up the net for 3 years
DU and UND have pretty full goalie pipelines if I’m not mistaken? If he still picks one of them, not a great look for Bob and co. I still like our odds to land him though.
DU and UND have pretty full goalie pipelines if I’m not mistaken? If he still picks one of them, not a great look for Bob and co. I still like our odds to land him though.
