0:03 This is the GopherPuckLive Podcast, episode number one, recorded on September 19th, 2011. 0:17 Hello, and welcome to the very first GPL Podcast. 0:20 I am your host, Craig Cotner, but most of you probably know me as Jupiter on GopherPuckLive. 0:26 Along for the ride are two co-hosts that many of you may know. 0:30 First off, Ryan Cardinal. 0:32 Ryan has been a rider here at GPL for, I don't know, three, four, five years, something like that, and I'm not really sure. 0:38 During the hockey season, you can hear him weekly on the Paul Allen Show on KFAN Radio. 0:43 You can also follow him at Ryan Cardinal on Twitter. 0:47 How you doing, Ryan? 0:48 I am good, yourself? 0:49 Not too bad. 0:50 Thanks for joining us. 0:52 Thanks for having me. 0:53 Also joining us is Scott Hamilton in the college hockey community. 0:57 He's probably more well known by his screen name, Hammy. 1:01 Besides his great inset on GPL Message Board, you can also follow him on Twitter, at Hammy Hockey. 1:08 Thanks for being part of the show, Hammy. 1:09 How you doing? 1:11 I'm doing good. 1:12 How about yourself? 1:13 Not too bad. 1:14 Well, here we are, very first podcast. 1:18 And I think the first direction we should go is all this go for off season news. 1:23 We've got Mike Gensel back, John Hill is gone. 1:26 We've got a lot of things going on. 1:27 What do you guys think? 1:28 Ryan? 1:30 Well, I mean, obviously, you know, the GPL over the last few years would be a good indication of John Hill is definitely not an asset to this program or hasn't been. 1:40 So, you know, getting a guy like Mike Gensel back, I mean, it's probably not going to be, you know, sure fire, you know, right away going to be, you know, way better type situation. 1:48 But at the same time, I mean, it's definitely going to be an improvement. 1:51 And, you know, I think like most fans have said, you know, it's not so much the X's and O's as much as the, you know, playing with pride and having passion and, you know, the kind of stuff that, you know, Gensel is kind of known for over the years. 2:02 So if he can instill, if nothing else, if he can kind of inject that into the team from, you know, day one here in a few weeks, I think they'll definitely be headed in the right direction. 2:11 Well, I'm kind of glad Hill's gone. 2:15 I think a lot of people would agree with that. 2:17 I think that the big thing is you'll have two assistant coaches that have a lot of passion for the program. 2:23 Yeah, yeah. 2:24 They both played for it. 2:26 I think that, you know, to a degree that was missing, I mean, obviously, Grant's been around the last few years, but, you know, having a guy like Gensel who's been around for so many years and is obviously known to kind of bleed maroon and gold, I think that's going to be very important. 2:41 And I know that we were talking offline about this, but, you know, there's already kind of a sense of a different attitude with the people around the team. 2:50 And I think that that's hopefully going to show through in the results this year. 2:54 So I'm very excited about it. 2:58 Well, I think a lot of people are excited, I know. 3:00 The fans are, the people on GPL are pretty crazy about it. 3:06 I really don't know what else to say. 3:09 Like you said, it's kind of a different attitude around there right now. 3:12 I think the big thing is going to be, for Gensel is how the defense handles his coaching. 3:19 I know some of these guys, ironically enough, were recruited by him, but they've never been coached by him. 3:26 Like a Nate Schmidt, for instance, I know that Gensel was pretty integral in recruiting him. 3:31 But he's never had him as a coach. 3:33 So it'll be interesting to see how these guys handle his style. 3:38 But obviously Gensel's got a track record of teaching all Americans and getting guys onto the NHL. 3:46 So I would only imagine it's gonna help a lot of these guys a great deal. 3:51 Yeah, I mean, we'll get into it a little bit later when we kind of take a look at the team a little closer. 3:55 But I mean, there isn't an abundance of upperclassmen or they're not bringing back a lot of guys there. 4:01 I mean, there's one upperclassman with Seth Helgeson and then a lot of potential with some of the younger guys, but a lot of question marks too. 4:07 So having a coach that can get the most out of that position, especially in a year like this where they figure to be pretty solid up front, obviously solid end goal with Patterson, but they're going to need the defense to hopefully take a step this year and hopefully Gensler can be that guy to get the most out of them. 4:21 Yeah, I would agree there. 4:23 But also in this off season, we've had a few departures. 4:27 We've got Aaron Ness who decided to leave and along with Max Gardner. 4:32 Now, we know Max didn't get too much ice time this year and that's pretty much what his beef was, but what do you guys thought? 4:39 Well, I mean, the Ness thing, I mean, obviously he hasn't really, you know, didn't live up to the hype and that was going to be tough for him to do. 4:45 I mean, everyone saw him in the state tournament when, you know, Rosso made their big run and, you know, lightened it up at the X and everyone thought he'd be the next, you know, all-American type, the, you know, Goligoski, Vanelli. 4:55 And, you know, it takes, with a defenseman like that, I mean, you need forwards to bury the puck and obviously Ness, you know, his shot never got to where it needed to be. 5:02 But I know a lot of fans are kind of saying good riddance and, you know, because he didn't live up to that hype, but. 5:07 I don't know if I'd agree with that. 5:09 See, I'm with you. 5:10 I mean, at the same time, you know, like, yeah, he didn't, but to have a senior like that who he would have, you know, come back this year, been a fourth year player to, you know, lead the power play, bring the puck out of their own end, you know, he's solid with it. 5:20 He definitely improved last year defensively. 5:22 So no, we didn't live up to the hype, but I think, you know, the team's definitely gonna miss him, at least in the short term, maybe by the second half of the year when some younger guys have had a chance to get a little more playing time and, you know, more time on the power play and things like that. 5:33 It won't be as noticeable, but I think early on, they're definitely gonna miss his puck skills for sure. 5:38 Yeah, I can't argue with that. 5:40 I think that, you know, maybe I'm a little optimistic as far as a guy like Ben Marshall stepping in. 5:48 He's gonna have obviously some growing pains, but I think that he has that similar style, very dynamic with the puck and can distribute it. 5:56 So hopefully he'll be able to step into that role. 5:59 Granted, he's not gonna have the experience that you, you know, definitely like to rely on when it's getting a WCHA play, but I think it'll be very important for a guy like that to be able to step in and hopefully pick up some of the slack. 6:12 Now, do you think Ness would have left if he knew Genzel was coming back? 6:18 Did he not get along with Hill? 6:20 Do we know anything about that? 6:22 I'm speculating. 6:24 I think that it's fair to say that some of the relationships were not the best. 6:30 I do know, I've also heard that maybe Ness didn't really enjoy Lucia's coaching as well. 6:40 I don't know if that's 100% true, but I've heard that. 6:44 And I'm sure it's so hard to know. 6:47 I think that, of course, there were guys leaving early on defense when Genzel was around. 6:52 So it's not as if that was going to be the thing that was going to stop him from leaving. 6:57 So it's hard to say, he probably would have gone anyways. 7:00 I mean, he would have been a senior this year and a lot of teams want to get the guys signed before their senior year. 7:06 So I think it's fair enough to think like it might not have had a tremendous amount of difference. 7:12 Yeah, I would agree. 7:13 I mean, you play three years, he was a second round pick. 7:15 And I mean, it had to be frustrating for a kid like that where he puts up massive amounts of points every year of his hockey life and then he gets here and he's kind of spinning his wheels. 7:23 And obviously it didn't come as easy as everyone thought it would. 7:25 So yeah, I mean, maybe if he knew Gensel was coming back, but I mean, I don't know what another year would have done big picture development wise. 7:32 I mean, I don't know if Aaron Ness is ever going to be an NHL player. 7:35 I mean, I don't think staying another year here would have had any impact on that one way or another. 7:39 I mean, we'll see what he does in the minors. 7:40 I mean, he's a small kid and you go into these AHL rinks, so there's no room to hide in the corners like there is in Mariucci. 7:46 And I wish him the best, but it just, I don't know, it doesn't look like the second round pick is going to kind of justify where his career path is kind of ending up. 7:54 But obviously, hopefully, he does well. 7:58 Yeah, Ness is gone. 8:00 I think it hurts the team. 8:05 It would have helped to have his leadership. 8:07 He was, like you said, a fourth year guy, maybe not the best player, but it's going to hurt not having a senior back there, don't you think? 8:18 Do we have a senior? 8:19 I don't think we do. 8:21 Helgeson is the oldest defenseman, at least by eligibility standards go. 8:27 So I mean, it wouldn't hurt to have a guy like Ness around, of course, but I mean, he did have his flaws, certainly defensively. 8:41 He improved last year as Ryan had talked about, but he still had issues giving up the puck. 8:46 And of course, he's never been the guy that's gonna be all that physical. 8:49 So I think that it can go both ways. 8:52 It'll be interesting to see how he does on the next level, but it's hard to say. 8:58 Well, then we've got Max Gardner, who was not happy with his playing time, but I can't say that he really deserved the play time that he got last year. 9:12 Well, I mean, that's a kid, and you've seen this with the Gophers for several years now, where it's kind of the domino effect, where he should not have been here last year, but between them always being a guy or two down for mid-season departures or after the season, the always having that one unexpected one, it's tough to get out of that cycle. 9:28 And with him being, I think, well, he's a third round pick by St. 9:31 Louis, so for a third round pick to go back to the USHL, or not go back, but actually to play a full season there when he's ready to step into the college level. 9:39 So between those two things, he was forced here and he probably shouldn't have been. 9:43 And his production and the amount of ice time he got kind of dictated that. 9:47 So now he's back where he should have been, playing a year in the USHL. 9:50 And he'll probably do very well there and step into college a year from now and be a couple of years older, thicker, wiser, all those types of things and probably be a pretty good college player. 10:00 But he was just in over his head last year physically and in every other way as well. 10:04 Going to the Sioux, isn't he? 10:06 That's kind of the joke recently. 10:08 Yeah, that's the thing that I found ironic is that I guess I'm a little more skeptical about his future than Ryan is. 10:18 I'll be very curious to see how he does this year in the USHL. 10:23 I think Dubuque has his rights and he's playing there. 10:29 When I read that article, I think it was Western Michigan and he was visiting there or whatever he was going to be. 10:34 And they also mentioned North Dakota. 10:36 I found that very interesting. 10:39 Max definitely looked like a fish out of water last year. 10:42 And the biggest knock on him has always been, can he skate well enough? 10:48 He's certainly a hard worker from what I've been told. 10:51 And he'll throw his body around and do some of the dirty work, which depending on the role that you're trying to fill on a team, maybe it's not so bad. 11:00 But as far as a guy that's going to be delivering a lot of offense and I just question whether or not that's ever going to happen. 11:09 So it'll be interesting. 11:12 Definitely will be. 11:14 We'll have to see. 11:16 Well, any other talk about departures? 11:19 Any other significant? 11:21 There's nothing really else going on. 11:22 It's kind of a quiet year. 11:24 It's kind of nice that it's been a little quiet. 11:26 Bukestead stayed and a few other guys that questionably could have left stayed. 11:33 I wasn't surprised by any of the guys. 11:35 The lack of it this year. 11:38 I had heard from pretty much the get-go that Bukestead will be back. 11:42 Of course, you can never rely on that. 11:43 You never know what an NHL team is going to say in the middle of summer. 11:47 I'm not surprised that there weren't further departures. 11:52 I think that there was a little bit more stability as far as guys being a little more patient. 11:58 I think that that's going to be something that obviously pays dividends this year. 12:03 We'll see what happens. 12:04 I'm sure there will be more than a few next year. 12:07 Guys like Bukestead will likely be gone. 12:10 We'll find out. 12:11 I wish we could keep a big guy like that forever. 12:17 Well, a few other changes in the offseason. 12:21 Looks like we got Glenn Sonmore retiring with the broadcast. 12:27 It's moving from WCCO over to 1500. 12:32 And Frank Mazocco is coming on as color guy. 12:36 I remember him stating earlier this year that he never saw that happening. 12:41 But there it is. 12:42 He's on with the color. 12:43 And you've got Pat Micheletti also being part of the broadcast as well. 12:47 Any thoughts on that? 12:52 Well, yeah, I don't listen to a lot of the radio broadcasts all that often. 12:56 But obviously to lose a son or a guy who's been with the program forever and hopefully his health continues to be okay. 13:02 And it will definitely be a change. 13:04 But I think moving to kind of the bigger picture is not so much who's doing it, but where they are. 13:09 And hopefully with being on 1500, it will be a little bit more stable in terms of where I can listen to the game and online options, some podcasts. 13:17 Like I know the Luchia Show used to be, quote unquote, podcasted on WCCO, but their website's a joke. 13:24 Exactly. 13:26 It was terrible. 13:27 I mean, it was unreliable. 13:28 I mean, you had to listen to it. 13:30 And some nights it was on only online or if it was on another random station, one of the CCO's affiliates. 13:35 So I guess I don't care as much who's doing it. 13:37 It's just the access and hopefully the stability of being able to listen to the audio on demand and finding it online and streaming and all those good things, which 1500 should bring to the table, at least better than what CCO offered the last several years. 13:49 I think that's a big deal. 13:51 You'll be able to bring up your ESPN app, your ESPN KSTP 1500 app and listen to the hockey games for free. 13:59 You'll be able to go on to gophersports.com and listen to the games for free. 14:03 That's something that we haven't had here in years. 14:06 And I think the fans are going to be pretty happy about that. 14:12 I'll be interested in seeing how Mazako translates into a different role. 14:19 I'm glad that he's back. 14:20 I've always felt that, you know, I see these comments from fans of other programs who are always ripping on guys for being homers and whatever. 14:31 And I guess I never really saw that in Mazako. 14:34 I thought he's always been relatively consistent. 14:37 And I'm sure, of course, he'll get excited when Gophers do well. 14:40 But the reality to me is I've heard a lot worse on the radio than... 14:47 No, come on. 14:49 Well, I'm just saying, you know, I won't name names, but there's been plenty of guys out there that I think are a lot worse and a little, you know, much less professional about it. 14:59 If Mazako is biased, he does, I think, a little bit better job of hiding it than some. 15:04 Well, I think it'll be nice for Wally to have another broadcaster in the booth, at least. 15:09 Someone who could help him out, read commercials, you know. 15:13 Glenn just pretty much gave his opinion and that was pretty much about it. 15:17 I think it'll be nice for Wally, you know, heck, if Wally gets sick, he doesn't have to worry about calling the game because he knows Frank could fill in for him. 15:24 So I think having another professional broadcaster in there will help him. 15:28 Now, like you said about him adjusting to be in the color job, I'm not really sure about yet. 15:36 Well, I thought the interesting comment that I read, I think it was from Wally Shaver on not go for sports, was that it's a little different for radio than it is for television because you don't have that visual that you have to do a greater job of explaining the visuals of what somebody is going to be seeing as opposed to a radio where maybe you can be a little more basic. 15:59 So maybe that's something that will help Mazako translate the game to the fans. 16:08 What do you think, Ryan? 16:10 No, I agree. 16:11 There's not quite the, I don't know if you want to call it pressure when it's on TV, but on the radio, like Hamme said, you can paint it a little bit different and be a little bit more descriptive. 16:20 It just doesn't seem as tough of a learning experience to do that on the radio as opposed to TV. 16:27 So he can definitely take his time getting into it. 16:29 And I think even having Nicoletti, too, on Beyond the Pond on KFN, he's great on there for cutting open a vein and being critical when it's obviously been very warranted in recent times. 16:39 So kind of mixing him into some broadcast too will kind of, not that he's similar to Sonmore, but just be more opinionated and kind of fiery in there and bring a different element. 16:48 So I like what they're doing. 16:49 I think it's a good direction. 16:51 Well, you being the KFN guy, does that affect Pat Nicoletti being on KFN when he's doing stuff on ESPN 1500? 17:00 I wouldn't think so. 17:01 I mean, like I know Nanny is going to be on both, both appearing with Royce and Mackey and then also still on with Barrero. 17:07 So I think the bit with 1500 too is that he's not technically with 1500. 17:12 He's with Learfield Sports. 17:13 So with that whole thing, how they manage all the used stuff. 17:16 So even if it was 1500, I mean, I guess that might change it a little bit if they weren't, quote unquote, officially doing the games. 17:22 But since it's Learfield and their relationship with the U, I would assume that Michael Eddy would stay on Beyond the Pond and then appearing with PA from time to time to talk NHL as well. 17:32 Well, it sounds like the fans are pretty happy that at least Mazako is kind of back with Gopher Hockey after being gone for about a year and a half. 17:39 But I still think they'd rather see him on TV than LaPenta because LaPenta is still not a big fan favorite, at least with the Gopher Hockey fans. 17:49 Well, I think with LaPenta too, it's just been the last couple of years where, I don't know if you have anybody calling the games, when you're a 500 team and constantly disappointed, you're not scoring goals. 18:01 He hasn't been put in a position where he's calling Gopher Hockey from the early to mid-2000s either. 18:06 I too would much rather have Mazako and Wooger back, they're calling the games. 18:09 But at least hopefully this is the year where they get back to being a top tier team and it's more fun to watch and you're not going into every Friday and Saturday night on TV kind of with one eye closed saying, you know, it's not going to be that bad this week. 18:22 Hopefully they can get to a point where it's really exciting and they're fighting for home ice and hopefully a top three spot and pair wise, you know, all that good stuff that we were used to for so many years. 18:32 Plus Mazako's got dignity. 18:34 He doesn't put on that crappy suit jersey for pictures like Panthers. 18:40 Touche. 18:42 Well, Mazako's been gone for a year and a half and he's coming back and there are a ton of changes with college hockey. 18:49 We've got Big Ten. 18:51 We've got National College Hockey Conference. 18:54 We've got a ton of things going on. 18:57 Let's start with the Big Ten, Ryan. 18:58 What do you think? 19:00 You know, it's one of those things where once, you know, you started to hear the rumors about Penn State and then they made it official. 19:05 It was only a matter of time and, you know, a fair amount of, you know, months have gone by now where, you know, it's kind of one of two ways. 19:12 You can either still be bitter about it and yeah, I mean, the WCHA is a great thing and, you know, it's been awesome and yeah, it's a little bit watered down now with, you know, more teams and, you know, get as many home games against, you know, North Dakota and Denver and some of the traditional teams I like to see coming in. 19:24 But, you know, I'd rather just choose to hopefully embrace it because I don't want to just, you know, give up on college hockey or like it less. 19:30 I mean, the Big Ten is going to be awesome and yeah, I mean, Penn State may not be that great and Ohio State, you know, who knows, but there's still a lot of great teams and that and same with the NCHC. 19:39 I mean, that's on ice right now. 19:41 You can make a case that that's better than what the Big Ten has to offer and I'll certainly, big picture wise, financially, fan bases, all that stuff, the Big Ten is always going to have the edge. 19:49 But, you know, it's unfortunate, but at the same time, I think you have to embrace the change just because, you know, I'm a fan of the sport and I'm not going to love it any less. 19:57 I mean, yeah, well, you know, road trips and things like that will definitely take hits and, you know, I think that's the fans get hurt there, but hopefully there will be more of a kickback with, you know, better coverage and more games on TV, hopefully, I mean, that's what they've been selling. 20:08 So, hopefully that pans out here in a few years when things get off and running. 20:14 I'm very excited about it. 20:15 I think that it's interesting reading some of the comments on GPL over the last few months about people being upset about the changes. 20:25 I think some of these, you can tell some of the younger fans from some of the older fans because they tend to overlook the fact that, you know, Michigan was a huge rivalry for Gopher Hockey. 20:37 I still love the Michigan rivalry. 20:39 And it's one of my favorites. 20:41 And I think that the other thing is that people tend to focus on is they look at the short term and say, well, the rivalries aren't the same and this is not the same as it is in the WCHA. 20:52 And that's true, but our rivalry with the North Dakota didn't happen overnight. 20:57 You know, a lot of these rivals that we have now, they're not something that just developed in a year's time or they happened over a long period of time. 21:05 And so, yes, it might not be the same right away, but you have to give it time to develop. 21:10 And I think that eventually that's going to happen. 21:12 And I really believe that the Big Ten angle, you know, will certainly be very positive. 21:17 I mean, I don't know how the television aspect's going to work out, how many games or how they're going to handle all that. 21:23 But I think that that'll certainly be a positive. 21:25 And I believe that, you know, Penn State didn't throw all that money, you know, to come in here and lose. 21:31 I mean, they want to win. 21:32 And I think that they're throwing a lot of money and they're going to certainly work hard at becoming one of those elite teams. 21:38 And I think that, you know, when you have Big Ten programs that have Big Ten budgets, at some point, you know, they're probably going to want to invest more and more. 21:47 Will that lead to success all across the board? 21:50 That's questionable. 21:51 But I think that certainly there's a lot to build on there. 21:54 And I, you know, the National College Hockey Conference, it'll be interesting. 21:58 Right now, the wild card is Notre Dame and what their future is going to be. 22:01 I mean, they've been dragging their heels all summer and I think we're kind of seeing why right now. 22:07 It really has to do more with their football program and its future, you know, wherever they're going to be, whether it's going to be in a conference or not. 22:16 And so I really, I've been saying this elsewhere. 22:20 If the National College Hockey Conference doesn't get Notre Dame, I feel that it's a significant blow to what they were trying to accomplish because it was pretty clear in the beginning that they had this grand idea of having a national conference with your Boston schools and so on and so forth, and not just Western schools, but some Eastern schools. 22:42 And I think that they obviously didn't achieve that aspect. 22:46 And then, you know, they added, I mean, UMD wasn't really, from what I understand, wasn't going to be added to the mix until they failed on some other teams. 22:54 And now you're hearing, you know, St. 22:56 Clouds or whoever else maybe being asked to join. 22:59 And you kind of have to say, is this just going to be, you know, WCHA light, you know? 23:04 I don't know. 23:06 It'll be interesting. 23:07 I mean, they're good. 23:08 Don't get me wrong. 23:09 Obviously, they're very strong programs right now. 23:12 But at the same time, they're not all going to stay that way. 23:16 And then you have the television aspect. 23:18 None of those programs are really big media markets that are going to gain a lot of attention. 23:23 So what's the TV deal going to be like? 23:25 I mean, there's a lot of questions to be answered with that conference right now. 23:28 And don't forget the postseason tournament where the Final Five makes boatloads of money for everybody right now. 23:33 And there's really no logical spot outside of Grand Forks for their postseason tournament if you want a surefire moneymaker. 23:40 And I don't think, you know, Quazdeki and Blasi and everyone else are going to be too eager to head up to Grand Forks for a postseason tournament where there's going to be NCAA berths on the line and all those kinds of things too. 23:50 So I don't know how they're going to, you know, make a profitable postseason tournament out of as well where, you know, there's just not a lot of spots where, hey, we can go here and make a ton of money. 23:58 It just doesn't strike me as, you know, too many of those arenas out there. 24:01 Wasn't the speculation that UNO could be like a centralized location for that league as far as, you know, a conference final five, so to speak, or whatever it would be, of course, depending on how many teams they have. 24:14 But that's what I thought the early talk was, that they could have it there. 24:20 I don't know what the, I mean, I've been to that Quest Center. 24:23 I think that's where they play, right? 24:24 I've been there, or at least they used to play there. 24:26 I know that. 24:27 I've been there one time. 24:28 I was there for like a U2 concert years ago. 24:30 And I mean, it's a nice place, but, you know, it's not much of a town outside of, you know, a few things are in that area. 24:37 So it's not the same as a St. 24:38 Paul, certainly. 24:39 Baseball is still king in that town. 24:42 Oh, yeah. 24:43 And that's a hell of a drive. 24:44 I mean, whether you're in North Dakota, I mean, we've seen the WCHA. 24:47 I mean, Denver and CC, those fan bases aren't great. 24:50 And yeah, you move it a little bit closer, but I don't know what that drive is. 24:53 But from Grand Forks to Omaha, I mean, I don't know if Dakota fans travel well. 24:56 And a lot of that's inflated by, you know, you see them at 5 and so many of those fans live in the Twin Cities. 25:02 So the whole claim about, oh, they're, you know, the best fan base and everything else, like, yeah, they're good. 25:06 But, you know, they all don't drive down from Grand Forks for that. 25:08 So, I mean, that's just, you know, it's a long way for so many of those schools. 25:12 And, you know, yeah, Omaha is great now and with Blaze. 25:15 But, you know, again, this is a long term thing, like Ami said. 25:18 And, you know, who knows how long that program is going to be, you know, selling out and having big attendance numbers. 25:23 So, yeah, like you said, I mean, definitely more questions than answers at this point. 25:29 Well, where does that leave the WCHA? 25:33 I mean, they're trying to pick up as many CHA schools as they can. 25:38 But obviously, final five money dead, probably location dead. 25:44 Who knows? 25:44 I'm not sure on that. 25:45 But what's going to happen to the WCHA? 25:49 Is it now a second rate conference in a couple of years? 25:52 Well, I think that right now, who do we even know for sure if that's going to be the final participants? 25:59 I mean, like I said earlier, they've been some rumors about St. 26:03 Cloud being added. 26:05 And you don't know if there's going to be a few other teams added depending upon if they can get Notre Dame in that NCHC conference. 26:16 It's hard to say what it's going to even look like. 26:18 And certainly, it's not going to have the attention or the big players that it is used to. 26:25 So it'll be interesting to see how they adapt. 26:29 Does this kill Mankato? 26:30 Does it kill Bemidji? 26:32 Well, I mean, you've heard to kind of tie it back in with the Gophers. 26:35 I mean, I know Lucia was quoted this summer, I think, maturity as well about keeping those Rye Lurries alive. 26:40 And I know North Dakota, they've done a great job. 26:42 I mean, they played Bemidji home and away pretty much every year, even before they got into WCHA. 26:46 So I think those schools can still do pretty well so long as the Minnesotas, North Dakotas, Wisconsin's of the world make those commitments to travel there on a somewhat regular basis. 26:57 I mean, as a fan who's gone to all these places, you know when the Gophers go places. 27:00 I mean, when they're in North Dakota this year, I think the tickets are like upwards of $60. 27:04 I mean, they go up like $5 a year up there and it's not just there, man. 27:07 Cato jacks the prices up, St. 27:09 Cloud. 27:09 I mean, that's the way, you know, those programs make a lot more money when Gophers and the big time programs come. 27:14 So, you know, yeah, without that, those schools are definitely in trouble. 27:17 But it seems like everyone is at least saying the right things at this point. 27:20 But, you know, of course, you know, it's easier to say it than do it. 27:23 So hopefully when push comes to shove here in a few years and you start, you know, hopefully hearing some scheduling agreements and things like that, that, you know, the Gophers and, you know, North Dakota, the big schools, you know, back up what they're, you know, they've done in the past or what they've recently said about their future intentions. 27:38 You have to wonder how much the non-conference scheduling is going to be, you know, a battle between these two different power conferences that have been developed here in the last, you know, a handful of months. 27:51 I mean, is it going to be a situation where, you know, the big money of the Big Ten wins out when it comes to scheduling home games, things of that nature? 28:00 It's going to be interesting to see how well that works out. 28:03 I don't know, you know, how much... 28:06 I would imagine that they'll try to have as many home games as they've always had. 28:09 They don't want to lose all that money that they make. 28:13 I mean, the Gopher program has the most profit in NCAA for hockey, I mean, based on what we've seen in some online statistics. 28:27 It's double what the Sioux make and the Sioux are number two. 28:31 Yeah, exactly. 28:32 They're not going to give up those home games at all. 28:34 Well, neither is Wisconsin, so you have to say to yourself, well, some of these teams are going to have to be on the road more than they're used to, or at least that's what you would imagine. 28:44 And who's going to win out in that battle? 28:46 Is it going to be the money that you can pay to these teams to travel, or it's hard to say? 28:51 I would like to see these new conferences not get too large. 28:56 Obviously, the WCHA looks like it's going to get huge, but obviously the Big Ten could go up one if Notre Dame comes aboard. 29:03 National Conference, is that what, they're at six right now? 29:08 Yep. 29:10 I would like these conferences to kind of stay small. 29:12 I would like to see more non-conference games and not playing conference games all the time. 29:19 The WCHA with so many teams kind of got a little bogged down in the last few years, but with the Big Ten, we're going to have a lot of non-conference games, whether it's against WCHA or the Sioux or Denver or whatever it may be. 29:34 Yeah, these teams too. 29:35 Obviously, the Big Ten right now, Ohio State's not great. 29:38 The Gophers, Michigan State, they've been down a little bit, but those are traditional programs that will always be up. 29:43 You look at your non-conference schedule, especially in the NHCH, where the hell it's called right now. 29:49 I mean, every week in your conference, if you look back this year, all those teams are NCAA tournament-type teams. 29:54 You can't go out and schedule big-time teams outside of your conference if every week in your conference is just going to be a war. 30:01 So you're going to need the... 30:02 I know fans don't like to see Sacred Heart coming in, but the way the NCAA tournament and the pairwise and everything else shakes out right now, you need to get some of those wins too to build your resume. 30:12 So you're going to need to schedule Mankato's and some of the programs that traditionally are up there because you just can't have it be week in and week out against top 10 or 15-type teams. 30:21 You're just going to wear your own club out. 30:23 You're not excited about Sacred Heart? 30:26 Vermont? 30:27 Come on. 30:31 Holy Cross. 30:32 I said it. 30:33 You said it. 30:34 You just had to go there, didn't you? 30:36 We can bleep that, right? 30:37 No, we're keeping that in. 30:39 We all know the Sioux fans just love Hammy. 30:42 They can't get enough. 30:43 Just remember that they still sell Holy Cross shirts at stores up there. 30:47 Was it seven years ago now or six years ago? 30:50 So, yeah, just keep that in mind. 30:52 Well, have you read Sioux Sports? 30:54 Does that really surprise you? 30:56 No, that's a fair point. 30:59 Wow. 31:00 And there it is. 31:01 There's the challenge right there. 31:04 So, let's move on to the team. 31:09 What do you guys think is going to happen? 31:10 We've got forwards, defense, goalies. 31:12 Let's hear what you think about the team this year and the freshmen and where are we going to stand when the season starts next week? 31:20 Or is it October 2nd against poor sisters of Canada or wherever they're playing? 31:28 You want to take that one, Ryan? 31:30 Yeah, I mean, I was on with PA at the fair a little bit ago and I kind of made the not, it shouldn't be a bold prediction with this team, but I think they can be an NCAA tournament team. 31:37 I mean, one of these years, it's not going to be an underachieving type season. 31:42 It just stands to reason that when you look at the talent they have, I mean, that they're not going to disappoint year in, year out forever. 31:48 And you look for reasons why it can be good. 31:51 And I mean, I think you start at the back end with Ken Patterson. 31:53 I mean, he's as good as any goalie in the WCHA, maybe in the country. 31:57 And the only worry a little bit is what's behind him. 32:00 I know there's been a little turmoil with the recruiting front with Gopher goalies at the venue, or however you say, the Canadian kid. 32:05 And it seems like he's out of the mix now. 32:07 And Adam Wilcox, he was maybe Penciling to come this year, but now he's back in the USHL, which for long term for him is good. 32:13 But behind Patterson, there's not much. 32:15 And you saw it with Kangas last year, where if they had a good backup behind him, this team would have been really in trouble. 32:22 But you have to figure that Patterson's going to carry the mail pretty much each and every night. 32:25 And defense is a little bit shaky in front of him. 32:28 Obviously, we touched on that a little bit. 32:30 But up front, between getting Zach Budish back, he was off to a great start last year. 32:34 You bring back Bukestead and Howell and Coddence. 32:37 You have some returning guys up the middle. 32:39 And that's something I've worked on forever with this team, where you look at North Dakota last year with Corbin Knight, Brad Malone, they have big-time guys to take face-offs and strong up the middle. 32:48 And you look back at Gopher teams that were really good. 32:50 And yeah, the Holy Cross here. 32:52 But that was a really good team. 32:53 And they had Kessel, Patelny, Geier, strong up the middle. 32:56 And so this year, they should have some more guys there. 32:59 And some freshmen that obviously Kyle Rowell is probably going to be the guy that everyone keys on. 33:03 So I think big picture. 33:04 There's no reason to expect this team not to take a step. 33:07 And like I said, with PA as well, you look around the WCHA, there's not a lot of powerhouses. 33:13 I mean, pretty much every team in the league has question marks, as opposed to a year like last year where everyone knew North Dakota was going to kick ass from start to finish, be a really good team. 33:22 So there's question marks. 33:23 And the Gophers, I think, have a chance to take a step forward. 33:28 You know, to piggyback on that, I think the strength of the team is definitely be, you know, Patterson and Goal. 33:33 And I really do like the forward group, especially with some of the newcomers. 33:38 I was looking at some of the past rosters, and my personal belief is this is the best group of forwards that we've had since 2005, 2006. 33:48 I think that was Kesselsier and Patoni and those guys on that team. 33:51 And, you know, they won't match the firepower of that group. 33:55 But as far as the last handful of years, I think this might be the best group of forwards that we have. 34:01 Of course, some of them have yet to prove some things. 34:03 But I think from a talent standpoint, I really like what they have. 34:07 You know, the defense, I think, as Ryan touched on, is a little bit of the question mark. 34:13 Hopefully, Gensel's impact will be very positive very quickly. 34:17 I do like some of the guys on the team. 34:21 I mean, Alt and, you know, I think he's going to be, you know, now that he's been able to focus on hockey full time, I think he'll have a real good year. 34:27 I think Hull will have another good year. 34:30 I mean, you know, he was solid as far as being a kid who came right in from high school. 34:35 He had his growing pains, but I think he'll be a lot better. 34:38 And like I talked about earlier, I think Ben Marshall, he's had a successful year in the USHL. 34:44 And, you know, we'll see how that translates this year, but I think that he'll be very good in the back. 34:51 I will see with, you know, I want to really see how Nate Schmidt does. 34:55 I mean, that to me is a big one because here's a kid who was all rookie in the USHL and then he comes to the U and all of a sudden he just sort of gets forgotten. 35:04 And I don't know what the reasoning might have been. 35:07 I'm not down at practice, but like I said, Gensel was the guy that recruited him. 35:12 And you got to hope that maybe that, you know, reconnecting with the guy who recruits you has a positive impact on him. 35:21 Yeah, no, I agree. 35:22 And, you know, up front, you know, the thing that I'm encouraged about too is with Rao where, you know, you were worried last year there was that whole kind of kerfuffle in October where he was going to play high school. 35:31 And then there was rumors about Lucia wanting him to go to the USHL. 35:34 And obviously he ended up playing at Eden Prairie. 35:36 And, you know, he tore it up there like everyone knew he would. 35:38 But, you know, to have him go to the USHL playoffs and he was, I think, a point per game guy and, you know, did really well there. 35:44 And he was on a good team, but, you know, you kind of look around the league and, you know, Gophers obviously up front, they have a lot of talent. 35:50 But most of the key guys, again, are, you know, freshmen and sophomores. 35:54 But, you know, it's not unheard of for freshmen to come into this league and do really well. 35:57 I mean, you see it around the league and the Gophers haven't had that. 35:59 You know, Buksa was solid last year, but the first half, I mean, he had Mano and went to the World Juniors and came back. 36:05 And he was, you know, obviously really good down the stretch. 36:07 But to have, you know, a really big impact freshman where, you know, he can be almost a point per game guy, I mean, you do see that. 36:13 So, you know, whether it's Rao or Ambrose or, I mean, Travis Boyd, he's a guy who, you know, super talented. 36:18 And you kind of forget about him because he's been out in Ann Arbor. 36:20 But, you know, if they can have a couple of these young guys really, you know, take a step and, you know, like I said earlier with Buksa and Howla and some of these guys, you know, having a full year under their belt. 36:29 I mean, the biggest thing with this team is scoring. 36:31 And I think my biggest worry is that you look back at the really good Gopher teams and it comes from the blue line, whether it's, you know, Vanelli and Goligoski or obviously going back to Ballard, Paul Martin. 36:40 I mean, I don't think they have one of those guys on there now. 36:42 That being said, those guys are, you know, NHL players, aside from Vanelli, and, you know, really good. 36:47 So I'm not saying they need to have a, you know, top four NHL defensemen on their roster right now to create that. 36:52 But I just worry that there's not going to be the offense generated from the back end that's going to allow these guys to get up and down the ice and score. 37:00 And, you know, the power play as well. 37:01 I mean, it was a little bit better last year than we've seen. 37:03 But in general, the power play has been atrocious. 37:06 And, you know, Lucia talks about it too. 37:07 If they can average another half goal a game with how many, you know, two, one and three, two games that this team's lost or the power plays failed them. 37:14 I mean, look at Duluth last year. 37:15 I mean, yeah, that was an OK team in the regular season, and they did really well, but their power play was unbelievable. 37:20 And, you know, it lit up teams in the postseason, and that can take you a long way. 37:24 And you don't need to have a top-five power play in the country, but you better be top 20 if you're going to, you know, get back to the NCAA tournament. 37:30 You know, if you look at their averages, I don't think they've changed a ton in the last few years. 37:38 The offense has kicked in a little more than the defense has. 37:41 Like you said, they need somebody to step up on defense. 37:47 It's just that clear. 37:49 Whether if it's, you know, Helgeson or somebody, we need offense. 37:55 We need somebody who can make that pass. 37:57 We need somebody who can shoot from the point. 38:00 They just have not had that in years. 38:03 And without it, I think they're still in a little packed team. 38:05 They must have somebody step up on the blue line and contribute to the offense. 38:11 Well, to me, that's the big key when you talk about guys like Marshall and possibly Nate Schmidt. 38:18 I mean, Nate Schmidt has always had a big cannon, you know, from the point. 38:22 He's a guy that you could put back there and fire some bullets at the net. 38:27 And, you know, that's why I was a little bit frustrating last year. 38:29 I really expected him to have, you know, an impact on the power play unit as far as his ability to shoot the puck and whatever. 38:36 That just never developed. 38:38 And I guess it's open for debate why that might be. 38:41 I'm not down at practice every day, so I can't say much about that. 38:45 Oh, we know you're there every day. 38:47 Well, maybe for a day later this week, but not every day. 38:51 But, you know, and Ben Marshall, he's very dynamic with the puck. 38:55 And yeah, you tend to want to avoid putting too much pressure on a first-year guy. 39:01 But certainly there's a big impact that he could make if he has any kind of similar results from what he had from the USHO. 39:10 I know fans have talked about this, too, and I'm far from a coach. 39:12 But I think one reason why this team can kind of struggle at times, especially on the power play, is the big ice sheet. 39:17 And I just think that, see, so many times where they try to make that extra pass, and there's just so much room. 39:22 And I think, like Hammy said with a guy like Nate Schmidt, where maybe he's not Mr. 39:26 Finesse, but he's got a hammer for a shot. 39:28 And just have guys get pucks on net, shoot hard low, get it on net. 39:33 And I know with Nets, that's a thing where I liked him as a player, but he obviously didn't have the shot to get it through, and nobody's going to be afraid to block his wrist shot from the point. 39:41 So I just think that they get a little bit too cute with it, and they overthink because they all are super talented guys, and they all want to, I'm sure over the last couple years, guys start gripping their sticks tight and overthinking and trying to do too much, like I said. 39:54 So I think that contributes a little bit to it as well. 39:56 But when you look at the big time teams that WCHA has had the last few years, and Wisconsin's Blue Line a couple years ago in North Dakota, I mean, the Gophers are just light years away from that, and you can make up for it in other areas, but that's still the way to go. 40:08 And the best teams the Gophers have had have been just loaded on the Blue Line. 40:11 And this team, like we said, they're young on the Blue Line, and there's talent there, and maybe they can get off to a great start, and Gensel helps them, and hopefully having a guy like Patterson behind them and that gives them the confidence to rush the puck up the ice and make some mistakes and not have to worry about giving up a two-on-one because they have a guy back there that can help them cover it up. 40:29 But yeah, I agree with you, Craig, that if they don't have a 30-point guy on the Blue Line or a little bit more even than that, I just don't see how they're going to take a step in the standings and they'll be fighting for home ice again, like it's been the case for how many years in a row now. 40:44 Well, speaking of the standings and where the Gophers will finish, let's hear your predictions on the standings this year. 40:51 Starting with you, Jaime, what do you think? 40:53 Where are the Gophers going to finish? 40:54 How is the league going to look? 40:57 Well, you want me to run it down through one through, you know... 41:01 Sure, that sounds good. 41:03 Let's start with the top. 41:04 You put the pressure on me first. 41:06 All right, all right. 41:08 I do have Denver at the top spot. 41:14 I really believe that they have the best, you know, the most talent, of course, based on what they did last year. 41:19 They lost some guys, but they returned a lot of talent. 41:23 I think the real key factor for them is, you know, their goalie got hurt in the offseason. 41:30 What is it, Britana or whatever? 41:31 I can't remember. 41:32 But anyways, he got hurt, and now they got Adam Murray, who's kind of been... 41:38 He hasn't really done as well in college as I expected. 41:40 I know that the Gophers that were actually thinking about... 41:43 I mean, they were recruiting him, I believe, back when he was still available. 41:47 And he hasn't really played as well as I expected in college. 41:51 And so there's kind of that question mark and goal there that, you know, you wonder about. 41:57 But I do have them, number one. 42:00 They have a good defensive group as well. 42:02 I mean, it's pretty solid. 42:04 You know, Ryan talked about it before as far as, you know, one through five. 42:09 It's just it's real crammed in and maybe even further down. 42:12 I put CC at number two. 42:16 Maybe a little bit of a surprise. 42:17 I think, you know, Jaden Schwartz, I think he's probably going to be the player of the year. 42:22 He's probably the most talented guy in the league. 42:24 I suppose DU fans would, you know, debate that with Zucker. 42:28 But I think that he probably could be the best player in the league. 42:31 And, you know, I think similarly with how Denver is, it'll be interesting to me to see how Joe Howe does for CC because, you know, we know him pretty well here from Wysetta. 42:45 I really thought he was going to be a really great college goalie. 42:48 And, you know, he really hasn't done great. 42:51 He's been solid but not to the level that I expected. 42:54 But I have them at number two. 42:55 I don't know, maybe a little bit by default to a certain degree because, you know, there isn't a clear-cut guy or a team that you could really say is, you know, that great. 43:05 So, you want me to keep going or you want me to pass over to Ryan for a few? 43:10 Well, let's keep going. 43:12 Let's hear from that. 43:13 All right. 43:13 Well, at number three, I have North Dakota. 43:19 Yeah, you know, the thing is they lost a lot of skill up front, a lot of scoring. 43:25 But I do think that they'll have the best defensive unit in the league. 43:30 I talked about this with you guys earlier. 43:33 I'm not entirely sold that Dell is this fantastic goalie. 43:37 I think that he certainly had a great team in front of him last year that could possess the puck in the other end of the rink, and he had a really good defense in front of him. 43:45 And, you know, I kind of wonder how he's going to perform when he's tested probably a little more this year, because offensively, they're probably not going to have, you know, the puck in the other end of the rink quite as much as they did last year. 43:57 So I kind of, you know, I'm kind of iffy on putting them at three. 44:01 I know some places I've seen have them at number one. 44:03 I just don't feel that they're that good. 44:05 But I guess we'll have to see. 44:07 And, of course, Grimaldi and they have some good talent coming in. 44:10 So, you know, I'm sure they won't be offensively inept. 44:13 But I really, I put them at three, maybe a little bit of it's based on past performance and, you know, seeing how they generally do improve as the year goes on. 44:24 So we'll have to see how that goes. 44:27 I have the Gophers at four. 44:28 You know, I think people tend to forget they were fifth place in the league last year. 44:33 And that was with, you know... 44:35 There's a reason they forgot. 44:36 They didn't make the final five. 44:38 Well, that's exactly. 44:39 I agree. 44:40 You know, they didn't make the final five, didn't make the NCAA. 44:43 So I could see why people would tend to overlook that. 44:48 While we did lose some, you know, solid players, like a fair child and, you know, some of those types of guys, I do feel that on the whole, the team's going to be stronger this year. 44:59 Patterson is, in my opinion, he's the best goalie in the league. 45:03 I think that if you look at what he had to kind of deal with for defense in front of him last year, I mean, that's to me why it wasn't really even a debate between whether Patterson or Dell should be first team because to me, Kent Patterson faced in much more difficult circumstances than Dell did. 45:19 So I really believe Kent, you know, is the backbone of the team and if he has a similar year as to what he had last year, the team will be in really good shape there. 45:27 I think with Gensel's impact on defense and like I said earlier, the forward group I believe is, you know, the best we've had in a number of years, at least talent-wise, I think that there's a good chance that they'll be four and who knows, maybe they'll surprise even more than that. 45:43 So after that, I have Minnesota Duluth. 45:49 They did lose some really good players, I acknowledge that, and I don't think that they'll have quite the depth of talent, but when you have guys like Jack Connelly and JT Brown, those guys are pretty potent offensive players. 46:03 I'm sure that they'll be solid enough defensively and in goal that, you know, they'll be in most games. 46:09 So I think that those will probably be at number five, at least that's my prediction. 46:17 Then I have... 46:18 Oh, wait, let's get Ryan's top five. 46:19 What do you think, Ryan? 46:21 Hi, well, as much as I hate to slurp on the soup, like I said earlier, there's just so many question marks. 46:27 And, you know, North Dakota, like Ammi touched on, I mean, they're back end with, you know, to get guys, again, you know, Gopher fans, we always kind of look at this, like how do these other programs get these guys to stay and to have, you know, Blood and McWilliam, both his upperclassmen and, you know, those guys, you've seen them how many years with, you know, the deepest trying to battle them or, you know, Gopher guys. 46:44 And it's just those two guys playing big time minutes. 46:47 And, you know, you have a couple of sophomores with Forbert and Simpson. 46:50 Forbert was really good last year. 46:51 Simpson didn't play, you know, too many big minutes. 46:53 But, you know, you've got to figure both those guys will be pretty good this year. 46:56 And, you know, up front, I mean, yeah, they lose a ton, but they still have, you know, Corbin Knight and, you know, Christo, Brock Nelson, they have some freshmen. 47:03 So, again, if there was more teams in the league with some stability, I would pick them and finish a little bit lower. 47:08 But, you know, I'll kind of take the angle of, you know, a bitter taste in their mouth from how last year ended. 47:12 And, you know, under Haxdell, I mean, you can say you want about their pole season, you know, issues, but, you know, they've been a pretty good regular season team. 47:19 So, I've got them pegged at one. 47:21 Again, it's not going to be by, you know, eight or ten points or anything like that. 47:24 I don't think. 47:26 I have Denver at two. 47:27 You know, you can make the case. 47:28 They might have the best, you know, forward group in the league with Zucker and the Schorr brothers. 47:32 And, you know, like Hammy said, though, with, you know, the goaltending issue, Adam Murray's been, you know, a guy who was a big-time recruit, but hasn't panned out there. 47:39 And, you know, with Britton probably out for the year, who knows how that's going to go. 47:43 You know, CC at three. 47:45 To be able to keep Jaden Schwartz, I mean, I didn't think he'd stick around there for a second year. 47:49 But, you know, he missed a lot of time after he got hurt at the World Juniors at the foot, I think it was. 47:53 But his points for game last year was ridiculous. 47:55 And, you know, their top line is going to be incredibly scary. 47:58 And, you know, to have Howell in the back end as well to, you know, kind of keep them solid. 48:02 And, again, another team who has pole season issues. 48:04 But I think during the regular season they'll be great. 48:07 I have Omaha at four. 48:08 I mean, I know they lose a fair amount from last year. 48:11 But, I mean, they had a lot of freshmen. 48:13 I mean, double-digit freshmen playing last year. 48:15 And, you know, I think another year under boys they bring the Faulkner, the kid in net back. 48:20 And he was, I mean, I know against the Gophers, you know, obviously the Gophers have made a lot of goalies look pretty good. 48:24 But, you know, I just kind of like what they have going down there. 48:28 I had the Gophers fifth, you know, against him as last year. 48:32 And, you know, again, they could bump up or down a little bit, you know, based on a few things. 48:36 But, like Hammy said, I mean, they lose their top, you know, three scorers from last year with Bearer of All Sleep, Isn't Hopeful. 48:41 But I think as a whole, the forward group, you know, some of the younger guys can replace their production. 48:45 I don't want to say easily, but, I mean, I think you get in Bukshead with, you know, 40-plus points. 48:50 And, you know, again, it's not like they're, you know, trying to replace, you know, Brian Bond in up front right now. 48:55 And then kind of to round out the top half, I had Duluth, you know, obviously they lose a lot, but bring some good guys back. 49:01 But I think the Justin Falk thing from the back end, I mean, you look at how good that kid was the second half of the year and in the postseason. 49:07 You know, we talk about that electric blue liner and, you know, that kid was just on a tear. 49:11 And I just don't see, you know, that team being able. 49:14 I mean, I think they were fourth place in WCHA and obviously one of the run in the postseason. 49:18 So, you know, the offense from the blue line, he ignited so much for that team. 49:22 And I just don't see them having anyone to replace him. 49:25 So I have them at six to kind of round out my top half. 49:30 Let's keep it going, Hammey. 49:33 I keep forgetting we got 12 teams. 49:35 Yeah, well, I mean, you know, my... 49:38 I have you on know at six. 49:41 I think for me, the big reason why I put them there is, well, first of all, they lost their top three scorers. 49:47 And Olam was definitely their best defenseman. 49:50 He's gone. 49:51 Yes, they do have some young talent. 49:53 And of course, you can never count on a Blaze team. 49:55 Usually they're hardworking and they'll, you know, usually be pretty successful. 50:01 But I think, you know, it's kind of pick your poison. 50:04 With the standings this year, you can kind of nitpick everybody to a certain degree and say, make an argument for, they could be higher, they could be lower. 50:13 I think that their goalie, I know he was third team, I think, WCHA last year. 50:19 The question I have is the consistency. 50:21 I know he had like six shutouts, but then I also noticed that he had a number of pretty bad games. 50:27 So, you know, is the goalie consistency going to be there? 50:31 That's a tough one. 50:32 I really don't know. 50:33 We'll have to see how that goes. 50:35 I have Wisconsin at seven. 50:38 I'm sure our Badger friends will love to hear that. 50:42 I just think that they'll, they've lost a lot, you know, losing a guy like Gardner. 50:47 And I think that they've, their defensive group is, you know, is not nearly what it was a few years ago. 50:54 We'll see how solid they are. 50:56 They have got questions in net. 50:57 They don't really have a guy that they can say is an experienced go-to guy in that regard. 51:03 And, you know, they might have some offense up front, but I just question, you know, where they're going to finish as far as defensively. 51:11 And there's just some question marks there. 51:13 St. 51:13 Cloud is my eighth team. 51:15 They're kind of a wild card in a sense that it seems like the years that I picked them to be high, they underachieve. 51:22 The years that I picked them to be low, they tend to overachieve a little bit. 51:26 It's kind of going against the grain. 51:28 So for all I know, they're going to end up in the top four. 51:31 You know, it's hard to say. 51:33 They have some talent there. 51:36 You know, defensively, I think they'll be a little bit better. 51:38 And I think that, you know, they have some good cogs. 51:42 They've lost, you know, guys like Roe and, you know, so you kind of wonder how that's going to be picked up. 51:47 But they got some real good, talented guys. 51:49 You know, they have LeBlanc and they have Hanowski and some of those guys that will be, you know, probably improved and have a successful year. 51:57 So I think that they'll be at eight and they could be higher. 51:59 So we'll have to see. 52:01 Mankato I've got at nine. 52:03 You know, I'm just going to round it out because I didn't take a great deal of notes with these last few teams. 52:08 I got Bemidji at 10. 52:09 I've got Alaska Anchorage at 11. 52:13 And Tech at its customary 12 spot. 52:17 Poor Tech, last place again. 52:20 We'll see how the coaching change helps them, but I don't think it's going to happen this year. 52:24 Ryan? 52:26 Yeah, I'm kind of with Hammy on St. 52:27 Cloud. 52:27 I mean, it's a team where, you know, when there's expectations, they usually cave and if they're kind of under the radar, they can maybe be a little bit frisky. 52:34 But, you know, with Mike Lee and Nat, they should be pretty solid there. 52:37 And with, you know, Jansen and Gravel, a couple, you know, young guys on the blue line that were pretty good last year. 52:41 And, you know, they've got enough returning guys up front where I think they could make some noise. 52:45 But, you know, that's a tough team to peg. 52:47 You know, Wisconsin eight, you know, again, they lose, you know, the Craig Smith thing and Jordy Murray, you know, to go along with Gardner. 52:54 I mean, that team's had a boatload of talent the last couple of years. 52:56 And, you know, it's kind of the chickens are coming home to roost this year with those guys. 53:00 You know, a lot of guys leaving early. 53:01 And I just don't know how, excuse me, that blue line is going to perform, especially with, you know, probably, you know, freshman goalie trying to lead the way for them. 53:09 That's just, you know, an Eaves team like that. 53:11 I mean, I know they'll probably drop back and do their shell thing, but I just don't see this being their year. 53:16 And then after that, again, kind of similar to Hammy, you know, Anchorage at nine, they'll probably have some older guys and whatever. 53:22 They'll be all right. 53:23 Bemidji at 10, Tack at 11, and Mankato at 12. 53:27 But I think those bottom four, you could kind of put them in a hat and see how it pans out. 53:33 Ouch, Mankato at 12. 53:36 Yeah, I'm going to reset. 53:38 My training camp stays there, so I'm just doing that out of spite more than anything. 53:42 Didn't they sweep us last year? 53:47 Try to block out bad memories like that. 53:48 Oh yeah, pretty much everyone swept the Gophers last year. 53:54 I don't remember all of last year. 53:55 You're blocking it all. 53:56 That's a good idea. 53:57 Can you block out the last four years? 53:58 That would be great. 54:01 So what about your player of the year and rookie of the year predictions? 54:05 What do you guys think about that? 54:08 I'll take the chalk on that and go with, Hamme alluded to it earlier, Jaden Schwartz at CC. 54:13 It'll probably be between him and Zucker. 54:16 That's a UN award that usually goes to a forward unless there's a big-time goalie. 54:20 I guess Dell, if North Dakota's D is, they pack it in. 54:23 But A Schwartz, his point per game was ridiculous. 54:26 CC is probably going to be better this year than they were last year. 54:29 So just based on the amount of chances and scoring opportunities that he's going to have, I see no reason why he shouldn't blow up again. 54:36 Up front, I'll go with Grimaldi for North Dakota. 54:38 I know he's going to be the fashionable pick. 54:40 But again, to build on what I said earlier, they don't have a lot of returning guys up front. 54:45 So he's going to be put, probably a top power play guy, definitely a top six forward. 54:50 If he plays with the Brock Nelson, he's going to be with some talented guys. 54:54 There's just going to be a lot of opportunity for him there. 54:56 Where maybe in Minnesota, you can laugh about what they have coming back. 54:58 But like a Kyle Rau, he may not have the same type chances. 55:02 So may not be the best freshman in the league on the ice. 55:05 But I think point-wise and opportunity-wise, he's going to have the best chance to take home that honor. 55:12 Yeah, Ryan pretty much stole my thoughts on that one. 55:14 I mean, Schwartz, to me, he's my pick for Player of the Year. 55:20 He's the most talented guy, I think. 55:22 I mean, Zuckery, you could say he had a great year as well last year. 55:26 So you could make those kinds of arguments. 55:28 But I just think he's the best overall package in the league. 55:32 I also agree with Grimaldi. 55:34 I think he's the most dynamic freshman. 55:37 And like Cardinal said, he's going to have his opportunities because they're going to need somebody to step into some of those roles that a lot of the talented forwards they had last year, you know, emptied. 55:48 So I really believe that he'll probably have a very good year. 55:53 I don't know. 55:53 You know, there's some other guys you could throw into the discussion. 55:56 But I just think that from a teammate standpoint and how much they're going to rely on him, I just think that he's, you know, the clear cut pick for that one. 56:05 What about you, Jupe? 56:08 Do you have any thoughts on that one? 56:12 I like Schwartz. 56:13 I like Schwartz from CC. 56:16 I'll just go with Raul just for the fun of it. 56:18 I like the way, I like that kid, you know, you and I had discussed before about the kid was beat up at the state tournament. 56:27 They just beat the heck out of him, slammed him into boards. 56:30 He got back up. 56:31 He was always on the puck. 56:34 Playmaker, putting the puck away. 56:36 They couldn't keep him down. 56:37 Yeah, I agree. 56:39 I mean, I think, you know, it's funny because you think of all the guys who struggled going from high school to college and, you know, and usually a lot of times it's those undersized guys that you kind of wonder about if they can handle that kind of strength and speed step up or two. 56:56 And but he's one of those guys that just seem to have that kind of nose for the, you know, they just know how to play the game. 57:03 And he's even though he's small, he's one of those guys will take a, you know, a beating and keep going. 57:08 He has that kind of grittiness to him. 57:11 And, you know, whether I don't know what, you know, he's going to be doing for power play time and all that kind of good stuff. 57:18 But I would imagine he's going to be playing a pretty significant offensive role on the team. 57:22 And if he gets that opportunity, you never know what could happen. 57:25 But I just think that Grimaldi is too much of a, you know, he's too talented and too dynamic to kind of say that he's not going to be the pick for rookie of the year. 57:37 So you guys have the Gophers fourth and fifth. 57:42 Will they make the final five? 57:46 Come on. 57:48 So I'm saying that's just the hesitation right there pretty much says it all that these last few years have been pretty bad. 57:56 That I was hesitating because I didn't know if Cardinal was going to say something first. 58:01 I mean, I'm not going to lie. 58:02 I mean, last year, you know, you get swept at home by Alaskan Anchorage to have your season. 58:06 I mean, that's going to make you pause a little bit. 58:08 But again, I'll go back to kind of what I said to start. 58:11 I mean, one of these years is not going to be this way forever. 58:14 Right? 58:14 So like one of these years, it's going to have to change. 58:16 You know, I'm hoping that between Gensel and, you know, having, like Hammy said, a good group of forwards that, you know, should have some spark from guys like Rao and maybe Boyd, Isaacson, some younger guys to inject a little bit of life. 58:27 Some older guys like Larson and Hanson who, you know, have gotten a little bit better each year and should be productive. 58:32 You know, I'll say to make the final five because if they don't make that, it's pretty rare if a team, you know, doesn't make the final five and ends up in the NCAA tournament. 58:39 So if I think they're going to make the NCAA tournament, I got to pick them to make the final five. 58:44 Yeah, I agree. 58:45 I think they'll make the final five. 58:46 And I do believe they'll make the NCAAs this year. 58:50 You know, of course when you're talking... 58:52 They'll have another home game if they make it to the NCAA again. 58:55 Yeah, well, maybe they'll be the one that gets hot at the right time this year and surprise some people. 59:01 But I'm not, you know, I'm trying to be, you know, like you talked about, make the last few years sort of make you temper your expectations. 59:10 And I think they'll definitely be a much improved team in many regards this year. 59:15 And I do believe that they'll be at the final five. 59:18 And I do believe they'll make the NCAAs. 59:20 But it's hard to be overly confident about that based on the last few years. 59:25 So we'll go with that. 59:28 I'm still bitter with Holy Cross. 59:30 I don't think, you know, they had a couple of good teams since then. 59:33 But I think that was kind of the beginning of this feeling lack of confidence. 59:39 I'll tell you that. 59:40 At least you weren't there for that. 59:43 I was gonna go. 59:44 I was actually going to go the second game. 59:47 Oh, that's right. 59:47 They didn't win to make it to the second game. 59:50 Yeah. 59:51 I had plans. 59:52 I was going to drive up that, whatever the second day was. 59:56 But that never happened. 59:59 I remember just sitting on my couch for about an hour, staring at the screen. 1:00:04 The good thing about that weekend was the next day watching another GPL, esteemed member, fire helmet guy, Tiger Stripe the Bathroom in North Dakota after a little too much shooting. 1:00:14 So nothing else. 1:00:16 You kind of look at the positives. 1:00:18 I didn't need that. 1:00:20 That was a good number for a few different reasons. 1:00:23 Well, the question I have about that is did he get any action that weekend? 1:00:27 Oh, no, stop. 1:00:28 I don't want to know that. 1:00:31 Well, you know, he's got that reputation of striking out. 1:00:33 So there's a lot of truth to that. 1:00:39 In closing, what do you guys have? 1:00:40 Anything else you want to talk about? 1:00:43 Well, the only thing I have, you know, I have to say is, you know, this is going to be an interesting experience doing these podcasts for GPL. 1:00:51 I think that hopefully we'll be able to provide some weekly entertainment for everybody. 1:00:57 And, you know, certainly as time goes along, we'll be much improved at our spiels. 1:01:03 And I also, you know, hope that everybody that uses GPL or even the fans from some other sites, if they choose to listen to this, will send us some feedback, you know, questions, whatever it might be. 1:01:15 I know Jupe was going to set up some e-mail address for that. 1:01:18 Actually, we do. 1:01:19 We've got an e-mail address. 1:01:20 You know, if people want to send us questions, we can answer questions during a podcast or just feedback. 1:01:26 They can drop us a line at podcast at gopherpucklive.com. 1:01:31 So if they go ahead and send us those questions, and we'll try to get them answered. 1:01:36 Podcast at gopherpucklive.com. 1:01:38 My goal is to make sure that this podcast gets its own weekly thread on Sioux Sports. 1:01:44 And I feel confident at happening on a pretty regular basis. 1:01:49 So to all the Sioux Sports folks out there who, you know, they never come to GPL, but yet they know everything Gopher. 1:01:54 So nothing else comes of this podcast. 1:01:57 That's my hope. 1:01:59 Well, I think that may happen. 1:02:01 This has obviously been, we've been here for an hour talking. 1:02:04 I don't anticipate our weekly bits being this long since this was our first podcast, but we'll keep plugging it along from here and we'll see how it goes. 1:02:14 I'm looking forward to this. 1:02:17 I think hopefully the fans will like what we're giving to them and hopefully they like what you guys have to say. 1:02:21 We'll come back after Sacred Heart and either rip the team or start praising them like Glenn Sonmore would. 1:02:29 Can't do no wrong. 1:02:31 Well, I know this much. 1:02:32 I look forward to offending as many opposing fans as possible. 1:02:38 Well, I think that's going to wrap it up for this GPL Podcast. 1:02:41 We'll have another one for you again after the Sacred Heart game. 1:02:46 I'd like to thank my hosts, Hammy and Cardinal, for their contributions. 1:02:50 And like I said, you can drop us a line at Podcasts at gopherpucklive.com and we'll try to get those questions on the air. 1:02:56 Hope to hear from you soon. 1:02:58 Thanks for listening.