0:03
This is the GopherPuckLive Podcast, episode number 23, recorded October 9th, 2012.
0:22
Welcome to season number two of the GopherPuckLive Podcast.
0:26
Along with Hammy and Vegoe, I am your host, Jupiter.
0:29
So now you're probably asking, who's this Vegoe guy and where's Cardinal?
0:35
Well, Vegoe is Eric Vegoe.
0:37
Eric's written for GPL in the past and is now writing full-time for GPL.
0:41
And he's kinda taking over for Ryan Cardinal.
0:44
Cardinal decided to retire from his GPL duties so he can more concentrate on being at home on the weekends because he doesn't have much time at home with GPL and the Vikings' work.
0:55
So he decided to hang him up.
0:58
But fear not, Cardinal will be back on a few podcasts this season and he especially said he wanted to be on for the Sioux Series.
1:06
So shocking there.
1:08
But nonetheless, we've got Vegoe here.
1:09
And Eric, Mr.
1:11
Vegoe, how are you doing?
1:13
I'm doing quite well.
1:14
Enjoyed seeing some hockey last weekend and looking forward to this weekend.
1:18
Indeed, indeed.
1:19
College Hockey is back.
1:21
And of course, a podcast wouldn't be complete without Hammy being involved.
1:26
Hammy, how you been?
1:28
Not too bad.
1:29
I'm ready to get the season rolling.
1:30
Got a lot to look forward to, I think, this year.
1:32
A little under the weather last week, so we decided to put off the podcast, which is just fine with me.
1:37
Yeah, I was kind of like Dave Killer Carlson in Slapshot.
1:41
I had a little bit of a cold.
1:42
So it's one of those things.
1:45
I just couldn't make it onto the ice.
1:48
Well, it's been six months, over six months since we've done a podcast, and a lot has gone on since then.
1:56
Luckily for the Gophers, we haven't been affected too much.
2:00
We still got Buks dead, and we still got some other guys here on the squad.
2:05
So, Hammy, your offseason thoughts?
2:09
I think it went pretty well for the Gophers this year compared to other years.
2:14
I mean, you know, I was probably one of the people that, you know, I was actually pretty optimistic about Buks dead returning.
2:21
I kind of said that throughout most of last year.
2:24
I felt pretty good about the chances of him returning.
2:28
So, I mean, I feel good about that.
2:29
And certainly, you know, we've been kind of accustomed to guys leaving that one year early as opposed to staying that extra year than what you might expect.
2:39
So, yeah, it was a great offseason in that sense.
2:42
All the defensemen returning were pretty loaded up front.
2:45
You know, we did lose a few guys to graduation that were key players.
2:50
Matson and Patterson and Hanson were all, you know, solid players last year.
2:54
But, you know, I think we have a lot to look forward to.
2:56
So, yeah, it was a good offseason.
2:58
Vegoe, what are your thoughts?
2:59
It went pretty well, didn't it?
3:02
Yeah, you know, I missed it being away in California last year, so I didn't see as many games that I'd like to.
3:09
But it's always fun to come back and see a Gopher team that's ranked number one in the country and be able to see a bunch of home games.
3:16
So that's exciting.
3:18
I think the only good thing about the lockout is the guys sticking around in college for another year.
3:23
A lot of guys have been pressured to leave at least a year early and some two because of the free agency starting earlier.
3:31
So hopefully in the CBA some of that gets tilted towards the NCAA a little bit.
3:36
But it should be a loaded lineup.
3:38
I mean, looking at them throwing out those three power play groups in the exhibition game, you know, any one of those could probably be a number one power play unit.
3:46
So it should be fun to watch.
3:48
I would agree.
3:49
Well, we do have some bad news, though.
3:52
We lost Connor Riley.
3:55
Was it an ACL, MCL, something like that, Hammy?
3:58
Yeah, it was something like that.
3:59
It apparently happened during one of those soirees that the players have at the beginning of the year.
4:06
So, you know, stuff happens.
4:09
I don't think that he would have been counted on significantly this year.
4:13
I mean, he probably would have played a lower line role, just because, I mean, let's face it, the top two lines are pretty much stacked.
4:21
And so you're probably looking at him playing a third or fourth line role this year.
4:28
And, you know, you're not going to get a ton of scoring opportunities and you're not getting power play and whatever.
4:33
So it's a loss.
4:34
And certainly, you know, he's a good player.
4:36
But I think it's one of those situations where it's not something that is significantly damaging to their chances this year.
4:45
Okay, sounds like we're having some problems on the live podcast.
4:48
But we'll just keep on going through here.
4:52
So we've got that injury, you know, it's kind of, you know, did he get injured at a party?
4:58
What happened?
4:59
I guess we'll never really know.
5:03
But the season's coming along here.
5:05
We had an exhibition game last weekend.
5:07
And out of nowhere is Mr.
5:09
Isaacson.
5:12
No points last year.
5:13
I think he got into, what, 11, 12 games.
5:16
Do you remember, Vegoe, something like that?
5:18
Yeah, 11 games, no points, one penalty.
5:21
He showed up on the score sheet once, but no points.
5:25
And yet, three goals right off the bat.
5:28
Obviously, it's an exhibition, but obviously, that's a good thing.
5:34
Well, I mean, the thing is, is that, you know, when people, of course, do the natural speculation in the off season about the Lions, everybody's wondering, well, first of all, is that top line going to be kept intact?
5:45
And secondly, if it is, you know, who's going to play that second line right wing role?
5:52
And, you know, maybe playing a kid like Isaacson up, you know, is something that they are actually really strongly considering.
5:59
And, you know, people forget he might not have had like spectacular USHL numbers, but he was always a very skilled player in the high school ranks.
6:08
He's got very good hands.
6:10
And, you know, if you're playing with some talented guys like Rao and Bukstad, certainly it's going to elevate your game.
6:16
So he's capable of doing stuff like that, you know.
6:20
Is he going to be the main focus of that line?
6:22
Well, no.
6:23
But nonetheless, he has the capability of stepping into those kinds of roles.
6:27
And I just think last year there just really wasn't the need there.
6:31
And he was, you know, it's kind of like what we saw with Nate Schmidt.
6:34
I mean, he didn't really have find his way as a freshman, but then, you know, he explodes out of the scene, you know, as a sophomore.
6:40
And, you know, I'm not saying that Isaac's going to do that this year necessarily, but it's one of those things where when you get an opportunity, you know, it's time to step up and he probably has that kind of skill to do something like that.
6:51
What are your thoughts, Veegs?
6:54
Yeah, I mean, Isaac's basically a two-pointed game guy at St.
6:58
Thomas Academy, and he's almost a point-of-game guy in the USHL.
7:03
So he's a goal-scoring kind of player, so he can really help out, you know, on a scoring line situation.
7:09
And anytime you're with Rao and Bukstad, you know, they're going to draw tons of attention every shift.
7:14
So Isaac's going to have tons of space in the offensive zone, and he's not going to have to worry too much about breaking out with those guys, too.
7:21
And Bukstad could take the puck, you know, at the hash marks and get it into the offensive zone practically by himself.
7:28
So it should be nice for him if he can stay there, but, you know, there's probably a lot of guys who'd like to be on that spot, too.
7:34
Yeah, well, we'd like to see him break out.
7:36
Obviously, he didn't get much play any time last year, didn't make any splashes, and it'd be nice to see him break out like we saw Schmidt.
7:45
So, well, what are you guys' thoughts overall on the whole exhibition game, besides Isakson?
7:50
Any thoughts?
7:51
The goaltenders?
7:52
What do you think?
7:54
God, it's so hard to really even judge, you know, in those games, especially when you're out shooting an opponent like, you know, 60-something to 15 or whatever it is.
8:03
But, you know, I think it just kind of goes to show that if you don't read into anything, that, you know, certainly there's a lot of talent on the team, scoring ability is there.
8:15
We've talked about how the defensive unit, I mean, that's going to be, to me, the most interesting story this season is, you know, how that lineup, you know, is going to look defensively from night to night.
8:28
And of course, you know, we didn't see really a lot of opportunities for Wilcox or Shabrowsky to get, you know, tested seriously and that's the first thing that a lot of people bring up about the Gophers in terms of this year and their chances is, you know, how's the goaltending going to be now that Patterson's gone?
8:45
So still a lot of, you know, there's still a few questions, but it was a nice sign to see them, you know, pretty much dominate, you know, an opponent like that.
8:52
Veegs, you know, we saw maybe one big save.
8:55
I mean, one little kick pad save with a guy left out front and that was about it.
9:00
It took Shibowski until about middle of the second period before he got any shots.
9:04
And he got two right back to back, an odd man rush and a one-timer right in the slot.
9:10
Came up with both of those, didn't leave any rebounds.
9:13
And then Wilcox came in and he didn't get a ton of work either.
9:16
So it will be interesting to see how they deal with the traffic and the pace of the play and guys crashing in the net, because it's going to be a little bit different once they get into college hockey with how much pressure they'll get around the net.
9:29
Definitely.
9:30
Well, I think I've fixed the podcast so people can hear it now.
9:33
If you guys have any questions, just send us a tweet at GopherPuckLive.
9:37
I see there's about 25 of you listening right now.
9:41
So send us your questions if you got them.
9:45
Let's hear them.
9:47
I hear music.
9:48
I know that.
9:49
Who's got TV going in the background?
9:53
Vego?
9:56
Yeah, Jupe, we're having a hard time hearing you.
9:59
You're having a hard time hearing me?
10:00
Really?
10:01
This is probably affecting us a little bit.
10:03
Sorry.
10:05
Well, I hear myself.
10:06
Can you hear me now?
10:07
I hear you now, yeah.
10:09
That is weird.
10:09
Are we sponsored by Verizon?
10:12
No, I don't think so.
10:14
Yeah, you've been fading in and out for me a bit.
10:16
You know, you were fading in with me earlier, too.
10:18
Like I said, I have a kid.
10:20
I think they're playing wireless games.
10:22
I think it's messing up my Internet right now.
10:23
But not much I can do about it.
10:25
I'm not going to go yell at my kids right now.
10:27
I'll yell at them later.
10:30
Well, let's move on then.
10:31
Obviously, exhibition, a little boring, not much there, not going to get much information.
10:38
But one thing we did see is we saw a ton of defensemen play, and we know a ton of defensemen are not going to be playing this season.
10:46
Hammy, what are they going to do?
10:48
They got eight guys.
10:50
Yeah, well, you know, that's been, like I said, the big question of the offseason is, you know, we're returning all our guys.
10:56
We bring in two high-level recruits in, Brady Shea and Mike Riley.
11:02
I really have said pretty much that you don't bring guys in like that and have them sitting in the stands more often than not.
11:09
I mean, I just believe that I've said that some of the vets from last year are going to find themselves either in the stands or maybe somebody playing forward because I just don't see those guys sitting.
11:22
I mean, I believe that they'll give them opportunities to play and then see if they can sink or swim.
11:28
And I suspect that they're both going to swim pretty well.
11:32
It'll be interesting to see.
11:34
It's a good problem to have.
11:37
Yeah, exactly.
11:38
I mean, I will see who the odd men are going to be.
11:40
I would be surprised.
11:42
You know, my feeling, I kind of was a Hull critic last year, and I wouldn't be shocked if he...
11:49
You were a Hull basher last year.
11:51
Yeah, and I'd be surprised if he's not going to find himself in a difficult spot, maybe even get moved up to forward.
11:58
I mean, he has the offensive ability to step into some kind of a forward roll if they require it.
12:04
So does Ben Marshall, I mean, if they decide to move him up.
12:08
But I really believe a few of those vets are going to be sitting most nights.
12:13
Well, Vegoe, we heard from Coach Lucia Saturday night that he didn't play Thompson because he was thinking about redshirting him.
12:21
And that goes right into a question from Twitter.
12:23
Jay Lewis asked, you guys think Thompson is best suited as a redshirt this year, or should they just suit him up at forward?
12:34
Vegoe, what about you think?
12:37
I just think that he's just too, I mean, he's just not mobile enough, I don't think, to play that kind of a situation.
12:42
I mean, to me, he's a stay-at-home defenseman type.
12:46
That's what he's going to be doing.
12:48
He's going to be a physical kid.
12:51
And yeah, I mean, he's going to be the last man on the depth chart for defense, so why not, you know, redshirt him if that's what you have to do.
13:00
That's what you have to do.
13:02
Yeah, the only way he's going to be seeing the ice this year is if they start to run into big-time injury problems or if they get into the holidays and they're losing guys, the World Juniors and things like that, or, you know, if a guy for some reason were to leave.
13:17
I mean, that's the only way he's going to be seeing the ice.
13:21
I mean, there's just so many skaters on the back end for Lucia to choose from that he's not going to fit in that lineup right now.
13:29
I would agree.
13:29
I think he's going to be sitting the whole season.
13:33
Well, let's look at, let's move on to our predictions, guys.
13:36
Obviously, we've taken six months off, probably haven't prepped too much, but let's throw it out there.
13:43
Obviously, I'm guessing both of you guys are probably going to pick Minnesota to win the league, but, Hammy, if you have any kind of rundown, who do you think is going to be right there?
13:51
The Sioux, I mean, Denver, who's going to be there with Minnesota this year?
13:56
Well, you know, it's kind of interesting.
13:57
I think that I look at the league sort of in a few different tiers this year.
14:01
I mean, I think that there's no doubt that the Gophers in North Dakota are kind of the cream of the crop of the league this year.
14:09
You know, it's hard to pick against the Gophers being the defending champs and pretty much returning the vast majority of their key players and adding some, you know, young, some young, talented guys.
14:21
I would, you know, it would be a little bit more of a difficult choice for me if Brock Nelson had returned to North Dakota, but you know, he signed that pro deal surprising to me that he did.
14:30
So I kind of think that as much as I think UND is going to be a real good team this year, I think they might be just a tiny bit below the Gophers from what we can look on paper right now.
14:40
It's on paper, of course.
14:42
But after that, you know, I think that there's a little bit of a step backwards and there's kind of like a tier of teams.
14:49
I think like Denver, Wisconsin, St.
14:52
Cloud, UMD, I kind of see like those as the next four teams kind of in that order.
14:58
I like, I know Denver lost some key guys up front, but I think that they have very strong defense and goaltending and I think that that's probably what they'll do very well at this year and that'll keep them in a lot of games and probably find enough offense to win.
15:16
And I think Wisconsin, as much as we don't like Wisconsin, they returned pretty much the vast majority of their key guys.
15:23
Of course, they lost Justin Schultz, but that's a big loss.
15:26
That's a very big loss.
15:28
I think they'll be good.
15:28
And I think St.
15:29
Cloud, they got fortunate.
15:30
Drew LeBlanc is coming back and then they didn't really lose anybody of real significance, Hanowski coming back.
15:39
So I think that they're going to be much improved this year because they'll have some top veterans.
15:43
And then Duluth, they lost a ton.
15:46
And so I don't know.
15:48
I feel a little shaky about some of the bottom half.
15:52
You never know.
15:53
I mean, like a Michigan Tech last year.
15:55
I could see them in that last home ice spot or two.
15:58
I mean, it's really tough to judge at that point.
16:01
But what about someone like a Michigan Tech?
16:02
I mean, they jumped out an over last year, had a great start, and ended up playing pretty darn well.
16:10
Can they keep it going?
16:11
I mean, do you think they could challenge and get that home ice?
16:14
Yeah, you faded out a little bit there, Jup.
16:17
I was just saying, do you think that Tech can get that back to the home ice this year?
16:22
You know, they made a pretty good jump last year.
16:23
They had the new coach, kind of new enthusiasm.
16:26
Do you think Tech can get up there and challenge for a home ice spot?
16:32
I personally don't think they will this year.
16:34
You think they're going to go right back to where they were?
16:36
I think it's going to be Tech to be Mankato.
16:38
I actually think Mankato is going to be much improved this year with a new coach.
16:43
And I think, you know, I've had a lot of people, you know, and scouts kind of compliment their top line a lot, thinking that their top line is going to be one of the better lines in the league this year.
16:53
You know, I just think that when you bring in some new blood as a head coach, I'm sure there's going to be some renewed energy there.
17:00
And I think that Mankato is one of those teams that's going to kind of pull one of those Michigan Tech situations and fight for home ice.
17:06
I'm a big fan of Mr.
17:07
Hastings.
17:09
He's done a great job everywhere he's gone.
17:11
And I think you're right.
17:13
I think Mankato, you know, they were very young last year.
17:17
But they had some signs, you know, like at the beginning of the year they were slow, but at the end of the year they started playing teams a lot better.
17:22
You're going to have to go shoot your kid.
17:25
You can't hear me still?
17:29
I can't hear anything that you're saying right now.
17:31
I hear you perfectly.
17:33
Yeah, we're having a hard time getting you though.
17:36
All right.
17:38
Well, hold on a second.
17:39
I will go kill some kids.
17:41
You guys talk to the live podcasters for a little bit here and I'll go see what's going on.
17:45
But seriously, you guys keep talking.
17:48
No problem.
17:49
Go ahead.
17:49
Do your picks.
17:50
Vegoe, what do you think about the league in terms of this year?
17:54
Well, I definitely think, you know, Minnesota and North Dakota, 1-2, 2-1.
17:59
You know, either Minnesota gets good goaltending this year and they're able to stay at the top or their goaltending struggles and they fall a little bit behind in the conference race and maybe can't catch up at the end.
18:11
But I do think 3-10.
18:13
You know, you could throw those guys into a hat and they could come out any which way and I wouldn't be surprised.
18:19
I mean, there's so many good coaches in those programs and, you know, they have enough returning talent on most of those rosters where they could, you know, be surprising.
18:27
I mean, you got a team like CC in their middle of the pack and, you know, both the coaches pull and, I think, in the rankings, you know, you put them in the middle, but with their goaltending, you never know.
18:40
I mean, that can be a tough building to play in with the altitude and the travel and, you know, I think they could be a top-four team.
18:47
I think Nebraska-Oma could be a top-four team.
18:50
They've got the most NHL picks they've ever had on that roster.
18:56
And Blaze has a good history in the league, and, you know, they could be a surprise team as well.
19:02
See, I'm not as high on CC this year.
19:04
I just have this, you know, you're so used to putting them in the top half of the league.
19:09
And I, when I was doing this, you know, looking at what do I think is going to happen with the league this year, I actually kind of struggled to put them any higher than like seventh, eighth kind of range.
19:19
And I'm like, ah, that just seems so unusual to have such a problem putting CC higher than that.
19:25
But I guess, you know, they weren't, you know, outside of the, you know, Schwartz brothers, they really didn't have a tremendous amount of scoring depth.
19:33
And I just wasn't very high on what I saw from them last year.
19:37
And of course they lose their best player.
19:39
And I don't, yeah, it's very difficult to really say, you know, what's going to happen with some of these things.
19:44
And, you know, what the Gophers, everybody points to the goaltending is the big question.
19:49
But the thing that they, I think, overlook, and as much as I really like Ken Patterson and his dad's a great guy, I'm kind of real good friendly with him.
19:57
But, you know, Ken actually did not, from a statistical standpoint, play great in the second half last year.
20:03
I mean, his save percentage was, I think, like 89% in the second half, something like that.
20:08
It was pretty low.
20:10
And, you know, if the Gophers can get, you know, that, like, 91% range for a save percentage, you know, kind of what you typically try to shoot for.
20:19
I mean, I think they'll be in pretty good shape and net.
20:21
So we'll see how it goes with that.
20:24
Well, I think their schedule should help out with that.
20:28
I know their schedule to start the first month of the year isn't as difficult as it's been in a couple years past when they, you know, they face North Dakota and Denver right away.
20:36
You know, they kind of get to ease into it with a non-conference game here and then Michigan Tech.
20:42
So I think that should be helpful for Richie and the boys.
20:46
Can you guys hear me now?
20:47
Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, North Dakota is certainly, they're going to be right there.
20:53
I mean, that's going to be, I don't suspect that they're going to have as many.
20:57
I mean, you know, I was curious about, you know, that kind of off-the-ice drama with the drinking and all that.
21:03
And you kind of start to wonder, you know, I mean, boys will be boys in college especially.
21:08
But you also start to think, you know, is the focus there?
21:12
Do these guys have their head on straight?
21:13
You know, I mean, that's the, when you think about college performance, I mean, that's the thing you start to wonder about is whether or not, you know, these guys are going to have their head on straight.
21:23
So that's the one thing with North Dakota that I was wondering.
21:28
I hear baby Vego.
21:29
It does seem like North Dakota is kind of a throwback 70s, 80s culture.
21:35
And, you know, we're in 2012 now.
21:39
And so the media gets a hold of that stuff a little bit more.
21:41
But they do seem to play by different rules up there.
21:44
Yeah.
21:45
Well, there's no doubt about that.
21:46
They have a little bit of a, you know, a lengthier rap sheet than most programs have in the last five, ten years.
21:53
So, yeah, and as far as, you know, I really like, you know, I think St.
21:59
Cloud is going to surprise some people this year.
22:01
I actually think that they're going to be a pretty good team.
22:05
You know, I think they have a pretty good defensive group.
22:08
You know, it might not be the best defensive group, and it might be, it might have its flaws, but I think that it's pretty solid.
22:14
And, you know, Farragher showed that he could be a pretty good goalie, although, you know, he had his, he kind of might have slid a little bit in performance as time went along, and Lee kind of took over a little bit more again.
22:25
But I know, I think that they'll have some skill up front, you know, Hanowski, LeBlanc.
22:30
I mean, those guys are good players.
22:32
And so I really think that they're going to be a team that shoots up into the home ice category this year.
22:39
Yeah.
22:39
So I think Cloud's power play has always been really, really good.
22:42
And they've got the guns to play this year.
22:44
So, you know, I think if they can draw enough penalties, they'll be a tough team to beat.
22:50
Well, you know, and the other thing, the thing about St.
22:52
Cloud, especially under Moscow, I mean, it always seemed like it was the defensive group that was sort of holding them back.
22:58
I mean, they've always had, you know, they had the lash in a row.
23:01
And, you know, they've had guys up front that could put the puck in the net.
23:06
And so offensively, it's never really been much of an issue for them.
23:09
And they've had some pretty good goalies during Moscow's era, but it's always been sort of that defensive unit that's sort of held them back.
23:16
And, you know, I've always looked at defense as being the hardest area to really recruit in college because, you know, the sheer numbers of top guys are just not as many, you know, top end defensemen as there are, say, forwards.
23:29
And so I, you know, I think that that's probably an area where they've struggled.
23:33
But I think that they have a pretty good defensive group this year, and I expect that to be much improved.
23:39
Can you guys hear me now?
23:40
Yeah, you're still fading in and out.
23:42
Sorry, guys, there's nobody on the Internet here anymore.
23:45
They stopped, so I don't know why you're not hearing me very well.
23:49
Maybe it's your microphone sucks.
23:51
It's not the microphone because everyone can hear me, actually, on the live broadcast.
23:55
So I don't know.
23:57
I think it might be Skype, actually, because the live broadcast picks me up on a separate feed.
24:02
Who knows?
24:03
It could be that, then.
24:04
I don't know.
24:04
It could be that.
24:05
I think it's Skype's causing a little problems here.
24:07
But can you hear me at least a little bit here?
24:09
Yeah, it's in an hour.
24:11
Sorry.
24:12
Because you're in Cologne.
24:15
To bet I'm not in Cologne.
24:18
Well, let's move forward.
24:18
Let's look forward to the freshmen this year, the freshmen for the Gophers.
24:22
We've seen them all hit the ice.
24:24
They all played last weekend, except for Connor Riley.
24:26
But what do we have to look forward to?
24:30
Are any of these guys going to be Kyle Rao or another superstar in the making?
24:34
And then what about the rest of the WCHA?
24:36
Who's going to blaze a trail and be the next superstar in this WCHA this year, guys?
24:41
Hammeh.
24:43
Well, as far as the Gophers go, I don't see any of the forwards making that kind of a dramatic Rao impact for a few reasons.
24:51
First of all, there really isn't that need this year because of the depth of the team.
24:55
Secondly, I just don't see the forwards that are coming in as being just that.
25:00
This is one of those years where the high-level forwards really aren't quite there.
25:05
It's more the role-player types of guys.
25:07
Maybe one or two of them could develop a score as they get to be an upperclassman, but I really don't see that forward that's going to be a dramatic impact kind of a guy right away.
25:18
And I think part of that was they were looking at next year's recruiting class and that's very much stacked.
25:27
And I think they knew that they kind of had to be careful about how they spent their scholarship for this class because they knew that they were really going to try to load up next year.
25:37
That would be my guess.
25:38
I'm not obviously sitting in the hockey office, but that would be my guess.
25:43
So really the impact guys are more than likely going to be Shay and Riley like we talked about earlier.
25:51
Shay is a good size kid, can skate like the wind.
25:54
He's a great skater.
25:56
He's more of a defensive defenseman.
25:59
He has the ability to transition the puck and skate up with the puck with that speed.
26:05
So he can create some offense, but I looked at him more of a solid two-way guy that is going to be more defensive minded, more than likely.
26:15
Riley is very skilled.
26:18
He had a great year in the BCHL.
26:20
He had a great USA World Junior Camp this summer.
26:24
The kid is going to be an offensive dynamo.
26:28
Certainly, I had somebody this summer tell me that they think that he's going to end up better than Gologosky was.
26:36
Now, we'll see.
26:38
Are you talking maybe Crowley-like?
26:40
We'll see how that goes.
26:41
That kid, he's not a big kid.
26:45
He's going to play defense based on positioning and being smart with his stick and all that stuff.
26:50
He's not going to knock anybody around.
26:52
But his puck-moving ability and he can shoot the puck real well.
26:57
I'd imagine that he's going to be very valuable on that second power play unit.
27:02
So I think that he's going to make a pretty big impact on the team this year.
27:06
Now, do you think he's going to be Crowley-like?
27:10
Well, I don't know.
27:17
I don't know how many guys you're going to see hit those kinds of numbers offensively from a defensive standpoint again.
27:25
And of course, probably the most important thing is, what is Adam Wilcox going to bring to the table?
27:31
I think that he's had time in the USHL, and certainly I would imagine they're going to probably alternate starts early on.
27:39
That would be my guess and see how things go.
27:42
But I think he's a very talented kid and can step into that role and be successful.
27:47
We've seen a lot of WCHA freshmen stepping to goal on various teams and do real well, and I don't see why he can't.
27:53
What are your thoughts, Vegoe?
27:57
Yeah, I mean, up front, there's not really a lot of room for the freshmen to make an impact.
28:02
I just don't see any of those guys really stepping up.
28:06
The one guy on the sophomore class, Travis Boyd, I mean, you look at his age, I think he's actually a little bit younger than Mike Riley, and so he was one of the youngest players in college hockey last year, so I think you'll see him make an impact as a young player, but the rest of the guys, you know, they're going to be depth players fighting to get in line up.
28:27
With the defenseman, Mike Riley and Brady Shea both saw time as quarterbacks on power plays in the exhibition, and so I think that will be real interesting to see, you know, if that carries over into the season.
28:41
I think that's how they can make an impact.
28:43
Shea shot the puck really well last weekend, and Riley kept making runs from the point into the zone and making stuff happen.
28:52
He had a few turnovers, I thought, and that in his size might hold him back a little bit.
28:57
I think especially maybe on road game situations, they might be a little more cautious with his ice time on the road when they can't control the matchups.
29:05
But at home, I think he'll play more.
29:07
And then Wilcox in net, I mean, with the big ice gives him an opportunity to play the puck.
29:15
That's really one of his strengths.
29:16
He's a really good athlete, skater.
29:19
You saw that in high school.
29:20
It will be interesting to see how that translates to the college game when you guys are faster.
29:25
And Lucia said at the conference call today that he's going to start off alternating the goalies.
29:31
So you just kind of hold them back at the media day last week with what he was going to do.
29:36
But today he said they're going to alternate to start to see who kind of takes control or if both guys can get experience this year.
29:44
Now, what about the rest of the WCHA?
29:47
Is there any superstars out there that might make a huge impact?
29:52
Hamu, what do you think?
29:54
Well, it depends, I guess, if you consider Rocco Grimaldi a true freshman.
29:58
I mean, I know they consider him a freshman for the award.
30:02
I guess since he technically is considered that way this year, I mean, he'd be the guy that you point to as more than likely making the most dramatic impact as a freshman, quote unquote, this year.
30:15
You know, it's interesting.
30:16
We've seen this week with Wisconsin and Curtles.
30:20
I think that, you know, we don't know if his situation is going to pan on.
30:25
I mean, he certainly was looking like one of the top incoming forwards this year.
30:28
And if he's not, you know, he might be losing this year.
30:32
And I would imagine he's going to end up playing major junior in Canada if that happens.
30:38
So he would have been a kid that you'd point to as being, you know, that would make an impact.
30:43
And, you know, there's some good players all around.
30:45
I think that you look at the freshmen, you know, that people vote for, you know, on these preseason things.
30:52
And, you know, Wilensky was a great player at the USHL, and he'll be a great defenseman, I think, for UMD.
31:00
I think that they'll be pretty strong on defense because of guys like him.
31:03
And, you know, it's hard to say, you know, what they've got some good incoming goalies.
31:09
You got Gothburg for North Dakota.
31:11
We talked about Wilcox.
31:12
I mean, it's going to be an interesting year.
31:14
I don't know that beyond Grimaldi, I see somebody that's going to be blowing up, but I think that there'll be some real solid players.
31:23
Any thoughts, Biggs?
31:25
Yeah, I'm excited to see how Rocco looks.
31:27
I saw him play for the under 18 team a couple of times, and he is quick.
31:33
If defensemen are making turnovers in the offensive zone, no one's going to be able to reel him in.
31:39
So he'll be fun to watch a little bit from North Dakota.
31:42
But I just don't know if there's the hyped guys in the rest of the league.
31:46
I think there's guys who are going to be given opportunities to jump out of the weeds and make an impact.
31:53
But it's really hard to predict right now, I think.
31:57
There just isn't a huge heralded guy out there besides Rocco.
32:01
Yeah, and some of it, of course, is what's a team's particular needs.
32:05
I mean, obviously, when you come to the Gophers this year, they don't have those top-six forward needs or things of that nature.
32:12
Where you have a team like Duluth where you're losing guys like Connolly and JT Brown.
32:19
Some of those guys, those freshmen could step in, like an Austin Farley.
32:24
They're not necessarily the super big-name recruit types, but they could step into maybe one of those top six kinds of roles and make a little bit more of an offensive impact than you might expect because of their team needs.
32:38
So it really, of course, depends on the team as well.
32:42
Well, the only player I'm interested to see is Austin Young and see what kind of impact he'll make at UMD.
32:47
Because he's got some good bloodlines and good hands, and that small rink, he could really be a good player there.
32:57
All right.
32:58
Well, let's get back to the Gophers.
32:59
And do you guys have any thoughts on some players that, you know, you talked about Boyd a little bit earlier, but maybe some of the sophomores that will step up.
33:07
You know, we saw Isaacson this past weekend come out of nowhere on the top line, but, you know, who can make a big jump?
33:14
Is there anyone out there that could do that, Hammey?
33:20
Well, I mean, boy, it's tough to jump that one.
33:23
Or we just that loaded.
33:24
Defensively, I mean, I think that everybody is pretty much a known quantity other than the incoming freshmen.
33:31
I don't know that I see some drastic improvements among, you know, I really like Mark Ault.
33:37
And I think that, you know, I hopefully will see him continue to step up and improve from last year's performance.
33:47
I mean, he did pretty good last year.
33:48
And I think that, you know, he certainly has that athletic ability and talent to make a big step up and be kind of a shut down defenseman and also contribute a little more offensively.
33:59
So that he might be one on defense that I would, you know, point to as improving a lot.
34:04
And, you know, I would like to see Sam Warning.
34:07
I mean, I think he showed flashes last year.
34:09
And I know certainly his second year in the USHL, you know, he became more of an impact player.
34:15
And I think that he has that speed and goal scoring ability, you know, play on a second line with Holla.
34:22
And, you know, if they have, they maintain that with Budis there.
34:25
Yeah, I think that he's a kid that could really step up and, you know, score a lot more this year.
34:30
And I do like Boyd, you know, we did touch on him earlier.
34:34
I think that people forget that.
34:35
I mean, he played last year as basically at the age of a high school senior.
34:38
I mean, he was 18.
34:40
And, you know, he played, you know, he didn't score a lot, but he certainly played very solid hockey all year long.
34:46
And I would imagine that, you know, he's starting to continue to find his way and improve.
34:51
And I think in that third line role, you know, center or whatever, I mean, I think he could be making some kind of an impact as well.
34:58
Vegoe, any thoughts?
35:00
You mentioned Boyd earlier.
35:02
I'm a big fan of Travis Boyd.
35:06
You watch him work along the boards, along the wall.
35:10
He's a real thick player who knows how to protect the puck, get his head up and make the right play.
35:16
And he doesn't just make the one play.
35:18
He surveys his options and can make a lot of different plays off the wall.
35:22
He kind of reminds me a little bit of Oposo, working along the wall like that.
35:27
I think he's got a real high ceiling for Washington.
35:30
I think he's going to be a great player.
35:32
And Lucia was talking about maybe moving him from center to the wing.
35:37
And, you know, he might be a guy who might fit on, you know, a wing with Howland, Budish or Buksan, Rao if Lucia wants to shake things up and kind of stack the top six.
35:50
But I think that's something to watch.
35:51
Also Ambrose, you know, he kind of stalled out in his development a little bit.
35:56
And, you know, he made a little bit of impact last year, but I think he's got a big opportunity this year to play some minutes and to use his size and ability to make some plays.
36:08
It will be interesting to see how Lucia handles the lineup.
36:12
He said he wants to get his best 18 on the ice, so we'll see how he does that.
36:17
If he moves any of the guys in the back end up front, if he stacks on the lines, if he does a checking line, it will be real interesting to see.
36:26
Yeah, I'll be curious about, you know, those are two, I mean, Ambrose, I'm really curious to see what kinds of improvements he's made.
36:33
I mean, it's, you can't tell too much in an exhibition.
36:36
I really want to see how he looks that first month.
36:39
And I think that's going to be key for him is to get off to a good start, because I think that he's one of those guys I think that needs to, you know, gain some confidence and, you know, feel pretty good about the impact he's making.
36:52
And, you know, certainly it's always been about skating for him.
36:55
And if he can increase that foot speed a little bit and to go along with his size, I mean, he could certainly be a big asset in kind of that second or third line area.
37:05
And, you know, I'm also interested to see if they actually do move somebody up to forward from defense.
37:11
I think, you know, I've been saying it since the middle of last year.
37:15
I like the possibility of a marshal moving up.
37:19
You know, he's got the skill, the speed to, you know, do some damage offensively up at forward if they needed him.
37:26
And, you know, Paul, I mean, I don't, I'm not a huge fan of him on defense, but certainly, you know, he's got the size and he does have enough stick skills to make an impact, you know, offensively, you know, up front.
37:39
So, you know, maybe have him in a lower line.
37:42
It'll be interesting to see what happens.
37:44
Well, definitely be interesting because this weekend we kick off the regular season with Michigan State.
37:51
You know, we've been playing them for the past, oh, geez, almost 20 years every year, you know, with the College Hockey Showcase.
37:57
And when that went away, you know, we went out to Michigan State last year and lost and tied.
38:02
So it seems like Michigan State, we always have trouble with them.
38:07
You know, we're never blowing them out.
38:08
They've always been very competitive.
38:10
Vegoe, what are your thoughts on this weekend?
38:15
Yeah, you faded out too fast.
38:17
Sorry, guys.
38:18
Is that why Vegoe is typing away?
38:21
Thoughts this weekend on Michigan State?
38:23
One of you.
38:26
Well, I mean, it's pretty, for me, it's hard to judge since I haven't really, I didn't really spend a ton of time watching Michigan State last year.
38:33
And, you know, I don't, I can't say I know a ton about them this year.
38:37
I do think that, you know, these early season games, it really comes down to, you know, finding your way.
38:45
And usually special teams play a big role because, you know, some teams, they just hit the ground running and other teams, you know, it's more of a struggle.
38:55
And I think that's one advantage the Gophers have this year is that, you know, pretty much the vast majority of their special teams are intact, especially on the power play.
39:03
And so I would imagine, you know, the Gophers are going to do pretty well this weekend.
39:09
I know it's what a little bit of an earlier start on Friday than usual.
39:14
But, you know, I think that it'll be a good series.
39:18
It'll be, you know, the Big Ten kind of a preview of the future, I guess you could say in that sense.
39:23
But, yeah, I think it should be a good series and be competitive.
39:27
And I would imagine that the Gophers will sweep.
39:29
But I guess we'll see how it goes.
39:31
What do you think, Vegoe?
39:33
Yeah, I mean, Michigan State, you know, they don't have a ton of high-end draft pick talent.
39:38
A couple of their draft picks are late round flyer type guys.
39:42
So you don't look at them as, you know, an elite group of guys coming into your rank.
39:48
I think a key for the Gophers going in the weekend is to stay out of the box.
39:53
In the Lethbridge game, I think they probably had three or four tripping penalties where guys were just getting lazy with their stick and putting them in the skates.
40:01
And you start doing that against a well coached team and you can get in trouble.
40:05
So I think that's something to watch for a little bit.
40:09
But, you know, this is the number one team in the country for a reason.
40:12
They've got tons of guys coming back.
40:15
Nate Schmidt has this game circled on his calendar.
40:18
He said during media day he didn't like the way the Gophers played him last year.
40:22
So I don't think they're overlooking him by any means.
40:25
So they're going to come out motivated and looking for a sweep as well.
40:29
Well, since you guys are having a hard time hearing me, we'll keep this a little short.
40:32
Hammy, is there any recruiting news out there?
40:35
Anything going on in that end of the business?
40:39
You know, I can't say there's anything front burner that I could point towards.
40:43
I mean, I think nothing that we haven't discussed on GPL a little bit.
40:49
They've just been scouting the early season tournaments, you know, for the different junior leagues.
40:53
And now that things are kind of in swing with the elite league and, you know, the USHL seasons started, I mean, as far as I know, it's been basically just the scouting.
41:02
And, you know, they'll have some guys in for visits.
41:04
I've heard a few names thrown around, but haven't had anything too confirmed yet.
41:08
So I won't throw them out now.
41:09
But, you know, this is the time of year where you kind of start to, some of these players start to separate themselves in that recruiting area and you get a better feel for, you know, who they're really going to target.
41:21
So I don't have anything right now, but it should be kind of clearing up here in the next month or two.
41:27
All right.
41:28
You guys got any other thoughts on this weekend?
41:30
Vegoe?
41:33
One thing to look for, I think, is AJ.
41:35
Mickelson.
41:36
If he gets in the lineup, he's one kind of freshman we didn't really touch on.
41:40
When he was playing with Hudson Fashion at Apple Valley, you know, he was really a player and I think he kind of got lost in his way a little bit.
41:48
His junior, senior year of high school and Lucio was talking about him as a player who's done some really nice things.
41:55
I know he missed his opportunity to play in the developmental camp this summer, but if he's doing the right things for Lucio now, there's a player who could be a role under the radar.
42:06
Hamme, we got a tweet asking about Christian Horn and his role this year.
42:11
Did you want to touch on that at all?
42:14
Yeah, I mean, it'll be interesting.
42:16
I think that, you know, he's a kid that, you know, a lot of these guys step into, you know, from, like, say, the high school ranks, and they were a star offensive player on their team.
42:28
And, you know, sometimes they have a difficult transition when they're being called upon to play actually a different role, you know, at a higher level.
42:36
And he's actually a kid that I could see transitioning into college and doing all right because he was a very good all-around player at Benilde.
42:45
He's, you know, a good two-way player.
42:47
He didn't just kind of do some of what those high school stars sometimes do and kind of just float out at the blue line or, you know, float in a neutral zone waiting for somebody to give them the puck so they could go down and score.
42:59
He was a guy that, you know, would play defensive hockey.
43:02
And so I think that I could see him stepping into, you know, one of those maybe like a fourth-line role or, you know, I suppose if he's called upon to provide a little offense, he could do that.
43:12
But, you know, I think that he has the ability to step in and, you know, have an impact in a role, player kind of a situation.
43:19
I don't suspect he's going to be, you know, in any kind of an offensive role this year unless there's some real injury issues.
43:26
But I think that he has a bright future, you know, as a really good two-way player for the Gophers down the line.
43:34
All right.
43:34
Well, if you guys don't have any more thoughts on this weekend, I think we're good to go, aren't we?
43:39
Yeah, hopefully we get the Skype situation settled as we get into the podcast season.
43:44
So it'll go a little more smoothly.
43:47
I wish I knew what the problem was, but I can't, you know, I'm guessing we'd have to restart Skype and do all that good stuff.
43:52
But Hammy, you're always at Hammy Hockey on Twitter, correct?
43:57
Correct.
43:58
And Vego, you are at eVego on Twitter, right?
44:02
Yep, real simple.
44:03
And you can tweet whatever those guys with questions every week, and obviously you can email us at podcast at gopherpucklive.com or just tweet us live during the broadcast at gopherpucklive on Twitter.
44:18
Well, that's it for this week's GPL Podcast.
44:20
We'll be back next week to recap Michigan State and kick off the WCHA schedule with a preview of Michigan Tech.
44:27
Until then, thanks for listening.
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