0:03 This is the Gopher Puck Live Podcast, episode number 42, recorded Tuesday, October 8th, 2013. 0:21 Hello, and welcome to year three of the Gopher Puck Live Podcast. 0:27 I am Jupiter, and joining me again this year is Hammeh and Vigo. 0:32 Guys, how are things going? 0:35 Yeah, I'm looking forward to a new year and a new conference, so I'm looking forward to a lot of excitement. 0:41 Definitely looking forward. 0:42 Definitely looking forward, aren't we, Veegs? 0:45 Always looking forward. 0:46 They just reload every year. 0:49 Well, we hope that is the case. 0:51 Well, guys, obviously, like you said, Hammeh, we've got a new conference. 0:55 The WCHA, as we know it, is gone. 0:58 Time to move on. 0:59 There's nothing we could do about it. 1:01 I don't want any more whining from the fans. 1:03 It's all done. 1:04 Let's just adjust and move on. 1:06 I think you would agree with that, wouldn't you, Hammeh? 1:09 Yeah, I mean, I'll be honest with you. 1:11 I was kind of one of the early adopters of everything, so for me, I was ready to roll with the punches pretty much right away. 1:18 It's one of those things where I think I understand some of the rivalries and some of that stuff, but I think that people, fans are kind of short term in their thinking. 1:25 I don't think they really recognize that rivalries, even our best rivalries, whether it's Wisconsin, North Dakota, or whatever, it takes time to develop those things, and nobody's going to say it's going to be replaced overnight, but give them a little time, and I think things will be in good shape. 1:41 Well, Veegs, over the years, my favorite team, the Goavers play of has always been North Dakota, but for some reason, my second favorite team has always been Michigan, and I really think that rivalry is going to come back very strong. 1:57 Well, yeah, I think Michigan and Minnesota players have always kind of had this rivalry with each other at the national camp level, and so I think that it's going to be a good thing to get going every year, two games here, two games there. 2:12 I think it's going to be good for hockey because it's one of the old rivalries in college hockey. 2:18 Definitely is. 2:19 Well, we're going to get more into the new Big Ten conference later, but it's been about six months since we've had a podcast, and quite a bit has happened with the Gophers since the last time we talked. 2:31 Obviously, Hammy, we had quite a few departures. 2:35 Howla, Bukestead, Schmidt, Budish, Ault, all of them are gone. 2:42 Most of that was expected, but what are your thoughts on the guys who left early? 2:48 Well, it's like you said, I think that a lot of them were pretty well expected. 2:52 I think if you look at the recruiting class, the coaches were very well prepared for what they thought they would lose this offseason. 2:58 So I'm not too concerned about that part of it. 3:01 I think the only one that was maybe a semi-surprise for me was Ault, but even with him, I kind of was leaning more toward that he would likely go. 3:09 So out of the guys that left early, I don't think there's any big surprises, and I don't think the coaches were the least bit surprised by it, and they were pretty well prepared with recruiting. 3:18 So I think it's all good. 3:21 Vegoe, your thoughts on the departures? 3:25 Well, again, I don't think any of them were really surprised. 3:28 I think Vanelli was a small surprise that he didn't come in this year and ended up going to Medicine Hat. 3:34 But at the same time, this is one of the years where the coaching staff was well prepared. 3:38 I mean, they've got 15, 16 forwards here who are going to be able to contribute, and they've got good competition with seven defensemen. 3:47 Well, actually, Tommy Vanelli is kind of what I wanted to talk about first here as one of the little topics. 3:53 Besides, you know, the departures, you know, Vanelli came in this fall, started with school hammy, I mean, it appears it's just he's not quite cut out for school and hockey at the same time, is he? 4:05 Well, I mean, the thing that I had heard all of last year when he, actually before he had even made a commitment to anywhere, was that the academics were definitely a big question mark with him. 4:15 And there was even some banter about whether or not he would even get admitted to some of the schools that he was very interested in, like, you know, Minnesota or Wisconsin or whatever. 4:24 So when he actually got admitted and everything like that, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. 4:29 I'm like, okay, that's a good thing. 4:31 Maybe it wasn't quite as bad as I had originally heard. 4:35 And then, of course, we saw what happened early in the school year. 4:39 He decided that it just wasn't, you know, that it's probably a tough balance for a kid that's already not maybe academically the strongest and to have to suddenly be on an elite program and then also make sure that you keep the academics up. 4:54 And it's a lot to juggle for a young guy. 4:57 So, I'm sure that for him, it was the right decision. 4:59 And from a golfer hockey standpoint, you know, it remains to be seen how big of a loss it will or, you know, won't be. 5:06 You know, I think that he's a talented player, but I thought this year he was coming right out of high school for the most part and he's a skinny kid. 5:14 And I thought actually out of the freshman defenseman, he might struggle the most because of his lack of physicality and being able to handle the kind of the more rugged college hockey. 5:24 So, we'll see what we can replace him with in recruiting. 5:29 Well, at least the whole Vanelli thing happened early, you know, before the season started. 5:33 So, at least they have a time, you know, to adjust for his loss. 5:38 What are your thoughts on Vanelli taking off their Veegs? 5:42 Again, it's a mature decision to get it done before the season. 5:46 You know, if it would have been a mid-year thing, you know, there's all kinds of issues that come up with that. 5:51 But he, you know, said, you know what? 5:53 I've tried it for a week and it's not for me. 5:56 And, you know, he's in Medicine Hat and he's going to be playing a bunch of games and he's already played in, I think, four of them and got some points. 6:03 So, I think his aspiration is to play in the NHL eventually somehow and he wasn't going to be in the maroon and gold for very long if he did stay. 6:13 Okay, now, do either of you know how this affects scholarships? 6:19 Pammy, do you know, I mean, does he have a certain amount? 6:21 I mean, does Lucia maybe reallocate that in other places? 6:26 I can't speak 100% confidently on that, but my guess is that would happen. 6:31 They would just kind of reallocate some of the scholarship among the other players that, you know, maybe it's a walk-on, you know, that gets bumped up or who knows, you know, but I'm sure it would be something along those kinds of lines. 6:45 Well, another freshman making what's not so good news is Mr. 6:50 Gabe Gertler with a DWI on a scooter, of course. 6:55 And we've had a lot of scooter issues recently, but Vegoe, this is not a good start for the young man. 7:02 No, it's not a good way to make a first impression with your teammates. 7:05 I mean, there's always issues with freshmen getting that freedom for the first time, and, you know, kids make mistakes and hopefully he learns from it. 7:14 I know at the Big Ten Media Day, Lucia said it would be a month plus before he'd consider putting him back in the lineup. 7:21 So it could be a few weeks yet before we see what kind of player they have. 7:28 Hammeh, your thoughts on the DWI. 7:32 Well, obviously, it's not the way you want to start off your academic career at a university. 7:38 So that goes without saying. 7:40 Well, actually, he has more time for academics now, doesn't he? 7:43 Well, all right, yeah. 7:45 I think that the thing that the fans need to realize is, he's a young guy, made a mistake. 7:50 I mean, it happens. 7:51 I think that he's a kid that, unlike a lot of the other freshmen, he's kind of like a more, he's a rugged player. 7:59 He's kind of a chippy player. 8:01 He's kind of like an Eric Westrom type, if you guys remember back to how he was. 8:06 Westy was a little bit of that feisty, chippy type. 8:09 And I think that Gertler has a bit of that in him. 8:12 He's a pretty good two-way player. 8:14 And I think that once he does join a lineup, he'll be a pretty solid player and a contributor. 8:19 And hopefully it's only something that he's sitting out a month and he earns his way back in and working hard in practice and whatever, and hopefully make an impact this year. 8:30 And we don't know all the details on it. 8:33 So I mean, it could have been just a small thing because he's a minor. 8:37 So it might not have been the biggest deal in the world. 8:40 So we don't know. 8:42 Well, hopefully, he learns from it, you know. 8:44 Obviously, he's not going to be playing probably until maybe after Thanksgiving, like you said, at least a month, but into November. 8:53 Lucia is going to keep an eye on him. 8:55 If this type of behavior continues, obviously, Lucia will keep sitting him. 9:02 So hopefully, you know, he gets it together and we get to see him sometime this year. 9:08 Yeah, and Howla had his issues last year and he works his way back in the lineup just fine. 9:13 Yep, yep, yep. 9:15 Moving to recruiting news, obviously, Hammy, you're always keeping an eye on what's going on, but obviously, one thing that everybody knows is that Louie Nanny has decided to not come to the University of Minnesota. 9:28 Yeah, I mean, I think that, quite frankly, I mean, I usually don't say it, but I think that that's probably the right decision for all involved. 9:35 I mean, when he originally committed, it was certainly a lot of question marks because he wasn't one of those typical high scoring guys that fans are automatically assuming, oh, he's going to be a great player or whatever. 9:47 He was more of the middle of the road type of offensive talent, and so he was always going to be a third, fourth line, gritty, kind of a serratory type of a kid, you know what I mean? 9:59 And I think that fans probably, because of obviously the last name and the connection to his grandpa and all that stuff, just assume that, oh, he's getting a free ride to the school based on that as opposed to what he can bring to the table on the ice. 10:13 And I don't blame him at all. 10:15 I mean, especially after the wild drafted him. 10:17 I mean, the microscope and the intensity of the questions, I think it kind of increased. 10:23 And I'm sure that some of that pressure just got to him. 10:26 And what the hell? 10:28 You might as well go play hockey out east away from grandpa's shadow and be your own man. 10:33 And I can't say that I blame the kids for that. 10:36 Vegoe, any thoughts on the nanny decommit? 10:40 No, it's a tough deal. 10:41 I think there's a lot of pressure. 10:43 A lot of kids want to play for Minnesota, especially from the metro. 10:47 And so if they want to go and set their own way and get away from all the pressure, that's their choice and wish them well. 10:57 All right. 10:58 Well, we'll see where he ends up. 10:59 I don't know. 11:00 I assume he's playing some type of juniors this year. 11:04 He's been out with injury. 11:06 I think he'll be playing in the USHL. 11:08 You know, maybe he decides to go out east or something like that. 11:11 I mean, he could be a late bloomer. 11:14 I wish him nothing but the best, but I could see why he decided not to go there. 11:18 Just quite a bit of pressure on the kid and maybe he does have a chance to flourish somewhere else. 11:24 Well, if he's anything like most of the Dyna kids, he'll probably end up at some Ivy League school playing hockey. 11:28 And there's nothing wrong with that because they're definitely good schools. 11:33 So you can't really fault them for that. 11:36 What else is going on in recruiting, Hammeh? 11:38 What's the thing? 11:38 Who should we be looking out for? 11:39 What other commitments are coming to the Gophers that people would like to know about? 11:45 Well, I don't want to mention names because I can't say specific. 11:51 I wasn't given a go ahead on this one, but a kid, I kind of alluded to this on GPL, that after Femeli left, you know, the Gophers are looking at kind of an older kid to kind of step into that. 12:04 I think it's kind of more of a late bloomer, the one in particular that I'm thinking of. 12:07 And I was told earlier tonight that he actually visited the school yesterday, and I had heard his name three, four weeks ago. 12:16 So it could be that we might be hearing a commitment on that regard, you know, soon. 12:21 I don't know, you know, I didn't hear if he got an offer or not or whatever, but after he's mulling over something. 12:27 But the way it looks, you know, he looks like a solid player. 12:31 I think he'll be able to contribute if he does commit. 12:34 So we'll have to see there. 12:35 And, you know, as far as other recruiting goes, you know, we're kind of, I think, pretty much filled up for 2014, maybe add another player to at most, because they don't really have significant needs for next year, because we pretty much returned the vast majority of our forwards. 12:51 And really, you know, I think the focus will be on kind of the 2015 and beyond type of players. 12:59 All right. 13:00 Well, we'll see what happens. 13:02 Definitely see what happens. 13:04 Well, let's get into what's going to happen this year. 13:06 Obviously, we've got a lot of freshmen coming in. 13:10 And I'd like to have both of you give your thoughts on all these guys. 13:14 So let's start off with the freshmen. 13:19 And let's hear his name. 13:21 Jake Bischoff. 13:23 Yep. 13:23 That's how you say his name, Jake Bischoff. 13:25 Not that anyone's going to mess with that, but I'm using the pronunciation guide on the USITE so everyone knows what their names sound like. 13:33 Vegoe, Jake Bischoff, Grand Rapids kid. 13:35 He had some injuries last year, but he's coming in as a true freshman. 13:40 What do you think? 13:41 Well, I think, you know, it's hard to make the transition as a true freshman into Big Ten hockey, big time hockey, because you're going to be going up against a lot of kids are older. 13:51 So it's probably a situation where they're going to be able to ease him into the lineup, you know, put him in as, you know, the sixth, seventh guy and have a chance to develop him. 14:00 I know he had a couple of concussion issues, so that's something to be careful of. 14:04 But I didn't see too many Grand Rapids games, so I'll be interested to see him here in the first couple of weeks. 14:10 Hammy, Jake Bischoff, 6 feet, 195 pounds. 14:14 What do you think? 14:15 Yeah, I mean, I think that he'll be a solid addition. 14:18 I think he's a pretty talented kid. 14:20 The only thing like Vegoe mentioned was, you know, some of the concussion issues that he had, you know, in the past. 14:25 And, of course, you always get a little concerned with when it comes to concussions, because you just never know when the next one might hit and how long it's going to keep a guy out. 14:33 You know, it could be a week, it could be months and months. 14:36 You just never know what those kinds of things. 14:38 And so there's a little bit of concern from that regard, but I think that he'll be a kid that will probably step in here or there. 14:45 They probably won't heavily rely on him. 14:47 You know, it'll probably be, I'm guessing with pretty much both the freshman defensemen, it'll be a situation where they're kind of in and out of the lineup in the early handful of weeks, maybe just to give each, get their feet wet and feel, get a comfort zone, and then maybe kind of to see how things roll with the parents. 15:06 But that'd be my guess with him early on. 15:08 Well, you talked about the other freshman, and that's 5'10, 197-pound... 15:13 Michael Brodzinski. 15:15 Here you go, Brodzinski, people. 15:17 Remember that. 15:18 Hammy, what are your thoughts? 15:20 Well, I think that coming into this year, I thought that all the freshman defensemen, including Vanelli when he was still, I thought that Brodzinski was probably going to be the one that had the best impact because he played a full year of USHL last year, had a very successful season. 15:34 He's kind of more of a goal scorer from the blue line. 15:38 He's got a good shot and he's not a tall, tall kid, but he's rugged enough where I think he can handle the physicality that he's going to face early on college hockey. 15:49 Obviously, his older brother, Johnny, had a successful year at St. 15:52 Cloud last year, and ironically enough, I think that he had more points as a defenseman than Johnny had as a forward in the USHL the year before. 16:02 So, you know, I'm not saying he's going to end up with 30-plus points or whatever, but I think that he'll be a pretty solid addition. 16:09 Vego, any thoughts on Brudzinski? 16:11 Yeah, I kind of agree with Hamme. 16:13 I think if there was a defenseman you saw that might jump into the top four and play some minutes, it was going to be Brudzinski. 16:21 He's a goal scorer. 16:21 He's got good hands and a good shot. 16:24 And I know in the exhibition game, Lucia was experimenting with four forwards on both power play units. 16:31 And so his tendency has been to use two defensemen on his power play units. 16:35 So this is a guy, I think, you know, you look at the other defensemen in the lineup, Brudzinski might be the best fit to be that third guy to jump into the PP play. 16:46 All right, let's move to the freshman forwards. 16:50 Taylor Camerota. 16:52 5'7, 154 pounds, Hammy. 16:55 He's a little guy. 16:57 Yeah, he is a very prolific scorer. 17:00 He's definitely, he's scored pretty much on every level that he's ever played on. 17:04 You know, going back to the Shattuck Banton days all the way up to, I mean, he outscored Nathan McKinnon, you know, who was the first overall pick of the NHL draft this last year, you know, back when they were on the same team at Shattuck. 17:17 So, I mean, the kid's very talented. 17:20 He's really, you know, his biggest asset, you know, as far as a god-given gift, it's just his ability to really read the play and really understand what's going on around him. 17:30 Obviously not making this comparison, but sort of like a Gretzky-like take, you know, on the game and understanding, kind of like looking at it like it's a chess game and understanding what you need to do and where the puck's going to go and just having that kind of a feel for the game and being able to find the open spaces. 17:47 So I think that, you know, out of all the freshmen, he's probably most likely to have, you know, one of those kind of 40 point seasons or whatever. 17:55 Certainly clues could be that possibility too, but he's a kid that I expect, you know, early on we'll see some or hopefully we'll see some scoring from him. 18:03 Your thoughts on Taylor Veegs? 18:05 Well, he's the Minnesota Johnny Hockey. 18:08 So hopefully he steps the line up and is able to avoid getting hit, kind of like Johnny Hockey does. 18:13 I mean, he's he's a little guy. 18:15 I mean, he's, I think, 20 pounds smaller than Colorado. 18:20 So he's by far the smallest guy on the roster. 18:22 So he's just going to have to find those spaces. 18:24 I mean, you watch Gretzky play, he never got hit. 18:27 So he's just going to have to, you know, slip in and find the open ice and show off his skill. 18:33 And usually those weights that they give of 154 for him are usually on the high side. 18:38 Usually they start playing and they'll probably lose, you know, five, ten pounds. 18:43 So he's going to be little, definitely a little guy. 18:47 You know, and the other thing is, well, we've seen a lot of smaller players be very successful on a college level. 18:52 And, you know, certainly he's been successful both both on regulation size ice and Olympic size ice. 18:58 So I don't think that, you know, the transition from one to the other and playing games on different ice surfaces, that shouldn't be a problem for him. 19:07 He's accustomed to that. 19:08 And I think that I just have a big belief that he's going to have a good year. 19:12 All right, moving on to another forward, 6 foot 2, 207 pounds, a big boy. 19:19 Hudson Fashing. 19:21 Hudson Fashing. 19:23 Out of Apple Valley, Hammy, this kid, you know, during the exhibition game last week, a lot of fans were saying, you know, this kid likes to sit out in front of the net and cause problems. 19:34 Well, I mean, obviously a lot of us remember, you know, him back in those kind of the Apple Valley at the State High School Hockey Tournament with AJ Mickelson, you know, several years ago and going off to the US program. 19:46 And I'm sure that that had a, you know, a great deal of impact on helping him develop, you know, the physical side of, you know, his game. 19:53 And, you know, he probably didn't score quite as much as people maybe thought he would, you know, with the US team. 19:58 But it might be interesting that maybe, you know, maybe it's that he'll be put in a role. 20:04 We saw him in the exhibition game plan on top line. 20:08 Now, of course, that's going to be a pretty fluid situation. 20:10 But, you know, if they put him up there and, you know, he adds some size and be able to kind of make some problems in front of the net and the power play or whatever, I think that he'll be a very valuable addition. 20:22 Vegoe, your thoughts on Mr. 20:24 Fashing. 20:25 Well, I think Fashing had a great high school career at Apple Valley. 20:29 He pretty much dominated the tournament as a sophomore. 20:33 I thought he looked really good as a freshman. 20:37 And I think the one thing that happened when he went to the development team is his compete level wasn't as consistent night in, night out, whether it was all the training or all the games, you know, just kind of wore on a little bit. 20:50 And with bigger guys, you know, it takes a little while to get your leg strength under you to handle all the competition. 20:56 So I think that's going to be the big challenge for him is consistency night to night because he's definitely got a role on this team. 21:03 You know, there's not a lot of big skilled players in the lineup, so they're going to need him, especially when they play teams like Wisconsin, veteran teams. 21:12 I think you're going to see him here against Mercyhurst coming up with a real veteran team, it's going to be a strong test for him. 21:19 You know, I think the other thing that, you know, from kind of an intangible point of view is that everybody knows about his family background with his brother and sister and some of the medical situations there. 21:32 And I think that being away from that for the first time in his life and actually now coming back home, you know, with where his family is and being able to reconnect with him, I would be, you know, I would be surprised if that did kind of inspire him as he now that he's back home and wanted to kind of really make a big impact here. 21:50 Now that he's seeing his family on a consistent basis again, and that connection that he has with his brother and sister. 21:56 And so hopefully that'll also help him, you know, at the emotional side of things. 22:03 Gabe Gertler, 5'9, freshman, 191 pounds out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Hammy. 22:12 Yeah, I mean, like I mentioned earlier, he's kind of a good two-way player. 22:15 You know, he played center up at Fargo. 22:17 You know, he's always kind of been more of a goal scorer. 22:20 So I think that he'll contribute in that regard. 22:22 He's, like I mentioned, he's kind of one of those guys that get under the skin of the other team. 22:28 He'll probably be a guy that opponents and their fans end up hating, but Gopher fans will more than likely love, kind of like I mentioned with Eric Westrom. 22:38 And I'm very hopeful that he has a really good year once he gets in the lineup. 22:42 And I think that he could be a solid addition for the offense. 22:45 And I wouldn't be surprised if he plays a role on special teams once, you know, he kind of earns his way back into the good graces. 22:52 Yeah, he definitely needs to do that first with Coach Ligia. 22:56 What are your thoughts there, Veegs? 22:58 Yeah, I mean, they're going to need gritty players like that. 23:00 They're going to need guys who, you know, embrace that checking line, agitator, hard to play against role. 23:07 And they're going to need some guys like that. 23:09 Because if you look at the bottom of their lineup, you know, maybe it's questionable if they've got guys who can play that style of game and they could add a lot to the lineup if he gets in there. 23:19 Moving on to Justin Kluce. 23:23 5'9, 178 pounds, out of Lakeville, Minnesota. 23:28 Hammy, this guy, kind of a superstar locally. 23:32 You know, he's kind of, you know, he made a name for himself, you know, with the state tournament and whatnot. 23:37 He's actually somebody I've heard of and seen. 23:41 Yeah, I mean, he was very good with Lakeville South. 23:44 He really was a kid that, you know, he always played some very good teams, but his team was always outgunned, and yet he kept producing no matter who he played against. 23:55 And so it wasn't a big shocker when he went off to the USHL last year and had a really successful year. 24:02 And I think that they're counting on him to be successful and be in that scoring role in college as well. 24:08 And I think that he's a very elusive kid, very fast and elusive and like you're going to have to be at that size. 24:16 You kind of have to either think ahead or you have to be really elusive. 24:19 And he's a smart kid and plays hard. 24:22 And certainly I think he's going to be a guy that's opponents are going to find a struggle to kind of keep a handle on. 24:29 I'm looking forward to him, Veegs Ploose. 24:33 I like him. 24:34 Yeah, he might be giving Condon a race for fastest gopher as well from the reports that he can really wheel. 24:42 I think the other impressive thing is, is when he recruited or got recruited and signed, I feel like he was a 150 pound kid. 24:49 And he must really be putting on the leg strength here to get up to 178. 24:53 So that's impressive to see developing. 24:57 Because he's going to need some size, I think, to play in the Big Ten. 25:02 Definitely going to need that. 25:03 And you have to remember he was going to be the kind of insurance policy last year if Buxtedde had left. 25:12 And we kind of found out kind of later that Buxtedde was going to come back. 25:15 And so to be able to get that year in the USHL and to kind of make the best of it and not be one of those guys that whines about the fact that he has to go play a year rather than going to college right away, I think that that certainly says a lot about him. 25:30 And I think that he'll be a real good player. 25:33 And finally, we have Vinny Leteri. 25:36 Oh, Vinny Leteri. 25:38 His papa is Tino Leteri, the old soccer player for the, what is it, the kicks and, oh, what, the strikers? 25:45 Yeah, some way that. 25:46 Yeah, I remember the kicks. 25:49 I remember the kicks. 25:50 I remember him for the strikers as well. 25:52 Quite the outrageous guy. 25:54 Pardon? 25:55 Old Met Center. 25:55 They used to play the indoor games. 25:57 Yeah, they played, the strikers played at the indoor. 25:59 I actually went to one of those games when I was a kid. 26:02 I saw him play outdoors at Met Stadium, I believe it was, with the kicks. 26:07 Those orange and blue unis, let me tell you. 26:11 Dating ourselves with those. 26:12 I know we're dating ourselves. 26:14 Obviously, he's a soccer kid. 26:16 His dad's a soccer guy, but he's a hockey guy. 26:19 What can you tell us about him there, Veegs? 26:22 Well, I do know that when he played for the development team against the Gophers, he and Connor Hurley looked like two of the best players on that team that night. 26:30 And I'm excited to see what he can do. 26:33 He's got some skill and Lucia put him on the top line in the exhibition and it will be interesting to see if he stays in the top six when warning gets put back in the lineup, but he should be a fun player to watch. 26:46 What do you think, Hammeh? 26:49 Well, I think he's gonna be a kid that a lot of fans, he's definitely a big time leader. 26:54 I mean, he was probably the guy that pulled together a lot of his fellow recruits coming in this year in the freshman class, because he was already friends with Comerata and he was friends with Gertler. 27:07 And I think that he kind of probably plugged the Gophers and as far as getting them to be that last push over the edge, so to speak. 27:17 And I think that he's a leader, he's a high quality kid. 27:21 So it wouldn't surprise me if somewhere down the line, he ends up wearing a letter. 27:25 I know last year from the reports I got from somebody in Lincoln who saw a lot of Lincoln's games, he was by far their most consistent player week in, week out, and was probably their best player week in and week out. 27:38 So I think that he's going to be an impact kid. 27:41 You know, where he plays is hard to say, but I'm really optimistic about his future. 27:47 All right. 27:48 Well, he's technically a freshman, but he was out all of last year. 27:52 Do you guys have any thoughts on Connor Riley? 27:54 You know, we didn't get to see him last year. 27:56 He's technically a red shirt freshman. 27:59 What can we look forward to, Veegs? 28:02 Well, I know last year Lucio was talking about him as the one freshman that would come in and make an impact had he been healthy for the year. 28:09 He was the one guy they thought might be able to help out their power play had he played. 28:14 So I think they've got high expectations for him. 28:18 But we'll see how he comes back after the injury. 28:20 Sometimes it takes a year to get that functional strength, and then another couple months to get that explosiveness back. 28:27 So we'll see how that happens. 28:29 Your thoughts on Cotner, Hammeh? 28:32 I think that, of course, it's always a question mark when you're coming back from a knee issue. 28:37 You don't know what you're going to get. 28:40 Some guys are ready to roll right out of the gate, and sometimes it takes a little bit of time to get knocked the rust off. 28:46 He's always been a pretty good scorer. 28:48 I mean, he played in the USHL for a year and had okay numbers. 28:53 Then he went up to Penticton in the BCHL and had a very good year. 28:57 Of course, it's a scoring league, so you have to be a little leery about reading into those numbers too much. 29:02 But I think that he's kind of a wild card. 29:08 He's a kid that, he's obviously older, he's 22 already. 29:13 So for a red shirt freshman, it sounds like what you'd get at North Dakota. 29:18 But sorry, I had to get my obligatory shot. 29:21 Oh, we're used to it. 29:23 Anyways, the reality is that he's kind of a wild card. 29:27 I think that he could be a pleasant surprise for a lot of fans because he's kind of off the radar because of the injury last year and all that. 29:33 So we'll see how it goes. 29:36 All right. 29:36 Well, that's your freshman coming in for this year, along with the Mr. 29:39 Redshirt Connor Riley. 29:41 But the big thing this year, the WCHA is gone. 29:47 Big Ten is all new. 29:50 What do you think, guys? 29:51 Hammy, Big Ten, what are your thoughts? 29:54 Who's going to win it? 29:55 Who's going to be at the bottom? 29:57 Let's hear your predictions, Hammy. 29:59 Well, you know, I'm going to skirt that one a little bit in the sense that I didn't really go into it saying, okay, this team is, you know, first, this one's fifth or any of that stuff. 30:10 Because frankly, you know, in the past, it's like we knew these teams, these would be opponents in our conference, like inside and out. 30:17 You know what I mean? 30:18 We knew who was returning, you know, we knew a lot about their recruits and whatever. 30:22 And, you know, frankly, I got to plead a little bit of ignorance with, you know, what you're going to see out of Penn State or what you're going to see out of Ohio State. 30:28 I mean, I know some of the players and I know some of the results in the teams, but frankly, we just don't, I don't have a good enough field to really sit there and be all, you know, predicting this with any kind of serious confidence. 30:41 I do think that most of what I've seen is I've felt like you have The Gophers, Wisconsin and Michigan as the top three more than likely, and they're probably finishing in some order with those three teams. 30:56 That would be my suspicion. 30:59 I think that it's fair to have Wisconsin at the top because of the returning players that they have. 31:05 So I think, but I would be surprised if it's not those three teams in the top three spots in some order. 31:12 I kind of would agree with you there, you know. 31:14 You got Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan. 31:17 I would also agree, you know, Wisconsin up at the top. 31:20 Just because they're bringing back a lot of guys and, you know, they came on real strong last year. 31:24 Michigan State, boy, they were awful young last year. 31:29 But I, they're right in the middle there. 31:32 And like you said, Penn State and Ohio State on the bottom. 31:34 Maybe there'll be a surprise. 31:36 Who knows? 31:37 And that's just the key. 31:38 Who really knows? 31:39 It's a whole new conference. 31:41 You know, it's a whole new feeling. 31:43 Everything's new. 31:45 Vegoe, what do you think? 31:46 It's all new, man. 31:48 Yeah, it's all new. 31:49 But I think one of the things is there is a definite stratification from the top. 31:54 Minnesota, Wisconsin, I put them above Michigan. 31:57 Michigan, I think, struggled a little bit the last year and a half or so. 32:01 I know they've got probably one of the better pair of recruits coming in with Mott and Comper. 32:07 And that will be interesting to see how they play in the Big Ten. 32:10 And then Michigan State really struggled, had a lot of youth last year. 32:15 Ohio State's had some down years. 32:17 They've had some coaching controversy. 32:19 And then Penn State, their young program, I know they shocked a few people last year and got some wins that people didn't expect them to get, but it's going to be a little bit tougher when they're playing these teams week in and week out. 32:33 So, the one thing about the change is, I don't know if anybody can beat anybody in the Big Ten, like anybody could beat anybody in the WCHA. 32:43 Yeah, it might take a while for us to get some parody with Penn State. 32:48 Ohio State jumps up every few years. 32:49 You know they're going to do that. 32:51 And obviously we've got a lot of history with the Michigan's and the Michigan State's and us in Wisconsin. 32:58 Well, Michigan missed the tournament for the first time and forever last year. 33:04 So I think they're going to be kind of hungry, but we'll have to wait and see. 33:09 I just really look forward to Michigan. 33:11 They're one of my favorite teams we've always played. 33:13 Like you said, the battle between Minnesota, Michigan. 33:16 We've had some epic battles in the NCAA tournament. 33:21 Ones we don't like, like Mr. 33:23 Mike Legg in his lacrosse goal, or ones we do like, Vannock beating him in overtime in 2003. 33:29 So I'm really looking forward to four games against Michigan. 33:34 And hopefully I'll get a chance to get out to Yoast one of these years. 33:40 It's a nice place. 33:42 You know, the other thing is that some of these teams is, you know, I think that when you look at what Penn State has for, you know, their rank and all that kind of stuff that they put together for that program, I don't think it's going to be a heck of a lot of time before they actually start to make an impact on the college level. 33:58 I'm not saying it's going to happen in a year or two, but when you have those kinds of amenities, you know, all that kind of stuff available to players, you know, that whether people want to admit it or not, you know, it's kind of an arms race in all college sports. 34:13 And if you have, you know, something really attractive to offer to kids as far as an arena, and, you know, I mean, you can attract very good players. 34:22 I mean, let's face it, why do you think kids go to North Dakota? 34:25 It's not because of the weather. 34:26 It's not because of the life. 34:30 It's because of the rank, you know? 34:32 And so, I mean, well, and the history, it's not just the rank. 34:35 They definitely have history up there. 34:38 I don't know why. 34:39 But anyways, but the reality is, is that, you know, they have a lot, they're going to have a lot to offer and they're going to have opportunities for kids because obviously they're not going to be stocked with stars right out of the gate. 34:50 So, you know, you're going to have playing time opportunities. 34:52 And so I think that's a good thing for them. 34:55 And, you know, Ohio State's kind of a question mark, you know, and I think they were really headed in a right direction with Wasicki. 35:03 You know, they shot themselves in a foot there. 35:05 I don't know all the details. 35:06 But I think that that, you know, really is kind of setting them back. 35:10 They lost some really good recruits that he had put together for their program. 35:15 You know, we'll see how, you know, they recover from that. 35:18 But I think that that was kind of something that's going to set them back a little bit. 35:21 But they have the chance, you know, they have obviously a huge budget as far as their athletic department goes. 35:28 And they have the kind of, you know, financial power to really upgrade things that they need to. 35:33 So we'll see how it happens. 35:34 But I think that, you know, it'll be an interesting conference. 35:38 It won't be great. 35:39 Won't be the top conference this year, probably not even next year. 35:42 But, you know, I think you give it a few years with some of these new teams or some of these other teams that maybe they attract some new fans to the the arena because of familiar foes. 35:51 And we'll see what happens. 35:53 Any other thoughts on the new Big Ten conference, Vegoe? 35:58 I just think one of the things is it frees up the schedule a little bit. 36:01 You see that the Big Ten is going to have that series with hockey. 36:05 I think that's great for Minnesota. 36:07 And then with the North Star Cup that they have coming up, I think that's a good way to maintain their rivalries with the Minnesota schools. 36:15 And I think it's going to be a fun experience. 36:17 I think people are going to like it, especially with all the home games. 36:21 Yeah, I mean, I agree. 36:22 I think that that's one of the big bonuses about the Big Ten is, in the past, we basically had four non-conference games to play with. 36:30 And you knew that two of them are going to be in Mary Chee Classic or whatever they're going to call it. 36:35 And then you had the two that were for a while for the college hockey showcase. 36:39 And you didn't really have much else for flexibility. 36:42 And so to be able to kind of add some additional non-conference teams and to be able to fill up the non-conference schedule with some of those, you know, whether it's Eastern teams or whoever, I think that that will be something that will be add some additional interest over time. 37:01 Well, let's take a look at this season. 37:03 We've got quite a few teams that we haven't played in a while. 37:07 Colgate and Mercyhurst and maybe a Clarkson or a UNH, but and of course Penn State. 37:14 But we kick it off with Mercyhurst this weekend, guys. 37:18 Obviously a team we've not seen too often. 37:20 Gosh, I don't even remember. 37:22 What was it, 2003 maybe we played them? 37:25 I want to say we played them here for one of the regionals and it was pretty ugly. 37:29 Yeah, I think it was the first round of the CAA. 37:32 Yeah, that was pretty ugly. 37:33 But other than that, you know, we haven't really played them too much. 37:37 And then obviously, you know, whoever wins that, we might run into UNH or Clarkson. 37:42 Vegoe, give me your thoughts on this weekend. 37:45 Is it kind of a feeling out weekend, you know, with all the new players and everything? 37:48 I mean, what do you expect? 37:49 I mean, Mercyhurst might be a little more experienced than our team, not as young. 37:56 Yeah, I know I looked a little bit at Mercyhurst line up and they bring back pretty much most of their team from last year and they were within a game of getting the NCAA tournament. 38:05 So I think it's kind of a, it's a dangerous opening game with so many young players coming in the Gopher lineup. 38:12 You know, I obviously expect the Gophers to come out on top, but I'd much rather be playing Clarkson in the first game than Mercyhurst. 38:21 Hammey, Mercyhurst. 38:25 Yeah, I mean, it's always kind of a wild card earlier in the year because you just don't know, especially with a young team, you don't know exactly what you're going to get. 38:33 You know, the guys are still kind of figuring out the lines. 38:35 They haven't had a lot of practice, you know, as far as full-fledged practices go, you know, trying to get the different specialty teams, units kind of set up and clicking. 38:46 And, you know, so you really, these early in the year kind of games, you just don't know entirely what to expect. 38:53 And I certainly think that, you know, if the talent level comes to the fore, the Gophers should win, you know, but you just never know with the youth variable, you know, how guys are going to handle things. 39:06 But I think in the past, when we've seen early in the year, it seems like the freshmen generally, most years have gone off to pretty good starts in the early games. 39:14 So hopefully, we'll be seeing that again this weekend. 39:17 Well, one thing to note is that this is a true tournament format, folks. 39:21 So if the Gophers were to lose Friday night, they would play the 4 p.m. 39:26 game on Saturday. 39:28 So just a heads up in case the Gophers lose. 39:33 It's the Gophers do not control the schedule for this icebreaker tournament. 39:38 Hammeh, do you have any thoughts on the potential second appallment, maybe a UNH or Clarkson? 39:44 Well, I mean, I don't have any major thoughts on that, mainly because it's one of those things where, like I mentioned, early in the year, you just don't know what you get and you can't entirely base what you saw last year because we just know the personnel, the chemistry, new guys coming in. 40:02 You just don't entirely know what you're going to get. 40:04 And obviously, we don't see these teams a significant amount, so it's really hard to judge. 40:10 But I think that in a format like this, I think the Gophers should have an advantage. 40:18 It's something that they're playing in front of the hometown fans and they should just... 40:24 I think it's a solid opportunity for them to really get out of the gates and do well, be successful with the young guys, and hopefully they'll be able to make an impact relatively quickly. 40:36 I'm thinking it's going to be a Minnesota UNH Finals Saturday night. 40:42 Dick Umili, he'll get his team going. 40:43 They play on the Olympic ice, so that won't be any adjustment for him. 40:48 Gophers versus New Hampshire. 40:50 What do you think, Vs? 40:52 Yeah, I think you'll see New Hampshire get by Clarkson. 40:55 Clarkson was picked last in the ECAC, and they've just really struggled. 41:02 They've kind of got a new coach, and they've got just a lot of turmoil in their lineup, whereas UNH returns to their top line. 41:09 They've got their top defenseman coming back. 41:11 They've got some steady talent there, and so I think it'll be a good matchup. 41:16 UNH lost to UMass in the tournament last year, and UMass turned out to be a pretty good team, so I think it'll be a good test both games. 41:24 I don't think Mercyhurst is a cupcake team. 41:28 I think a lot of people probably look at the schedule and think that, but I think Mercyhurst will be a really good test for them, and if they get a win over them, I think that'll help them in the tournament seeding down the line. 41:40 Definitely will, it definitely will. 41:42 Well, the schedule's fun this year. 41:44 You know, we have that icebreaker tournament off the bat, then Gopher's head up to Bemidji, you know, come back down to play some Boston College, out to Notre Dame, and then we've got a bunch of Minnesota teams, Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, they all come in. 41:58 Wisconsin then comes in, we finally get in to conference play at the end of November. 42:04 And then, you know, at Michigan State, we got the Mary G Classic with Colgate, at Penn State. 42:12 Boy, nothing really interesting until, you know, Ohio State at TCF Bank Stadium, Hammy. 42:19 I'm not a big fan of it, but it was inevitable, wasn't it? 42:24 Outdoor hockey. 42:25 Yeah, I think that everybody knows, I mean, anybody that goes to GPL knows, I've always been a little, you know, I've not been a big fan of the outdoor, you know, games. 42:34 I certainly understand from a fan experience standpoint, and, you know, I'll probably end up being there and enjoying kind of the outdoor experience and all that. 42:42 But as far as the actual hockey itself, a lot of times it doesn't live up to what you normally would see in a regular rink because of the, you know, the conditions outside and the ice not being necessarily optimal. 42:54 And, you know, we saw that last year, frankly, it probably cost us winning the league outright, you know. 43:00 So I think that I'm not the biggest fan of that. 43:04 But, you know, hey, it's an experience. 43:06 It's for the fans. 43:07 And, you know, so we'll see how it goes. 43:09 Vegoe, any thoughts on that outdoor Hockey City classic? 43:14 Well, you know, I wouldn't love the Gophers to do an outdoor game every single year. 43:19 But I think every couple of years, it's really fun for the players, the program, the fans to do something like this. 43:24 I know, you know, people don't love it, that it counts towards the, you know, Big Ten conference race and all that. 43:31 But the players loved the event last year in Chicago. 43:36 I think they'll look forward to it again this year. 43:39 And the game's gonna be eight o'clock in a January, Minnesota, you know, climate. 43:45 So I think the ice will be fine. 43:47 And, you know, it's the same group that put on the event last year. 43:51 So I think it'll be a little bit smoother. 43:52 And I think they'll figure out the ice. 43:54 And it'll be a good experience for everyone, I think. 43:58 All right. 43:59 Well, just kind of looking over the schedule here. 44:02 I guess what I'm really looking forward to is Boston College coming into town in late October. 44:07 I mean, that one really jumps out to me. 44:09 You know, those Boston College teams are fast. 44:11 They're always good. 44:13 That is a series not to miss. 44:15 What about you, Hammy? 44:16 Is there anything out there that you're looking forward to? 44:19 Yeah, well, I mean, just looking at the schedule, the thing you realize is that we have some pretty good non-conference opponents early on. 44:28 And we always see it every year. 44:30 I don't know all the tweaks to the paralyze and all that kind of stuff. 44:33 But we've known that in the past. 44:36 The non-conference schedule kind of played a big role in everything because you didn't have any of those opportunities and you kind of had to capitalize on them. 44:43 Now we have more of that now. 44:46 But I think that those are going to be some good tests early on, especially for a young team. 44:53 We have a pretty good home schedule for the first couple of months. 44:57 So I think that that's certainly beneficial. 44:59 I mean, we really only have the road trips to Bemidji and Notre Dame through the end of November. 45:06 So I think that should help them as far as getting there, settle as far as some of the young guys go. 45:11 And hopefully that will get us off to a good start when the Big Ten conference season starts. 45:17 What do you think, Vegoe? 45:18 Anything pop up at you on the schedule there? 45:22 I just like that they've got Michigan in two of the last four series. 45:25 I think that will be a crucial time for deciding who wins the Big Ten. 45:30 And that's a good time to play them. 45:32 So that will be exciting. 45:34 Yeah, definitely. 45:35 You know, Michigan in mid-February and then again the final weekend of the year. 45:39 So it could be an interesting end of the season going out to Yost in, well, actually mid-March. 45:48 You know, because of the way the tournaments are. 45:52 We go to season till March 15th. 45:55 So that everyone else will be on their playoffs. 45:57 We'll still be doing regular season games. 46:01 And I definitely like the idea that we start off the season and as far as the conference goes with Wisconsin, I think that we really need to set the tone, you know, as far as the team goes. 46:09 I think, you know, there's no question that Wisconsin will probably be the biggest rival for that top spot this year. 46:15 And so I think being able to get off to a good start and, you know, having a successful weekend, I think that that will be important that weekend. 46:24 Well, looking at this week's schedule, I, you know, we didn't really talk about the other teams in the Big Ten too much. 46:29 You guys want to comment on any of the games coming up this weekend? 46:31 I mean, we got, you know, Michigan is going to be playing Boston College this weekend. 46:36 We've got Ohio State, you know, home and home with Miami. 46:41 Northern Michigan goes in for a set for Wisconsin. 46:43 I mean, any thoughts on any of those other series or games going on this weekend? 46:47 Hammy? 46:49 Well, I mean, it's, you know, you saw the Wolverines lost their exhibition game, you know, and so, you know, it's like I said, you just don't know what you're going to get early in the year because of the, you know, they've had so few practices, you know, some teams are going to be, you know, because of the nature of their team being more veteran, they're going to probably be able to start off things a little quicker and a little bit better. 47:10 You know, for instance, with the Gophers, I'm sure that it won't be a well-oiled machine early on. 47:15 If it is, great, but if it, you know, it won't shock me if it's not because they have some young guys. 47:19 And, but as we all know, it's just, it's not how you plan at the beginning of the year, it's how you're playing, you know, that second half down the stretch. 47:27 And so we'll see what happens. 47:29 But as far as the other games go, it's just, for me, it's too early to even judge. 47:32 I have to see some of these teams a little bit more to really have a good feel for them. 47:36 It's like I mentioned earlier, it's not like we played these guys two to four times last year and the year before, and we know all their players real well. 47:44 So we'll see how it goes. 47:46 I think a lot of it's for everybody's guesswork right now. 47:49 Michigan could be in for a rough start. 47:50 They've got Boston College at home Thursday night, and then they go out to RIT to play on Saturday. 47:57 So RIT is an up and coming team. 48:01 They've been playing much better. 48:02 So it could be a rough start for Michigan, which would be just so terrible, wouldn't it, Veegs? 48:08 Yeah, it'd be rough. 48:10 College hockey isn't exactly like college football. 48:12 You don't get that month of two days to repair. 48:15 So it is kind of a feeling out process right away. 48:18 And everyone's going to be working with trying to figure out who's going to play special teams and hope you avoid injury and get off to a good start. 48:26 But man, draw on BC the first week is tough. 48:30 Yeah, Ohio State doesn't have an easy one. 48:32 They're playing home and home with Miami. 48:35 And Miami is one of the top teams in the country. 48:37 So that will be an early season test for them. 48:40 So we'll see how that goes. 48:41 And the last I heard, it sounds like Army is going to play at Penn State on Friday to kick off their new arena and whatnot. 48:50 At least that's the last I heard. 48:51 You guys haven't heard anything different, have you? 48:54 At first it was going to be canceled. 48:55 Now they say it sounds like they're going to play. 48:57 But, ugh. 49:00 Yeah, that's pretty much what the last thing I saw. 49:02 And it was pretty much the same thing. 49:04 So I would imagine that that's going to be the way it goes. 49:07 And I think what Michigan State doesn't even play this weekend, they have the weekend off. 49:11 So they're not playing until the 18th and the 19th, it looks like, so at UMass. 49:17 All right, let's get into some Twitter questions. 49:20 Remember, you can always tweet us during the broadcast or before or whatever you want to do. 49:26 I believe I saw something from your favorite guy, Jeff Optos, Veegs. 49:32 He'd like to know which seat you're occupying in the Civic and how comfortable it is. 49:38 Quite comfortable. 49:38 Is that a joke? 49:40 What does that mean? 49:41 What is that? 49:42 Is that a Rubes joke? 49:43 Rubes hockey team. 49:46 I'm still in my Northeast condo with my one-year-old, and so I'm trying to let him sleep, so I'm podcasting from the front seat of my Civic. 49:58 Wow. 49:59 That's what he meant. 50:01 I was wondering why it sounded so weird. 50:04 Yeah. 50:05 You're going to have to upgrade your facilities or something, I think. 50:09 You're podcasting from your Civic. 50:12 Yeah. 50:13 It's a tough housey market out there. 50:15 I've lost three offers on houses in the Metro and I'm still looking. 50:19 Wow. 50:20 I was wondering what the Civic was. 50:22 So, if any of our listeners out there has a basement that they can rent out to Vegoe, just for an hour every Tuesday, there's your opportunity. 50:32 Hey, we need to do a podcast for my hot tub, guys. 50:34 Once y'all come out, we'll do it from here. 50:37 I want to do one on Excel like you said that we talked about last year. 50:44 Fulness emailed me and said, hey, guys, why don't you come on out? 50:47 I go, I'm not sure about this. 50:49 What do we want to do? 50:50 Then all of a sudden, he never got back to me. 50:54 Who knows? 50:54 You need to get on that one. 50:55 Yeah, I need to get on that one. 50:57 All right, that's Jeff's question. 50:58 I had no idea you were in your freaking car. 51:01 Jeez. 51:02 I know. 51:03 It's pretty sweet. 51:03 It's really comfy. 51:05 It did sound a little odd. 51:07 It did sound a little odd. 51:09 What a good dad. 51:10 You are a good dad. 51:12 Definitely. 51:12 Father of the year. 51:15 All right, I saw another question here. 51:17 Oh, Tim Hapke wants to know, will we see Shibby play any time this year, or will Wilcox get most of the games, Hammeh? 51:26 They've got to get him in there sometime, don't they? 51:29 Yeah, my guess is he'll get a few opportunities. 51:33 I mean, I think that, you know, I suppose it's going to depend on the team, the opponent, certainly. 51:40 But, you know, I think you're going to want to give Wilcox the occasional night off, you know, even though I know goalies never liked that. 51:47 But I think it, you know, it's in his best interest to get a breather now. 51:51 And then I think that, yeah, I think he still played pretty well down the stretch, but maybe, you know, there are times where maybe he wasn't quite on top of his game, and you kind of have to wonder, you know, was that because he was wearing down a little bit or whatever? 52:04 But I think that, you know, for the most part, it'll be similar to last year, but we'll see Shibby get a few starts. 52:11 Any thoughts, Figs, on Shibby? 52:13 Well, I mean, with the college hockey schedule, you know, the Gophers get their big break in December for exams and the holidays and stuff, so you can ride Wilcox pretty hard the first half of the season. 52:24 I think the spot where you might want to give Shibby a chance, you know, if he's been practicing well and maybe gets in here and there, is those series against Penn State and Ohio State coming down the stretch, because then it might give the goaltender kind of that mental rest more than the physical rest going into the end of the season. 52:44 All right. 52:45 I see some other questions from Twitter, but we've kind of covered a lot of them, you know, where we're going to finish this year, people under the radar. 52:55 Pammy, who's going to step forward this year? 52:58 Who's going to make the jump? 53:01 Are you talking about offensively? 53:03 Yeah. 53:03 You know, anything. 53:04 Who's going to accelerate? 53:06 Who's going to step up their game? 53:08 Who's going to be the guy this year? 53:11 Well, I mean, I think, you know, we're going to see a lot from a kid like, say, Sam Warning. 53:16 I know he didn't play this last week. 53:17 I don't really know the full extent of, you know, his injury, but it sounds like he'll be back pretty quickly. 53:23 And I think that he's a kid that could really have a leap up in production. 53:28 You know, he's always been a pretty good scorer in the first couple seasons, but I think that now the opportunities have opened up a little bit more and he certainly has that ability to do well. 53:37 Of course, we know Rao is going to be a big key player on that, so it kind of goes without saying for him. 53:44 You know, I think defensively, it'll be interesting. 53:46 I think, like, you know, Justin Hall, we saw how well he kind of stepped up and, you know, kind of took it like a man, so to speak, and played forward and how he kind of made an impact in that sense. 53:57 And now that, you know, he's moving back and we'll see, you know, how he transitions back into that role. 54:03 I think that his, you know, being a senior, I think that's going to be important for a guy like that to kind of step in and be a solid player. 54:09 And, you know, we lost some, you know, real good players on the blue line. 54:15 So I think some of these guys that are returning that have some experience, it's going to be important for them to kind of lead the way and not put too much pressure on guys like, you know, Dinske. 54:25 So we'll see how it goes. 54:27 But I think that those are some, and Sheik, you know, I wrote him pretty hard last year and kind of criticized him a good amount for some mistakes. 54:36 But I think that he certainly got the ability to be a real shut down type of a defenseman. 54:42 He's got the skating ability. 54:43 I don't know that he's ever going to be a great offensive player from the blue line. 54:49 But I think that he has the ability to really kind of step it up and be kind of step into one of those, maybe that alt type of a role. 54:55 Add a little offense but be solid defensively and show some more physicality. 55:00 So who do you think is going to step up there Vegoe? 55:04 Well, I think Mike Riley's got a great opportunity to kind of step up and be that quarterback on the power play. 55:10 You watched him last year at Times. 55:12 He was one of the few Gophers who is really comfortable rotating around positions from that kind of off wing position to the point and back to the off wing. 55:22 And I think that makes it really hard for a penalty kill to defend. 55:25 And so I think if Lucia trusts him to play that role, it could be really good for the Gopher power play. 55:32 And then I think up front, I'm Christian Isaacson's biggest Gopher hockey fan, I think. 55:38 I think he's got great hands. 55:40 He showed that he can put the puck on net, I think with another year of kind of adding some strength to his shot. 55:47 He's going to get a chance. 55:48 He was in the exhibition on the first power play unit. 55:51 And I think he's going to get a chance to show what he's got there. 55:54 He's good in tight spaces and makes smart plays with the puck. 55:57 So I think he's going to have a good chance to be one of those guys to make that leap. 56:03 You know, and the piggyback on that, the one guy we haven't really mentioned hardly at all, and in fact, I don't think he's been mentioned once, has been Ben Marshall, you know? 56:11 And I really think that out of the defenseman, to me, he's a guy that could really step into that Nate Schmidt role. 56:17 But because Marshall's not afraid to let it rip from the blue line, you know, he's really good with the puck, very dynamic skater. 56:25 You know, I think that he's the kind of guy that would really be able to kind of step into those kinds of power play roles and be more of a leader in that sense. 56:32 And I'm really expecting big things out of him this year. 56:35 I think that he's going to have a really good year. 56:37 And I think that, you know, from a blue line perspective, he can add some of that leadership that, you know, we lost with some of the veterans last year. 56:46 I'm going to pick a dark horse and say Travis Boyd. 56:51 Possibility. 56:52 I, you see little, you know, twilight, a little twinkle in his eye that, you know, he's got the skill. 56:58 I just, I really hope he can step up his game because, you know, it's there. 57:04 We just need to see it. 57:06 And I'm just going to go with it because, you know, I'm hoping he does well. 57:11 Well, people have to remember that, I mean, he's still a young guy. 57:14 He's only 20 as a junior, you know. 57:15 I mean, he came in essentially at the age of a high school senior when he was a freshman. 57:21 So, I mean, he was a young guy stepping in. 57:25 You know, it really comes down to what roles are some of these guys going to be playing. 57:29 You know, Travis Boyd is a perfect example. 57:30 I mean, it's going to be difficult if he's a third or fourth line type of guy to really kind of make that dramatic offensive impact. 57:38 Not that he can't, but, you know, it kind of depends on, you know, what roles some of these guys are going to be playing. 57:44 You know, some of these freshmen are very talented, so I would imagine that they're going to try to put them in more offensive-minded roles right out of the gate. 57:51 And, you know, we'll see. 57:53 Some of these veteran guys, you know, maybe they'll take that competition and ramp it up and, you know, improve a lot based on what we've seen in the past. 58:02 Any other final thoughts, fellows? 58:06 Not really, just looking forward to the year. 58:08 I'm glad hockey's back. 58:11 I'm wondering how long Vegoe is going to last in the Civic once it starts getting cold. 58:16 Well, I hope to find a house by then. 58:19 I've been looking for almost a year, so it's bound to come up one of these days. 58:23 Hey, you know, there's houses out in our neighborhood that are available, really cheap. 58:26 It's a nice neighborhood. 58:28 You know, might be a little far out for you, though. 58:31 I can't handle that community campus, so. 58:34 Well, if you continue to do it from the car, if you're in a garage, just remember not to have it running, because we don't all of a sudden have Vegoe just drop off silent and wonder what the hell happened. 58:45 If I cut off, it might not be the Wi-Fi. 58:48 Yeah, exactly. 58:49 I hope you're alone. 58:50 Is there anybody outside your car looking at you, wondering what the hell you're doing? 58:54 No, it's pretty quiet out here. 58:56 That's good. 58:57 I should have known, because your acoustics have just sounded strange all night. 59:04 Well, my acoustics were weird last year in the loft, too. 59:09 Let's get you into a house, all right? 59:12 That's my goal. 59:13 All right. 59:14 Well, we'll be back every week, hopefully on Tuesdays. 59:18 We haven't quite decided on the time yet, but we'll get around to it. 59:21 You can listen to us live on the GPL portal page. 59:24 Hopefully, quite a few big people have been listening tonight. 59:28 I don't know if it works on Android. 59:31 Let me know, people. 59:33 I know it's a little mobile sites. 59:35 If it works, let me know because I can't test Android because I don't have Android. 59:39 That's just the way it is. 59:42 Remember, you can always tweet us during the broadcast at Gopher Puck Live or at Hammy Hockey for Hammy or EVGopherVegs. 59:52 Just follow them. 59:54 They'll get you good stuff. 59:57 That's it for this week. 59:58 We're done, guys. 1:00:01 See you at the rink. 1:00:02 See you at the rink. 1:00:04 Thanks for listening.