Local players in the pros

This paragraph from the above article would lead one to believe the Gophers are skating on a auxiliary rink at target field this weekend. That’s not the case, is it?

“The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis on Jan. 1 will not just be an outdoor game between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, it will also be a celebration of the “State of Hockey.” Part of that celebration will include various hockey teams and clubs throughout Minnesota skating on one of several auxiliary rinks at Target Field. NHL.com is profiling each of the teams. Today, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.”

From tonights Rink Live story.

Bjugstad and Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski will be the two former Gophers on the ice for the Wild, but there will be a distinct maroon and gold feel to the game, which will be played at Target Field on Saturday night, Jan. 1. A video from former Gopher forward Kyle Okposo about learning to love outdoor hockey on the neighborhood rinks in St. Paul will play on the big screen at some point. And one of the smaller pond hockey rinks in what is normally the baseball field’s outfield will feature a handful of current Gophers on skates before the game.

For Gophers co-captain Sammy Walker, it will be a throwback to his childhood in Edina, to Saturday mornings when their father would drive Sammy and his two older brothers around in full gear until they found a park with a pick-up game underway, and they would skate outside for hours.

“We’re going to be skating during pregame and in the first period,” Walker said of their role during the Winter Classic, which was originally scheduled for New Year’s Day 2021 but was delayed 12 months due to the pandemic. With temperatures expected to be below zero at game time, Walker and the other Gophers are planning to dress appropriately.

If Lafontaine wears a Minnesota helmet in an NHL game he will have added respect from me forever.

Jack got his debut in the 3rd period tonight.

His save % so far is 50%. 1 goal on 2 shots

1/3 now, .333. Two breakaway goals. No gopher pads or helmet though.

looks like we cut him loose right before his game went in the tank

Sometimes we “experts” know what we’re seeing and talking about.

Two breakaways is rough, though.

Oof. Two goals on 3 shots.

I can’t judge Laffer tonight. He went in to a 4-0 game. 2 of the 3 shots were breakaways.

He got some time. That’s what mattered.

Lafontaine currently has the lowest documented save percentage in NHL history. Hopefully he can get in another game.

I can’t believe they let the kid play in an NHL game.

I assumed that he was just a body that they could send to the AHL. I suppose letting him dress for an NHL game may have been part of the deal

A behind the scenes story about Laffer and his decision from the Canes Athletic beat writer. A couple of interesting quotes from the story. One from the Canes goalie coach Muzzatti and one from the Michigan St head coach. It seems that a few of the college coaches are saying what Bob would like to.

“It’s been comical, reading some of the backlash,” Muzzatti says. “Quite frankly, there’s a lot of people pissed. All these college coaches. It’s like, cry me a river. How about we talk about what these college coaches are doing to kids in hockey? They overcommit. A lot of schools have seven spots and offer 14 kids, then they just weed them out. Some schools will just cut a bunch of guys for no reason.

“They’ve made it sound like (us signing LaFontaine) was the greatest offense ever, but these guys are looking out for themselves. I don’t think they look out for the kids enough, quite honestly. I played college hockey too, and it was a great experience, but let’s not kid ourselves here.”

Michigan State coach Danton Cole — a college teammate of both Muzzatti and Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour — was blunter.

“It’s not a good thing and it’s not a good look,” he said. “It’s a weird thing with hockey and the way we are set up. That could happen at any time of the season. It could happen before your first game, it could happen before the NCAA championship, or like this. Maybe it’s time that we look, between the NCAA and college hockey and guys who have a good say in the NHL, and have some kind of agreement.”

[media]https://twitter.com/SaraCivian/status/1483078843653140481[/media]

Wow, nice attitude Canes.

Yeah, I thought that too. It’s pretty much a big F you to college hockey.

College hockey has become the defacto U.S. junior leagues for the NHL. They don’t seem overly concerned about poaching from the college ranks and are downright hostile in their response when confronted about it.

They could have gone with the “extenuating circumstances” explanation.

Instead, they got personal and nasty. That is indeed low class.

All he does is score goals. Now has just as many goals this year in Montreal as the little guy.

[media]https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/1483190940172959749[/media]

Keith Ballard is on the spittin chiclets podcast this week, on spotify now

After the interview RA (not a fan) talked about Lafontaine and said it was an EBUG situation and that he was happy to see him get in a game. Shows how little NHL people see about the situations.

Both goalies are available for the Hurricanes. Can’t help but feel like Laf got used for basically $10K worth of time on the roster…

money talks

[media]https://twitter.com/WpgJetsPR/status/1484926025205272577[/media]

[media]https://twitter.com/mikemorrealeNHL/status/1485705213541502976[/media]

[media]https://twitter.com/mikemorrealeNHL/status/1485705213541502976[/media]

Well, at least he can tell his grandchildren about that cu- …well…half cup of coffee he had in show.

Can I get a refund on my Canes LaFontaine jersey I ordered? :wink:

Jackson Lacombe & Ryan Johnson – You are not ready for professional hockey and you will likely regret the decision if you leave after this season. See Jack’s decision – He’ll probably regret it in five years. See the TJ Oshie interview on Spittin Chiclets – He regrets leaving UND before his senior year and he has never played a game in the AHL. You two are not even close to as ready as he was.

(Not that I think either of them are really great at the college level this year, either so maybe it’s addition by subtraction.)

I would love to be a fly on the wall to know exactly what was said to convince him he needed to make this decision. I know nothing, but it almost feels like they made a bit of a threat that he wouldn’t be signed after the season if he didn’t come (or some sort of ultimatum).

[media]https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1491614657374822405[/media]

All he does is score goals.

[media]https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/1491945477671116803[/media]

[media]https://twitter.com/mikemorrealeNHL/status/1485705213541502976[/media]

Well, at least he can tell his grandchildren about that cu- …well…half cup of coffee he had in show.

Can I get a refund on my Canes LaFontaine jersey I ordered? :wink:

Gave up 9 goals on 41 shots??? Wow.

Jack just got more competition for his job.

https://twitter.com/CanesProspects/status/1493251529213632516

https://twitter.com/ByronMBader/status/1493301911721705474

[media]https://twitter.com/BarstoolPhilly/status/1493762759485530114[/media]

Tweet gone.

Pitlick >> Caulfield

Goalies have nightmares about facing Rem!!!!

We didn’t need him :wink:

Goal scorers are a dime a dozen.

https://twitter.com/sanjosehockey_/status/1498156394247168005

San Jose was dumb enough to let Alex Stalock play in an NHL game. He gave up 6 goals in a little over 2 periods of play. On the bright side, he’s still only the 2nd worst goalie from a Minnesota school to play an NHL game this year.

J22 appears to be smarter than every NHL GM and also apparently a former NHLer based on ripping every player that made a wrong decision.

Rem Pitlick scored his 12th goal of the year tonight.

[media]https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1505967122215845891[/media]

There’s quite a few hockey players in the world who could score 20 in the NHL if they were willing to give up 40 to do it.

Reminds me of how a coach put me in my place. 😬

I remember watching Rem for the first time on that trip to Alaska that they took under Lucia. Wicked, accurate shot that seemed to find the back of the net every time. It was obvious I was watching a real star in the making.