Too early to predict?

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highgloveside
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Too early to predict?

Post by highgloveside » Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:46 pm

Is it too early to predict a Edina vs Andover possible final? There is also Blake but??? not as many powerhouses as years past.

Mnnstar
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Re: Too early to predict?

Post by Mnnstar » Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:10 pm

highgloveside wrote:Is it too early to predict a Edina vs Andover possible final? There is also Blake but??? not as many powerhouses as years past.
What about White Bear? Hill will not be as strong.

highgloveside
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Post by highgloveside » Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:38 pm

No chance, Talent left 2 years ago. Whole conference is weak.

massalsa
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Post by massalsa » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:39 pm

Excited to be talking some girls hockey again...especially in August!

White Bear had some issues last year with the firing/resignation/whatever of Hartzell of LPH fame. From a non insider perspective things unraveled from that point. However they have the high end tools/players to absolutely make a run if they are playing well.

1. Calla Frank may be the best of the rising senior goalies and gives them a chance in any game. Has to be the early favorite for Ms Goalie.

2. At least 2 players that are considered among the best in the country born in 2001 along with a D that was a national camper last year means they will have a chance in their section.

3. Rumor is that HM will be missing their rising Senior goalie. Supposedly heading to Gentry. That has to hurt their chances some in that section.

j4241
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Post by j4241 » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:08 am

The depth of the talent pool in girls hockey isn't the same as the boys, which means the falloff from 1 to 10, and 10 to 20, is steeper. But the first post (predicting Andover vs. Edina), and the one in the other thread predicting 3 out of 4 for Edina, misses the most glorious truth of hockey - the better team doesn't always win. Goalies can steal games and favorites can choke (and that's probably a greater possibility at programs like Edina and Andover where kids have grown up rarely losing games - how will they handle being behind on a bad bounce, and moms and dads start decomposing in the stands?). Hockey is a test of skill, but also character - resilience! commitment! leadership! team cohesiveness! Those are hard to assess from the outside, and even from the inside ahead of time. And those are some of the reasons we in hockey know well - miracles happen!

It also ignores another truth, which is that the strength of teams is usually a function of how good the best are, and how bad the worst are. Edina will be great because their top end is very good, and they are selecting role players from kids who might star on single A teams - they will be strong at the top and deep. But a top line of super high end talent with a hardworking second and third line, four solid D, and a good tender can beat anybody. It's fun to make predictions - certainly not trying to tell anyone not to - but just that I'm going to enjoy watching them play it out on the ice!

And Blake (my favorite), as usual, will be one of the fun ones to watch. But so will Edina, Andover, White Bear, and I also think Hill Murray (they hoover every strong player on the east side - even with losses, they will be deep forever), Wayzata (gave Blake everything they could handle twice, with most back), Benilde (a lot of young talented kids, and strong goaltending), maybe Minnehaha United/Gentry, with their additions, and no doubt many others! Is it almost November? Can't wait!

Mnnstar
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Post by Mnnstar » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:23 am

Teams on the rise this year.
STMA: solid in goal and have balance
GRG: two studs in Vekich and Peart questions in goal
Minnetonka Strong Junior class
Shakopee ::very strong on the back end but can they score?
Farmington: again a strong junior class
Eagan :Last year was no fluke.
Roseau: Three strong players in Santl, Stoskopf, and Bergstrom, Goalie questions
Cambridge-Isanti: they have the energizer bunny in Skelton rumor around rink is they have a good young goalie.
Wayzata: strong Junior class lead by Sophie Urban

Question Marks?
Princeton :the question is do they have anybody who can support Peterson?
Hill: If goalie leaves do they have enough scoring to win everynight 8-7?
WBL: can they ride Frank to State? Very weak after this year
Eden Prairie: Can they recover from grad losses?
FLAKE: can their Strong Junior class carry them? They picked up Blake and Edina should show if contenders or pretenders.
Andover: Who takes over for Butorac? She was best two way player in state last year.
Blake: Can they get by Edina? Lost some depth to grad but still very strong. Can they find a goalie? or do they need to?
Edina: preseaon favorite; Do they have the goaltending?
Brainerd: Can they repeat last season?
Just some thoughts

highgloveside
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Joined: Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:34 pm

Post by highgloveside » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:25 am

Many good points j421. I posted those 2 teams as the favorites heading in. You are correct many things can happen, some players choke, some coaches choke. I want to highlight one point though. You say Edina has players that might star on other A teams, Factually they have 2nd and 3rd liners that would star on most AA teams. Blake does have big guns also and would not be a shock if they took Edina's spot in the end. As for Andover, They climbed the mountain last year and threw their safety harness at Flake halfway up :D . So at least they have proven they can do it. It is a weak section so it would be hard to get a surprise out of it, don't see any goalies that could steal a game.

nu2hockey
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Post by nu2hockey » Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:25 am

Blake/EDINA were VERY close last year...i think EDINA roster losses exceeds Blake's..hate to say it,but, it may come down to which team's goalie plays best..

ANDOVER will be good, but don't underestimate the loss of Butorac .

FLAKE also a good team.

I'm not sure about Eagan, Anderson leaving hurts big time...

Brainerd will have a lot of wins...

WBL has Frank and 3 skaters after that their depth really drops off
BUT,
Hearing about issues at HM, plus having to replace 8-9 players after last year's embarrassing state tourney performance, SEC 4AA might have a new rep this coming season
Last edited by nu2hockey on Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

j4241
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Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:38 pm

Post by j4241 » Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:32 am

I agree with you nu2 on Blake and Edina, although Blake lost MUCH more on defense, Edina lost MUCH more on offense. Will be interesting to see how those losses work out and are replaced.

jg2112
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Post by jg2112 » Thu Aug 02, 2018 1:19 pm

The WBL situation is intriguing. 2 graduating skaters tallied about 1/3 of the team's points. There are obviously four great returning seniors: one F, two D and a G.

Is there any depth behind those players? MN Hockey Hub stats aren't always accurate so it's hard to tell. What can be seen online is their youth program didn't have a U15 team and their U12A team won 6 games last winter.

blondegirlsdad
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Post by blondegirlsdad » Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:11 pm

highgloveside wrote:You say Edina has players that might star on other A teams, Factually they have 2nd and 3rd liners that would star on most AA teams.
Every year, Edina CUTS players that would start (and maybe star) on other HS teams. It's a real shame, as lots of girls play all the way through the system (on the top level teams) and get dumped as juniors and seniors. A problem probably not found in any other feeder system.

goaline
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Post by goaline » Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:06 am

Is the Flake goalie into the boys program, ala Rooney? If so, Andover is heavy favorite and with spotty scoring, Flake might slide to 3 seed
Mnnstar wrote:Teams on the rise this year.
STMA: solid in goal and have balance
GRG: two studs in Vekich and Peart questions in goal
Minnetonka Strong Junior class
Shakopee ::very strong on the back end but can they score?
Farmington: again a strong junior class
Eagan :Last year was no fluke.
Roseau: Three strong players in Santl, Stoskopf, and Bergstrom, Goalie questions
Cambridge-Isanti: they have the energizer bunny in Skelton rumor around rink is they have a good young goalie.
Wayzata: strong Junior class lead by Sophie Urban

Question Marks?
Princeton :the question is do they have anybody who can support Peterson?
Hill: If goalie leaves do they have enough scoring to win everynight 8-7?
WBL: can they ride Frank to State? Very weak after this year
Eden Prairie: Can they recover from grad losses?
FLAKE: can their Strong Junior class carry them? They picked up Blake and Edina should show if contenders or pretenders.
Andover: Who takes over for Butorac? She was best two way player in state last year.
Blake: Can they get by Edina? Lost some depth to grad but still very strong. Can they find a goalie? or do they need to?
Edina: preseaon favorite; Do they have the goaltending?
Brainerd: Can they repeat last season?
Just some thoughts

highgloveside
Posts: 110
Joined: Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:34 pm

Post by highgloveside » Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:11 am

I don't think it's necessarily a shame but rather an important life lesson. That particular program is constantly in competition with each other to see who can spend more money on their kid to make them better. The result is that they do churn out more quality players than most because the money and the coaching is there. What I have seen is every girl through that program can stick-handle and do all the basics many youth programs can't. When they get to the high school program they look around and guess what? Every girl can do what you can do. The only difference is You can't teach speed and natural hockey sense is a gift, as is scoring ability. The girls that have those things crack the Edina lineup the ones that can't end up realizing money can't buy natural talent. If you want to see Edina girls that have the basics plus those intangibles you can find them at Blake :D

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