redtundra wrote:Yeah I saw that announcement today. Does anyone know what happened? Last I knew he was headed to Madison. He can still change his mind of course. Wherever Jack goes he will provide much needed grit at the next level. EP will be a tough out if they can get solid defense outside of Leiverman. They will score the puck as well as anyone. Top offenses should be EP, Rapids and Elk I would think. Top defenses Holy Family, Wayzata and Lakeville South. Stillwater seems like the real wild card. Weak section, I assume a softer schedule than most, but if they can find the balance that others may not possess this could very well be their year.
Bonin2121 wrote:
redtundra wrote: Jack Jensen is a Wisconsin commit.
Minnesota
He never gave a verbal to Wisconsin. He was uncommitted until this week.
redtundra wrote:Yeah I saw that announcement today. Does anyone know what happened? Last I knew he was headed to Madison. He can still change his mind of course. Wherever Jack goes he will provide much needed grit at the next level. EP will be a tough out if they can get solid defense outside of Leiverman. They will score the puck as well as anyone. Top offenses should be EP, Rapids and Elk I would think. Top defenses Holy Family, Wayzata and Lakeville South. Stillwater seems like the real wild card. Weak section, I assume a softer schedule than most, but if they can find the balance that others may not possess this could very well be their year.
Bonin2121 wrote:
redtundra wrote: Jack Jensen is a Wisconsin commit.
Shoot the puck, stop the puck = save. Shoot the puck, score the puck = goal. Simple game.
WarmUpTheBus wrote:
redtundra wrote:Yeah I saw that announcement today. Does anyone know what happened? Last I knew he was headed to Madison. He can still change his mind of course. Wherever Jack goes he will provide much needed grit at the next level. EP will be a tough out if they can get solid defense outside of Leiverman. They will score the puck as well as anyone. Top offenses should be EP, Rapids and Elk I would think. Top defenses Holy Family, Wayzata and Lakeville South. Stillwater seems like the real wild card. Weak section, I assume a softer schedule than most, but if they can find the balance that others may not possess this could very well be their year.
I was looking at St Thomas' schedule, and from December 8th to January 17th they play 10 straight road games. Then from January 26th to February 14th they play 8 straight home games. This seems so weird, is there a reason for this imbalance of home/road games or is it just a coincidence?
I'd take Hain-Miller-McLaughlin over Casey and two generic forwards. The issue is that we don't really know who Casey's linemates will be, and if last year was any indication, Lee Smith is pretty comfortable asking him to lift some linemates' play instead of loading up the top line. If he does end up sticking him on a line with Sullivan and Jenson, though, that line could be right up there with Rapids', possibly better, depending on Jenson's adjustment to the HS game.
And while GR's top line may be set for now, if I were Klatt, I would at least play around with things a little bit. Hain and McLaughlin are plenty capable of carrying a second line. It's just really hard to win one of the better AA sections relying on one line--though if any group could do it, it's probably this one. It'll be interesting to watch GR's D. Yes, their defense is experienced, but the trophies they won last year papered over some rough patches, including some in the playoffs (5 GA vs. East, 6 vs. EP). But, they had some good games, too. I guess GR boils down to this to me: how do they hold up against other top teams when the big three aren't on the ice?
Tony: While Maas wasn't in the Edina tournament over the summer at Braemar, I thought ER looked a bit thin back there beyond Perbix. Maybe just one bad viewing, but I wasn't awed. As with the GR comment, experience does not necessarily equal greatness. We'll see.
STA schedule: weird, hadn't noticed that. A lot of those games are conference games, so a large part of that is on the Metro East for scheduling it that way, but...unusual.
Last edited by karl(east) on Fri Nov 18, 2016 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BP wrote:He never gave a verbal to Wisconsin. He was uncommitted until this week.
My $ says he was thinking of Ben Helgeson.........
No, it was Jensen. I know the family fairly well (obviously not well enough!) and Jack was going to Wisconsin - I guess up until the last minute. The maroon and gold can be intoxicating for some kids. So important for a kid to find the right fit for his game.
Karl, how do the 2nd lines match up between GR and Elk? Top lines to me seem to be fairly even in all honesty - at least looking back to Bantams when all are healthy. With the emergence of the younger Perbix on Elk as a star, does Elk maybe have a bit more forward depth at the end of the day? And I want to correct a misconception on the forum about Holy Family. They are NOT 2 goalies deep. Moe is arguably best goalie in State, but no one after that. Stauber left some time ago and I think is playing Tier 1 with Victory Honda.
Karl you generate the best discussions. I agree with you on GR and the distribution of the talent on two lines. Those three are the best in the state. Collectively. Casey is obviously a nice player, but teams can learn from Wayzata last year that if you put a body on him it disrupts his game. And Jack could be there but his youth will show up this year and, right now (I am not talking about potential), Jack isn't where the GR 3 are. NS is a nice player, but there are flaws that just keeps him a step or two below the GR 3.
With that said EP does have more depth. GR goes pretty thin after those 3 players, and that will be their challenge this season. EP will have challenges at goalie and at D which is where they will need to improve to win state. Their D are out of position way too often and that hurt them even last year, including NL. Hopefully they work on that.
I think the ER looks really good. They have the depth to go a long way, and I think they are better than both GR and EP. Stillwater is my dark horse. HF has a really good goalie and MA is solid. They don't have that really top end player they have had in the past, and there is no one on that team that scares you (other than JM), but they will have 2-3 lines that will be solid lunch bucket kind of kids. Germantown anyone? How about Maple Grove, I like them a lot too.
hockeygirl2 wrote:Karl you generate the best discussions. I agree with you on GR and the distribution of the talent on two lines. Those three are the best in the state. Collectively. Casey is obviously a nice player, but teams can learn from Wayzata last year that if you put a body on him it disrupts his game. And Jack could be there but his youth will show up this year and, right now (I am not talking about potential), Jack isn't where the GR 3 are. NS is a nice player, but there are flaws that just keeps him a step or two below the GR 3.
With that said EP does have more depth. GR goes pretty thin after those 3 players, and that will be their challenge this season. EP will have challenges at goalie and at D which is where they will need to improve to win state. Their D are out of position way too often and that hurt them even last year, including NL. Hopefully they work on that.
I think the ER looks really good. They have the depth to go a long way, and I think they are better than both GR and EP. Stillwater is my dark horse. HF has a really good goalie and MA is solid. They don't have that really top end player they have had in the past, and there is no one on that team that scares you (other than JM), but they will have 2-3 lines that will be solid lunch bucket kind of kids. Germantown anyone? How about Maple Grove, I like them a lot too.
Good takes. I also think Maple Grove may have some nice pieces. We will see if goalie holds up. Turkey Trot next week should be an indicator there.
I really have to disagree on Sullivan. As a kid who played against my son all the way up I can tell you he is as good as anyone. Period. Do not simply look at the flash. He is as complete a player as anyone. Probably best power forward in the state. Also disagree on Holy Family as lunch bucket. They have the top goalie, 4 of the top D in the State, and Redden, like Sullivan, is a very top end 200 foot forward. Byers, Almquist and Messler also will be very productive. Too bad Section 2 and 7 are so loaded. But this happens every year - those section tournaments will be can't miss semi-final/finals. I stand by 8-10 teams can win this.
I've heard from a friend in the Elk River hockey family that senior Jensen Zerban not coming back his senior year for the Elks. What affect will this have on Elk hockey this winter?
[quote= I really have to disagree on Sullivan. As a kid who played against my son all the way up I can tell you he is as good as anyone. Period. Do not simply look at the flash. He is as complete a player as anyone. Probably best power forward in the state. Also disagree on Holy Family as lunch bucket. They have the top goalie, 4 of the top D in the State, and Redden, like Sullivan, is a very top end 200 foot forward. Byers, Almquist and Messler also will be very productive. Too bad Section 2 and 7 are so loaded. But this happens every year - those section tournaments will be can't miss semi-final/finals. I stand by 8-10 teams can win this.[/quote]
Having watched this age group for a long time I agree that Sullivan is one of the most underrated of all these kids and is the key to success for EP. Casey and Lieverman can't do it all. EP and GR were never as deep as Stillwater and ER. Stillwater Goalie Eisle and Luke Manning 2 of the other very under rated players in the state. Manning's loss in the State Tourney game 1 last year doomed them against Wayzata. Both Manning and Sullivan are the tough in the corners come away from the boards type kids that don't get enough credit. They are the keys to success for their teams. I did hear Stillwater lost a 2nd line forward to knee injury hurting a little of their depth.
I am not as high as most on GR. This group has never been deep. Even when they won state in bantams it was the tending that stood out not the skaters and they had to lean on the top line and 1 D for everything. Not likely to carry them at the varsity level. Most would have said until the end of the year in Bantams that EP, Stillwater and ER were better. This did have a nice run in the state tourney and could certainly happen again but it will be tough as thin as they are especially at D. Will be interesting to see how it all shakes out!
Interesting. I just had a flash back of a couple years ago. Seems I heard the same thing.....that the goalie for GR had to stand on his head in goal just to get out of the district playoffs that year.
Responding to the various comments on ER's depth...first off, yes, Zerban is gone. Only confirmed recently, but I think many of us expected that was coming, given the family history. It hurts--he actually just committed to the Air Force Academy--but ER has so many forwards coming back and coming up that they can absorb this. Their second line looked great over the summer, and that was without both Zerban and Michaelis. Their depth edge is the main reason why I have them ahead of GR.
Also, thanks for the note on Stauber...was unaware he was gone.
Finally, forgot to comment on Elliott's Pollock comment yesterday. Unfortunate loss, I thought he looked very good in the Elite League and was looking forward to seeing him against East when they're in Duluth in early December.
karl(east) wrote:Responding to the various comments on ER's depth...first off, yes, Zerban is gone. Only confirmed recently, but I think many of us expected that was coming, given the family history. It hurts--he actually just committed to the Air Force Academy--but ER has so many forwards coming back and coming up that they can absorb this. Their second line looked great over the summer, and that was without both Zerban and Michaelis. Their depth edge is the main reason why I have them ahead of GR.
Also, thanks for the note on Stauber...was unaware he was gone.
Finally, forgot to comment on Elliott's Pollock comment yesterday. Unfortunate loss, I thought he looked very good in the Elite League and was looking forward to seeing him against East when they're in Duluth in early December.
I will give more once I have it but no on expects him on the ice for a game until Christmas. If it heals fast and well maybe a week earlier. But he is young and strong...
but on the other side more important to be 100% toward season's end.
[Anyone as surprised as me at St. Thomas hammering Minnetonka in shots and winning fairly easily? Cadets maybe better than thought. Holy Family looks top 5 for sure, and Edina impressed despite being young. They may have found a goalie.]
Looking forward to Karl's rankings updates after this weekend.
Tonka goalie Muller stood tall, otherwise score could have gotten out of hand. But as it turned out , Tonka was in it right to last offensive zone face off with 1 second left. This was a game of two mid to lower top 10 teams, who are both very young and will be trying to find optimizations over the next month.
Two people who stood out this time were Ray Christy and Clay Hanus(then hurt?)
Regarding the Holy Family Edina game , I thought Easy98 summarized quite well. Holy family is going to have to consistently maximize its top goaltending and top D talent , and offense is going to have to have a high conversion rate on presented opportunities; because most other top teams have more top goal scorers .
Last edited by WestMetro on Wed Nov 30, 2016 7:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tonka goalie Muller stood tall, otherwise score could have gotten out of hand. But as it turned out , Tonka was in it right to last offensive zone face off with 1 second left. This was a game of two mid to lower top 10 teams, who are both very young and will be trying to find optimizations over the next month.
Two people who stood out this time were Ray Christy and Clay Hanus
Regarding the Holy Family Edina game , I thought Easy98 summarized quite well. Holy family is going to have to consistently maximize its top goaltending and top D talent , and offense is going to have to have a high conversion rate on presented opportunities; because most other top teams have more top goal scorers .
I was at Holy Family/Maple Grove. Very impressed by HF depth after Matt Anderson went down in the 1st (the word was minor ankle injury and won't be out long). Shots on goal for 2nd and 3rd were something like 28-8 for HF. HF D very good, and Moe made great saves in 1st to keep it scoreless. Also very impressed with Sam Huff on MG. Does he have a D1 deal yet? If not, he will soon...
redtundra wrote:
Looking forward to Karl's rankings updates after this weekend.
Sorry, no update this weekend...I like to wait until most teams have actually played to start moving things around. So, the first in-season set will be next Sunday.