7A - Thoughts

[ironranger2]

From Greenie on the Tuesday game thread:
"Greenway 7, Virginia 1 final. Probably the weakest Virginia team I’ve seen in years. I don’t know if they were missing players but they struggled. Greenway has two good lines. Ben Troumbly is something. The way he has the puck on a string is fun to watch. We’ll see when they play Minnetonka on Saturday if they are a top ten team."

Good to hear the Raiders have two good lines. Gotta have that second line to have any hope of taking down Hermantown. Two lines, a good goalie, and a stud defenseman. If they have another solid D that can log a lot of minutes like Lantz did, then there may be some hope for another trip to the X.

Greenway has a sophomore defensemen who is a good one. They will need to develop/find a fourth. Clafton tried a couple of different kids. He might once again take a forward and move him to defense. The second line surprised me. They have one of the most physical kids I’ve seen at Greenway in a long time. He made some really hard hits. He’s about 6’1” and 225. Good skater too. As good as Lawson was as a scorer replacing Lantz is a bigger challenge. That kid was so smart and such a good passer. If Greenway can compete somewhat with Minnetonka on Saturday they might have a shot at Hermantown.

No question in my mind that Lantz was most important player on that team last year. Fun player to watch.

[ironranger2]

Sad to see Virginia struggle while the kid they voted in their captain last year is on Hermantown first line. Can't help to think it would have helped to have him stay and try to lead his old team.

How else would he have gotten "noticed"? Everyone knows no hs player north of the line from Duluth to Moorhead ever gets noticed and gets a D1 scholarship unless they move to a city program that goes to state 9 out of every 10 years. Oshie, Nelson, Jaycox, Yon, Strand, Gothberg, Bushy, Bittner, Lyon, Brand, Miller, Stejskal, McLaughlin, Hain, Shepard, Adams, Bischoff, Peterson, Perunovich, Johnson, DeCenzo, Ullan, Lee, Niskanen, Kishel, Sacchetti, Corrin, Troumbly, C. Miller, Lawson, etc., just to name a few. All these players made it to D1, and/or NHL, by pure luck. They must have gotten lucky at some summer hockey festival and got noticed by someone whose half-brother's second cousin's ex-girlfriend's former roommate is a retired scout who used to work for the Hartford Whalers. If they would have transferred to Hermantown, or another "real" program, they'd all be NHL All-Stars right now.

It's borderline cruelty to expect a kid to play for a team that might not go to state.

There was no way his dad's ego was going to be able to handle the down year Virginia is "supposedly" going to have.

There is a new generation of parents coming through that tie how well their kids team is doing to how their kid is being perceived in the hockey world. The kid in question is a good hockey player that will need to play a couple years in juniors to see where he shakes out. Playing a year in Hermantown is not earning him a college scholarship offer right now.

[elliott70]

Sad to see Virginia struggle while the kid they voted in their captain last year is on Hermantown first line. Can't help to think it would have helped to have him stay and try to lead his old team.

How else would he have gotten "noticed"? Everyone knows no hs player north of the line from Duluth to Moorhead ever gets noticed and gets a D1 scholarship unless they move to a city program that goes to state 9 out of every 10 years. Oshie, Nelson, Jaycox, Yon, Strand, Gothberg, Bushy, Bittner, Lyon, Brand, Miller, Stejskal, McLaughlin, Hain, Shepard, Adams, Bischoff, Peterson, Perunovich, Johnson, DeCenzo, Ullan, Lee, Niskanen, Kishel, Sacchetti, Corrin, Troumbly, C. Miller, Lawson, etc., just to name a few. All these players made it to D1, and/or NHL, by pure luck. They must have gotten lucky at some summer hockey festival and got noticed by someone whose half-brother's second cousin's ex-girlfriend's former roommate is a retired scout who used to work for the Hartford Whalers. If they would have transferred to Hermantown, or another "real" program, they'd all be NHL All-Stars right now.

It's borderline cruelty to expect a kid to play for a team that might not go to state.

There was no way his dad's ego was going to be able to handle the down year Virginia is "supposedly" going to have.

There is a new generation of parents coming through that tie how well their kids team is doing to how their kid is being perceived in the hockey world. The kid in question is a good hockey player that will need to play a couple years in juniors to see where he shakes out. Playing a year in Hermantown is not earning him a college scholarship offer right now.

So the old man packed up everything and moved to Hermantown?

[greenwayraider]

Greenway suffered a similar loss this year. The dad does not like Clafton and moved his two sons to Bemidji. The older would most likely have been the fourth defensemen this year. The bigger loss is the younger son. He is a very talented player that is a definite D1 prospect. The mother and daughter are staying at Greenway. Just how it is now-a-days.

[ironranger2]

How else would he have gotten "noticed"? Everyone knows no hs player north of the line from Duluth to Moorhead ever gets noticed and gets a D1 scholarship unless they move to a city program that goes to state 9 out of every 10 years. Oshie, Nelson, Jaycox, Yon, Strand, Gothberg, Bushy, Bittner, Lyon, Brand, Miller, Stejskal, McLaughlin, Hain, Shepard, Adams, Bischoff, Peterson, Perunovich, Johnson, DeCenzo, Ullan, Lee, Niskanen, Kishel, Sacchetti, Corrin, Troumbly, C. Miller, Lawson, etc., just to name a few. All these players made it to D1, and/or NHL, by pure luck. They must have gotten lucky at some summer hockey festival and got noticed by someone whose half-brother's second cousin's ex-girlfriend's former roommate is a retired scout who used to work for the Hartford Whalers. If they would have transferred to Hermantown, or another "real" program, they'd all be NHL All-Stars right now.

It's borderline cruelty to expect a kid to play for a team that might not go to state.

There was no way his dad's ego was going to be able to handle the down year Virginia is "supposedly" going to have.

There is a new generation of parents coming through that tie how well their kids team is doing to how their kid is being perceived in the hockey world. The kid in question is a good hockey player that will need to play a couple years in juniors to see where he shakes out. Playing a year in Hermantown is not earning him a college scholarship offer right now.

So the old man packed up everything and moved to Hermantown?

For the year. He still works up here and will be back after his son graduates.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Greenway suffered a similar loss this year. The dad does not like Clafton and moved his two sons to Bemidji. The older would most likely have been the fourth defensemen this year. The bigger loss is the younger son. He is a very talented player that is a definite D1 prospect. The mother and daughter are staying at Greenway. Just how it is now-a-days.

Uproot your family for 25 games?! I can't wrap my head around the advantages of splitting a home just for a extracurricular sport. What am I missing?

[kniven]

I can’t imagine being crazy

[elliott70]

Greenway suffered a similar loss this year. The dad does not like Clafton and moved his two sons to Bemidji. The older would most likely have been the fourth defensemen this year. The bigger loss is the younger son. He is a very talented player that is a definite D1 prospect. The mother and daughter are staying at Greenway. Just how it is now-a-days.

Uproot your family for 25 games?! I can't wrap my head around the advantages of splitting a home just for a extracurricular sport. What am I missing?

3 section games and, AND 3 games in St Paul in March.

still????

[ironranger2]

Virginia looked to have Okland back last night but that's about it. Virginia will be young and thin and can't really afford to have people out of the lineup. Man, if they only had one more dynamic player to bring some skill to the front and lead this younger group...but that kid is now playing first line in Hermantown. Whatever, not here to make excuses. Virginia is going to have their work cut out for them. MOST programs have to rebuild at some point right?

What is the timeline for the merger with Eveleth? I have heard that next year is the last season for football at both schools and they will be combined for 2021-22 season. Same for hockey?

Too bad they couldn't have combined this year. Would have for a much deeper team.

[PuckOff]

As I sit watching the game on my9 I was wondering if anyone knew this stat for the Hawks. How many of the Hawks players started in Hermantown youth hockey from mites and are on the varsity. Not stirring the pot but just curious, we all know the Hawks get a ton of move ins.

They beat Eveleth 5-2 last night. Eveleth hung with them until the 3rd period when it was tied 2-2.

According to the hub:

1st goal was Hermantown, from Hermantown and Denfeld
2nd goal was Virginia from Proctor
3rd goal was Denfeld from Denfeld
4th goal was Proctor, from Denfeld and Ely
5th goal was Hermantown from Hayward and Virginia

3 points on the night from Hermantown kids. 10 Points from the others.

You can keep saying that kid is from Hayward, but he's not. He only played in Hayward 2 years. They moved because of a job change. The job was between Hayward and Duluth area. I mean c'mon, if you had the choice between playing for Hayward or Hermantown who would you pick? Where would you rather live?

[karl(east)]

A friendly reminder that we have a thread where you are free to discuss certain issues regarding a certain program to your heart's content, but to please keep other threads free of that stuff.

http://ushsho.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=36208

[Jeffy95]

As I sit watching the game on my9 I was wondering if anyone knew this stat for the Hawks. How many of the Hawks players started in Hermantown youth hockey from mites and are on the varsity. Not stirring the pot but just curious, we all know the Hawks get a ton of move ins.

They beat Eveleth 5-2 last night. Eveleth hung with them until the 3rd period when it was tied 2-2.

According to the hub:

1st goal was Hermantown, from Hermantown and Denfeld
2nd goal was Virginia from Proctor
3rd goal was Denfeld from Denfeld
4th goal was Proctor, from Denfeld and Ely
5th goal was Hermantown from Hayward and Virginia

3 points on the night from Hermantown kids. 10 Points from the others.

Post of the Year Candidate!

Thanks for the props but it pains me to post stuff like this. I hate Player Movement and I hate what it’s done to our game.

[rainier2]

Looking through Hibbing's roster, I'm not seeing their returning leading scorer, and another kid who would have provided some offense this year. Not sure if these kids bolted too, or if there are suspensions or whatever.

This Hibbing-Virginia game might be to see who gets the 8th seed this year.

[greenwayraider]

Looking through Hibbing's roster, I'm not seeing their returning leading scorer, and another kid who would have provided some offense this year. Not sure if these kids bolted too, or if there are suspensions or whatever.

This Hibbing-Virginia game might be to see who gets the 8th seed this year.

They certainly could have enrolled at Greenway if they are dissatisfied at Hibbing. No reason for that pipeline to last only one year.

[rainier2]

Looking through Hibbing's roster, I'm not seeing their returning leading scorer, and another kid who would have provided some offense this year. Not sure if these kids bolted too, or if there are suspensions or whatever.

This Hibbing-Virginia game might be to see who gets the 8th seed this year.

They certainly could have enrolled at Greenway if they are dissatisfied at Hibbing. No reason for that pipeline to last only one year.

Noooooooo!!!

[Hessian]

Tomberlin has the program headed in the right direction. He has well qualified assistants and is very active in the youth. His son will transfer back his senior year

[greenwayraider]

Tomberlin has the program headed in the right direction. He has well qualified assistants and is very active in the youth. His son will transfer back his senior year

His son is in his senior year now.

[rainier2]

Tomberlin has the program headed in the right direction. He has well qualified assistants and is very active in the youth. His son will transfer back his senior year

I hope you're right.

[rainier2]

Tomberlin has the program headed in the right direction. He has well qualified assistants and is very active in the youth. His son will transfer back his senior year

Wait, is this sarcasm? You were hammering on him pretty hard last year in a few posts. Do you really think he's doing a good job?

[rainier2]

Virginia wins 3-1, shots 31-29 Devils. Tight game until the 3rd, when Virginia had a big edge in play, thanks to some Hibbing penalties. Can't see either of these teams cracking the top 4 in 7A without some serious growth as the season moves along, but there a a couple kids on each team that are/will be fun to watch.

[greenwayraider]

Let’s make a stab at rankings.

1. Hermantown
2. Greenway - easy win over Virginia and a loss to Minnetonka. Minnetonka game was interesting for awhile but two penalties in the second period pretty much took away any chance of an upset. I did like that the Raiders never quit playing and scored two goals with about two minutes to go. Tonka player deliberately hit Troumbly over the head to take a major and game disqualification. Very cheap shot. Troumbly’s relentless pursuit of the puck frustrates a lot of players. Clafton moved a forward to defense and he did just fine.
3. Denfeld- Good start against weak opponents. Host the Raiders on Tuesday for the inside track on the #2 seed. Winner will be no lower than a #3 seed.
4. Eveleth-Gilbert- played Hermantown tough but fell short. Main challenge for the Bears is staying disciplined. Something that’s been a challenge for them.
5. Virginia MIB - Could be a long year for the Blue Devils. Don’t have the speed or playmakers of previous years. Hopefully some players step forward. Could see Virginia drop further. Bad losses to Little Falls and Greenway are not a good sign. The win over Hibbing was a slight positive. Tough week ahead. Rapids and Warroad will get ugly.
The rest is a a crap shoot.
6. Proctor- Not sold on up and coming team yet but what the heck. The game with Hibbing on Tuesday will help sort the bottom half out.
7. Hibbing - lots of questions but keep thinking they will make a move.
8. International Falls - this could be too high given their total collapse last year. Lost to Eveleth 6-2 but beat LOW. Game with Hibbing on Friday will tell us if they are too high or not.
9. North Shore - have lost to Proctor and Denfeld already.
10. Ely - couldn’t field a team to play Greenway on Friday but that is a good thing.

The Denfeld/Greenway game should be a great one. It’s at Denfeld. Lot of early season hype for the Hunters due to the influx of some good bantams who won consolation and their great goaltenders. What some fans might not realize is this senior group for Greenway finished third at state in bantams although Lantz has graduated. Think Troumbly will be the difference and the Raiders eke out a win.

[kniven]

CEC plays Duluth Denfeld in Cloquet on Thursday this week. It will be a test/tough game. Denfeld has depth on that varsity squad this year too. To what team is healthier will say a lot here in this matchup.

[Hessian]

Hibbing will have Lund , Galli, and Frider returning. It should help from a mshsl violation but it came from a teammate whose mom teaches English at the Hs so it may be not so helpful

[Hessian]

Hibbing will have Lund , Galli, and Frider returning. It should help from a mshsl violation but it came from a teammate whose mom teaches English at the Hs so it may be not so helpful

[Jeffy95]

Hibbing will have Lund , Galli, and Frider returning. It should help from a mshsl violation but it came from a teammate whose mom teaches English at the Hs so it may be not so helpful

I’ve read that 5 times and I still don’t get it???