Who will U of M bring in?

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mulefarm
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Who will U of M bring in?

Post by mulefarm » Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:57 am

They are getting commitments from a lot of players for next year, recently 20 year old jr players. Who is coming in for sure?

gorilla1
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Post by gorilla1 » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:21 am

It looks like the have some nice BIG kids coming in next year. Ambroz, Bjugstad, etc. . . This is what they need.

I am curious, I have a buddy who would basically disown the Gophers if they started bringing in kids from outside of Minnesota. As a caveat, he lives and dies by Gopher hockey. I am in the boat where I say bring in the best kids where ever they are from--he says he would quit being a fan if that happened. If bringing in more outside kids to the program meant more wins and more success, is it more important to keep the program with just a couple non-minnesota kids on the roster, or is it more important to bring in other kids if it made the program more successful??

clutterbuck22
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Post by clutterbuck22 » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:57 pm

gorilla1 wrote:It looks like the have some nice BIG kids coming in next year. Ambroz, Bjugstad, etc. . . This is what they need.

I am curious, I have a buddy who would basically disown the Gophers if they started bringing in kids from outside of Minnesota. As a caveat, he lives and dies by Gopher hockey. I am in the boat where I say bring in the best kids where ever they are from--he says he would quit being a fan if that happened. If bringing in more outside kids to the program meant more wins and more success, is it more important to keep the program with just a couple non-minnesota kids on the roster, or is it more important to bring in other kids if it made the program more successful??
Hopefully all of this talent coming in next year will learn to play like a team and not rely on individual talent.

Gopher Blog
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Post by Gopher Blog » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:14 pm

gorilla1 wrote:I am curious, I have a buddy who would basically disown the Gophers if they started bringing in kids from outside of Minnesota.
Guess your buddy better start cheering for a new team since they will have a Finnish player, a Wisconsin born player, Colorado kid, Missouri kid, etc. in the coming years... and have been recruiting some other non-MN guys in recent times. Not to mention Vanek, Potulnys, etc. of the past.

Not sure he'll find another team with as many Minnesotans on an annual basis though... if that is his criteria for cheering for a team.

Youngblood10
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Post by Youngblood10 » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:56 pm

Nate Schmidt should be a solid addition on the blue line next year. He's had a good year for the Fargo Force points-wise and he could see some action on the second unit power play. In addition to that, I heard he's been lightin up suckers, knockin out chumps, and smokin fools, so that's a plus as well.

gorilla1
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Post by gorilla1 » Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:07 pm

Thanks for the info Gopherblog. No, his criteria is that basically it has to be all Gophers or just one non-gopher on the team. I have told him over and over this was not a good idea because there are too many other good hockey players outside the state, and with the recruiting, the U doesn't end up with all the Minnesota kids that they would like. The fans cheer for the team without regard for where the players are from.

It is time for a change of scenery with Lucia. He is not getting enough out of the kids.

mulefarm
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Post by mulefarm » Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:49 pm

Noticed they have 3 committments from the NAHL. Jake Parenteau, Tom Serratore and Jared Larson. All 3 will be coming in next year,along with Bjustad and Alt. Anybody else for sure?

ACTUALFORMERPLAYER
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Post by ACTUALFORMERPLAYER » Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:27 pm

Who won't be coming once the Don is fired? My guess is most of the scholarships will be honored but with some seasoning conditions in juniors.

youngblood08
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Post by youngblood08 » Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:29 pm

finally getting some older MN kids that have JR experience. Still don't need to go outside of Minnesota just get the kids that will be there for 4 yrs and have some juniors under thier belts. Need to be mature and not looking to do what thier PRO team thinks they should be doing instead of listening to what Coach Lucia needs them to do. Maybe you miss out on a few like Schroeder or Ness but I think instead of reading Pioneer Press, Star Tribune and Getting the Mr Hockey candiates. Do a little more homework, watch a few more games and take a varity of players instead of the same cookie cutter molded players they will be back on top.

ALSECORD
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Post by ALSECORD » Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:05 am

What about Ryan Walters? I'm almost sure his time is up in the USHL. Isn't Tyler Barnes a gopher recruit too?
I just don't understand bringing Bjustad and Alt straight in from high school. Is this a for sure? You would think Lucia would have got the message from all his other previous blunders. The Don deserves every bit of critisizm he's getting in my opinion. He just keeps making the same mistakes year after year.
No offense to the kids but from what i've seen neither is anywhere near ready to play at this level. It doesn't mean they can't be good players someday, but why not let these kids gain some confidence before you throw them into the fire. All Lucia's doing is setting them up to fail. Also where is everyone going to play? You've also got Mattson and Barriball returning. Wow.. there's going to be alot of unhappy campers come November. Another reason why they finish near the bottem again. You just can't possibly feed all those egos.

mngopherfan
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Post by mngopherfan » Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:49 am

ALSECORD wrote:What about Ryan Walters? I'm almost sure his time is up in the USHL. Isn't Tyler Barnes a gopher recruit too?
I just don't understand bringing Bjustad and Alt straight in from high school. Is this a for sure? You would think Lucia would have got the message from all his other previous blunders. The Don deserves every bit of critisizm he's getting in my opinion. He just keeps making the same mistakes year after year.
No offense to the kids but from what i've seen neither is anywhere near ready to play at this level. It doesn't mean they can't be good players someday, but why not let these kids gain some confidence before you throw them into the fire. All Lucia's doing is setting them up to fail. Also where is everyone going to play? You've also got Mattson and Barriball returning. Wow.. there's going to be alot of unhappy campers come November. Another reason why they finish near the bottem again. You just can't possibly feed all those egos.
Walters is a 91, he can play 2 more seasons. Barnes is going to Wisconsin.

They'll be fine. You look at all the "blunders'' but there are some pretty solid ones he has taken too. Ness played a TON his freshman year, scoring wasn't there but that can be related to forwards not finishing, same can be said for Leddy. Budish was a very solid contributor this season, Barriball led the team in scoring his freshman year. Patrick White and Fischer both struggled, no doubt about that. I think there is a lot of shortsightedness involved when talking about recruits. Only the ones that, according to you, miss are the ones talked about...How is he setting these kids up to fail? Fischer and White were first round picks...there isn't a team in the county that would have said "no, you HAVE to play jrs."...your argument is absurd.

If there are a lot of unhappy customers then they can take a hike. Nothing is guaranteed, they should have to EARN their playing time like anyone else...

mulefarm
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Post by mulefarm » Wed Mar 17, 2010 1:40 pm

I know juniors help, but what about Wisconsin. All of their defenseman came in as 18 yr. olds. McDoughah and Gardiner directly from Mn Hs. Golbeoff as a 17 yr old. Also, Stephan and Murray from SSM. I know they have some older players who played Jr, but we aren't talking about a team of20-25 year old players. Average age probably not much different than the Gophers.

youngblood08
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Post by youngblood08 » Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:22 am

ALSECORD wrote:What about Ryan Walters? I'm almost sure his time is up in the USHL. Isn't Tyler Barnes a gopher recruit too?
I just don't understand bringing Bjustad and Alt straight in from high school. Is this a for sure? You would think Lucia would have got the message from all his other previous blunders. The Don deserves every bit of critisizm he's getting in my opinion. He just keeps making the same mistakes year after year.
No offense to the kids but from what i've seen neither is anywhere near ready to play at this level. It doesn't mean they can't be good players someday, but why not let these kids gain some confidence before you throw them into the fire. All Lucia's doing is setting them up to fail. Also where is everyone going to play? You've also got Mattson and Barriball returning. Wow.. there's going to be alot of unhappy campers come November. Another reason why they finish near the bottem again. You just can't possibly feed all those egos.

I hear he is being asked to play another year in Des Moines.

If he didnt get the Bjugstads and Gardiners because he told them to play Jrs and eventually lost them to ND or UMD or Wis you guys would be roasting him about that too. When these players start PLAYING for the UofM instead of worrying about what thier Pro teams are saying things won't change. You want to listen to your pro team then go there right away. There are plenty of kids that would love to make a 4 yr career at the U that know they have a very small chance at the Pro level.

Blue&Gold
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Post by Blue&Gold » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:22 am

mulefarm wrote:Noticed they have 3 committments from the NAHL. Jake Parenteau, Tom Serratore and Jared Larson. All 3 will be coming in next year,along with Bjustad and Alt. Anybody else for sure?
Tom Serratore is a USHL product, 2 years in Sioux City and one in Youngstown. His brother Tim is in the NAHL. And, it's hard to call a Serratore anything but a MN product with Frank as their father. (I know, he coaches at the Air Force Academy, but he is born/bred MN and played at BSU, where his brother Tom coaches.) Look for good things from Tommy S. Maybe not GREAT things, but good things for sure.

BodyShots
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Post by BodyShots » Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:05 am

The good news is that he is starting to bring in some bigger kids with skills instead of the tiny winy's all the time. His freshman class included Buddish, Helgeson, and Birkholz. He's got Gardiner, Bjugstad, Holl, and Alt all recruited. A little size will help these younger guys handle the physical play in the WCHA. Little guys with skill are nice, but you can't have a defensive core made of Wehrs, Ness, and Farichild and expect to move people around. They are all liabilities in the de zone.

218-to-State
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Post by 218-to-State » Sun Mar 21, 2010 11:08 am

gorilla1 wrote:It looks like the have some nice BIG kids coming in next year. Ambroz, Bjugstad, etc. . . This is what they need.

I am curious, I have a buddy who would basically disown the Gophers if they started bringing in kids from outside of Minnesota. As a caveat, he lives and dies by Gopher hockey. I am in the boat where I say bring in the best kids where ever they are from--he says he would quit being a fan if that happened. If bringing in more outside kids to the program meant more wins and more success, is it more important to keep the program with just a couple non-minnesota kids on the roster, or is it more important to bring in other kids if it made the program more successful??
Well it's not just that we don't bring in outside players. We bring in kids straight from high school with no higher level hockey experience. That's our problem. We bring in the best Minnesota has to offer, but we don't send them to juniors. The way i see it we are willing to have mediocre years by playing these high schoolers rather than maybe have a couple bad years while sending them down to juniors and developing great teams.

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Post by wbmd » Sun Mar 21, 2010 11:34 am

clutterbuck22 wrote:Hopefully all of this talent coming in next year will learn to play like a team and not rely on individual talent.
And if they would all stick around for four complete years.

mulefarm
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Post by mulefarm » Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:18 pm

218-to-State wrote:
gorilla1 wrote:It looks like the have some nice BIG kids coming in next year. Ambroz, Bjugstad, etc. . . This is what they need.

I am curious, I have a buddy who would basically disown the Gophers if they started bringing in kids from outside of Minnesota. As a caveat, he lives and dies by Gopher hockey. I am in the boat where I say bring in the best kids where ever they are from--he says he would quit being a fan if that happened. If bringing in more outside kids to the program meant more wins and more success, is it more important to keep the program with just a couple non-minnesota kids on the roster, or is it more important to bring in other kids if it made the program more successful??
Well it's not just that we don't bring in outside players. We bring in kids straight from high school with no higher level hockey experience. That's our problem. We bring in the best Minnesota has to offer, but we don't send them to juniors. The way i see it we are willing to have mediocre years by playing these high schoolers rather than maybe have a couple bad years while sending them down to juniors and developing great teams.
Ryan McDounagh and Jake Gardiner (not the best Mn has to offer?) came straight from HS, and seem to be doing fine for Wis. Also Stephan and Murray came directly from SSM.

blueblood
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Gardiner vs. Ness

Post by blueblood » Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:13 pm

Gardiner has out played, out performed and flat out flown past Ness.

Ness wasn't ready for WCHA play last year or this year.

Gardiner has the World Jr. gold medal, an NCAA tournament berth and will be in the NHL before Ness.

What's Ness got? 2 years of no growth and no accolades (and I'm a Gopher fan)
Play Like a Champion Today

5thgraders
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Post by 5thgraders » Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:30 pm

Ness sounds like someone you touted at wayzata youth now doesn't he..

It looks like you and Don have allot in common..

Can't seem to pick em [-X

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