Aaron Ness a man amongst Boys?

[Gopher Blog]

Ness will likely be in college longer than two seasons. For as skilled as he is, it will take time for him to be physically ready for the pro grind. I bet he is in college for at least three seasons.

Of course, some of it will depend on who drafts him and how they handle player development. But we won't know who that team will be for another six months

[Nostalgic Nerd]

Tonight i watched in aw/horror as Aaron Ness completely dominated the Warroad Warriors for 2 periods until roseau clearly let up.
Im wondering if im not the only one who thinks he can make an instant impact in college hockey even though hes skipping his senior year?

Eh, I've seen better.

[STEV16]

Ness will likely be in college longer than two seasons. For as skilled as he is, it will take time for him to be physically ready for the pro grind. I bet he is in college for at least three seasons.

Of course, some of it will depend on who drafts him and how they handle player development. But we won't know who that team will be for another six months

I agree, but you can never tell how well he will do. I expect him to be their for at least two, like gopher said he needs to adjust, and that takes time.

[RickO'Shea]

Of course, some of it will depend on who drafts him and how they handle player development.

Such as NY Islanders

[Gopher Blog]

Such as NY Islanders

Yep. Although something tells me Garth Snow won't be around in that job too long given the way things look with that franchise.

[hwkfan]

warroad looked so-so at best and ness is racking up points against some teams that would get beat by edinas jv.
do you guys think this hurts his mr hockey stock? i heard the pro scouts have a lot of say and if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

[Goldy Gopher]

warroad looked so-so at best and ness is racking up points against some teams that would get beat by edinas jv.
do you guys think this hurts his mr hockey stock? i heard the pro scouts have a lot of say and if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

Of course it doesn't hurt his stock. Anyone and everyone who sees him play knows he is the real deal. He can't help who he plays against. All he can do is go out there and put up points night after night.

[hwkfan]

i was just wondering what you thought would happen if the rams would have played in the schwans cup and he would light it up against hill murray. i know he cant control his schedule. i think he would dominate against anyone but his mr hockey votes would be higher if he does it against the hill murrays and edinas.

[Irishmans Shanty]

if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

It's a fair question but I'd say yes. I've known a few low level scouts who've been affiliated with pro baseball teams and they seem to walk with an arrogance that they could identify talent when they saw it. I don't think it matters if Roseau is playing Farmington, Bloomington, Marshall or Duluth Marshall in terms or their evaluations. If hockey scouting is in fact different from baseball, then disregard all the above.

[CarGuy]

the best i have seen in a long time....

[NeilGuf-yb]

Most of the Mr. Hockey winners are committed to the Gophers, I think that has a lot to do with it as well!

[who_b_dat]

One thing I saw again last night was that you can never underestimate the power of the media.

Aaron appears to be a great young man. He has a ton of talent and it is obvious by some of his passing skills he has logged a lot of hours at the North rink. The kid is very good and will make an impact at the next level. The fact that he is striving to complete two years of high school in a single year is just as remarkable. If he can pull that off, and he appears to be on track, Major Kudos and Huge Props!

All that said, and I’m not bashing nor trying to be overly critical, the hype around his ability is off the charts.

Take for instance the Warroad game. If you watched on FSN like I did, you heard nothing but Ness, Ness, Ness. Mind you, five different Rams each scored goals; a number of the boys had some great shifts; there were some other fine defensive plays executed by his co-blue liners. Anyone who thinks Ness was the dominate force that won that game can only be wacky. The Roseau Team dominated lesser competition – period.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from last night’s contest. Warroad had fired it deep into the Ram’s zone late in the second period. There’s a loose puck behind the net. Ravendahlen and Ness both skate for it as I think they were the only two even in the zone. Ness had better position so he gets there first and takes a couple strides to skate it out. Ultimately, he didn’t clear the zone and in fact made a faulty pass that turned it over. LaPanta says something like; “Ravendahlen lost it to Ness. Boy is he [Ness] magical with the puck”. Then Gorg jumps in and starts singing the familiar praises. Huh? What did I just miss?

If this were a post attempting to highlight any flaws of Mr. Ness, I would provide other commentary. It is not. He’s a nice player and will do well; likely very well. But I’ve had the ability to see some other MN hockey players around the state over the years and it seems to me that the hype surrounding #10 in unprecedented. So much so, this thread was started immediately after the game and God forbid anyone say that Aaron didn’t dominate the game. Of course they would believe that he did. They heard it from the commentators on T.V.!

By the way- Ben Nelson continues to be the most underrated player this year.

Ok, I feel better now. Carry on.

[61ache]

i was just wondering what you thought would happen if the rams would have played in the schwans cup and he would light it up against hill murray. i know he cant control his schedule. i think he would dominate against anyone but his mr hockey votes would be higher if he does it against the hill murrays and edinas.

A kid who's on the defending state champs, going WCHA a year early, who's racked up nearly 40 points in 12 games, and racked up a hat trick and 4 points total against Moorhead? Umm, yes I think he's in the running

One thing I saw again last night was that you can never underestimate the power of the media.

Aaron appears to be a great young man. He has a ton of talent and it is obvious by some of his passing skills he has logged a lot of hours at the North rink. The kid is very good and will make an impact at the next level. The fact that he is striving to complete two years of high school in a single year is just as remarkable. If he can pull that off, and he appears to be on track, Major Kudos and Huge Props!

All that said, and I’m not bashing nor trying to be overly critical, the hype around his ability is off the charts.

Take for instance the Warroad game. If you watched on FSN like I did, you heard nothing but Ness, Ness, Ness. Mind you, five different Rams each scored goals; a number of the boys had some great shifts; there were some other fine defensive plays executed by his co-blue liners. Anyone who thinks Ness was the dominate force that won that game can only be wacky. The Roseau Team dominated lesser competition – period.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from last night’s contest. Warroad had fired it deep into the Ram’s zone late in the second period. There’s a loose puck behind the net. Ravendahlen and Ness both skate for it as I think they were the only two even in the zone. Ness had better position so he gets there first and takes a couple strides to skate it out. Ultimately, he didn’t clear the zone and in fact made a faulty pass that turned it over. LaPanta says something like; “Ravendahlen lost it to Ness. Boy is he [Ness] magical with the puck”. Then Gorg jumps in and starts singing the familiar praises. Huh? What did I just miss?

If this were a post attempting to highlight any flaws of Mr. Ness, I would provide other commentary. It is not. He’s a nice player and will do well; likely very well. But I’ve had the ability to see some other MN hockey players around the state over the years and it seems to me that the hype surrounding #10 in unprecedented. So much so, this thread was started immediately after the game and God forbid anyone say that Aaron didn’t dominate the game. Of course they would believe that he did. They heard it from the commentators on T.V.!

By the way- Ben Nelson continues to be the most underrated player this year.

Ok, I feel better now. Carry on.

I have to agree that the announcers came in with a predetermined spot-light on Ness. He was not "the dominate force that won the game", but there was no doubt that when #10 was on the ice that he was the dominate player. I don't remember seeing too many Juniors in highschool that could "quarterback" the offense and create a controlled presence like he can/did. That is what got everyone's attention in 2006 on the State Tournament stage.

[Gopher Blog]

One thing I saw again last night was that you can never underestimate the power of the media.

I think a star player from a small town in NW MN like Roseau is not exactly receiving the level of publicity that your average Twin Cities star player does. Do you criticize those situations equally or more?

If anything, it is usually the small town star player from northern MN that gets the short end of the stick when it comes to media attention in this state. Its not like the kid's name has been splashed all over the front of the Star Tribune all year and last night was the first time they had been on TV. Not exactly massive media coverage there.

[Lucia4President]

i was just wondering what you thought would happen if the rams would have played in the schwans cup and he would light it up against hill murray. i know he cant control his schedule. i think he would dominate against anyone but his mr hockey votes would be higher if he does it against the hill murrays and edinas.

He did, last year at the State Tournament.

[RLStars]

warroad looked so-so at best and ness is racking up points against some teams that would get beat by edinas jv.
do you guys think this hurts his mr hockey stock? i heard the pro scouts have a lot of say and if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

No. Mr. Hockey is for seniors, not juniors.

[stickboy1956]

warroad looked so-so at best and ness is racking up points against some teams that would get beat by edinas jv.
do you guys think this hurts his mr hockey stock? i heard the pro scouts have a lot of say and if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

Scouts have had there eye on Ness for a long time, not only due to his 2 trips to the State HS tourny, but his participation in USA Hockey summer camps. This is where he can show his stuff against (most of) the best '90s from around the country.

When it comes to Mr. Hockey, the NHL Scouts are involved in the selection process. I wonder if they can ignore what they have seen during the summmer camps/fall leagues and focus on just the current HS season when selecting Mr. Hockey?

If things run true to form, Jake Gardiner is the front runner for Mr. Hockey.

[fiveforfighting]

Jake Gardiner is a great player, but it would be very hard not to select ness

[GR3343]

warroad looked so-so at best and ness is racking up points against some teams that would get beat by edinas jv.
do you guys think this hurts his mr hockey stock? i heard the pro scouts have a lot of say and if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

Scouts have had there eye on Ness for a long time, not only due to his 2 trips to the State HS tourny, but his participation in USA Hockey summer camps. This is where he can show his stuff against (most of) the best '90s from around the country.

When it comes to Mr. Hockey, the NHL Scouts are involved in the selection process. I wonder if they can ignore what they have seen during the summmer camps/fall leagues and focus on just the current HS season when selecting Mr. Hockey?

If things run true to form, Jake Gardiner is the front runner for Mr. Hockey.

Agreed. Every few years, we keep hearing about the next great one. This year it's Ness and his unreal drive. Next year it'll be someone else. I don't think he's Mr. Hockey. Give it to a true senior that's earned it. Whether he has control of the schedule or not, Roseau has certainly played their share of cupcakes this season. He's still a great player, but there's no way he should be crowned the best ever. Maybe better than some in a while, but not the best.

[SiouxRecruit]

warroad looked so-so at best and ness is racking up points against some teams that would get beat by edinas jv.
do you guys think this hurts his mr hockey stock? i heard the pro scouts have a lot of say and if you were a pro scout from mpls would you drive up to roseau to see how ness handles the relentless forecheck of the farmington tigers?

No. Mr. Hockey is for seniors, not juniors.

He may be eligable this year because of his status graduating early or something....not sure how that is coming along...

[parrish4president]

Ness is an AWESOME player to watch! He is really talented and I am looking forward to seeing him as a gopher!

To make some quick points though, He will absolutely not dominate in the WCHA. Erik Johnson (remember him?) Kyle Okposo (who's that?) did not dominate as gophers (did well though) and they are both much better players than Ness. And to all you wiseguys out there who will quote this and say Okposo is a forward, I know this, I am referring to all around play.

Ness will be key, but dominate? He will not

[newsguy35]

Ness is an AWESOME player to watch! He is really talented and I am looking forward to seeing him as a gopher!

To make some quick points though, He will absolutely not dominate in the WCHA. Erik Johnson (remember him?) Kyle Okposo (who's that?) did not dominate as gophers (did well though) and they are both much better players than Ness. And to all you wiseguys out there who will quote this and say Okposo is a forward, I know this, I am referring to all around play.

Ness will be key, but dominate? He will not

Ness with be the quarterback to the gophs powerplay and will contribute with assists. He has scoring punch as well but Lucia will groom him as an assist machine. Depending on how you see "domination" he may "dominate" with his assists and set-ups. His eyes, hands and overall vision and knowledge of the game will make him far above average and to say otherwise is just ignorance. The kid is good, has skills and there is a reason he is so highly touted.

[Green and White Fan]

I am not defending Roseau's holiday tourney schedule, but I think, no matter who he is playing against, you will see Ness is a very talented player. I am starting to find it laughable the way people read things on here and then jump on the bandwagon, especially ripping on Roseau's schedule and playing Farmington. St. Thomas Academy and Hill Murray to look at 2 teams computer ranked higher than the Rams, both play 9 games on their schedule against teams ranked about the same or lower than Farmington, yet no one mentions that. Ness is the type of player that comes from an area every once in awhile and he usually puts up huge numbers against weaker teams and good numbers against better teams. He is not the type of player who only shows up against the also rans!

[parrish4president]

Ness is an AWESOME player to watch! He is really talented and I am looking forward to seeing him as a gopher!

To make some quick points though, He will absolutely not dominate in the WCHA. Erik Johnson (remember him?) Kyle Okposo (who's that?) did not dominate as gophers (did well though) and they are both much better players than Ness. And to all you wiseguys out there who will quote this and say Okposo is a forward, I know this, I am referring to all around play.

Ness will be key, but dominate? He will not

Ness with be the quarterback to the gophs powerplay and will contribute with assists. He has scoring punch as well but Lucia will groom him as an assist machine. Depending on how you see "domination" he may "dominate" with his assists and set-ups. His eyes, hands and overall vision and knowledge of the game will make him far above average and to say otherwise is just ignorance. The kid is good, has skills and there is a reason he is so highly touted.

when I think of players who "dominate" I think Jordan Leopold, or Chris Drury. Those guys picked apart every team they encountered. An "assist Machine" is a good player, what you should be expected of you as a part of the team. The reason I mentioned Erik is because he was the HIGHEST touted, and he did just the minimums of what you just described.

To maybe add another point, someone who is dominant must earn that, rather than have it predicted of them. I thought Spehar would dominate, I was WRONG, I thought Crowley would dominate, where he turned out to be what I think Ness will be like, and Crowley is one of my favorite gophers ever.

[northwoods oldtimer]

To make some quick points though, He will absolutely not dominate in the WCHA. Erik Johnson (remember him?) Kyle Okposo (who's that?) did not dominate as gophers (did well though) and they are both much better players than Ness. And to all you wiseguys out there who will quote this and say Okposo is a forward, I know this, I am referring to all around play.

The guys you quoted did not stay around long enough to become dominate D-1 players. For some guys the real dominance does not come out until the Junior and most for the Senior year of Division 1. Guys like Jeff Nielsen, John Pohl, Paul Martin, Jordan Leopold, Grant Potulny really shined their Senior years and some their Junior year as well. All I know is that Ness was able help shut down Patrick White's line in 2 games and the Spuds top line in game I witnessed him playing in last season that is pretty amazing to do as a sophmore. How he develops as a College player is open to speculation but I think the kid has a long career ahead of him.