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wbmd wrote:http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/13514206.html

After seeing him play twice, I'm a believer too. This kid can GO.

he is the real deal........GO TO THE GOPHERS!

This kid really is an amazing talent. You just have to see him.

he should be playing for the gophers!!!!!!!!!!

he is a perfect example of the love of the sport, heart to compete, and the desire for constant improvement of his game. He worked his butt off to reach this point.

I want to see him. I want to see every great player in the state and wish I was retired. Then I would. As it is I,m catching every great matchup I can and any D1 prospects are a pleasure to see.

After watching him this fall he reminds me a lot of Paul Martin, same build and frame, same type of playing styles. A very good skater, i will predict he will be the highest Minnesotan drafted. the reason i say this is he is the tallest of the top d-men and could still fill out and as mentioned a very very good skater.

How did the gophers miss out on this guy?

i watched a few of his elite league games this fall and in my opinion was one of the best defenders on the ice every game. i was very impressed with this guy. He'll be very successful wherever he goes

GinosAreGood wrote:i watched a few of his elite league games this fall and in my opinion was one of the best defenders on the ice every game. i was very impressed with this guy. He'll be very successful wherever he goes

wasn't good, or even noticed until daddy switched him to D, but what a great move for Jake. his hockey life turned arounds instantly in the eyes of scouts maybe Lucia saw him too much as a foward and didn't watch him as a D before he was snatched away by the badgers, or maybe he doesn't want another Erik Johnson leaving after one season of play

ColdasIce wrote:maybe Lucia saw him too much as a foward and didn't watch him as a D before he was snatched away by the badgers, or maybe he doesn't want another Erik Johnson leaving after one season of play

The main thing being there was no roster opportunity to recruit him for as the Gophers only lose one d-man to graduation after this year (Peltier) and already had defense commitments from Ness, Lofquist and Grant Scott for next year (although Scott's position has yet to be determined as he can play forward or defense). Given Gardiner's draft stock was likely to make him a college player in 2008, it wasn't a good match.

Gopher Blog wrote:

ColdasIce wrote:maybe Lucia saw him too much as a foward and didn't watch him as a D before he was snatched away by the badgers, or maybe he doesn't want another Erik Johnson leaving after one season of play

The main thing being there was no roster opportunity to recruit him for as the Gophers only lose one d-man to graduation after this year (Peltier) and already had defense commitments from Ness, Lofquist and Grant Scott for next year (although Scott's position has yet to be determined as he can play forward or defense). Given Gardiner's draft stock was likely to make him a college player in 2008, it wasn't a good match.

as good as he is...you find a spot for him

CrossbarandIn99 wrote:as good as he is...you find a spot for him

Your comment may be valid if we are talking about pro baseball where funds to spend on players is unlimited for some top teams. But it is different in college hockey where you only have 18 scholarships to work with in building a team. Once you allocated your scholarships for certain spots on the team, there isn't much more you can do. You can't manufacture more scholarships just so you can add another good player.

Gopher Blog wrote:

CrossbarandIn99 wrote:as good as he is...you find a spot for him

Your comment may be valid if we are talking about pro baseball where funds to spend on players is unlimited for some top teams. But it is different in college hockey where you only have 18 scholarships to work with in building a team. Once you allocated your scholarships for certain spots on the team, there isn't much more you can do. You can't manufacture more scholarships just so you can add another good player.

Good point, can they borrow one from next years batch ?

CrossbarandIn99 wrote:

Gopher Blog wrote:

ColdasIce wrote:maybe Lucia saw him too much as a foward and didn't watch him as a D before he was snatched away by the badgers, or maybe he doesn't want another Erik Johnson leaving after one season of play

The main thing being there was no roster opportunity to recruit him for as the Gophers only lose one d-man to graduation after this year (Peltier) and already had defense commitments from Ness, Lofquist and Grant Scott for next year (although Scott's position has yet to be determined as he can play forward or defense). Given Gardiner's draft stock was likely to make him a college player in 2008, it wasn't a good match.

as good as he is...you find a spot for him

ColdasIce is correct in a lot of ways. Jake was a good, not great forward. His switch from forward to D was an outstanding move. From the D position he has done very well. GB brings up good points. # of scholarships available at the time played a big part the recruiting picture. On top of that, the jury was out on Jake as a D man. Obviously his stock as a player has grown tremendously. His rise to the Advance 18 team put him on the radar screen as a D man. Jake still needs to understand the position better. He tends to run around and is sometimes too focused on the offensive side of things. Wisconsin's style will bring that around.

breakout wrote:Wisconsin's style will bring that around.

By the time he leaves that program, any ounce of offense knack he has will have been drilled out of him by Eaves..... If I didn't know any better, I'd think Eaves doesn't like when guys score goals.

Gopher Blog wrote:

breakout wrote:Wisconsin's style will bring that around.

By the time he leaves that program, any ounce of offense knack he has will have been drilled out of him by Eaves..... If I didn't know any better, I'd think Eaves doesn't like when guys score goals.

Ya, interesting selection in schools for his high school style of play.

Gopher Blog wrote:

breakout wrote:Wisconsin's style will bring that around.

By the time he leaves that program, any ounce of offense knack he has will have been drilled out of him by Eaves..... If I didn't know any better, I'd think Eaves doesn't like when guys score goals.

UW-20 games played, 60 goals scored.
UM-22 games played, 61 goals scored.

Gopher Blog wrote:

ColdasIce wrote:maybe Lucia saw him too much as a foward and didn't watch him as a D before he was snatched away by the badgers, or maybe he doesn't want another Erik Johnson leaving after one season of play

The main thing being there was no roster opportunity to recruit him for as the Gophers only lose one d-man to graduation after this year (Peltier) and already had defense commitments from Ness, Lofquist and Grant Scott for next year (although Scott's position has yet to be determined as he can play forward or defense). Given Gardiner's draft stock was likely to make him a college player in 2008, it wasn't a good match.

Or we don't really know what the "main" thing was - maybe he didn't want to play for the Gophers.

Predictable -a high end player that doesn't come to UM because there was no room for him.

stickboy1956 wrote:

Gopher Blog wrote:

ColdasIce wrote:maybe Lucia saw him too much as a foward and didn't watch him as a D before he was snatched away by the badgers, or maybe he doesn't want another Erik Johnson leaving after one season of play

The main thing being there was no roster opportunity to recruit him for as the Gophers only lose one d-man to graduation after this year (Peltier) and already had defense commitments from Ness, Lofquist and Grant Scott for next year (although Scott's position has yet to be determined as he can play forward or defense). Given Gardiner's draft stock was likely to make him a college player in 2008, it wasn't a good match.

Or we don't really know what the "main" thing was - maybe he didn't want to play for the Gophers.

Predictable -a high end player that doesn't come to UM because there was no room for him.

Gardiner was considered a 2009 recruit before his stock went up so the claim that there wasn't any room holds no water.

As I educate myself more and more on recruiting, I'm starting to find out that straight forward recruiting battles are extremely rare. The school that any particular player ends up at is almost ALWAYS a matter of situation, as it was in Gardiner's case.

That being said, the Gophers have won their share of true battles (ie; Schmidt). They've also lost a few (ie; Mattson, Fink).

As an SCSU fan, it's a reality to face that the Huskies won't win many battles straight up, so they have to maximize their situational opportunities when the come up (Mike Lee, Nick Oliver, LeBlanc, Marvin, etc). None of those guys were a straight up victory, but there's no doubt that any one of them would have been welcome at a UMN and/or UW and/or UND if the situation was right. I didn't include Festler or Hanowski in that group because their local ties gave SCSU an advantage.

Ed37 wrote:UW-20 games played, 60 goals scored.
UM-22 games played, 61 goals scored.

Take a look at the history. There are always aberrations. I guarantee you that Eaves' teams will rarely outscore Gopher teams.

Ed37 wrote:Gardiner was considered a 2009 recruit before his stock went up so the claim that there wasn't any room holds no water.

You may think that because you were unaware of him. But I can guarantee you people who watch these kids knew he wasn't going to end up a 2009 guy.

stickboy1956 wrote:Predictable -a high end player that doesn't come to UM because there was no room for him.

Nobody said he was unworthy. I could understand your whining if that had been said. I know you are poor with facts but let's point out something so you can get it.

Gardiner committed at a time (June) when the Gophers projected this group for 2008:

RJ
Fischer
Shack
O'Brien
Wehrs
Fairchild
Bickel
Lofquist
Ness

The above doesn't even list Grant Scott as he could play either forward or defense in college. Of that group at the time, they did not expect to lose much for 2009 (other than RJ to graduation and maybe David Fischer and/or O'Brien to the pros). That would have left them with them with seven to eight defensemen returning and two already recruited for 2009 (Helgeson and Martell). In other words at that time, they already had nine d-men scheduled for 2008 and projected at least nine d-men for 2009. Most teams carry eight to nine defensemen on their roster in college. Maybe you aren't very good with numbers but do you see the room?

Of course, O'Brien left unexpectedly late in the summer so that opened a potential spot for 2009/2010. Nick Leddy gets recruited as a 2009 or 2010 guy.

Look around college hockey and you'll see it is rare for teams to carry more than eight or nine d-men on their roster.

Try taking a look at projected rosters some time and then open your mouth. You'll look far less ignorant than you usually do.