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Will the Gophers be good enough to take the NCAA Championship next year? <p></p><i></i>

College forum... <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :x --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/sick.gif ALT=":x"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br><!--EZCODE EMOTICON START 8) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p>Elk River AA State Champions- 2001 Boys & 2004 Girls</p><i></i>

They need more Catholic school kids. <p></p><i></i>

They should have been good enough this year. <p>"my wife tells me I am pathetic with how much high school hockey I go to."</p><i></i>

Are there any players on the Gophers who went right from highschool hockey to the Gophs, or has everyone done a stint in juniors or ann arbor? <p></p><i></i>

They should be good enough next year <p></p><i></i>

R.J. Anderson went straight. Others such as Goligoski I believe did HS and then played Juniors after their season was done.<br><br><!--EZCODE EMOTICON START 8) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p>Elk River AA State Champions- 2001 Boys & 2004 Girls</p><i></i>

Gino Guyer went straight from H.S. To answer the original question, they should be talented enough, it's just a matter of it all coming together. They could potentially be thin on defenseman which could cause problems. A lot depends on who leaves early (Irmen, Potulny, Kessel, Goligoski, Johnson may never come). <p></p><i></i>

I deffinetly think they'll be talented enough it's just sometimes they get over confident and don't play very hard. <p></p><i></i>

I'd look for golly to tally up points next year. He I think is are most solid and offensive defensemen. <p></p><i></i>

Hopefully if it is only seniors leaving this year, then they get Hirsch and Hagemo back, with the strong recruiting class coming in next year I think they may have it, but you never know they should have been good enough this year. <p></p><i></i>

They should be good, but I don't see them getting by ND. They will be returning most of there players and will be confident after there showing this year no matter what happens from this point. <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>A lot depends on who leaves early (Irmen, Potulny, Kessel, Goligoski, Johnson may never come). <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Potulny leaves for NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. <p></p><i></i>

It's reported Irmen could be next on KFAN, although the Star Trib said there had still been no contact between the two. Some people have already started calling it "Black Wednesday".<br> <p></p><i></i>

As we have learned, Irmen is gone. The heart and soul of this Gopher squad is no on to the next level. It will be a different look for the Gophs next season. <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>They should have been good enough this year. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>agreed. you can't win on talent alone. they have a great group coming back next year and if they learn to play as a team as they did for a long stretch this season, i see them as being a great contender for winning it all next year. they need to want it more than the other team, which is what they obviously failed to do in the post season this year. irmen and potulny will be greatly missed on this team as they were two of the few players who played with heart on this season's gopher team.<br><br><br>anyone know who the captains are going to be next year, or is that not released until later in the year? <p></p><i></i>

i am a gopher fan but when i watched potulny in the holy cross game he did NOT look like a TEAM player i did not see him BACKCHECKING...the people that stuck out were guyer or sertich whichever 1 of those 2 that scored a shorthanded goal i can tell u potulny was no where to be found in those situations...i watch potulny on the pp where the other team is shorthanded and potulny was not scoring falling over....from the tv appearance i thought he was giving up when things werent going HIS way in the offensive zone...im not trying to make him look bad because he is a great player but i dont think he WANTED it as bad as others on the team did(role players)that arent suppose to score goal <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>anyone know who the captains are going to be next year, or is that not released until later in the year? <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>They're not released until next season. Some good bets right now would Goligoski, Vannelli, Chucko, and possibly Briggs with the A. It won't be known until shortly before the next season starts. <p></p><i></i>

Probably not Chucko getting an A considering he is gone now signing with Calgary. To be honest coming from a Gopher fan he never really stood out, maybe that he had pretty high expectations coming in but he didn't do much this year. <p></p><i></i>

Gotta agree with you flynn, Chucko had a disappointing 4 goals and 9 assists in the 33 games that he played last season. I don't know how anyone can think he is ready to make the jump to the next level. <p></p><i></i>

I think they will be the most talented team in the country next year. I don't think they'll be the best team though. I think Lucia needs to start recruiting some of those guys that will fly into the corner and just hammer someone or will mix it up in front of the net. Guys like Wheeler and Kessel don't do that and thats why this team lost in the 1st round. They need those kind of role players to go along with the high talent players. <p></p><i></i>

Since Chucko is gone, I'd say Goligoski, Vannelli, and Gordon are most likely to be the captains. I don't think the problem is with Lucia's recruiting when it comes to physical players in the corners. He has gotten guys like Tallackson, Chucko, and Hagemo who have been brought into be physical but haven't gotten it done. Hagemo looked to be on his way to being a physical presence before injuries halted his career. <br><br>I agree that role players are essential. Guys like Grant Potulny and John Waibel were key to the Gophers back to back titles and it's possible without them the Gophers would not have gone as far as they did.<br><br>I think Flynn, Carmen, and Okposo will be able to scrap in the corners next year, and Johnson will be a bruiser on the blueline. <p></p><i></i>

Watch for Jim O'brien to be one of those players who is able to throw his weight around and mix it upwhen neccesary, maybe not so much Carmen though he seems like he would be more a Kessel style player. <p></p><i></i>

Speaking of Jim O'Brien, I am a die hard Gopher hockey fan and I love MN high school hockey, but have never heard of this kid until recently. Could anyone tell me where he's from, and where he's playing now??? <p></p><i></i>

He is currently with the U-18 team at the NTDP. He is actually younger but has accelerated his schoolwork. He would be an '07 had he not done that. Originally from Maplewood, he is touted as one of the best players for his age level. <p></p><i></i>