Re: Nanook Nation 2014-2015
So...what to make of this lost season of Nanook hockey?
For starters, the postseason ban hurt (obviously), but especially so because I think this team could have played for the WCHA championship this year, not to mention an at-large berth in the NCAA's. They were firing on all cylinders by season's end and, more importantly, didn't have major injuries like they did going into the playoffs last year. The five game losing streak that happened about the time of the NCAA penalty announcement was, in my opinion, a direct result of said announcement. The guys said all the right things, but I think it had an effect on play for several weeks before the Christmas break. I think the coaching staff and Parayko deserve major props for holding the team together under the circumstances; this season could have easily been a disaster but instead they laid some great building blocks for next season.
Speaking of next season...
Losing Parayko and Campbell at the same time will hurt some defensively, but I think there's enough left and coming in through recruiting that it shouldn't be a huge hole. I'll especially be interested to see Nikolas Koberstein, who is a Canadiens draft pick.
Davis Jones would appear to be the #1 in net, unless incoming recruit Jesse Jenks raises eyebrows in the fall. Jones was real hot and cold before an injury shut him down...he pitched four shutouts on the season but would vary a lot from game to game. It'd be nice to see Keeney get a few games next year as a senior, too.
Up front and offensively, we aren't losing a whole lot from the stat sheet outside of Parayko and Garrick Perry to graduation. Assuming he's healthy, I'd expect a big year from Tyler Morley and for Marcus Basara to continue his progression. Additionally, we have three recruits coming in who were averaging close to a point per game in juniors. While those stats don't always translate to the college game, it looks like we have guys coming in who can put the puck in the net.
I'd expect this team in its current form to continue to contend for a top-four spot in the WCHA. If Parayko was back I'd go so far as to say we would be contending for a Broadmoor Trophy, but as such I think the current group has the potential but still needs to prove it, mainly defensively after losing our top two D-men plus Cahill to graduation.
Speaking of Parayko...big loss, but what a thrill it was to have him in Alaska. I don't blame him for leaving, though. Short of winning a Broadmoor next season, he had nothing left to prove in the college game. Very few teams had anybody who could come close to matching up with him; watching him in the last two games against UAA, if he wanted to get to a puck, he simply removed whatever Seawolf was over the puck. He could have honed his skills a bit more if he came back, but he was exactly right that to continue to make large scale improvements he needed to make the leap. From what I understand the Blues are pretty well set at defensemen so he should get plenty of time in the AHL to get better. I don't doubt we will see him in the big show eventually. And anytime you can get players like that, even if they leave early, it's a big deal for the program. Thanks for three great years, Colton.
So...what to make of this lost season of Nanook hockey?
For starters, the postseason ban hurt (obviously), but especially so because I think this team could have played for the WCHA championship this year, not to mention an at-large berth in the NCAA's. They were firing on all cylinders by season's end and, more importantly, didn't have major injuries like they did going into the playoffs last year. The five game losing streak that happened about the time of the NCAA penalty announcement was, in my opinion, a direct result of said announcement. The guys said all the right things, but I think it had an effect on play for several weeks before the Christmas break. I think the coaching staff and Parayko deserve major props for holding the team together under the circumstances; this season could have easily been a disaster but instead they laid some great building blocks for next season.
Speaking of next season...
Losing Parayko and Campbell at the same time will hurt some defensively, but I think there's enough left and coming in through recruiting that it shouldn't be a huge hole. I'll especially be interested to see Nikolas Koberstein, who is a Canadiens draft pick.
Davis Jones would appear to be the #1 in net, unless incoming recruit Jesse Jenks raises eyebrows in the fall. Jones was real hot and cold before an injury shut him down...he pitched four shutouts on the season but would vary a lot from game to game. It'd be nice to see Keeney get a few games next year as a senior, too.
Up front and offensively, we aren't losing a whole lot from the stat sheet outside of Parayko and Garrick Perry to graduation. Assuming he's healthy, I'd expect a big year from Tyler Morley and for Marcus Basara to continue his progression. Additionally, we have three recruits coming in who were averaging close to a point per game in juniors. While those stats don't always translate to the college game, it looks like we have guys coming in who can put the puck in the net.
I'd expect this team in its current form to continue to contend for a top-four spot in the WCHA. If Parayko was back I'd go so far as to say we would be contending for a Broadmoor Trophy, but as such I think the current group has the potential but still needs to prove it, mainly defensively after losing our top two D-men plus Cahill to graduation.
Speaking of Parayko...big loss, but what a thrill it was to have him in Alaska. I don't blame him for leaving, though. Short of winning a Broadmoor next season, he had nothing left to prove in the college game. Very few teams had anybody who could come close to matching up with him; watching him in the last two games against UAA, if he wanted to get to a puck, he simply removed whatever Seawolf was over the puck. He could have honed his skills a bit more if he came back, but he was exactly right that to continue to make large scale improvements he needed to make the leap. From what I understand the Blues are pretty well set at defensemen so he should get plenty of time in the AHL to get better. I don't doubt we will see him in the big show eventually. And anytime you can get players like that, even if they leave early, it's a big deal for the program. Thanks for three great years, Colton.
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