Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

[markwojo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Kerdelis had 4 goals and 6 assists against D1 teams in exhibitions this seasons. USDT played 12 games against D1 teams (not sure Kerdelis played in all as I know he was hurt at one point). 10 points in 12 games is pretty darn good. I realize the exhibition games against the college teams don't always get a full blown effort as some guys that don't play regularly get oppurtunities get to play, but even the backup goalies are D1 players and pretty sure when college players get pushed by 18 year olds, the pride and competitive fire kicks in and there is legit hockey played...at least that's what I saw against the Badgers.

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

I'm a little suprised at some of the tone here in the post mortem. Why give Chuck grief over being too much of a "fan" for not being "critical" of the team?

If you are going to pass yourself off as a reporter of sorts, you need to maintain some level of objectivity - even if you are a really big fan. Balance is good and I haven't seen a lot of balance. I've seen what appears to be someone who may be just a little too close to the situation to maintain objectivity.

There has been an ongoing debate amongst us for a few years now with some pointing out flaws and certain disturbing trends and others saying that there's nothing to see here and everything is just fine - even implying (if not saying) that some of the naysayers just don't get it or don't know the things that others know.

It's okay to yell "fire" when the theater is actually on fire.

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

The last 8 weeks have really showed me the team is on the right track, they just took a ton of time to to figure this gig out defensively. Offensively, they need help, and Kerdiles and Zulinick are just what they need. Rumpel is under-rated in the big picture, like a hidden gem. McCabe is the next Schultz, he's so stinking young yet, born in 93. The next 2 years have the makings of some exciting clubs.

I did not like the article Baggott wrote about First Star last week. He was basically egging him on to call himself a flight risk, I think he just did it to stir the pot. Jerk.

I did Chuck's live chat over parts of the last 3 games, and Kerdiles showed up on the chat to say hi to all the fans and see how is boys were doing. It was really cool to chat with him. Kerdiles is very pumped up to get to Madison this summer and start working with the boys.

[Gandalf the Red]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Kevin Schulze is no loser either, he is t-9th in the USHL in defenseman scoring w/ 12 assists on the PP for Omaha. I'm guessing he isn't the talent that Wittchow is, but he adds some solid depth to the blue line. Haven't been to a single USHL game this year unfortunately.

Next season's recruiting class should be one of the top 5 in the country.

I think having 4 solid lines next season will be a huge bonus. Playing time will be tight. I'm just throwing this out there for some lines:

Mersch/Zengerle/Barnes
LeBate/Kerdiles/Lee
Navin/Zulinick/Woods
R Little/Meuer/Paape

And that sits Dahl and Sean Little who I both think are nice grinders/PKers. When the Badgers 3rd and 4th lines are superior to other teams, I think that makes a huge difference. The 3rd and 4th lines in 2006 and 2010 were both great, and we all know where that went. Most of the WCHA or soon Big 10 teams are going to have nice top lines, it is how you counter them at home, and take advantage of extra talent in general when you have it in excess.

And I agree w/ Gurt. There is no reason to not be positive about OUR team, but I like to be a realist and there are some issues w/ the program that we shouldn't have to talk about continually. I don't think the movie theater is quite on fire yet though. To Wojo's points, I was thought home ice was w/ in grasp, and really it was. They win one game at Tech, win one game at home vs SCSU and get another point somewhere, we are all at the KC this weekend, watching the Men's team, not just the Women's.

[markwojo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Gandalf...I think we are agreeing...Badgers were a fringe home ice team that ended up just on the wrong edge of that. In the end, about where I expected them to be given the roster that they opened the season with. Had they turned the corner a month earlier in the season, they probably would have been hosting a playoff series and on the NCAA playoff bubble.

If Zengerle returns and there are no departures other then Schultz/Springer...the Badgers are a very good team that certainly should be a home playoff team that should also be a factor in the top third of the league. Some good fortune with injuries and a few bounces may have them as one of the top conference teams. Lose Zengerle and everyone has to slot up a spot in roles and it gets a little tougher....still should be a top 6 team that can make some noise.

[Gandalf the Red]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Gandalf...I think we are agreeing...Badgers were a fringe home ice team that ended up just on the wrong edge of that. In the end, about where I expected them to be given the roster that they opened the season with. Had they turned the corner a month earlier in the season, they probably would have been hosting a playoff series and on the NCAA playoff bubble.

If Zengerle returns and there are no departures other then Schultz/Springer...the Badgers are a very good team that certainly should be a home playoff team that should also be a factor in the top third of the league. Some good fortune with injuries and a few bounces may have them as one of the top conference teams. Lose Zengerle and everyone has to slot up a spot in roles and it gets a little tougher....still should be a top 6 team that can make some noise.

We are in agreement. Everything you posted is in line with my thoughts, especially for next season.

And I think Timothy A is right too, Baggot just wanted to stir the pot on Zengerle. I think any knowledgable fan knows he very well could leave, but he seems firm in this commitment to wanting to come back. Like he said, he hasn't even played in the NCAA tourney yet, and wants to accomplish something here in that regard. Maybe he wants to try to win the Hobey too, and feeding Kerdiles on the PP next year, while also making sick moves around entire defenses, he should certainly have a shot.

This is what Kyle Turris would have looked like as a sophomore if he wouldn't have bailed for a career as a struggling NHL player. Must say, the last group of early departures have certainly known when to go, and makes Turris' departure 4 years ago that much more glaring as an error.

[Chuck Schwartz]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Chuck - all due respect, but at some point you're no longer "covering" the Badgers and instead are writing a fan blog.

I mean, when's the last time you had anything negative to say?

re: Chuck - I imagine he'll never share a negative thought so he can continue to have access to the players or recruits

If you are going to pass yourself off as a reporter of sorts, you need to maintain some level of objectivity - even if you are a really big fan. Balance is good and I haven't seen a lot of balance. I've seen what appears to be someone who may be just a little too close to the situation to maintain objectivity.

I find some of these comments to be laughable. I'm willing to accept criticism, but I'm not willing to accept nonsense.

Because I'm realistic with this team, and don't go throwing players and coaches under the bus after every loss doesn't mean I'm not objective. I'll call the team out when they deserve to be called out. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. I don't feel an incessant need to whine and complain about this program on an every day basis like some around these parts which is not only annoying, but it's gotten very tiresome.

Here's an example of being critical of the team when it's necessary. LINK.

But you guys are right, I'm just trying to protect my connections to the program. Absolutely laughable.

[Innova]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

*****http://thecareerblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/glass1.jpg******

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

*****http://thecareerblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/glass1.jpg******

Hey, that's my schtick.

[dggoddard]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

As the great Puck Swami used to say, "Nothing turns a fanbase 'salty' like a losing season."

I'm a big fan of Chuck and have always been amazed and the depth and breadth of his recruiting reporting. I would say that a lot of what he brings to the table is "reporting," but an important distinction is that he probably doesn't have to abide by the same rules and restrictions as the mainstream media. [fact checking, two sources, liability concerns, ect]

LetsGoDU doesn't report much or anything, we never track down stories via email or cell phone and probably sit on 95% of the juicy stuff that rolls our way until the mainstream media gets ahold of it.

If you think the mainstream college hockey beat writers aren't controlled, intimidated or bullied by the local coaches/SID's you are crazy. Whether its free food in the press box, access or denying access to players or slipping out gossip the coaches control the situation. The mainstream media plays by a different and stricter set of rules than the bloggers. This is how Hammy is able to slip around the system and break all sorts of inside Gopher related gossip. Off the record access to parents and players that the local writers can't match.

The college hockey world is so small that the schools can control the media. College football and hoops on the otherhand is the wild, wild west and anything goes thanks to ESPN and the media frenzy that accompanies it.

[RonWolf]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Originally Posted by Gurtholfin
Chuck - all due respect, but at some point you're no longer "covering" the Badgers and instead are writing a fan blog.
I mean, when's the last time you had anything negative to say?

Originally Posted by solovsfett
re: Chuck - I imagine he'll never share a negative thought so he can continue to have access to the players or recruits

Originally Posted by Gurtholfin
If you are going to pass yourself off as a reporter of sorts, you need to maintain some level of objectivity - even if you are a really big fan. Balance is good and I haven't seen a lot of balance. I've seen what appears to be someone who may be just a little too close to the situation to maintain objectivity.

Who do you guys think you are? This guy researches and provides information for us to read about a subject that we all love, and all you guys want to do is attack him? I'm guessing this all stems from differences of opinion on how this season went. I disagree with Chuck, I wasn't to happy how this all went down, they should have been better, IN MY OPINION! So agree to disagree, tell him to "go kick rocks," but why bash a guy for how he writes who is basically the only way we get any Badger Hockey information, year round no less? And last I checked, it's FREE and you have the ability to NOT READ IT!

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

As the great Puck Swami used to say, "Nothing turns a fanbase 'salty' like a losing season."

Puck Swami, a blast from the past, such a great, level headed poster. I always enjoyed his perspective. Dare I ask ("use to say") what he's up to these days?

So has the ink dried on Schultz's contract yet?

[dggoddard]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Puck Swami, a blast from the past, such a great, level headed poster. I always enjoyed his perspective. Dare I ask ("use to say") what he's up to these days?

Lurking. Doubtful that anything college hockey related that happens on the internet escapes his attention.

[Almington]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

Probably sit on 95% of the juicy stuff that rolls our way until the mainstream media gets ahold of it.

For all concerned, it is probably a good thing much of the juicy stuff that insiders hear remains (semi) private.

I suspect that much of Chuck's issue is that he becomes way to emotionally involved with the team (player and/or parents) and this is going to influence how he posts his criticism and how he responds to criticism from others. Much of the time it becomes a very tight balancing act to attempt to correct misconceptions while trying to maintaining the confidentiality of where information has come from and not give away why you know something.

I miss having Swami around, but I totally understand why he has decided to distance himself from this place.

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XXI - For every dark night, there's a brighter day

This isn't the 1980's or early 1990's, the game has changed so examples from that time period are not particularly relevant to the issues of today.

It's not EVERY freshman, but it hold for all but the most exceptional of talent goes through an adjustment process to acclimate to the increased speed and skill of the players around them. To go from watching the MN HS tournament, to the WCHA F5, to a MN Wild game at the X over the course of a week and the difference in the speed of the game between each level is astounding.

Earl was NOT a complete player when he stepped on the campus, he had an electric playmaking ability but he was also nearly a complete defensive disaster. With very rare exceptions, every single player who comes to UW has areas of his game that needs improvement. The NTDP-U18 team has some of the most talented US players in their age group, yet they are only a middle of the pack USHL team, it isn't that they lack talent, it is that they lack experience. That's the exact same issue that this years Badger team faced. Being a successful team requires that that little things be done that don't directly show up on the stats sheet. You can't just measure how good or valuable a player is by the number of points that he accumulates.

How many true freshmen play in football every year, why is it common practice to redshirt your first season, and why do so many players enroll in January so that they can have spring practices to adjust to the college game?

I've been thinking more about this since this morning and my sort of ad-hoc post. I believe one part of (this year's) problem is there wasn't a difference maker in this frosh class. if there's a Zengerle-type there bango, UW is in the top 6 and things are pretty good, or at least they'd be getting closer to where we'd like them to be annually which is re-loading (or bringing in 1-2 difference makers per class)

the other (and one you've made me think about much moreso now, so thanks) is that the philosophy of bringing in kids straight from high school has really changed the team from anything I may have seen before in 27 years of watching UW hockey. I'm not sure I can say I'm 100% on-board w/the argument that these kids need seasoning of 1-year or more (given Minnesota made it work for at least a decade w/Woog and frosh straight in from HS, Bonin, Crowley, and about a zillion others) to get acclimated, but...

I'll use Labate as an example. Highly touted, at times looked very solid, at times looked like he got knocked off the puck very easily and could have used a year in juniors. Maybe Daly is the same in terms of needing a year of juniors. I didn't see enough of him in the 2nd half to say really. I guess the jury really is out until the mid-point of next season.

anyway, I enjoy these conversations cause I know we all LOVE UW hockey and it's good to get some other opinions out there always

btw - I really miss Joeyv, I wonder if he still lurks here and if so what his thoughts are on this past season.

re: Chuck - I didn't intend for that earlier statement re: sources to be a dig. I guess I find (and maybe Gurt as well) that sometimes it feels very pollyanish the drumbeat that everything is fine, I suppose just as much as myself or Gurt or anyone else's criticism comes across as overbearing, or incessant.

it's why I like reading the gopher threads. those guys can be merciless as hell on their team but always seem to come back and give credit where it's due (for the most part)