Re: Michigan Tech 2012-13 Preseason Thread: Draft picks, video feeds, and Mel, oh my
Mel Pearson show summary from 10-1, Meet the Coaches is Thursday 7PM, is anyone going that report back?
Feels great it's finally game week.
Still only have 2 hours a week with team, first official full day is Saturday.
Special teams are a concern until you get more time to work on it.
Hard without the on ice time to see Freshmen.
Line and freshman:
Working on lines, start thinking during the summer
Have a pretty good idea of what they'll look like
Lineup is fairly set, we have a couple injuries, Chad Pietila has been out for 2 weeks, groin pull
Jake Johnstone tweaked an ankle last week, not sure if he'll be ready this weekend, could be 2 weeks to 6 weeks
Jujhar, they call him JJ, will be a top 9 forward, big body, playing center, good in front of the net, needs to pick the pace up a bit, get significant PP time, team him up with skill players, he distributes the puck, pass first guy, with Petan right now, they look good, will add experience/Defense on the left side of that line
JJ appears physically ready, at NHL combine, he was excellent, ahead of the freshmen curve physically, 18 year old, true freshmen
Petan - you'll see skill, can't teach, him and Gould are two pure scorers, he shoots to score
Freshmen will have up and downs, and will have to play against some guys 4/5 years older than them, really like their talent
Eick - has speed, he sticks out, if he gets a step on someone, hard for Dman to catch up, need to tell him to score, expand his role and show him he has better offense than his numbers have shown
He'll create some scorring chances on the PK, hopefully can burry those shorthanded chances
Questions:
Two biggest areas you'll look at during exhibition game?
Goaltending, want to see freshmen in action, Brock has played 3 games, they'll give us a good match
Overall feel for some of the new players/kids that didn't play last year
Same question but for intrasquad?
All players will play in that game, will make it as much a game situation as you can. Great opportunity for community outreach for our team. Will have autograph session afterwards.
Goalie situation, have any seperated themselves yet?
Don't know who we'll start against Brock. Not sure if we'll play 3 or 2 goalies. We do have a game the following Thursday. Both freshmen are good, we have a small book on Kevin, we'll see.
On Walker Hyland - good offensive skills/instincts, 40 pts in BCHL, has fit in well, a lot of depth on defensemen, 9 bodies, all capable of playing
Where do Davis and Brown fit in on defense?
Tommy had a great summer, ready to go, looks good, being a senior he knows what it takes to win. He's such a competitor. Jimmy has looked much improved, he had a good freshmen year, very capable, adds toughnes on blueline. We'll have tough decisions, players will make decision for you.
Will Jimmy crack the lineup? Yes, no questions, he'll have the opportunity, where and how much is TBD with all the Dmen. He looks improved, stronger and more confident.
Dirk wondered about some Forwards that are trying to earn spots in lineup:
They all work hard and have played in some games. Lickteig has great speed, expecting his best year. Holmberg is capable player, give some size and he has some touch around the net. With the change in coaching and speed of the game they wanted to play may have caught him off guard. Aaron Pietila adds toughness and speed. Hietila has some skill. Problem is not enough games/time to give kids time in games. Need to go with best lineup. All of them are capable D1 players. They'll all get an opportunity, need to show coaches/teammates you're ready to contribute.
Tanner Kero will better with age. He got off to a great start, then hit a wall. If Mel could've changed one thing, maybe would've given him a game off or two, but kept playing him. Skating is more powerful, stronger. He's healthy and ready to go. He had a nagging injury most of the year last year, upper body.
Milos Gordic has adapated to how we want to play. He's had to push his skating and has gotten better. He can score, good around the net, big body. He's in his best shape.
On Brock:
Can dress 22 players, 2 extra
Will play some line combinations and mix it up to see chemistry
On intrasquad:
Will have tents setup outside, game is at 3PM, will play two halves, it will be entertaining and after the game kids can have posters signed and get autographs and a barbeque after
Mel likes this better than last year during December, last year there was a break in the schedule, but there may be another one in 2nd half of season
Media preseason poll:
Gophers will be tought, defending champion, Mel not surprised Bujstad is back
Get your tickets for UMN series, will be heck of a series
UW picked 4th, good talent played better at end of the year
We were picked 9th, told player doesn't matter where we get picked, just guys like Dirk that don't know much about hockey, we have something to prove
UND picked 2nd, very good, lot of injuries last year
We have UMN and UND coming to Houghton, get your tickets
Our schedule is more difficult, both non-conference and WCHA pod we're in, play UMD 4 times
Seigo to Mel is one of best Dman in league, he's ready to have a breakthrough year
Meet the coaches is on Thursday, Begg hockey center in ice arena
All coaches will be there except Muckalt, he's in BC recruiting
Thursday 7PM, begg hockey center (players lounge area), bring your questions, there will be refreshments
The Monday email was inaccurate, it is in Begg hockey center, not blueline room!
We have a new feature this year, In the Crease, good questions, equipment, recruiting, future opponents, lockerroom changes, we encourage people to come out and bring questions
When can people get a tour of the locker room? It's a possibility this Thursday to open it up, good to go behind the scenese to see what's been done
It's an arms race, some nice places like UND etc, we're making nice improvements, when the Mac gets packed, no other place liek it in college hockey, people right on top of you
Anxious this week, going to turn the heat up a bit, can't be too intense, getting into game time, but it's a long season
Brock is a good opponent, Mel wanted a good team that will make us work not one we would blow out
Not sure what jerseys on Saturday, will try to wear all three this weekend, one on Sat and each side will wear the remaining two on Sunday