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Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Seven former Gophers invited to to the Olympic Orientation Camp. Most of any school. :)
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Between Team White and Team Blue, who would you put your money on against Sweden and Finland at the USA evaluation camp (Aug. 4-5)? Looking forward to seeing a trimmed USA roster play Canada on August 10. I won't miss that and only $7.99 to get your midsummer hockey fix and watch the live stream >>> HERE.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Gophers #1 said:
According to multiple sources, test run for a future NHL Winter Classic will be Jan. 18, #Gophers vs. Ohio State, TCF Bank Stadium.
https://twitter.com/JessRMyers/status/359332252544532481
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Minnesota's style of long pass puck control and speed don't line up well with outdoors. IMO the rough conditions at the rink led to the outdoor loss against UW. Having said that, outdoor games are cool.

Even so, Ohio St is a pretty ho hum choice for such a groundbreaking event at a school as that of MN.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

5mn_Major said:
Minnesota's style of long pass puck control and speed don't line up well with outdoors. IMO the rough conditions at the rink led to the outdoor loss against UW. Having said that, outdoor games are cool.

Even so, Ohio St is a pretty ho hum choice for such a groundbreaking event at a school as that of MN.
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I'm glad its them cuz we have a good chance to beat them! :D
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

5mn_Major said:
Minnesota's style of long pass puck control and speed don't line up well with outdoors. IMO the rough conditions at the rink led to the outdoor loss against UW.
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Also the players had severe buslag too from the looong trip down from Madison.:rolleyes:
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Everyone knew we would lose a considerable number of players. After doing the math the Gophers have lost 1/6 of all college hockey players choosing to leave early and go pro so far this year. As big a number as that is, it could have been...err...could end up being worse.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Also noticed the roster is up on gophersports.com for the upcoming season. No surprises. But it is rather nice to have 4 seniors as solid contributors to the team and therefore helps balance it in terms of classes to a decent extent.

However it still strikes me that although there is considerable young talent there...there are quite a few players that have yet to prove themselves at the college level. This is to include quite a few frosh as well as players like Ryan/Connor Reilly. Also, it may be my perception...but it seems that we have more players 5' 9" or under than usual.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

5mn_Major said:
Also noticed the roster is up on gophersports.com for the upcoming season. No surprises. But it is rather nice to have 4 seniors as solid contributors to the team and therefore helps balance it in terms of classes to a decent extent.

However it still strikes me that although there is considerable young talent there...there are quite a few players that have yet to prove themselves at the college level. This is to include quite a few frosh as well as players like Ryan/Connor Reilly. Also, it may be my perception...but it seems that we have more players 5' 9" or under than usual.
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Don't forget to include Shibby on the senior list for 5.:) Condon has a solid work ethic and stands out for me as a potential C and leader of the senior group. Agreed we will be young next season, but oddly enough during Lucia's tenure the Gophers have had the most postseason success when the freshman class is the dominating class.

Here are some interesting tidbits on Gopher teams during Lucia's tenure of 15 seasons with a dominating freshman class:

1. Next season marks the 6th time the freshman class is the dominating class.
2. 4/6 (inc. next season) freshman dominated teams had exactly 9 freshman on the roster (2001-02, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2013-14).
3. When the Gophers have had a 9 freshman dominating class they have been more successful in the postseason than any other dominating class (sophomore class is 2nd): 2001-02/NCAAs, National Championship; 2004-05/NCAAs, 3rd place NCAAs; 2006-07/NCAAs, Final Five championship.

Good call on the trend towards smaller players Major...you're right on, size now matters! This next season will mark the first time the Gophers under Lucia will have eight players (7 F, 1 D) @ 5'9" or under:

Cammarata, Taylor: F, 5'7"/157, Freshman
Guertler, Gabe: F, 5'9"/176, Freshman
Kloos, Justin: F, 5'9"/176, Freshman
Lettieri, Vinni: F, 5'9"/170, Freshman
Reilly, Ryan: F, 5'7"/168, Sophomore
Marshall, Ben: D, 5'9"/179, Junior
Rau, Kyle: F, 5'8"/173, Junior
Warning, Sam: F, 5'9"/181, Junior

Not sure how this compares with a national trend (a future Harley project :D), but it's clear that Lucia and Co. have adjusted their recruiting strategies over the years to include more smaller players, which decreases early NHL defections and thus increases the Gophers chances of having more 3-4 year players on board. The Gophers have never had a dominating senior class, but if the trend of recruiting smaller players continues that may change.

Notice how the trendline changes in 2006-07 and correlates with the major changes made in the 2005-06 NHL CBA, which has been directly responsible for the increase in early departures of college players who are NHL draft picks.

 
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Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Just finished watching the first USA World Junior Evaluation Camp game between USA Team White (coached by Bob Motzko) vs. Sweden at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY. It was obvious from the beginning this was their first game together as Team White looked a little sloppy on breakouts and setting up in the offensive zone. But they did improve as the game went on against a very good, precision passing Sweden squad. USA got into early penalty trouble taking 10 penalties in the first two periods, but then settled down to play a solid third, getting several A-grade SOG with some clever playmaking. But tied 2-2 with 4 minutes left, USA took two unfortunate and costly penalties; and Sweden's PP capitalized on both of them to take the first game of the camp by a score of 4-2.

Team White has three freshman Gopher players on the roster: Mike Brodzinski, Taylor Cammarata and Tommy Vannelli. I was really impressed with Brodzinski on D. My overall impression was Mike plays like a very mature freshman D who likes to take chances on offense. He's an obvious playmaker on the backline, confident, offensively minded, with excellent skating ability and puck movement. A couple times he was paired with Tommy Vannelli and they seemed to have immediate chemistry moving the puck up ice and on the powerplay.

There's no doubt in my mind, Vannelli is going to be a very valuable asset on D for the Gophers for at least a couple seasons. He has good size, moves the puck extremely well on breakouts, has excellent full ice vision with an offensive upside; and is also a gritty player not afraid to finish his checks. With Brodzinski and Vannelli coming in on D, it looks like the Gophers will be very good on D again next season.:)

This was the first time I'd seen Taylor Cammarata. It's amazing how small he looks (5'7") compared to some of the other players. He didn't have many SOG, but in space, it's apparent his passing and playmaking abilities are really exceptional. He seems like a very unselfish player, whose offensive talents in stickhandling, quick precision passing and playmaking fit perfectly with the Gopher's playing style. I had heard a rumor that he often avoids the physical game in the corners. I noticed he did like to hang out in the zone a lot for the outlook pass, but he wasn't afraid to dig the corners on a couple occasions either. With the loss of several forwards last season, hopefully Cammarata will have no problem stepping up at the college level to make an immediate impact.
 
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Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Yeah thanks for the info Harley!

I always look forward to hearing about and seeing the Freshmen every year, sounds like a very nice incoming class.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Might be the first time I have ever heard anybody describe Vannelli as gritty. He may not be afraid to stick his nose in there but the kid is pretty skinny right now. He's perfect for the college hockey system in terms of a guy that is going to need the additional time to add bulk and get stronger. He's undersized at his height right now. He definitely won't be confused with a hard nosed defenseman any time soon. My big concern with him next season is going to be how he deals with the strength/size of veteran D1 players. His skill/speed will help him with the transition this season but I think he'll struggle on occasion with the physical side of the game.

If I had to project, Brodzinski will be the most successful of our frosh D. He's built pretty compactly and that full year in the USHL should give him a leg up on the other two.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

Hammy said:
Might be the first time I have ever heard anybody describe Vannelli as gritty. He may not be afraid to stick his nose in there but the kid is pretty skinny right now. He's perfect for the college hockey system in terms of a guy that is going to need the additional time to add bulk and get stronger. He's undersized at his height right now. He definitely won't be confused with a hard nosed defenseman any time soon. My big concern with him next season is going to be how he deals with the strength/size of veteran D1 players. His skill/speed will help him with the transition this season but I think he'll struggle on occasion with the physical side of the game.

If I had to project, Brodzinski will be the most successful of our frosh D. He's built pretty compactly and that full year in the USHL should give him a leg up on the other two.
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I can definitely see your point on the question of Vannelli's transition in handling the strength and size of D1 players. He's listed at 170lbs. and for 6'2" that's not a lot of muscle mass on that frame. Being physical is clearly not the most prominent aspect of Vannelli's D game either. From what I saw the most outstanding aspects of his game seemed to be his skating ability, full ice vision, passing and puck movement.

Nevertheless, he gave no indication of shying away from committing his body to the mix when needed on several occasions. It's only one game, but he did see significant minutes. The physical side to his game was noticeable. Will he "struggle" on occasion with the physical side in D1? He'll of course need to adjust, but I think he'll be fine. The average weight of Sweden's forwards (180) is not that much different than the average B1G forward (187). Being a physical player when needed in D1 is based upon more factors than just a weight advantage (i.e. intention, target, position, timing and leverage).
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Offesason Thread: Back To 1896

As I thought would likely happen, Brodzinski makes the cut but Vannelli doesn't. People are going to need to be patient on Vannelli. He'll show flashes but he's gonna take his lumps. Really wish he could have played USHL this year. But can't always get the perfect scenario.
 
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