MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

[ajoyce02]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Don Lucia to return next season. no real suprise.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14778319?nclick_check=1&forced=true

Shooter headline: "We Landed on the Moon!"

 

[kire_mailliw]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Finally he is starting to recruit kids with more grit. I have been saying this for years. A couple of things has bothered me the past three years. 1.) Why are the Gophers consistently passing the puck laterally? Pass the puck north and south and shoot and good things will happen. It is almost like the players are afraid to go to the net and score mucky goals the old fashion way. Just a note future Gopher players that example is how the majority of goals scored in the NHL. 2.) tDon needs to continue to recruit power foward types. The reason? See example 1. From the looks of it tDon agrees look at the upcoming recruits.

agreed, the gophs have played without grit since benny h. in the 90s...looks what happened in the last nodak game...Hakstol obviously said something in the middle of the game and his players started hitting everything in sight...and instead of coming up to their level...we pussied out and folded...that's not gopher hockey as i remember growing up...the gophs would never back down to anyone

i think grit can be and should be taught...something the gopher staff is obviously inept about

 

[Handyman]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Grant Potulny had no grit...huh I must have been watching a different team.

 

[state of hockey]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Grant Potulny had no grit...huh I must have been watching a different team.

Don't forget Fleming, Waibel, Demarchi, Koalska, etc...

 

[Bakunin]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Demarchi

Grit is directly proportional to the number of roughing, slashing, and crosschecking penalties taken in a game.

 

[Handyman]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Grit is directly proportional to the number of roughing, slashing, and crosschecking penalties taken in a game.

So were Gopher wins in Demarchi's case

No grit though...man those title teams were a bunch of *******...

 

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Don't forget Fleming, Waibel, Demarchi, Koalska, etc...

That Waibel kid was the laziest player I've ever watched...no hustle whatsoever....

 

[kire_mailliw]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

aight I probably exaggerated with the no grit since the 90s comment but even the championship teams where by no means played in your face smash mouth hockey

sometimes you need to take a fighting call to wake up your team...i just haven't seen that in a while

 

[SanTropez]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

aight I probably exaggerated with the no grit since the 90s comment but even the championship teams where by no means played in your face smash mouth hockey

sometimes you need to take a fighting call to wake up your team...i just haven't seen that in a while

If they win a championship I don't care what style of hockey they played to get there.

I get the whole grit thing but if we could put the puck in the net like some of the former Gopher teams did this wouldn't be a topic IMHO.

 

[4four4]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

So you were assaulted and committed assault because you wanted Kangas' phone number? And I thought Dirty was gay? (Not that there's anything wrong with that )

Who knew Dirty was gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that,

 

[ajoyce02]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

agreed, the gophs have played without grit since benny h. in the 90s...looks what happened in the last nodak game...Hakstol obviously said something in the middle of the game and his players started hitting everything in sight...and instead of coming up to their level...we pussied out and folded...that's not gopher hockey as i remember growing up...the gophs would never back down to anyone

i think grit can be and should be taught...something the gopher staff is obviously inept about

I'm not so sure grit can be taught, players either seem to have it or they don't. Some players don't want to get in there in yuck it up for the puck, whatever the reason might be. If it can be taught, having a guy like Grant Potulny on the coaching staff is a step in the right direction.

 

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Who knew Dirty was gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that,

Ricky Martin.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

So you were assaulted and committed assault because you wanted Kangas' phone number? And I thought Dirty was gay? (Not that there's anything wrong with that )

Considering the fact that it probably wasn't the right phone number, the whole scenario sounds like a reasonably entertaining scene from a Dumb and Dumber sequel.

 

[GO-4-EXCELLENCE]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

That is true, actually...
But only when the Sioux play their exhibition opener against Manitoba each year.

Soooo, you're saying it's not long before North Dakota is annexed...errr given over to canuck-ville?

 

[GO-4-EXCELLENCE]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Still no word on whether he's signed with Michigan or Minnesota.

not that it means much, and nor have i ever seen Serratore skate, but he looks like a beast. something i feel the Gophers need - another tDon too, but with some serious grit. it would be a bummer if he signed with Michigan.

i don't know, but, i was so stoked about this team and had the highest expectations for us only to finished 8th in the WCHA. while i am super stoked about the next crop of kids coming in... i cannot help but think of this year.

not to beat a dead horse, but, after reading Driftryder's post regarding Lucia's recent interview with the Pioneer Press, it made me slightly indifferent to next year's team. i would like to believe that Lucia is going to take the reigns and do something about this 3 year slump, but something about his (what I will deem) "neutral" stance has me guessing another 2009/10 season is in the works.

perhaps the last statement was too pessimistic?

 

[Turk 77]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

agreed, the gophs have played without grit since benny h. in the 90s...looks what happened in the last nodak game...Hakstol obviously said something in the middle of the game and his players started hitting everything in sight...and instead of coming up to their level...we pussied out and folded...that's not gopher hockey as i remember growing up...the gophs would never back down to anyone

i think grit can be and should be taught...something the gopher staff is obviously inept about

I do know that that intimidation from another team without any kind of response would NEVER have happened under Brooks or Woog

 

[Duey]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

probably wasn't the right phone number

I remember my first day of being a college hockey fan....hang in there sport, it gets easier .

PS....do you always talk so funny? I mean like all formal and sh1t? It's kind of annoying.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

not that it means much, and nor have i ever seen Serratore skate, but he looks like a beast. something i feel the Gophers need - another tDon too, but with some serious grit. it would be a bummer if he signed with Michigan.

Serratore is coming in from Youngstown Phantoms (USHL). I believe Scooby was referring to the goalie Joel Vienneau, whom the Gophers brought to the Twin Cities for the North Dakota series in mid-January, is playing well for his team the Kingston Voyagueurs.

Michigan and St. Lawrence among other schools recruiting Vienneau hard. His father, Dennis, said three or four colleges have shown a lot of interest in his son, but the Gophers remain high on Joel's list.

i don't know, but, i was so stoked about this team and had the highest expectations for us only to finished 8th in the WCHA. while i am super stoked about the next crop of kids coming in... i cannot help but think of this year.

not to beat a dead horse, but, after reading Driftryder's post regarding Lucia's recent interview with the Pioneer Press, it made me slightly indifferent to next year's team. i would like to believe that Lucia is going to take the reigns and do something about this 3 year slump, but something about his (what I will deem) "neutral" stance has me guessing another 2009/10 season is in the works.

perhaps the last statement was too pessimistic?

I had a similar disappointing reaction to the interview. Some things I'd like to ask Don Lucia:

Q: Is there a disconnect between what the coaching staff is teaching and what the players are learning and executing?

A: No. I just think it's the ongoing evolution with some of these kids. Some of them have had the kind of success we expected. Some haven't. I think we all have to evaluate what we're doing as coaches and players to see what can we do to become better.

It wasn't easy as far as trying to push 'em and push 'em. It seemed like the farther our foot went up some of these guys' rear ends, the more they'd respond. But if we backed off, they seemed to take their foot off the gas.

If there is no "disconnect" then it seems he is primarily blaming the entire season's poor performance completely on the players lack of desire and effort. While that may have been true at times, it's a puzzling response since I can't recall any Gopher players who were not 100% committed to play for the UMN. It seems to me there were more psychological issues involved between players and players, players and coaches than most people think. These can cause inherent and significant communication disconnects at various levels. IMO I don't think the answer above is an honest and adequate appraisal of how the coaches failed in their responsibilities to inspire and develop players either.

Which players have had the kind of success he expected? Maybe Cepis, that's it. Just about everyone's numbers were down last season.

Q: You were preaching during the year to get into the greasy areas, pay the price. Is it the makeup of the guys?

A: I think it's a combination. Coming out of high school, maybe you don't have to score goals that way. At some point in your career, you're going to experience failure as a player. Then it becomes "How am I going to react to that? Am I going to learn to become a better player and overcome some of my deficiencies?" That's an area of mental toughness.

You have to learn to be able to take a slash. You have to puck protect. You have to engage physically even before the puck battle to get your body in position. Those are things we have to get better at.

The Gophers demonstrated a lot of toughness in the 2007-08 playoffs, when they played in 5/6 OT playoff games, technically playing the equivalent of nearly eight hockey games in nine days. But since then we haven't seen it consistently. I agree more grit is needed.

Q: How does a team with 20 NHL prospects finish eighth in the WCHA in scoring?

A: (Pauses). Who was one of our better players this year? Jacob Cepis. And he never got drafted. Just because somebody is drafted doesn't mean they're going to be a top scorer. It doesn't mean they're ever going to play after college. It's an 18-year-old draft. It's such an inexact science. Kids get drafted on potential, at times before they're exposed.

I don't buy this at all. So all of the Gopher scouting reports and projections were wrong too? IMO even statistically that's highly unlikely. There's a significant piece of coaching accountability and developmental responsibility missing in this comment.

Q: Have your sophomores and juniors developed at the pace you expected?

A: I would like to have seen some of our sophomores take a bigger step this year. At some point you have to seize your opportunity. Some of it is battling through when you've scored all your life, (and) suddenly you're not scoring. What we're trying to convince these guys is, now you've got to find another way to contribute. Are you blocking shots? Can you kill penalties? Can you take the body?

I disagree with tDon on this. I must admit he makes these guys sound like their still in bantams. I don't think substituting other ways to contribute is the answer to motivating these guys at all. They're at a developmental stage where they should be learning to be a complete player (scoring and all of the above). One area of concern is the systems have become so academic to these guys that it has taken the natural edge off of their scoring abilities. Systems are made for the player not the player for the systems. It was refreshing contrast to see the freestyle play of Jacob Cepis without the limitations of running specific plays and overly concerned about positioning all the time. This game is more than Xs and Os, it's instinctual too.

 

[Duey]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

not that it means much, and nor have i ever seen Serratore skate, but he looks like a beast. something i feel the Gophers need - another tDon too, but with some serious grit. it would be a bummer if he signed with Michigan.

I'm confused?? Serratore has committed.....I thought it was the goalie that we're holding out hope for?

.......has me guessing another 2009/10 season is in the works

Can you provide fact based reasoning as to why you would think any different?? Living by "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst" does not mean you're a pessimist, it means you're a realist. And thinking otherwise doesn't mean you're an optimist, it means you're an idiot.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: MN Golden Gopher 2010 Offseason Thread

Serratore is coming in from Youngstown Phantoms (USHL). I believe Scooby was referring to the goalie Joel Vienneau, whom the Gophers brought to the Twin Cities for the North Dakota series in mid-January, is playing well for his team the Kingston Voyagueurs.

Yes, that is who I was referring to. I lost my reference so I couldn't recall his name but I did remember the recruiting was going on.