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Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

WiscTJK said:
It is. the Saturday game is at the United Center that weekend, probably Sunday afternoon based on KaMiGo post.
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If that's how it goes, I think we college hockey fans will get screwed... They have the Blackhawks game scheduled as an NBC game (which is likely the real reason for the 11:30 a.m. start.) If they did the doubleheader thing, I could see them only making it available to the fans who are at the Blackhawks game, 95 percent of whom would leave... (and since all the fairweather Hawks fans pay the exorbitant prices to sell out every game, we'd have no way to actually get tickets if we wanted them for less than $150 a pop. Otherwise, if they are going to actually turn over the stadium and send NHL fans out and let a new ticketed crowd in, we wouldn't see a start time before 6 p.m. on a Sunday, I'm guessing. Either way not good for folks hoping to travel from Wisconsin. This is a real bummer - last year's United Center game was one of the highlights for our family...

Does anyone here know if they ever do noon hockey before a 7 p.m. basketball game at the UC? This link says it can turn around in two hours (but one line says a few extra hours are needed for basketball broadcast cabling... http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/gamechangers/
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

sunprairie said:
If that's how it goes, I think we college hockey fans will get screwed... They have the Blackhawks game scheduled as an NBC game (which is likely the real reason for the 11:30 a.m. start.) If they did the doubleheader thing, I could see them only making it available to the fans who are at the Blackhawks game, 95 percent of whom would leave... (and since all the fairweather Hawks fans pay the exorbitant prices to sell out every game, we'd have no way to actually get tickets if we wanted them for less than $150 a pop. Otherwise, if they are going to actually turn over the stadium and send NHL fans out and let a new ticketed crowd in, we wouldn't see a start time before 6 p.m. on a Sunday, I'm guessing. Either way not good for folks hoping to travel from Wisconsin. This is a real bummer - last year's United Center game was one of the highlights for our family...

Does anyone here know if they ever do noon hockey before a 7 p.m. basketball game at the UC? This link says it can turn around in two hours (but one line says a few extra hours are needed for basketball broadcast cabling... http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/gamechangers/
Click to expand...

Here's some further confusion (that actually makes me think the UC game isn't happening this year.) UW's schedule now says either the 18th (Friday) or 19th (Saturday) will be at the UC - If that's the case, then we could get a Friday UC game. But UND's schedule has no mention of the UC anymore and has a Friday 7 pm game at Kohl Center and a Saturday 3 p.m. game also at the KC...

https://uwbadgers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey

https://und.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

Despite what the ticket sale said, it seems logical that since the UC is open on Friday, they would play there Friday. And if bouncy ball is in the afternoon, (I'm sure TV dictates the time there) play at the KC Saturday night. The KC takes about 3 hours to turn around for hockey. Otherwise at the KC Sunday.

Playing in Chicago late Sunday seems to make no sense? (Oh! I guess that's why they would do it that way!)
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

sunprairie said:
Does anyone here know if they ever do noon hockey before a 7 p.m. basketball game at the UC? This link says it can turn around in two hours (but one line says a few extra hours are needed for basketball broadcast cabling... http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/gamechangers/
Click to expand...

I don't know that I've ever seen a hockey then basketball double. I've seen the basketball then hockey double a few times before. Probably a lot easier to go from basketball to hockey, almost all of what you are doing there is getting rid of stuff to expose the hockey rink underneath.
Kind of reminds me of my college days when I would be part of the local crew that would work backstage for the touring concerts. We would spend 4-6 hours setting things up and then 2 hours breaking everything down.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

Timothy A said:
Seamus is going 125 easy, might even get to 150, depends on his line mates Linus and Jack.
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This did get me thinking about lines the other day and I have to say I've never been at such a loss for what the chart is going to look like.

D seems easy enough, I'd do this:

Tischke - Miller

Emberson - Kalynuk

Inamoto - Ess


Pairs the new guys with a vet and gives you three pairs I'd be comfortable playing against any top line. Could move anyone around but this is going to be a really solid D.

With F's though, this is all I'm really comfortable with so far:


??? - Malone - Weissbach

??? - Baker - ???

??? - ???? - ???

??? - Zirbel? - ????

Somebody is going to have to Center the third, and while there is probably 4 or 5 guys that could do it, most would be out of their natural position. Sean Dhooghe has played some C in his career and could be an option. You could put Freytag or Zimmer or Mersch there I guess, but I don't really have a clue how this is going to go together.
 
Edit: delete.

D-pairs I’d like to see:

Miller-Kalynuk
Ess-Emberson
Inamoto-Tischke

I’m also the biggest proponent of #1C Tarek Baker.
 
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Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

digitalbooya said:
Edit: delete.

D-pairs I’d like to see:

Miller-Kalynuk
Ess-Emberson
Inamoto-Tischke

I’m also the biggest proponent of #1C Tarek Baker.
Click to expand...


Could be anything at this point, those six are all pretty capable. My thinking is that you want Miller and Kalynuk to touch the puck a lot, and you limit their individual touches by playing them together. Tischke and probably Miller are the two best shut down defenders, Tischke can really skate and Miller may even be better. (Miller can just do everything.) They both have a ton of range to disrupt entries and potentially really limit opposing top lines. Kalynuk has a real knack for getting the puck through and can skate end to end, and while Emberson has naturally been compared to McCabe, he reminds me a little of Tom Gilbert - he just does everything right all the time. That could be a deadly pairing. I think you could get more offense out of Ess, by playing him down the line up, and I think Inamoto really improved every game last year. D needs to dominate up and down the lineup this year to have success and that pair could dominate lower lines.

Emberson and Miller have played as a pair together a lot the last two years though, so it's possible they could remain a pair and maybe put Kalynuk with Tischke. But Oz seems to like pairing freshman with vets so that has me leaning to Tischke- Miller and Emberson -Kalynuk.

The other thing I like this way is you put the two best defenders behind Seamus, who is probably not as good in his own end as Baker is. Baker can pick up a little slack as Kalynuk is adequate, but not nearly as good in his own end as he is going the other way. That's the thinking from the Wisko braintrust anyway - I have no real idea how it's going to go though.
 
Wisko McBadgerton said:
Could be anything at this point, those six are all pretty capable. My thinking is that you want Miller and Kalynuk to touch the puck a lot, and you limit their individual touches by playing them together. Tischke and probably Miller are the two best shut down defenders, Tischke can really skate and Miller may even be better. (Miller can just do everything.) They both have a ton of range to disrupt entries and potentially really limit opposing top lines. Kalynuk has a real knack for getting the puck through and can skate end to end, and while Emberson has naturally been compared to McCabe, he reminds me a little of Tom Gilbert - he just does everything right all the time. That could be a deadly pairing. I think you could get more offense out of Ess, by playing him down the line up, and I think Inamoto really improved every game last year. D needs to dominate up and down the lineup this year to have success and that pair could dominate lower lines.

Emberson and Miller have played as a pair together a lot the last two years though, so it's possible they could remain a pair and maybe put Kalynuk with Tischke. But Oz seems to like pairing freshman with vets so that has me leaning to Tischke- Miller and Emberson -Kalynuk.

The other thing I like this way is you put the two best defenders behind Seamus, who is probably not as good in his own end as Baker is. Baker can pick up a little slack as Kalynuk is adequate, but not nearly as good in his own end as he is going the other way. That's the thinking from the Wisko braintrust anyway - I have no real idea how it's going to go though.
Click to expand...

It’s also killer that 5 of those 6 guys are left handed. Would make the decision process for who plays where a lot easier.

I do think you put your best defenders together if you can and since handedness won’t really be a deciding factor I think Miller should play with Kalynuk. I won’t be upset though if they mix n match. I don’t see a defensive liability, like 10 was, so we’ve got that going for us!

Also, can’t wait to see how Ess progresses this season! Quietly one of the better defensive defenseme I’ve seen in awhile. Won’t be talked about due to his offense but plays a key role.

Hopefully with all 6 defenders not being liabilities Berry will have an easier time. Need him to play well and become more consistent.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

And now I hit that odd point of the year where I don't have a Badger hockey calendar up at my desk.

The season ticket package comes with a nice calendar, that runs from September to August. It has all of the games listed, and has a picture of a different player for each month.

The ticket package usually arrives sometime in September, so I'm left with a "dead" period between when the calendar for the previous season runs out at the end of August and when the new calendar arrives a few weeks into September.

I mention this to the director of the hockey ticketing operations every year, and it sounds like this year might actually have a September - September 13 month calendar...we'll see what happens when the ticket package arrives in a week or two.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

gwhinwi said:
Gotta figure there is someone else coming in to fill that #15 forward spot.
Click to expand...

so the 6 D are set with Bunz and Peltonen I would assume as the backups. Hopefully no injuries there.

Forward I always liked Zirbel and the energy he brings to the ice and hope he gets more PT this year. Going to have some freshman F's contributing right away regardless.....

I hope Berry can be more consistent this year.

One other item of note, is they don't list Jeff Sanger as Volunteer Assistant Coach on the staff.....
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

WiscTJK said:
Roster posted: https://uwbadgers.com/roster.aspx?path=mhockey

No Paddy Sexton or Dan Labosky or the walk on Fin/Swede.
Click to expand...

Only 1 Canadian player on the roster, that is mega sad. Also only 1 non-Midwestern US born player on the team, no one from the east at all, just Johnson from California. UW needs to be able to recruit from all corners of the globe. If I was not so lazy, I'd look at the recruiting chart and see where those lads hail from. My gut reaction is mostly Midwesterners.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

WiscTJK said:
Already did. He is working on it. He had some theories, but it wasn't confirmed so I won't post those here.
Click to expand...

I love giving Todd leads on possible stories, I do that on the women's side quite frequently because Mark Johnson is mega hush hush on everything. Maybe YOU are Todd D.....
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

Timothy A said:
I love giving Todd leads on possible stories, I do that on the women's side quite frequently because Mark Johnson is mega hush hush on everything. Maybe YOU are Todd D.....
Click to expand...

sadly no, I am Todd, but Todd K....
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey - 2018 Off-Season - Hope or Despair?

Updated the decommit/non-pro early departure list.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ImvKLUHKZyhn5-GSaO-5FHUVbRJv9Uypm4FIAQuLj8

It’s amazing: only eight NHL draft picks on roster this year. We’ve lost four since the last season ended.
 
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