Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

Question: the team is 4-4, what if they miss the tournament and 2 of Caufield, Turcotte and Holloway bolt?

How much time does the dream team get?

It's a dumb question 8 games into the season. What if aliens invade and they cancel the Tournament? What then!?!

My answer is probably a couple of years at least. I've said it 50 times before --> this freshman class is the first open recruiting class the staff has brought in. When the staff signed, nearly every top player for last year's class was already committed. Emberson was already committed and they were able to get K'Andre mostly because he'd only been playing D for a year at that point. You ***** about there not being enough talent in the Soph and Junior class. Where do you suppose they were going to pull more talented players from? Out of a hat? That they were able to get guys like Weissbach, Ess and Achan at all was pretty good work.

Going forward there appears to be a return to some class balance, a major problem the last several years, and there will be an injection of very talented freshman each year. DSP, Malmquist, Roepke, Urdahl and others plus Grannon and Rowe in net are all looking very good. Pipeline looks better and better beyond that.

I'm less concerned about Caufield and Turcotte bolting then I am about 3 or 4 D jumping. I don't think that will happen but it's always a possibility and D would be much harder to replace right now on short notice.

 

[solovsfett]

It's a dumb question 8 games into the season. What if aliens invade and they cancel the Tournament? What then!?!

My answer is probably a couple of years at least. I've said it 50 times before --> this freshman class is the first open recruiting class the staff has brought in. When the staff signed, nearly every top player for last year's class was already committed. Emberson was already committed and they were able to get K'Andre mostly because he'd only been playing D for a year at that point. You ***** about there not being enough talent in the Soph and Junior class. Where do you suppose they were going to pull more talented players from? Out of a hat? That they were able to get guys like Weissbach, Ess and Achan at all was pretty good work.

Going forward there appears to be a return to some class balance, a major problem the last several years, and there will be an injection of very talented freshman each year. DSP, Malmquist, Roepke, Urdahl and others plus Grannon and Rowe in net are all looking very good. Pipeline looks better and better beyond that.

I'm less concerned about Caufield and Turcotte bolting then I am about 3 or 4 D jumping. I don't think that will happen but it's always a possibility and D would be much harder to replace right now on short notice.

Alright so the freshman class now is essentially Granato’s start so he gets basically a 7 year chance to get this ship turned, puppies trained, mountain climbed?

 

[wjefwhite]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

When are they going to sit Kalynuk. Our captain is the worst defensive player on the ice every single night.

K is wreckless careless and hogs the puck on the rush.

Will not make it in NHL until he starts playing defense first.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

Alright so the freshman class now is essentially Granato’s start so he gets basically a 7 year chance to get this ship turned, puppies trained, mountain climbed?

I think if you are going to invest the kind of money UW is in the staff and are going to hire people like Granato and Oz who come with serious credentials, given the way recruiting has worked in hockey until now, you are going to have to give them 5 years and then take a look at what you have and where it's going. Barring something egregious, of course, I don't think you can short cut that. End of next year will be five.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

K is wreckless careless and hogs the puck on the rush.

Will not make it in NHL until he starts playing defense first.

Kalynuk seems almost incapable of passing to his left. I know that's not true because I remember seeing him do it before, but I can't say I remember seeing it recently...

It's seems problematic when you have right handed Caufield looking to snipe it from the left side on the PP. I know they're looking to go cross ice or from low to high to Caufield to give him an open net, but still, there are times when it would be nice to toss it over there and get the D moving side to side a little.

 

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

Kalynuk seems to have regressed; Jeez he's 22 and the Flyers cannot be happy with what they're seeing.

Whatever is going on, I hope they figure it out for the Badgers AND his future.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

K is wreckless careless and hogs the puck on the rush.

Will not make it in NHL until he starts playing defense first.

Is the C making him feel more pressure to lead my example and he's trying to do too much?

UNO only allowed 4 goals @ OSU. The B6 has no easy outs like the olde WCHA did. As of right now there aren't a lot of tea leaves saying this team will be more than a game or 2 over .500. As the Fr get acclimated to the systems and school and the team build some chemistry, hopefully they get hot and can string a 7-3 run together to bury .500 in the distance. Maybe I'll pony up some cash to watch them on ncha tv, depending on $$$.

 

[digitalbooya]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

Is the C making him feel more pressure to lead my example and he's trying to do too much?

UNO only allowed 4 goals @ OSU. The B6 has no easy outs like the olde WCHA did. As of right now there aren't a lot of tea leaves saying this team will be more than a game or 2 over .500. As the Fr get acclimated to the systems and school and the team build some chemistry, hopefully they get hot and can string a 7-3 run together to bury .500 in the distance. Maybe I'll pony up some cash to watch them on ncha tv, depending on $$$.

What a load of crap NCHC.tv is. I remember having to cancel via email for them last year, instead of just logging in and hitting a button. Definitely going to buy it for the games this weekend though ha... Need my hockey. Looks like $24 for a school monthly pass (UNO) and $28 for the entire conference for a month. I'll probably just grab the entire conference and catch a couple of the Wild's prospects (Hentges and Swaney).

There are no easy games left. Maybe the gophers? But those series almost always seem like splits no matter how good the teams are.

 

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

Things don’t look good.

We’re on Michigan State’s level after the early departures this offseason.

Probably on Colorado College or Miami level for the foreseeable future.

 

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

What a load of crap NCHC.tv is. I remember having to cancel via email for them last year, instead of just logging in and hitting a button. Definitely going to buy it for the games this weekend though ha... Need my hockey. Looks like $24 for a school monthly pass (UNO)

With the amount I pay for a DirecTV tier with lots of sports, RSNs, and NHL Center Ice; TV apps like BTN+, ESPN+, NCHC.tv, (especially BTN+) all can suck it.

 

[solovsfett]

Things don’t look good.

We’re on Michigan State’s level after the early departures this offseason.

Probably on Colorado College or Miami level for the foreseeable future.

Hard to argue against this. The end of the Sauer and Eaves eras knocked the Pollyanna out of me. Show me the wins and titles. Everything else is excuses.

 

[WiscDC]

The 13-14 team was grossly overrated and found out in game 1 of the tourney.

The 90 team felt like the 05-06 team. They had the leadership and you could feel something special would happen.

The 13-14 team was preseason number 3 and entered the tournament 4th overall in the pairwise. If how good a team is overall is completely negated by one loss, then I guess you could say they were "grossly overrated." But they were pretty much what we thought they were.

 

[WiscDC]

THIS is why people wont fill the Kohl Center. Because they lose. Not because the fans are gone forever.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

If there were a big enough fan base that could regularly pack the Kohl Center right now, but they're just waiting for more success to spend the time and money, there would be a lot more (i.e. at least an order of magnitude more) buzz, discussion, etc around the team. People would make it a point to watch on TV. Fans would be showing up more this season.

I was walking downtown during the Thursday PSU game and didn't see one bar with BTN on. (Far from an exhaustive survey, but still.)

After week 2, there was every reason to be really high on the Badgers, and it was pretty barren for the Clarkson series.

They're not starting from zero, but they're still building from the figurative second floor up on that front, not simply waiting for that last ingredient: unrealistically high standards for this era (for ANY program) being met.

 

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

We've been ragging on the defense, but we've only scored 7 goals the last 4 games.

Step yo' game up.

 

[solovsfett]

The 13-14 team was preseason number 3 and entered the tournament 4th overall in the pairwise. If how good a team is overall is completely negated by one loss, then I guess you could say they were "grossly overrated." But they were pretty much what we thought they were.

Ymmv. Chuck and several posters were talking NCAA title possibilities and I just didn’t see it. And imo they were nowhere near talented UW squads who missed out on titles like 82 or 92 to name a couple.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

After week 2, there was every reason to be really high on the Badgers, and it was pretty barren for the Clarkson series.

In recent years they just don't draw well in October. I was honestly shocked the UMD series was "so" well attended. They should just play on the road until November.

 

[DPlaya]

In recent years they just don't draw well in October. I was honestly shocked the UMD series was "so" well attended. They should just play on the road until November.

I think the staff has some work to do to with this group yet. They are normally pretty active juggling forward lines and their lack of wanting to move things around is not a good idea IMHO.

Get Baker to the 3rd line wing. He is bad at faceoffs and cost the team a goal off a draw in the defensive zone Thursday. I just about ripped my big screen off the wall when I figured out who took that draw.

Holloway seems way more comfortable at Center than wing.

Try Ahcan, Ty Pelton-Byce and maybe even Lindmark in the top 6 even if they kill penalties. (Lindmark is so great at faceoffs though). This team has not been good 5 on 5.

Nobody else has commented, but I think Caufield's size and defense are a liability. Sean Dhooghe seems better at protecting the puck and attacking players that have the puck. If he moves up after this year it will be a mistake for offense only IMO.

I think Holloway has been the best forward so far when healthy and clicking on all cylinders.

The defensemen need to start doing the basics well. Cover the front of the net instead of sending two guys into the corner, quit screening the goaltender, clear out for the goaltender, etc.

Because this team is young their improvement curve COULD BE STEEPER than other clubs. Will it be?

Just needed to empty out all the stuff rattling around my brain.

 

[DPlaya]

Per Todd Milewski-

Saw a couple new forward lines at #Badgers practice today: Roman Ahcan on the left side with Dylan Holloway and Sean Dhooghe, and Tarek Baker with Ty Pelton-Byce and Owen Lindmark.

 

[KaMiGo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2019-2020: Time to Get Offensive

Updates after the Clarkson series (L 0-4, W 4-3)

Record: 4-2-0
USCHO Poll: 7
USA Today Poll: (not yet released, will update)
PWR: 8
RPI: 8
KRACH: not available
Scoring: 4.5 GPG; 2nd
Defense: 3.33 GAPG; 44th
Power Play Goals: 7; 1st
Power Play Rate: 25.00% (7 of 28); 8th
Penalty Kill Rate: 90.91% (20 of 22), 20th
Penalty Min per Game: 10.83; 36th (1st is worst)
Shorthanded Goals Scored; 3; 1st
Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 0; 1st
Team Faceoff: 50.6%; 22nd

Updates after the Penn State series (L 1-6, L 2-4)

Record: 4-4-0
USCHO Poll: 12
USA Today Poll: 12
PWR: 20
RPI: 20
KRACH: not available
Scoring: 3.75 GPG; 12th
Defense: 3.75 GAPG; 51st
Power Play Goals: 8; 2nd
Power Play Rate: 22.22% (8 of 36); 19th
Penalty Kill Rate: 78.12% (25 of 32), 43rd
Penalty Min per Game: 13.75; 14th (1st is worst)
Shorthanded Goals Scored; 3; 1st
Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 0; 1st
Team Faceoff: 49.1%; 29th

 

[digitalbooya]

IMO, Caufield is gone; that guy has a chip on his shoulder (and a heart to match),the size of Aaron Rodgers' when he was passed up. Holloway...probably gone. Turcotte hasn't shown me anything yet for being a #5 overall pick, but I'm giving him a couple more weeks as a Mulligan.

Holloway hasn’t even been drafted yet. For instance, if the Wild were to take him in the top 10, I would definitely see him back next year.

Also, Turcotte has been awesome. He’s not going to wow you with anything, but he does everything really well. He’s like a Koivu/Kopitar/Bergeron type.