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Wisconsin Recruiting V - Does it even matter?

cinnamoroll said:
Can confirm that Winnipeg team was much better than anything Wenatchee has had, they went to the WHL championship finals. It was a weird transition–team moved and inherited a BCHL team setup, coach got fired before the season got started, just not a great first season. Probably expected to get Zach Benson back and the Sabres had him in the NHL all season.

Big update in Daniel Hauser's season since he committed: on New Year's Day, he was traded to the Calgary Hitmen, joining fellow commit Oliver Tulk. The Hitmen bought aggressively at the deadline, and that included filling a massive hole in veteran goaltending with Hauser. They've already clinched playoffs and are in a good spot to potentially take over top spot in their division. Since joining the Hitmen, Hauser is 14-3-0, 1.96 GAA, .922 SV%. Leads the league in GAA at 2.69 (included Wenatchee numbers), tied for league lead in shutouts with 4, all with Calgary. Notably, he is on a blistering 3 game shutout streak. Hasn't been scored on in over 183 minutes of TOI. He has had a few stinky outings, but that just kind of happens with this level of play. The WHL is generally higher scoring than the OHL (still less than the Q).

Tulk has also continued his strong play, up to 36-57-93 in 58 games, 1.6 PPG. Also 64.9% on faceoffs, which is obscene. Really great pickup. Only 3 players with more points than Tulk are NHL draft picks from the 2023 2nd and 2024 1st round, and the projected 1st overall pick in 2026. I watch a lot of Hitmen games since their captain is a Sharks pick, and both have impressed me consistently. The Hitmen seem primed for a deep playoff run and are tons of fun to watch (also have impeccable branding).

Also, Blake Montgomery on the London Knights has been absolutely wonderful. London is stacked and the cream of the crop in terms of CHL teams preparing their players for higher levels. For 13 straight weeks, they've been first in the entire CHL power rankings and going for a repeat of the OHL championships. He's done great since joining after the rule change, especially while the Knights had multiple key pieces of their roster at WJC. 21-24-45 in 39 games. London Knights games are a blast to watch, highly recommend.
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Great information! Thank you!
 
solovsfett said:
Good pick-up!

www.buckys5thquarter.com

Croatian sharpshooter Bruno Idžan commits to Badgers

Wisconsin adds a much-needed scoring threat with a big commitment.
www.buckys5thquarter.com www.buckys5thquarter.com
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Good find for Hastings/Knott! Good size and goal scoring ability.

Love the line speculation in the article. I’m curious if it would be better to split Finley/Idzan, so each could be the primary shooter on their own line, and matched with a corresponding quality playmaker and board battle winner.
 

Hauser with his 4th consecutive shutout this afternoon, sets the new franchise record, along with the consecutive minutes without giving up a goal at 243:23. Hitmen have 2 notable goaltender alumni in Justin Pogge and Martin Jones, so I'm guessing one of them held that record before today.

Nice of the Wisconsin hockey twitter account to quote the tweet in support of a future badger too!
 
I just don't think Tulk and Izdan will save the day offensively. They're going to have to bring in a couple short time forwards who are scorers.
 
Timothy A said:
I just don't think Tulk and Izdan will save the day offensively. They're going to have to bring in a couple short time forwards who are scorers.
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Assuming the roster construction shakes out such that they can bring in one or two transfer forwards, I would love to see Hastings and co look towards better conferences and schools for transfers. If we could theoretically get a player from a middle tier Hockey East or NCHC team who has experience and success against top competition, I think that's a safer bet than grabbing a player from the CCHA or a similar conference. I'll admit this is wishful thinking, but after watching how this season has played out I can't help but feel that we need players who can really handle the top tier of competition.
 
Also I think it's worth mentioning that Lukas Zajic was the USHL forward of the week last week with the USNTDP 17's. 4g 3a in two games, with the 3g and 3a in the second game. We won't likely see him in Madison until fall of 2026 but good to see some talent on the horizon nonetheless.
 
Timothy A said:
I just don't think Tulk and Izdan will save the day offensively. They're going to have to bring in a couple short time forwards who are scorers.
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Like you don't think they are capable of playing 2nd line? Curious, what would lead you to that conclusion?
 
digitalbooya said:
Like you don't think they are capable of playing 2nd line? Curious, what would lead you to that conclusion?
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I am depressed/down on the program. I think they are 2/3 line guys easy. If they end up on the 4th line I'll be pizzed.

Let me do some math.......WI should be shooting to finish in the top 2 in the conference. This last year the top 9 F's for MSU scored 203 pts, MN's top 9 F had 247 pts. WI's had 172. That's a 31 pt deficit to MSU. They lose 44 pts from the top 9 F. They need to come up with 75 pts to get on par with MSU (and 119 to get even with MN). Presuming everyone comes back and plays at the level they did this year (as bad as some were), that means Izdan and Tulk need to score 75 pts. Is that possible? Morrissey had a wonderful Fr year with 31 pts. So after doing the math, it's not as bad as thought. Maybe they CAN save the day. The thing that makes me very uneasy is who will leave. If Fitzgerald leaves unless they replace him with an equal from a big conference, they will be doomed.
 
UW student and hockey fan said:
Assuming the roster construction shakes out such that they can bring in one or two transfer forwards, I would love to see Hastings and co look towards better conferences and schools for transfers. If we could theoretically get a player from a middle tier Hockey East or NCHC team who has experience and success against top competition, I think that's a safer bet than grabbing a player from the CCHA or a similar conference. I'll admit this is wishful thinking, but after watching how this season has played out I can't help but feel that we need players who can really handle the top tier of competition.
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This is 100% on point. It's obvious that these transfers from Atlantic or the CCHA aren't good enough to be top 6 guys.
 
srkbadger said:
What about Blake Montgomery? 21 goals and 26 assists in 43 games for London Knights.
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There's a big part of me that believes Montgomery will be the best recruit we do bring in; I know Izdan and Tulk have been discussed more as of late on this thread. Montgomery has scored less ppg than Izdan/Tulk, but is playing in a better league, on a far better team with enough depth that scoring is a bit more evenly spread. With his size (6-4)and skating ability I think he'll adjust to the NCAA pretty seamlessly. And FWIW, he's become a serious NHL prospect for the Senators after they took him in the 4th round.
 
UW student and hockey fan said:
There's a big part of me that believes Montgomery will be the best recruit we do bring in; I know Izdan and Tulk have been discussed more as of late on this thread. Montgomery has scored less ppg than Izdan/Tulk, but is playing in a better league, on a far better team with enough depth that scoring is a bit more evenly spread. With his size (6-4)and skating ability I think he'll adjust to the NCAA pretty seamlessly. And FWIW, he's become a serious NHL prospect for the Senators after they took him in the 4th round.
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All three are very exciting incoming recruits. I’m not sure that the OHL is a better league than the WHL; however, both are much better than the USHL.

Tulk is the most intriguing player offensively for me. Hopefully his size doesn’t hold him back from being a 1st line scorer at the NCAA.
 
srkbadger said:
What about Blake Montgomery? 21 goals and 26 assists in 43 games for London Knights.
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I keep forgetting about him. One might say he's more advanced than Izdan. So, can the 3 Fr get 75 pts total? I'd say it's possible, but for every Morrissey there is a Botterill. He was 55 pts in the USHL with a +21. Currently 7 pts and -10. Morrissey only played half a season in the ushl (24 pts) and had 2 seasons in the nahl. He's punching way above weight, will he going to regress to the mean?

Bottom line is there is a lot of hope in the Fr F, more than I thought. Now we just wait out the portal. What are the portal windows?
 
Timothy A said:
I keep forgetting about him. One might say he's more advanced than Izdan. So, can the 3 Fr get 75 pts total? I'd say it's possible, but for every Morrissey there is a Botterill. He was 55 pts in the USHL with a +21. Currently 7 pts and -10. Morrissey only played half a season in the ushl (24 pts) and had 2 seasons in the nahl. He's punching way above weight, will he going to regress to the mean?
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This is exactly why the major junior Canadians are more intriguing to me than USHL players. It is just a different level of competitive hockey. I’ll be shocked if one or both of Tulk/Montgomery don’t put up 20+ points if given the role/minutes.

Who do you have in the top 9 and what are their projected point totals? I would like to see Fitzgerald/Tassy get back to ~25 point level offense. How much would that reduce the point totals needed?
 
With Calgary's 3-1 win over Lethbridge today, Daniel Hauser has hit 122 wins, tying the record for most career wins by a goaltender in the WHL. Calgary have 4 games remaining for him to set the new one.
 
Timothy A said:
This is 100% on point. It's obvious that these transfers from Atlantic or the CCHA aren't good enough to be top 6 guys.
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I thought Mosley was pretty darn good from start to finish (18G, 19A) - not sure what you were expecting? Kukkonen showed flashes but I'll agree that Laskosky was pretty much a bust.
 
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