Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2023-2024

[BadgerPete]

LE left off the colligate team so she can play with the bigs.

I was slightly concerned Frosty was going to try a corner the international market but MJ landing AS3V is huuugggee. I believe there are Checz's on wbb and vb teams, yes?

The women's basketball team had Julie Pospisilova from Czechia, who graduated last year. The volleyball team has Europeans from Poland and Turkey (which I'm counting even though she grew up on the Asian side of Istanbul) but nobody from Czechia.

 

[Timothy A]

The women's basketball team had Julie Pospisilova from Czechia, who graduated last year. The volleyball team has Europeans from Poland and Turkey (which I'm counting even though she grew up on the Asian side of Istanbul) but nobody from Czechia.

Ok, tx. I wasn't sure if Pospisilova was still on the bb team.

 

[Timothy A]

So that makes 13F for 24-25.

 

[Patricio]

Here are the numbers I have for Fs for the next few seasons:

23-24: Gr: Curl Sr: O’Brien, Wheeler Jr: Eden**, Woz, Picard* So: Simms, LEdwards, Enright Fr: Vasseur, Hall, Gorbatenko. Total=12. Eden has covid and Olympics years and Picard a redshirt year of eligibility.
24-25: Gr: O’Brien, Wheeler Sr: Eden, Woz, Picard Jr: Simms, LEdwards, Enright So: Vasseur, Hall, Gorbatenko Fr: McCarthy, Halverson, Scannell Total=14. Eden has covid and Olympics years and Picard a redshirt year of eligibility. Total=14
25-26: Gr: Eden, Picard Sr: Simms, LEdwards, Enright Jr: Vasseur, Hall, Gorbatenko So: McCarthy, Halverson, Scannell Fr: Pieckenhagen, Šapovalivova. Total:=13 Eden will have another year of eligibility left, possibly 2 if reinvited to Olympics tryouts.

The 25-26 season will be another one in which the US Olympics squad likely will include a number of Badger Ds and Fs. Also, Šapovalivova easily could be a member of the Czechia squad. So, the total number for the Fs in my list is more likely to be 9 or 10. The Badgers will lose 2-3 other players from the 25-26 squad who will have exhausted their eligibility. So, they may want to add several players to the 25-26 class to cover the vacancies the Olympics probably will create as well as the loss of the 25-26 players who will graduate to have a normal number of Fs for 26-27.

 

[Gargoyle]

Am I mistaken, or are the Collegiate Series players those who are not likely to make the national team? So at the selection camp, there were the U-18's, the "collegiate series" that used to be the u-22s, and then the upper tier players that haven't yet been announced to the national team? I am so confused.

 

[BadgerPete]

Am I mistaken, or are the Collegiate Series players those who are not likely to make the national team? So at the selection camp, there were the U-18's, the "collegiate series" that used to be the u-22s, and then the upper tier players that haven't yet been announced to the national team? I am so confused.

That's usually how it went in previous years. The collegiate select was for the college kids who weren't ready for the callup yet.

 

[BadgerPete]

Busy day for present and future Badgers. Simms scores twice and O'Brien and Wozniewicz each once in the College Series game, and Emma Venusio scored twice for Canada in the U18 game. Rhyah Stewart made 11 of 12 saves in the win.

 

[Timothy A]

Busy day for present and future Badgers. Simms scores twice and O'Brien and Wozniewicz each once in the College Series game, and Emma Venusio scored twice for Canada in the U18 game. Rhyah Stewart made 11 of 12 saves in the win.

I thought all the OSU players were gonna light it up LOL. Nice to see the Badger gals having prominent performances. I wonder how much icetime Jungels is getting?

 

[Timothy A]

Sooooooooooooo, Simms and O'B 1-2 in team scoring for the US of A. Wheeler and Woz each had 2 pts for Canada. 24 D recruit Venusio was tied for the team lead in pts for the Canadian U18's.

I'd really love to see Woz have a breakout year. Last season she was a bit supplanted at times by the Fr. F's.

 

[Patricio]

Sooooooooooooo, Simms and O'B 1-2 in team scoring for the US of A. Wheeler and Woz each had 2 pts for Canada. 24 D recruit Venusio was tied for the team lead in pts for the Canadian U18's.

I'd really love to see Woz have a breakout year. Last season she was a bit supplanted at times by the Fr. F's.

I think O’B and Wheeler are high intensity gritty players who constantly put pressure on the goal. For now, at least, I foresee Hall being the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] member of their line as she has a history not only of scoring herself but also of distributing the puck to others. Having two linemates who hang out around the net should benefit all three.

I believe the Simms-Eden-Enright line started to jell at the end of last season. Simms and Eden are two more players who attack the net and Enright showed potential similar to Hall’s. In my view, Simms soon will be a preeminent player in the WCHA and nationally. If she hits the slot at full speed, her shot is almost impossible to stop.

When Venusio arrives next season, Bucky is going to have a tough set of Ds who will play both ends of the ice with intensity. Harvey, Jungels, Potter, Murphy, and Venusio should be a pleasure to watch.

I share Timothy’s hopes for Woz. I think she has not been fully utilized thus far, but I believe her skill sets may prove to be a good fit on the LEdwards-Curl line. She has grit and intensity that should complement Curl’s and may help induce LEdwards to become more assertive around the net. But Picard is somewhat similar to Woz and I don’t really have enough information about Vasseur to know if she might fit. So, the third member of the LE-Curl line remains a somewhat open question for me. Whatever that choice is, the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] F-line with Gorbatenko will be interesting to watch to see how it develops.

 

[Patricio]

I understand that Grace Shirley secured a transfer to play for Providence this season. But have not found or heard anything about Toft. If she did not succeed in finding a team via the portal, what are her options? Merci.

 

[Gargoyle]

I believe captain's practices started today. Anyone with inside knowledge of which players are wearing (or will be wearing) the C's and the A's?
And, like Patricio, I am concerned about Mayson Toft. Do I remember correctly that before she came to the Badgers, she had committed to Eau Claire? She's an excellent student. Once a Badger, always a Badger.

 

[Timothy A]

I understand that Grace Shirley secured a transfer to play for Providence this season. But have not found or heard anything about Toft. If she did not succeed in finding a team via the portal, what are her options? Merci.

I sure hope Grace is a top 9 F and gets to play a lot, maybe even crack some special teams opportunities.

Mayson would be a Sr. She was a curious recruit to begin with, not any international experience or anything. It's impressive how MJ has managed to land super high end D talent last yr, this yr and next year vs "just" rock solid D like Steffen, Bowlby, Rolfes, Gardiner ect. High end D could have been the missing link during the drought years.

 

[Timothy A]

A big concern may be having good team chemistry specifically in the D corps, some players who are used to playing will be riding the pine frequently. Harvey, Jungels, Kotlowski and Edwards are probably locks for the top 4, so Helgeson, Wilgren, Murphy and Potter will looking for the other 2 spots. I can't imagine Wilgren would have signed with UW with the possibility that she won't play much. They really can't run 7D and 11F considering the forward situation either. Perhaps the 5/6 D play every other game. I can see it being a good idea to redshirt one of the Fr. D (or Helgeson), but then that delays their college graduation by 1 year. The first line chart will be fascinating to see.

 

[Lindsay]

A big concern may be having good team chemistry specifically in the D corps, some players who are used to playing will be riding the pine frequently. Harvey, Jungels, Kotlowski and Edwards are probably locks for the top 4, so Helgeson, Wilgren, Murphy and Potter will looking for the other 2 spots. I can't imagine Wilgren would have signed with UW with the possibility that she won't play much. They really can't run 7D and 11F considering the forward situation either. Perhaps the 5/6 D play every other game. I can see it being a good idea to redshirt one of the Fr. D (or Helgeson), but then that delays their college graduation by 1 year. The first line chart will be fascinating to see.

What year are all those D?
Wisco strikes me as a no drama operation where people patiently bide their time and still get better low on the depth chart only to deliver daggers to the opposition at critical times in the season. Ugh. You’ll all be fine

 

[Gargoyle]

What year are all those D?
Wisco strikes me as a no drama operation where people patiently bide their time and still get better low on the depth chart only to deliver daggers to the opposition at critical times in the season. Ugh. You’ll all be fine

Harvey and Jungels are sophomores. Kotlowski is a RS junior; Edwards is a 5th year grad. Helgeson is a junior who has been waiting her turn. (Her twin sister entered the transfer portal from Quin but wasn't picked up by a team, as far as I can tell.) Wilgren is a a 5th year transfer-in from Mankato. Murphy and Potter are both freshmen. Murphy was one of the stars on the Canadian U18 team last year and was on the Collegiate Select team this year. Potter was on the US U-18 team last year. Both Potter and Murphy are high on the Hockey News "Rookies to Watch" list.

 

[Timothy A]

The thing that we will never know is when did Edwards decide to come back and when did Wilgren decide to sign on? Those 2 players were the 7th and 8th D to confirm being on the roster.

Season starts in less than 1 month, meaning formal practice is but a few weeks away and no word on the fate of Greenie / the 4th paid coach.

 

[Patricio]

A big concern may be having good team chemistry specifically in the D corps, some players who are used to playing will be riding the pine frequently. Harvey, Jungels, Kotlowski and Edwards are probably locks for the top 4, so Helgeson, Wilgren, Murphy and Potter will looking for the other 2 spots. I can't imagine Wilgren would have signed with UW with the possibility that she won't play much. They really can't run 7D and 11F considering the forward situation either. Perhaps the 5/6 D play every other game. I can see it being a good idea to redshirt one of the Fr. D (or Helgeson), but then that delays their college graduation by 1 year. The first line chart will be fascinating to see.

TimothyA’s post sums up what I see as a cluster fiasco (or whatever) at D for the coming season.

In my view, Jungels-Harvey remains as one of the D lines. If not, I will need something stronger than beer in order to dampen my fan experience. My second D will line is Potter-Murphy, two highly regarded players who I think will prove to be a solid D pairing with added offensive punch as well. Looking to the future, I think the development of them as a pairing has to be an emphasis this season.

That leaves 4 players for the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] line. Frankly, if MJ decided the team needed a portal transfer the choice of Wilgren mystifies me. Why not Morrow who was highly regarded out of SMS (with exceptional scorings stats for a F let alone a D), played a lot for OhSt, and has 3 years of eligibility left - and could have stabilized the D for 3 years. Markowski from Clarkson and Barnes from BC also were available in the portal. I would think playing for the Badgers with the chance for a ring would have had appeal to all of them. While it would be nice to know when Edwards decided to return for another season, and an explanation for all of this might prove of interest, it too might be another fan experience I don’t necessarily need.

So, for me, the coaches have to decide how they will distribute the playing time over 4 players. Helgeson could make things easier if she were to redshirt but she would have to recognize that Vesuvio will be coming next year as another highly regarded recruit who will require playing time and limit hers. But, if Helgesen were to red shirt, she still would have another year to get a chance at being the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] D.

As for playing 11 Fs to accommodate 7 Ds, I believe current rules on rosters allow 19 non Gs to suit for games. Regardless, 11 Fs doesn’t appeal to me. I strongly prefer to see a focus on developing all 12 of this season’s Fs.

 

[Lindsay]

Harvey and Jungels are sophomores. Kotlowski is a RS junior; Edwards is a 5th year grad. Helgeson is a junior who has been waiting her turn. (Her twin sister entered the transfer portal from Quin but wasn't picked up by a team, as far as I can tell.) Wilgren is a a 5th year transfer-in from Mankato. Murphy and Potter are both freshmen. Murphy was one of the stars on the Canadian U18 team last year and was on the Collegiate Select team this year. Potter was on the US U-18 team last year. Both Potter and Murphy are high on the Hockey News "Rookies to Watch" list.

Thanks Gargoyle. Interesting discussion.

 

[Bonzo]

TimothyA’s post sums up what I see as a cluster fiasco (or whatever) at D for the coming season.

In my view, Jungels-Harvey remains as one of the D lines. If not, I will need something stronger than beer in order to dampen my fan experience. My second D will line is Potter-Murphy, two highly regarded players who I think will prove to be a solid D pairing with added offensive punch as well. Looking to the future, I think the development of them as a pairing has to be an emphasis this season.

That leaves 4 players for the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] line. Frankly, if MJ decided the team needed a portal transfer the choice of Wilgren mystifies me. Why not Morrow who was highly regarded out of SMS (with exceptional scorings stats for a F let alone a D), played a lot for OhSt, and has 3 years of eligibility left - and could have stabilized the D for 3 years. Markowski from Clarkson and Barnes from BC also were available in the portal. I would think playing for the Badgers with the chance for a ring would have had appeal to all of them. While it would be nice to know when Edwards decided to return for another season, and an explanation for all of this might prove of interest, it too might be another fan experience I don’t necessarily need.

So, for me, the coaches have to decide how they will distribute the playing time over 4 players. Helgeson could make things easier if she were to redshirt but she would have to recognize that Vesuvio will be coming next year as another highly regarded recruit who will require playing time and limit hers. But, if Helgesen were to red shirt, she still would have another year to get a chance at being the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] D.

As for playing 11 Fs to accommodate 7 Ds, I believe current rules on rosters allow 19 non Gs to suit for games. Regardless, 11 Fs doesn’t appeal to me. I strongly prefer to see a focus on developing all 12 of this season’s Fs.

Kotlowski is listed as a redshirt senior on the Badger website. The year she redshirted is the Covid year that many players now are taking advantage of. However since she didn't play and redshirted that year, are we sure she still has another year left? I would think not. If 2023-24 is her last year then 3 of the D will be using their last year of eligibility this season.