The Oshie and Toews Watch

The Watch is Officially on

I hate this time of year more than the ending of the Waterfowl season. For the past three plus season the UND Fighting Sioux have enjoyed great success followed by a mass defection of skilled players. I found this article on HockeyBuzz.COMand its got a pretty interesting perspective on some of the WCHA's top players; sounds like T.J. Oshie is sitting about 50/50 on going pro while Jonathon Toews and Eric Johnson are gone. I know its a blog but EK runs a pretty credible blog and he appears on XM-204 all of the time. I suppose we can take it for what it's worth. Or as Hakstol likes to say, "it is what it is."

If you happen to run into Black Hawks super prospect Jonathan Toews in the next few days don’t be surprised if he is still wearing his North Dakota uniform.

With Thursday night’s loss to Boston College likely being his final game playing for the Fighting Sioux, Toews couldn't take off his jersey after the game. He sat in his stall with his head buried in his lap for several minutes while still wearing his equipment. Some of his teammates were already headed to the bus before Toews even took off an elbow pad.

When Toews was attending Shattuck-St. mary's with Taylor Chorney, Ryan Duncan, and Chay Genoway they all decided they would attend the same University and play together. The fact that it looks like Toews will leave without a national championship is difficult for him to accept

Toews is smart enough to say he owes it to his teammates to not think about next season. It does him no good to come out and say I'm off to Chicago to play in the NHL.

Sometimes we forget these kids get attached to the college lifestyle and their friends. It’s not that easy to just cut the cord and turn pro no matter how good you are. When Toews was attending Shattuck-St. mary's with Taylor Chorney, Ryan Duncan, and Chay Genoway they all decided they would attend the same University and play together. The fact that it looks like Toews will leave without a national championship is going to be difficult for him to accept

But let's face it, he’s gone.

The better question is what his pal T.J. Oshie will do.

I found it interesting when Oshie told me his decision will no question be impacted by whatever choice Toews makes. Oshie plans on being as committed as ever in the gym this summer with hopes of adding ten pounds of muscle. He will certainly need to add strength to play in the NHL.

I get mixed signals from the Blues on Oshie. While they all agree Oshie is going to develop into an impact player at the NHL level, some think another year in school wouldn’t hurt. Others have told me playing in the NHL next season will be a non-issue for Oshie.

All I know is this; Oshie is really excited to play for the St. Louis Blues. He couldn’t get the smile off his face when I brought up the team that made him a first round pick in 2005. He loved being inside the Blues building. Oshie is so far removed from St. Louis he has no idea how high he is thought of among Blues management and fans. He didn’t even attend the draft the year he was selected, so he has had little face time with anybody from the city or the Blues organization.

This was the first time Oshie had ever been to St. Louis. He said it was really special to finally put a face with the city. Oshie added that seeing fans walking the streets wearing Blues jerseys while driving to the rink was an unbelievable experience. When I spoke to Oshie following UND’s loss to BC he had not bumped into Larry Pleau or John Davidson while in St. Louis.

Oshie spoke to Erik Johson recently and plans on talking to him again before he makes his decision.

Speaking of Johnson, he has not told the Blues what his intentions are for next season but sources very close to Johnson say he has decided to leave Minnesota.

Both Johnson and Oshie plan on attending the Blues Prospect camp in July.

Oshie will take his time to collect his thoughts and decide on his future.

First off I like the line of thinking when some suggest that T.J. Oshie needs another year in the college game. Who am I to stand in the way. As most Sioux hockey fans know there are numerous rumors flying around that T.J. will stay in college for one more year. Some have even quoted his father as saying that. Others are saying mark T.J. off next season's roster because he is as good as gone already. I am sure the truth lies somewhere in between. I crossing my fingers and wearing out my knees praying that Oshie stays because he is an amazing player with God given talents. I find it amusing that Oshie has not bumped into the the team leadership as of yet, that could be a good sign or it could me that he was more focused on the task at hand. Stay tuned we will see how this shakes out.

Also, looks like Maine Coach Tim Whitehead might want to recruit another goalie

That’s not exactly the case for Maine goaltender Ben Bishop. He doesn’t need any time.

He wants to turn pro now. He says he’s ready and he’s hoping the Blues feel the same way.

Bishop is confident he can make the transition, but I have the feeling the Blues want him to wait.

First of all it’s a valid question to ask if he is even ready, but also would it make sense to have him play a handful of games backing up Marek Schwarz in Peoria next season? If the Blues wait a year or two Bishop could jump in and be the number one guy in Peoria right away.

A big question heading into this off-season will be if Davidson picks up the phone and offers the 6’7 Bishop a contract.

Bishop was decent Thursday night. Michigan State was successful in creating traffic in front of him and the bounces went the Spartans way as a result.

He has impressive athletic ability for a goaltender his size and handles the puck efficiently.

That would be a huge loss for Maine as Bishop is a shut down goalie that makes a living frustrating the opposition. I don't get it though, college was the best time of my life and these kids have a life time to make money. The money is going to be there if they stay one or two more years. Just ask Jordan Leopold, he stayed all four season, won a Hobey Baker and a National title and has been a solid player I believe because of him staying his final season in the WCHA/NCAA.