NHL Alumni by NCHC School

Lot of players in the NHL that come from NCHC schools.

North Dakota (14)
Taylor Chorney, D (Washington)
Derek Forbort, D (Los Angeles)
Matt Greene, D (Los Angeles)
Rocco Grimaldi, F (Florida)
Brad Malone, F (Carolina)
Brock Nelson, F (New York Islanders)
T.J. Oshie, F (Washington)
Zach Parise, F (Minnesota)
Chris Porter, F (Minnesota)
Dillon Simpson, D (Edmonton)
Drew Stafford, F (Winnipeg)
Jonathan Toews, F (Chicago)
Chris VandeVelde, F (Philadelphia)
Travis Zajac, F (New Jersey)

Denver (9)
Beau Bennett, F (Pittsburgh)
Tyler Bozak, F (Toronto)
Matt Carle, D (Tampa Bay)
Joe Colborne, F (Calgary)
Matt Donovan, D (Buffalo)
Nick Shore, F (Los Angeles)
Paul Stastny, F (St. Louis)
Patrick Wiercioch, D (Ottawa)
Jason Zucker, F (Minnesota)

Minnesota Duluth (8)
J.T. Brown, F (Tampa Bay)
Justin Faulk, D (Carolina)
Justin Fontaine, F (Minnesota)
Jason Garrison, D (Tampa Bay)
Matt Niskanen, D (Washington)
Dylan Olsen, D (Florida)
Mason Raymond, F (Calgary)
Alex Stalock, G (San Jose)

Miami (7)
Dan Boyle, D (New York Rangers)
Andy Greene, D (New Jersey)
Alec Martinez, D (Los Angeles)
Reilly Smith, F (Florida)
Chris Wideman, D (Ottawa)
Tommy Wingels, F (San Jose)
Jeff Zatkoff, G (Pittsburgh)

Colorado College (4)
Curtis McElhinney, G (Columbus)
Nate Prosser, D (Minnesota)
Jaden Schwartz, F (St. Louis)
Mark Stuart, D (Winnipeg)

Western Michigan (4)
Kevin Connauton, D (Columbus)
Danny DeKeyser, D (Detroit)
Mark Letestu, F (Edmonton)
Matt Tennyson, D (San Jose)

St. Cloud State (2)
Matt Cullen, F (Pittsburgh)
Matt Hendricks, F (Edmonton)

Omaha (1) Andrej Sustr, D (Tampa Bay)

(s/t NCHC Hockey)

Cody McLeod Jumps Mikael Granlund and Fights Charlie Coyle

I want to be clear, I am all for fighting and sticking up for your teammates. I get that, but what the heck is Cody McLeod doing? Or better yet, what is Avalanche coach Patrick Roy doing?

My question is: Wouldn't this be an intent to injure? McLeod took a run against an unexpecting player after the faceoff. I don't know?

Second, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund are skilled players, they're not goons. You really don't want to see Coyle or Granlund stuck in this situation.



If you're a Minnesota Wild, you're probably talking about this today. The Minnesota Wild the Colorado Avalanche are at it yet again. In four games against the Wild the Avalanche has scored a grand total of one goal.

There are rules in place to prevent what McLeod did, but you need the refs to actually call it.

“That’s garbage is what it is,” Yeo said of McLeod’s antics. “You feel it was going that way all game long. They were obviously very emotional all game long. In an emotional type of game, we did a good job of keeping our focus and I really think that was the difference in the end.”

Asked what he thought of Roy putting out McLeod, Yeo said, “We’ve seen the league respond to things like this. There’s rules in place to try to prevent things like that and I’m quite certain that they’ll take a good long look at that.”

We’ll see if the league does examine this and determines the only thing that kept this from being an instigator with less than five minutes left is that the refs decided not levy one for some unexplained reason. (Michael Russo, StarTribune)

Apparently, Av's coach Patrick Roy sent their goon out at the end of the game because of a legal shoulder-to-chest hit.



If you don't believe me that this is a legal hit check out the GIFs embedded below.

Shoulder-to-chest hit. RT @ybba2026: @goon48 Bergenheim? pic.twitter.com/t5UTb3INs1
— Eric J. Burton THW (@goon48) March 1, 2015

GIF: Bergenheim hit on Mackinnon, cc @WalterNorris pic.twitter.com/BEdxfRb9M5
— Steph (@myregularface) March 1, 2015

Blame lies with Wild Goalies

I think that Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo should direct a majority of his anger at the Minnesota Wild goaltenders. No sugar coating it, they've been absolutely brutal. Maybe the Wild front office should have gone out and signed a starting goalie in the offseason, too? Backstrom and Kuemper couldn't stop a beach ball if they had to.

#mnwild now has allowed a league-low 26.8 shots per game with a 29th-ranked .893 save percentage
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) January 9, 2015

Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo Goes off on Team

This was long over due. Finally, Mike Yeo has seen enough garbage and bravo sierra from his hockey team.

After losing 8-of-10 games, Yeo went off on his team at practice today. You can tell by the video, that Yeo uses a lot of course language. Yeo explained his emotional out burst after practice.



Again, I think this response is long over due. This should have happened about five games ago. There is way to much talent on this team to be sitting out of a playoff spot. If the Wild don't pick it up soon, they're going to miss the playoffs. I also believe if the Wild don't recover soon, Yeo is going to be the former head coach of the Minnesota Wild.

Mike Yeo: Wild starting job in goal wide open

#462660157 / gettyimages.com

As we make our way towards the NHL season there's more hockey news starting to emerge. The Wild are going to have a stable of goalies this season. According to Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo, the position is wide open.

NHL Insider -- The Minnesota Wild will enter training camp next month with three goaltenders, Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper, competing for the starting job. Wild coach Mike Yeo said each will have a chance to win the No. 1 job.

"I have to say we're kind of open right now, to be honest with you," Yeo told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune on Wednesday during an appearance at the Minnesota State Fair. "We're going to have some scrimmages … but we're going to have to pretty quickly determine who we want to give a greater workload to after that. That's going to be a good challenge."

Obviously, they Wild are going to  need to sign Darcy Kuemper who remains an unsigned restricted free agent. There's also many questions about Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding's health. Neither has been able to play a full season the last two years.

Related articles

• Trib: Leave the hockey coverage to Russo

Zach Parise Gives Mike Yeo Some Serious Props....

#490159145 / gettyimages.com

Last week, former Fighting Sioux forward Zach Parise gave Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo some serious props. Seriously... The fire coach Yeo crowd isn't going to be very happy with Parise's praise.

Michael Russo, Star Tribune --(Zach) Parise who led the Wild in playoff scoring, said during a phone interview. “I think he did a really good job — [the entire coaching staff] all did a really good job — down the stretch for us, especially in the playoffs. I mean, we were really prepared. We knew exactly what to expect. We exploited weaknesses. It’s a big chess game, the playoffs. I think they did a really good job making adjustments on the fly. It was real impressive.”

As a young, first-time NHL head coach, Yeo has made his share of mistakes, but Parise saw several examples of growth this season. It began before the season when Yeo reacted to last year’s first-round loss to Chicago and adjusted his system to allow the Wild to be less of a dump-and-chase team.

Late this season and into the playoffs, Yeo tinkered with his lines more and was more apt to make in-game adjustments and hold underperforming players accountable.

“There’s a lot of things you can tell that experienced coaches do,” Parise said. “Even things as small as tinkering lines when someone’s going and when someone’s not or the way they run the benches. I can only imagine how tough it’s got to be [for a young coach].

Just for the record, I think that Mike Yeo is a very good coach and he did some great things during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I think we have just scratched the surface with Yeo. I predicted not so long ago, that the Minnesota Wild are going to win a Stanley Cup sooner rather than later.

Wild close to extending Yeo

#490159145 / gettyimages.com

Very good news. According to Michael Russo of the Star and Tribune, the Wild are very close to resigning head coach Mike Yeo to multiyear contract extension. This past season, Mike Yeo lead the Minnesota Wild to a (43-27-12) record. Obviously, the Fire Mike Yeo crowd isn't going to be happy, but Yeo has the Wild going in the right direction.

Michael Russo, Startribune -- Final details were being worked out Friday night, but all signs pointed toward an agreement soon, multiple sources said. Yeo, General Manager Chuck Fletcher and other members of the front office are due to leave for owner Craig Leipold’s home in the Bahamas on Saturday for meetings. The NHL’s youngest coach is 104-82-26 (. 552) in the regular season and coached the Wild past the first round for only the second time in franchise history this spring. Yeo, 40, is nearing the end of a three-year contract. Fletcher said May 16 that his first offseason priority was to re-sign Yeo, then address the two dozen others whose contracts also expire June 30.

Denver Post columnist asks Mike Yeo if they're targeting Av's players

In my opinion, this is Unacceptable. I know I wouldn't ask a college head coach this stupid question. Anyone want to bet who this anonymous Denver Post columnist is? I have my suspicions. I would be willing to be, that it’s probably the same guy that’s been chirping and trolling Wild fans all day long on Twitter.

Michael Russo, Star Tribune -- Denver Post columnist: So you wanted Cooke to target specific guys? Yeo: “Don’t get into this, alright? I know where you want to spin this. But listen, I want our players when somebody is in front of them to finish their check. That’s hockey. So if you think that I’m saying, ‘Go take him out.’ No, you’re wrong. There’s a lot more respect in this game than that and we have a lot more respect for the game than that. So what we say to our guys is if you have an opportunity to finish your check, finish your check. And that’s the same thing that I’m sure that they’re saying there, too.

Wild Hockey: Eric Nystrom Shootout goal sinks Wild

How @enystrom23 scored the @PredsNHL's game-winner on a penalty shot. Watch: http://t.co/ADSM9D34em #Preds
— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2013

This was the game winning goal from last night's Wild game against the Predators. Former Michigan Wolverine Eric Nystrom scores on the penalty shot. Personally, I thought this was a weak call, sure it was a penalty, but I am not sure if it was worthy of a penalty shot. Oh well, that's how the game goes sometimes. Wild head coach Mike Yeo wasn't happy about a few of the calls last night, either.

"That 5-on-3 was extremely frustrating for me," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said. "I don't want to get into complaining about calls or anything like that, but I thought that was very difficult and -- bang-bang -- two pucks go in the net right away. That was tough, too. That's what it comes down to right now for us to get a win. We need a play here or there. It could be a faceoff, it could be a blocked shot, it could be a save -- obviously, a goal. It's a matter of just finding a way to win."

Matt Cooke trying to change the minds of the fans in the State Hockey

Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am sure we're going to see a bunch of these types of articles leading up to the season. Needless to say, I am not all that thrilled about him being a member of the Minnesota Wild.

Jess Myers, 1500ESPN.com -- "He was pretty dirty," Parise said. "He got under your skin, and he's got that ability to take your focus off the game and off scoring goals, and he puts your focus on him. That's a good trait to have, and that's a good player for us to have."

A quick check of Cooke's online bio shows nearly as many NHL suspensions for dirty and dangerous plays as trips to the playoffs. It also shows a Stanley Cup ring that Cooke won with the Penguins (who had an assistant coach named Mike Yeo back then) in 2009. Still, over the summer when the Wild inked Cooke to a free agent pact, the reaction of some fans was akin to announcing that a tried and true goon like Ulf Samuelsson, or Todd Bertuzzi or Chris Simon (again) would be wearing green and red.

"I understand their reaction. I don't blame them for it, and they're entitled to it," said Cooke on Sunday. "But I'm a different player now, and somehow, some way, with this being the State of Hockey, I believe if for some reason I was on this side doing the same things, they'd be loving me. So I ask for patience, and hopefully after three or four shifts their opinions will change."

There is no way of sugar coating it the Wild's Matt Cooke is a P.O.S.

Yesterday, my good buddy Redwing77 pinged me on Twitter to let me know that the Wild had picked up Penguins d-bag Matt Cooke. I was in the process of picking my daughter up from daycare, so I hadn't been paying attention very closely. So, he confirmed one of my biggest fears. The Wild had picked up the Penguins unrestricted free agent Matt Cooke. I also have to wonder if the NHL's Department of Player head Brendan Shanahan already has Chuck Fletcher's cell phone number in is speed dial?

@goon48 MATT COOKE with the #mnwild! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
— Daniel Levitt (@DanLevitt7) July 5, 2013

I don't care what Matt Cooke says or what the Globe and Mail says about Matt Cooke, he is the same d-bag that ruined the career of Marc Savard and has been suspended over 27 games by the National Hockey League. This is not a good pick-up for the Minnesota Wild.



To all of those people out there that say, "oh, you're going to learn to love this guy." There's no way; there's not a snow balls chance in hell, that I will ever come to love or respect this worthless piece of crap. Never! There is no way to justify this signing, what-so-ever. Again, this is a very bad signing by the Minnesota Wild.

With the Cooke signing, the Wild's star players are going to have open season on them now. The first time Cooke runs around and starts hitting people from behind or catches someone with a questionable hit and he won't drop the gloves, someone is going to run Zach Parise or another star player from the Wild. Mike Rupp is going to be extra busy having to defend this clown.

Here's what the Wild GM had to say on signing the gutless puke Matt Cooke.

Michael Russo, Star Tribune -- Fletcher called Cooke the ideal third-line winger — blocks shots, has scored 12-19 goals in seven of his 12 full seasons despite little power-play time, “angles well, cycles well, is good along the wall,” skates well and has played more than 1,000 regular-season and playoff games.

He won a Stanley Cup with Wild coach Mike Yeo as Pittsburgh’s assistant in 2009. Still, because of his reputation, some Wild fans voiced shock and vitriol at the signing on social media — a similar reaction to when former Wild GM Doug Risebrough traded for Chris Simon in 2008.

“Matt is a player that brings a lot to the table,” Fletcher said. “I think when everybody watches him as a player and focuses in on what he is now as a player versus what his reputation is as a player, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised of what you see.”

Again, there is only one way to deal with a player like Matt Cooke, insert Evander Kane.

@hockeywildernes @goon48 https://t.co/FU7Dc0UkYB
— Jay Medin (@jaymedin) July 6, 2013

Related articles

• Wilderness Walk 7/6/13: Matt F!#$^@& Cooke Edition (hockeywilderness.com)
• Penguins Puke Matt Cooke boards Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• 2013 Free Agency Open Thread: Day 2 (hockeywilderness.com)
• Minnesota Wild trade Setoguchi, sign Cooke (hockeywilderness.com)

So do the Wild fire the head coach Mike Yeo?

So it begins…Will he stay or will he go? I think that Mike Yeo is a good hockey coach. In my opinion, I think the Minnesota Wild are going in the right direction, I think a change at the head coaching position at this time is counterproductive. The Wild have a lot of good players that are ready to make a contribution to their program, in the minors. Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle got great minutes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As for some of the replacements that some have suggested… I am sorry, but I will take a pass on Lindy Ruff. Ruff was the head coach in Buffalo for 15 years and he has as many Stanley Cups as Mike Yeo. As far as Dave Tippett goes, he’s a good hockey coach, I would rather see him than Ruff any day, if there had to be a change at the head coaching position.

Michael Russo, Russo’s Rants – Now big questions have to addressed this offseason, and … I will address that in Saturday’s paper.

One, obviously has to do with Yeo. GM Chuck Fletcher is safe, I believe. If Yeo isn’t safe, it would come from the GM, not the owner. And with Lindy Ruff and maybe even Dave Tippett dangling, this will be a lasting topic unless Fletcher publicly puts it to bed.

But Fletcher will have to evaluate everything, and that includes the job he is doing.

I still think the Wild’s future is bright, but the Wild isn’t big enough up front, isn’t fast enough and doesn’t have enough finishers. The blue line is an issue. The Wild will have to find a way to accomplish this. If you don’t get to pick first or second overall or third overall or whatever, like Chicago did with Kane and Toews, and Pittsburgh did with Crosby and Malkin, it’s hard to replicate that route.

Yet another blog(s)

I didn’t really mention it here yet, but I have been asked to write for the Hockey Wilderness. So, I will be writing about Wild Hockey college hockey as well. Here are a few of my of my articles. I was also recently picked up by Get Real Hockey which is own by former L.A. Kings forward Bernie Nicholls.

Wild fans are getting anxious

Wild's Zucker says, “I'll take it from here”

Saturday Morning Pontifications: Wild pull disappearing act in Chicago

Mike Yeo has Wild on the right track: Friday Morning Reading

Minnesota Wild Goaltending: Thursday morning Pontifications

Cal Clutterbuck goal against the AV's

On the score sheet it will read; Cal Clutterbuck (10) Wrist Shot - Assists: M. Koivu (21) & D. Heatley (15). What a great effort by Koivu and Heatly down low to get the puck to Clutterbuck who shot the puck past the Av's goalie Semyon Varlamov. That is the 10th goal of the year for Cal Clutterbuck. I am sure that Adrian Dater head spun because his favorite Wild Player Cal Clutterbuck has scored.