Sioux Roster may be complete (RW77)

With the departure of JT Miller to Major Juniors (thanks to a 3 year entry level NHL contract by the NY Rangers), UND has recruited Connor Gaarder out of Edina, MN by way of Coulee Region of the NAHL. Brad Schlossman sums it up right here:

In the wake of J.T. Miller bolting to the OHL, UND has added another forward — former Edina High forward Connor Gaarder (pronounced “Gorder”). He will join the team this fall.

Gaarder, who helped the Hornets to the state tournament along with Sioux junior-to-be Joe Gleason, has spent the last two years in the North American Hockey League.

Gaarder had 26 points in 58 games for North Iowa two years ago. Last year, he tallied 61 points in 58 games for Coulee Region Chill.

All in all, this looks like a good depth signing. I don't know what to expect from Gaarder at all. He may just be practice forward. He may be another Lee Marvin. Or he could be another walk on turned everyday starter. We'll see.

Drop the puck!

The Wheels on the Bus... (RW77)

Are Falling Off...Falling Off.. Falling Off.. The Wheels on the Bus are Falling Off All Through Dinkytown.

Ok, maybe not Dinkytown but definitely inside the Mariucci Arena's Home Men's Hockey Locker Room.

FIRST ISSUE:

The biggest news is Sophomore Josh Birkholz, a former skater with the Fargo Force (USHL), screwed the pooch and was looking at, rumor has it, up to 7 weeks of suspension during the upcoming hockey season... So he bolted for the WHL. Again, rumor has it that the Everett Silvertips signed him. From there, the speculation gets even more out there. There was rumor of drug use by Birkholz as being the culprit. If that's the case (and I, the author, do not claim that it is true), then Birkholz made one of the stupidest mistakes of his LIFE thus far.

People harass UND for their players stupidity when it comes to underage drinking or drunken shenanigans when it occurs, but, though stupidity is stupidity, at least UND didn't have to deal with illegal substances... well... substances that are illegal regardless of how old you are anyways. At least in recent memory.

Where should UND fans stand on this issue? Though I enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy of the whole situation, I do not take pleasure in the misfortune of the Gophers team. I don't feel sorry for Birkholz. It's his bed. He's sleeping in it (and probably going to sleep comfortably if the violation of team rules wasn't the rumored drug use).

Lucia is getting run through the grinder on this issue (and the next) about this but I can't honestly see how this is his fault. Lucia cannot correct stupidity of this magnitude. No one can except for the stupid person him/herself should they desire to correct the issue.

But if you want to blame anyone, blame that incompetent buffoon John Hill. Why? Just because. He's losing Lucia's job for him.

SECOND ISSUE:

It now appears that Gopher Defenseman Nick Leddy will indeed sign with the Blackhawks.

Whatta ya know, Hillsy, you didn't blow it with him.... but Nick decided to bolt before Hill could compromise what progress Leddy's made.

I don't know what will happen with Leddy. Will he stick in the NHL? I am not too optimistic on this. If he does, he either played incredibly or the Hawks are in trouble more than they already are. Will he be sent to a MJ team? I don't know. I'm not sure I understand why an NHL team would waste a year's salary on sending a kid to a major junior team. If you're paying the guy, he should be either in the ECHL or AHL, imo, if he's not going to be in the NHL.

Oh, and Lucia is getting raked over the coals for this. He can't win. And he won't. This upcoming season, I don't see their defense getting any better than it was last year. I think their offense will be ok. I wonder if Lucia will do the right thing and start taking over certain duties that Hill oversees and, if Maturi gets ants in his pants to make some changes, I wonder if Lucia can put aside his friendship with Hill to do what is necessary: Cut the cord.

So who is going to be brought in to replace these two? Rumor has it that it will be Max Gardiner to replace Birkholz, and it looks pretty certain to be true to me. However, Seth Ambroz makes MUCH more sense.

We'll watch on...

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UND gets the MJHL MVP: Taylor Dickin

He scored major points for the Selkirk team of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and was named MVP. He's 21 years old... and he won't be eligible to play until January.

What does this mean for Holst? Why in the world can't Taylor Dickin, who I assume graduated High School at 18, be ready for college 3 years post graduation?

Brad Schlossman suggests that Dickin is the recruited walk on he heard about earlier this summer. With Holst not clearing the NCAA Clearinghouse yet, I wonder what Holst's status is?

The good news is that this is more interesting than NHL Free Agency this year.

El Rocco coming to UND Campus in 2011 and Random Notes (RW77)

Rocco Grimaldi Commits to Sioux

US NTDP standout forward Rocco Grimaldi committed to UND according to UND blogger and Herald Sports Writer Brad Schlossman.

He was deciding between Notre Dame and Denver before selecting UND as his final destination before the pros.

Right away, the guy reminds me of someone.... Ah yes. Ryan Duncan. Why? Because he's 5'6" and 160 pounds, which, IIRC, is right about Duncan's size. However, what he also does is remind people about a certain BC standout that had UND's goat...ahm... Nathan Gerbe anyone?

Rocco's hometown is listed in Michigan but he's actually from California. He has done well for himself everywhere he's been at, winning the championship for his midget team (Little Caesar's AAA Midget), winning the U-17 tourney, and the U-18 tourney.

He had 20 points in 32 games with the NTDP this year, including a team high six goals on the powerplay. He was also the top scorer in the U17 Challenge.

He served as Team Captain as well, which is another standup quality for the young man.

Here's the USHL link

Random College Notes:

-- UND's roster will be finalized this month. Most of the pontifications on this blog and the Siouxsports.com forums have pretty much nailed what's expected already so no surprises are expected.

-- Four Frozen Four Sites have been announced. 2011 is Minnesota's home ice advantage XCel Energy Center, 2012 is Tampa (whooo! That's going to be as packed as that sell out was in Anaheim a few years back!), 2013 in Pittsburgh and 2014 in Philly. Boston snubbed again. The good news is maybe ESPN can entice Sidney Crosby to come to the show in Pittsburgh so they can find something OTHER than college hockey to talk about (aka Edwards and Moriarty with Doug Flutie in 2000)

-- Chay Genoway is working out but not yet cleared medically to play... to the knowledge of Brad Schlossman (who I believe will be the first person outside of UND's Athletic Department, UND's players and coaches, Chay's friends and family to be notified)

NHL News and Notes:

-- HEY GUESS WHAT! A Canadian news agency proposed to televise the Ilya Kovalchuk "decision" in, yup, an hour long special. No, I'm not being cynical or making this crap up. Thank you LeBron. I hope you get burned big time.

-- Philly re-signed thug cave-man intellectual equal Danny Carcillo today. I don't know how much he was paid, but whatever it was, even if it was one penny above league minimum, it was too much.

-- Modano may not end up in Detroit after all. Looks like bygones will be bygones and the Wild may sign him. It's nice to know that Modano can turn the other page after Risebrough gave him the middle finger when Modano all but volunteered to play for the Wild after the lockout and Risebrough said no.

-- Niemi's arbitration date has been set. He's looking about somewhere around $3 million+ a season thanks to STL and Halak. It will be very interesting to see what the Hawks do.

INCH on Sioux recruit Danny Kristo

Kyle from the illegal curve had this to say on Sioux recruit Danny Kristo. Looks like Sioux have selected a good player in Kristo.

Montreal Canadiens 2nd-Rounder and current Omaha Lancer Danny Kristo plays a game that highlights his speed and creativity with the puck. Standing 6′0 and weighing 175, the University of North Dakota recruit has had a slow adjustment to the United States Hockey League, putting up only 8 points in 10 games thus far. He has been playing on a line with Louis Leblanc, but is plagued by the inconsistency that has affected the entire Lancers team. He was recently selected to play for Team USA in the World Junior A Challenge in Camrose, AB and scored 3-4-7 in 5 games en route to helpin the US win gold.

Sioux recruits Corey Fienhage and Ben Blood photos

A buddy of mine that runs the new Sioux blog was at the USHL game between the Ceder Rapids Rough Riders and the Indiana Ice. The Indiana ice sports two Sioux recruits Ben Blood number 20 and Corey Fienhage number 15 on its teams. Jakes girl friend Kori took the pictures.











Here is the scouting report on Ben Blood according to Jake.

Ben Blood: is one of those recruits. I have to tell you I really enjoyed watching him play. He's a big, solid defenseman and moves the puck very well. He jumps up in the play when needed and scored a goal last night. He had a lot of ice time last night, I swear he was on every other shift. I think he's got a very similar style to Genoway or Chorney. Should be a great addition to our D core.




Here is the scouting report on Cory Fienhage according to Jake:

Corey Fienhage: is the other recruit. He didn't play nearly as much as Blood and his stats show that he's played many fewer games.



Note: Corey Fienhage played high school hockey at East View High School and joined the ice after his High School team was eliminated from the Minnesota High School hockey tourney.

You can track all of the Sioux recruits stats here.