UND: what could have been

New Jersey Devils (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that the NHL is back in full swing, a few young players are starting to make their NHL debut with their clubs. Some of the names are kind of familiar. There are two that might stick out for North Dakota Hockey fans.

During the last two seasons, the University of North Dakota Hockey team had two highly coveted recruits (J.T. Miller and Stefan Matteau) decommit from the team and decide to go a different route.

Obviously, UND fans were a little miffed at these two young men for changing their mind and going a different route.

While I was disappointed at first, that neither of these two kids honored their commitment, I am not longer upset about it. Here’s why. Neither of these kids would’ve been here that long anyways, and in the long run it ended up working out for the best anyways.

In August, right before the 2011-12 season, J.T. Miller decommitted from UND, and signed a signed with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. Miller’s decommit put UND in a precarious situation. Without Miller, UND immediately became a different type of team.

Because Miller changed his mind at the last minute, UND wasn’t able to just go get another player of Miller’s skill set. Players like that aren’t just a dime a dozen.

In response to the last minute defection, UND picked up a walk-on recruit named Connor Gaarder from the Coulee region Chill of the NAHL.

In 61 games with the Plymouth Whalers, Miller scored (25g-37a—62) and after his season with the Whalers was over, Miller played in eight games during the Calder Cup playoffs for the Connecticut Whale of the AHL.

This past week, Miller was called up to the New York Rangers and scored during last night’s game against the New York Islanders. Miller scored the first two goals of his NHL career leading the Rangers to a 4-1 victory.

In retrospect, Miller would have been at UND for a single season, while losing him last summer was as setback and he would have been a great addition to UND’s depleted lineup. UND found a way to win without him.

Last January, USDT U18 recruit Stefan Matteau, who had originally committed to play at the University of North Dakota, decommitted from UND, and decided to play for the Blainville-Boisbraind Armada of theQuebec Major Junior Hockey League.

This was the second high profile player in as many years to decomitt from UND and go to the Canadian Hockey League.

Of course the UND fan base was upset. But UND nation was not alone; these defections have also happened to the University of Michigan and Miami University as well.

Matteau had a strong start to the season with the Armada (18g-10a—28pts) in 35 games and was invited to the New Jersey Devils camp once the NHL lockout was settled and has started the season.

Matteau ended up playing in the Devils first five games of the season before being a healthy scratch for the next four games in a row.

The New Jersey Devils could have sent Matteau back to Blainville-Boisbraind, but instead he remained with the New Jersey Devils and last night he was skating on a line with former Fighting Sioux forward Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk to start the game.

Looking back, I think it’s safe to say that Matteau is another player that wouldn’t have been here very long, in the end his decommitment to UND might not be such a bad thing.

During a recent UND hockey media day, I had a conversation with someone about the makeup of the current North Dakota hockey roster and how it could have looked if these two players had actually made it to North Dakota. It’s something to think about.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine... 

Don Cherry Ramblings on college hockey players

If you haven’t seen this Youtube.com video from Don Cherry, it’s absolutely hilarious. First off, there are eight American players on the Toronto Maple Leafs current roster, that's just the way it is.  There are also 11 players with college hockey experience as well.

While there might not be any players from Toronto, there are four players from Ontario on the Toronto Maple Leafs, so I am not sure what he babbling about. There are roughly 14 Canadians on the Toronto Maple Leafs current roster.  

Ironically, Max Pacioretty the top scorer for the Montreal Canadians last year is an American born ex University of Michigan hockey player. The number two scorer from last season's Montreal Canadians was Erik Cole who was born in America as well and played his college hockey at Clarkson College of the ECAC.

I bet Grapes would like UND's roster because there are two Ontario natives on the current roster.  

The Kitchener Rangers sue the Michigan Daily

Well the big bad Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League have finally sued The Michigan Daily newspaper. Wow!

Sunaya Sapurji, Yahoo! Sports --- Herschel Fink, the lawyer representing the University of Michigan student paper and reporter Matt Slovin, confirmed to Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday that his clients had both been served with libel notices.

“It’s really disturbing to me what the Rangers are doing and it’s bullying,” said Fink. “It’s bullying a student newspaper and student journalists who are reporting on a legitimate subject of public interest, particularly in the public interest of those who follow hockey.”

The Rangers are suing The Daily over a story published on July 2 in which Slovin reported - based on an anonymous OHL source -- that Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Trouba had been offered $200,000 in lieu of an education package to play in the Ontario Hockey League this season. Such a payment would contravene the OHL’s rules pertaining to impermissible benefits. The Rangers hold the Canadian Hockey League rights to the standout defenceman, though he has been steadfast in his commitment to attend the University of Michigan and play hockey for the Wolverines.

On July 13th, Herschel Fink the lawyer that is representing The Michigan Daily and Matt Slovin in this frivolous lawsuit was on Toronto's Sports Net 590 the fan and you can listen to the interview by Matt Brown on this link provided. [Click to listen]

The Kitchener Rangers must really be proud of themselves.

Really! I am being serious, the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League have sued a college newspaper because they disagreed with a story that The Michigan Daily wrote and published in their newspaper. So what is the message here? When you don't like the story that was written in a newspaper you sue the author of the article? Why? I do think this law suit is about getting the CHL's honor back and that the Rangers are a proxy in this fight against the NCAA- especially after last summer when the former head of College Hockey INC Paul Kelly told the Boston Globe that the CHL offered players that had committed to College Hockey teams large sums of money to de-commit and have their kid come play for their team.

“As much as the CHL denies it, there are still instances where money is being paid to the family to lure kids away and de-commit from colleges,’’ Kelly said. “It’s off the books, under the table, whatever you want to call it. If your dad is a fisherman, an out-of-work machinist, or a farmer, and a CHL program comes along and offers you $300,000 in cash, it’s tough for these families not to accept that type of proposal.’’

It will be very interesting to see where this story ends up - Chris Peters of the United States of hookey has a good run down of the situation.

More from the Kitchener Rangers suing the Michigan Daily

Personally, I think it’s funny that the all mighty Kitchener Rangers of the OHL are suing the University of Michigan student newspaper – in Canada no doubt. Like Chris Peters of the United States of Hockey said on twitter yesterday this is probably all optics for now. I agree with Peters' assessment. I am not sure how a Canadian court is going to get "The Michigan Daily" to comply with their rulings if they found liable?

Sunaya Sapurji, Yahoo Sports --- The long, bitter and ongoing feud between the Canadian Hockey League and NCAA hockey took an interesting twist when the Kitchener Rangers announced they had made good on a previous threat to sue The Michigan Daily.

According to Kitchener’s chief operating officer Steve Bienkowski, the Ontario Hockey League team has filed a statement of claim in a Kitchener, Ont., court against The Daily – the University of Michigan’s student newspaper – and to reporter Matt Slovin. The issued claim is expected to be served on Wednesday morning.

The lawsuit stems from a report the newspaper published last Tuesday, which quoted an anonymous OHL source, who alleged the Rangers had offered standout defenceman Jacob Trouba, a Wolverines commit, $200,000 in lieu of an education package to play for Kitchener this season. Such a payment would contravene the OHL’s rules in regards to impermissible benefits.

Ryder Gilliland, the lawyer representing the Rangers in their suit, said the team is seeking $1 million in damages – $500,000 in general damages and another $500,000 in punitive damages. Once the official claim is processed, the newspaper and Slovin have 40 days in which to defend that claim because they are located in the United States.

“We’re actually not making any comment at this time,” said Jacob Axelrad, the editor-in-chief of The Daily.

Although I am not a lawyer by any stretch of the imagination – I think it’s going to be very hard to prove liable in this case. This also isn’t the first time that the Rangers have been accused of shenanigans either.

Three years ago Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson accused the Rangers of trying to pay off blueliner Cam Fowler, who was slated to play for Jackson's squad. [RANGERS REPORT]

I don’t recall the Rangers suing Jeff Jackson. So does that mean that they don’t dispute the Jackson claims? As of right now the story is still on "the Michigan Daily web site.

Kitchener Rangers sue the Michigan Daily

The Kitchener Rangers have sued the University of Michigan’s student newspaper the Michigan Daily and reporter Matt Slovin for his story that Michigan recruit Jacob Trouba was offered 200,000.00 by the Kitchener Rangers to break his commitment to the University of Michigan and play for the Kitchener Rangers who drafted him.

By QMI Agency --- The Kitchener Rangers of the OHL have taken legal action against a University of Michigan student newspaper and one of its reporters for publishing a story that alleged the team offered defenceman Jacob Trouba $200,000 to play for it.

A story that appeared in The Michigan Daily last week alleged that the Rangers tried to coax Trouba, a first-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets last month, out of a deal to play for the Michigan Wolverines.

This story is getting more interesting by the minute – here is a story from the Record that says the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL are suing the Michigan Daily for $1 million dollars in damages for the story that Matt Slovin wrote on Michigan recruit Jacob Trouba and him being offered 200,000.00 to play for the Rangers.

You can also read more about this developing story here and here.

Jacob Trouba will attend the University of Michigan

The big story to emerge the past couple of days was that Jacob Trouba was offered 200,000.00 to de-commit from the University of Michigan and play for the Kitchener Rangers who drafted him in the third round of the OHL's 2010 draft. The story cause quite a stir and has since been refuted by Trouba’s family.

Matt Slovin, The Michigan Daily --- "Statement from the Trouba family: 'We have the utmost respect for the Kitchener Rangers and those that choose the CHL as an option ... but Jacob will be attending the University of Michigan next fall as a student athlete.'

Good for the Michigan Wolverines that they aren’t going to lose their 22nd recruit to the CHL, but I get the feeling that more is going to emerge from this story eventually.

The question that begs to be asked?

 

That is a good question; what the hell is going on in Ann Arbor, Michigan? The US NTDP is becoming a great  breeding ground for high end CHL players. I don't think that was the intentions when the US NTDP was formed in 1996. Here are a couple of tweets from Brad Schlossman's twitter feed.

Aaron Ward on the UND and Michigan matchup

Former Boston Bruin and Michigan Wolverine player Aaron Ward was asked about this week’s up coming series with the Sioux and Wolverines. Sounds a little like sand bagging. I also doubt that the Sioux or the Wolverines are looking past each other.

College Hockey scores from 11/26/2010

Friday, November 26

Alaska 3 at Ohio State 3 OT
Boston College 3 at Merrimack 5
Alab-Huntsville 1 vs Bowling Green 5
Clarkson 1 vs Air Force 2
Connecticut 5 at Rensselaer 6
Dartmouth 8 at Harvard 2
Minnesota State 8 at UMass Lowell 3
American Int'l 5 at Mercyhurst 2
Niagara 4 at Army 1
Northeastern 2 at Vermont 2 OT
Sacred Heart 1 at RIT 6
Michigan 4 at Wisconsin 4 OT
Michigan State 5 at Minnesota 2
Miami 2 at Western Michigan 5
Lake Superior 3 at Denver 6
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Colorado College 3 OT
Notre Dame 3 at North Dakota 6
Northern Michigan 4 at Bemidji State 0

Analysis – The WCHA went 2-2-1 in non conference play against the CCHA last night.

Northern Michigan University 4 Bemidji State University 0 – NMU goalie Reid Ellingson stopped 37 shots in a shutout win against the home standing BSU Beavers. It was the first shutout of the season for the junior goalie. [BSU Beat Writer Blog]

North Dakota 6 Notre Dame 3 – Junior forward Jason Gregoire had two goals and an assist, to pace the Sioux to an impressive 6-3 non conference win. Also noteworthy; sophomore forward Corbin Knight had a strong night chipping in a goal and an assist. Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell probably solidified his grasp on the starting position as he continued his solid play between the pipes. The sophomore goalie stopped 24 of 27 shots and also stoned Notre Dame forward Ben Ryan on a breakaway in the second period. With the win Aaron Dell improved his record to 8-4-0 on the season. [UND beat writer blog]- [South Bend Tribune]

Alaska Anchorage 4 Colorado College 3 OT – Alaska Anchorage forward Tommy Grant scored his fourth goal of the season at the 3:50 mark of overtime to pace the Seawolves to a conference win against the Colorado College Tigers in the Colorado Springs. With the win the Seawolves vaulted into a tie with the SCSU Tigers for 7th place in the WCHA.

Denver University 6 Lake Superior State University 3 – The Denver Pioneers won their 5th game in a row in front of a half empty building as the Denver University students are out on Christmas break until after the first of the year. Sophomore center Drew Shore had three goals and an assist to pace the Pioneers to the win against the CCHA foe. Check out this work from the Denver Post. If I was the coach of the Denver Pioneers I would call the Denver Post and ask that Terry Frei not cover the Pioneers again. Check it out.

With the University of Denver students out of school until after the New Year, Magness Arena on Friday was perhaps half-filled for the first night of the Denver Cup Classic and much more subdued than usual for Pioneer hockey.

Amid the relatively quiet atmosphere, center Drew Shore had three goals and an assist and much-touted freshman winger Beau Bennett had a goal and an assist as the Pioneers stretched their winning streak to five games with a lackluster 6-3 victory over Lake Superior State of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. [read the whole article here]

Michigan State 5 Minnesota 2 – The Minnesota not so Golden Gophers were unimpressive in their final College Hockey Show Case game against Michigan State University. With the win the Michigan State University Spartans broke an unimpressive 0-4-5 skid against the Gophers in the College Hockey Show Case. Kent Patterson started in net for the Gophers gave up three goals and then he was replaced by senior goalie Alex Kangas. The Gophers play the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday night. The game will be on BTN. [Goal Gophers] - [Gopher Puck Live]

Michigan 4 Wisconsin 4 OT – The Wisconsin Badgers come from behind to tie the Michigan Wolverines 4-4 in the Kohl Center. With the Tie the Badgers stop a 0-4-0 streak. With the tie last night the Wisconsin Badgers have not won a game in overtime since 2007, breaking it down further that means that the Wisconsin Badgers are now 0-8-18 in extra hockey since 2007. Sixty Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets has covered this subject extensively. Badgers goalie Brett Bennett stopped 28 shots in net securing the tie for the Badgers. The Wisconsin Badgers have been 9-6-1 in the college hockey show case under Mike Eaves. The Badgers opted out of the college hockey show case to play more non conference games against Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. [Wisconsin beat writer] - [Game Story]