WCHA Preview:  Part 3

 

We’ve seen the bottom eight teams; now we’ll take a look at who I believe will be at the top of the WCHA ladder this season. 

4)            University of Wisconsin

Key Returners: 
-Mark Zengerle (Forward):  50 points
-Tyler Barnes (Forward):  26 points
- Michael Mersch (Forward):  30 points
-both goalies

Key Losses: 
-Justin Schultz (Defense):  44 points, Top 3 Hobey Baker candidate.

Key Incomers: 
-Nic Kerdiles (Forward):  Second round NHL draft pick and led the US U-18 team in scoring last season.
-Eddie Wittchow (Defense):  Sixth round NHL draft pick and named to USHL All-Rookie team.

The Skinny:
Wisconsin finished 10^th a year ago and they lost the best defenseman in the nation in Schultz.  However this season is still looking bright for the Badgers; Wisconsin is always tough defensively and they return both goaltenders from last season.  In addition, they return the bulk of their scoring headlined by Zengerle.  Throw in one of the best rookie forwards in the conference and this spells trouble for opponents.  I look for Wisconsin to make a push back to the top of the WCHA in their final year as a member.

 3)            University of Denver

Key Returners: 
-Nick Shore (Forward):  41 points
-Joey LaLeggia (Defense):  38 points
-Sam Brittain (Goalie):  .932%, 2.36 GAA, National and WCHA All-Rookie team selection in 2011
-Juho Olkinuora (Goalie):  .924%, 2.18 GAA, WCHA All-Rookie selection

Key Losses: 
-Drew Shore (Forward):  53 points
-Jason Zucker (Forward):  46 points
-Luke Salazar (Forward):  30 points

Key Incomers:
-Quentin Shore (Forward):  Led US Development team with 8 game-winning goals and was invited to US All-American Prospects game.
-Nolan Zajac (Defense):  Named to USHL All-Star team in 2011.
-Gabe Levin (Forward):  Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) all-time leading scorer, All-NAHL selection, and All-rookie selection.
 
The Skinny: 
The Pioneers lost a lot of scoring when Drew Shore and Jason Zucker signed professional contracts over the off-season.  The good news for Pioneer fans is they still have a lot to battle with.  They have two fantastic goalies to build a team around, last season’s WCHA rookie of the year (LaLeggia) and the middle Shore brother to take over the scoring load.  In addition, they are reloading with a talented recruiting class.  Head coach George Gwozdecky hasn’t had a team finish out of the top four in over a decade.  It looks to be another top 4 finish for him in the Pioneers last year in the WCHA.

2)            University of North Dakota

Key Returners: 
-Danny Kristo (Forward):  45 points
-Corban Knight (Forward):  40 points
-Andrew MacWilliam (Defense):  One of the top shut-down defensemen in the league
-Carter Rowney (Forward):  Had a break-out season in 2011-2012 with 18 goals.

Key Losses: 
-Ben Blood (Defense):  3^rd team All-WCHA pick and logged a ton of minutes last season.
-Brock Nelson (Forward):  47 points, 3^rd team All-WCHA.
-Goalie duo of Aaron Dell and Brad Eidsness:  Both were All-WCHA selections in their career

Key Incomers:
-Jordan Schmaltz (Defense):  1^st round NHL draft pick, USHL first team selection and all-rookie selection.
-Zane Gothberg (Goalie):  6^th round NHL draft pick, Co-Goaltender of the year in the USHL, USHL first team selection.

The Skinny:
The University of North Dakota looks to fight for one of the top spots in their final year in the WCHA.  They only have to replace one defenseman and Jordan Schmaltz looks to do that right away.  They have the bulk of their line-up back, a solid rookie class, and a (hopefully) healthy Rocco Grimaldi.  As long as either transfer Clarke Saunders or freshman Zane Gothberg can get comfortable in net, this is going to be a very good team.

 

1)            University of Minnesota

Key Returners:
- Nick Bjugstad (Forward):  42 points
-Erik Haula (Forward):  49 points
-Kyle Rau (Forward):  43 points
-Nate Schmidt (Defense):  41 points

Key Losses: 
-Kent Patterson (Goalie):  1^st team All-WCHA Selection, WCHA goaltender of the year, and played in all but two games.
-Jake Hanson (Forward):  38 points
-Taylor Matson (Forward):  Team Captain, 23 points

Key Incomers: 
-Adam Wilcox (Goalie):  6^th round NHL draft pick, voted MVP of the Tri-City Storm last season
-Mike Reilly (Defense):  BCHL Defenseman of the year, all-rookie team, and 1^st team All-interior conference selection.
-Brady Skjei (Defense):  1^st round NHL Draft pick, highest +/- rating at U-18 World Championship

The Skinny:

The Gophers were sitting at the top of the WCHA standings a year ago and they return the bulk of their line-up.  They have six players returning that had at least 30 points.  They are returning six defensemen and bringing in two bluechip defense recruits.  They did lose WCHA goaltending champ Kent Patterson, but Coach Lucia is confident that freshman Adam Wilcox can carry the workload this year.  He’ll have the benefit of the best team in the league in front of him.


As hard as it is for me to put the Gophers at the top of the list, on paper there is no doubt they are the number one team coming in.  That being said, Minnesota has had plenty of great teams “on paper” that have failed to meet those expectations.  If they don’t play the way they are capable of there are plenty of teams that are capable of taking over that number one spot and bringing home the McNaughton Cup!

 

WCHA Preview:  Part 2

 

Picking up where we left off Friday, we’ll take a look at my predictions for the 8-5 places in the WCHA.  Each of these teams lost key contributors, but with the combination of their returners and  incomers they are looking to battle for middle ground this season

8)            University of Minnesota-Duluth

Key Returners: 
-Caleb Herbert (forward):  33 point rookie season
-Mike Seidel (forward):  30 points

Key Losses: 
-Jack Connolly (Forward):  2012 Hobey Baker Winner, 60 points
-Travis Oleksuk (Forward):  53 points
-JT Brown (Forward):  47 points
-Brady Lamb (Defense):  31 points
-Kenny Reiter (Goalie):  2^nd team All-WCHA goalie selection

Key Incomers: 
-Austin Farley (Forward):  leading scorer for the Fargo Force, tied for 10^th in the USHL
-Andy Welinski (Defense):  USHL Defenseman of the year, 3^rd round NHL Draft pick

The Skinny:
The Bulldogs lost their top 3 scorers and a 2^nd team All-WCHA goalie.  They have some young talent returning and have some good guys coming in, but they don’t have a player that is going to come close to replacing Connolly and their goaltending situation is a question mark.  They look like they will drop a few spots from last season and be a middle of the pack team.

 

7)            Colorado College

Key Returners: 
-Rylan Schwartz (Forward:  40 points
-Mike Boivin (Defense): 25 points
- Goalie duo of Joe Howe (former all-rookie goaltender) and Josh Thorimbert  (3^rd team All-WCHA selection last season)

Key Losses: 

-Jaden Schwartz (Forward):  41 points

-Nick Dineen (Forward): 26 points
-Gabe Guentzel (Defense): 26 points

Key Incomers:
-Hunter Fejes (Forward):  National Champion Shattuck St. Mary’s leading scorer.  He was also a 6^thround NHL draft pick last summer
-Jared Hanson (Forward):   10^th leading goal scorer in the USHL last season.
-Cody Bradley (Forward):  Had an impressive showing at Tampa Bay NHL prospect camp.

The Skinny: 
The Tigers lost three of their top four scorers from last year and, like Duluth, will have to replace their top gun.  All-American Jaden Schwartz led the team in scoring as a freshman and sophomore before signing a pro contract last summer.  The good news for the Tiger’s squad is it has two capable goaltenders to build a team around.  The team will rely on the older Schwartz’ brother (Rylan) to take over the scoring lead and he is plenty capable.  They also have some skilled freshmen forwards so the Tigers are hoping Rylan can develop chemistry with a new line-mate quickly and have another 20+ goal season.

 

6)            Michigan Tech

Key Returners: 

-David Johnstone (Forward): 29 points

-Ryan Furne (Forward): 24 points
-Blake Pietila (Forward): 24 points
-Steven Siego (Defense): 22 points
-Carl Nielsen (Defense): Best Defensive Defensemen from last year’s team

 

Key Losses: 
-Brett Olson (Forward): 30 points
-Jordan Baker (Forward): 28 points
-Josh Robinson (Goalie): .909% Save Percentage, 2.837 GAA

Key Incomers:
-Jujhar Khaira (Forward):  3^rd round NHL draft pick and finished 10^th in scoring in the BCHL last season.
-Alex Petan (Forward):  Finished 6^th in scoring in the BCHL last year.

The Skinny:
Last season, we saw Michigan Tech make a push back into the middle of the WCHA pack under new Head Coach Mel Pearson.  They did this through balanced scoring, good defense and a solid goaltender.  They are returning their top two goal scorers and are bringing in a couple offensive threats in Khaira and Petan.  They have eight defensemen returning which is a huge starting point.  The biggest question mark will be in net; they are going to need back-up goalie Kevin Genoe to step up or one of the rookies in Phoenix Copley or Jamie Phillips (Winnipeg Jets 7^th round pick) to come in and take over.  All in all, it looks like Coach Pearson has a team with the same ingredients to continue climbing in the WCHA.

 

5)            St. Cloud State

Key Returners:
-Ben Hanowski  (Forward): 41 points
-Drew LeBlanc (Forward): 12 points in 10 games before season-ending injury
- Nick Jenson (Defense): 32 points
- Andrew Prochno (Defense): 29 points, member of All-Rookie team
-Ryan Faragher (Goalie): .915% save percentage

Key Losses: 
-Mike Lee (Goalie): .930 save percentage, 2.23 GAA
-Jared Festler (Forward):  34 points
-David Eddy (Forward): 25 points

Key Incomers: 
-Joey Benik (Forward):  Second leading scorer in the BCHL with 96 points last season.  Also, broke the Minnesota State High School goal scoring record with 65 goals while at St. Francis.

The Skinny:
Mike Lee is a huge loss; there really is no argument there.  The good news for the Huskies is that while Lee was injured last season, Faragher was impressive in net.  In addition, they’re returning one of the top scorers in the country in Hanowski and returning most of their D-Corp.  Hanowski won’t be alone on the offensive side.  They are bringing in a natural goal scorer in Joey Benik and getting Drew LeBlanc as a 5^th year senior after he was granted a medical redshirt.  This year looks to be a fun one for Huskie fans! 

 

This leaves places 1-4 which are Denver, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin in no particular order (I don’t want to ruin the surprise).  Check back later this week for the top four prediction!

 

WCHA Preview
 

 

Like everybody, I’m upset about the current NHL lockout.  I wanted to dwell on that and blog about it like everybody else.  However, the good news is we still have college hockey so I’m going to focus on that!  This week we’ll take a look at my WCHA prediction.  It’s no surprise to WCHA fans that this season is shaping up to be a very competitive one.  This league is always tough top to bottom and this year will be no different.  Let’s take a look at the 9-12 ranks first…

12)          University of Alaska-Anchorage

Key Returners: 

-Matt Bailey (17 Points)

Key Losses: 

-Curtis Leinweber (17)

 -Mitch Bruijsten (16)

 -Eric Scheid (15)

 

Key Incomers:

-Blake Tatchell (Forward):  Named SJHL MVP last season and scored 42 goals and 44 assists for 86 points.

-Blake Leask (Defense):   Named Top Defenseman in the AJHL last season and was the league’s highest scoring Defenseman with 49 points.

 

The Skinny: 

The Seawolves lost three of their top four scorers and as the 12^th place team from last season they didn’t have a lot to lose.  They do have a respectable class coming in headlined by the “Blakes”.  Anchorage also has tremendous home-ice advantage when other teams have to fly up there.  They will steal some games at home when teams overlook them, but I look for them to finish last again.

11)          Bemidji State University

Key Returners: 

-Jordan George (31 points)

-Aaron McLeod (23 points)

 

Key Losses: 

-Dan Bakala (.911%, 2.64 GAA)

-Shea Walters (26 points)

-Brad Hunt (26 points)

 

Key Incomers: 

-Graeme McCormac (Defense):  Named to the BCHL Coastal Conference 2^nd team

-Cory Ward (Forward):  NAHL All-Rookie team and NAHL All-Central Division Team

 

The Skinny:

While the Beavers lose a little bit of scoring up front, they do return Jordan George who really started playing well last season and led them in scoring.  Bemidji is always a tough team to play against, but to finish higher this season they need to win more of the 1-goal games they’re in.  They are hoping a goalie can step forward and take over the position that Bakala’s patrolled since before they were even WCHA members.

10)          Minnesota State University-Mankato

Key Returners:

- Matt Leitner (29 points)

- Jean-Paul Lafontaine (28 points)

- Zach Lehrke (23 points)

 

Key Losses: 

-Michael Dorr (19 points)

 - Austin Lee (.910%)

 

Key Incomers: 

-Teddy Blueger (Forward):  2^nd round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins

-Stephon Williams (Goalie):  92% save percentage in USHL last season

 

The Skinny:

The Mavericks were near the bottom a year ago and in a very deep league it’s tough for me to move them up without proving themselves.  That’s not to say they don’t have the potential to be a middle of the pack team.  They return 4 of their top 5 scorers and bring in Blueger, who should have an immediate impact.  The biggest question mark will be how fast Williams can adapt to this level and take control of the net.  They have a great new head coach in Mike Hastings and a renewed sense of enthusiasm so they could give higher ranked teams some problems.

 

9)            University of Nebraska-Omaha

Key Returners: 

-Matt White (40 points)

-Ryan Walters (25 points)

 

Key Losses: 

-Terry Broadhurst (36 points)

-Jayson Megna (31 points)

-Alex Broadhurst  (recruit)

-Ryan Massa (.914 Save Percentage, 2.59 GAA)

 

Key Incomers:

-Brian Cooper (Defense):  5^th round NHL draft pick, 2-time All-USHL Second Team selection

-Nick Seeler  (Defense):  5^th round NHL draft pick, USHL All-Rookie Selection

-Anthony Stolarz (Goalie):  2^nd round NHL draft pick (highest drafted UNO player ever)

 

The Skinny:

 

The Mavericks had a tough off-season.  Terry Broadhurst and Jayson Megna signed professional contracts and Ryan Massa left the team for personal reasons.  To make matters worse, prized recruit Alex Broadhurst found out he was academically ineligible and went the Major Junior route instead.  The good news is they return their number one scorer in Matt White and they have a good group of freshmen coming in.  Anthony Stolarz is expected to be a great goalie once he adjusts to the WCHA.  If he can adjust quickly this team could move up.  On paper I feel they’re a number 9 team, but it’s tough to bet against a Dean Blais’ team with any certainty.

 

All four of these teams have some great assets for this season.  It just goes to show how deep this league is and how much of a dog fight it’s going to be this season.  I’ll have picks 8-5 done on Sunday!

 

Your 2013 Hobey Baker Award Winner is...

 

 

Ok, let’s not get the wagon ahead of the horse here.  As every hockey fan knows, pre-season polls and predictions are anything but a perfect science.  Some Hobey hopefuls get hurt, some have down years, and in some cases a player comes in unheralded and has a fantastic year.  However, this unpredictability doesn’t make it any less interesting to try to guess who will be on the list at the end of the season.  This is my pre-season pick for the top 10 candidates in no particular order.

1)      Nick Bjugstad                     Forward               University of Minnesota

Bjugstad postponed his professional career for at least one more year to return for his junior season as a Golden Gopher. The saying is that “Hobey loves goals” and Bjugstad has plenty of them.  The 6’5” sniper was a 1^st team All-WCHA  pick and a 3^rd team All-American last season after posting 25 goals and 42 points .  The “U” has a ton of firepower up front this season so the balanced scoring could hurt his chances, but it could also be an advantage as a good supporting cast should help with production.  There will be a Minnesota forward up for it this year and I have my money on the big man.

 

2)      Danny Kristo                      Forward               University of North Dakota

Kristo is another player that turned down heavy pressure from his drafted team (Montreal) to return to some unfinished business at the college level.  After an average sophomore year where he was out of the line-up most of the second half due to severe frostbite, he found his scoring touch as a junior, notching 45 points and was named to the West Region All-Tournament team.  Like Bjugstad, the balance of this year’s team could hurt his chances, but he will be playing top line minutes and special teams.  Also, if tradition continues, he should be an All-American this season (Fun fact:  the last three players to wear number 7 at UND were All-Americans (TJ Oshie, Brandon Bochenski, and Travis Roche.)  With renewed drive and passion, Kristo is poised to have a Hobey caliber year.

 

3)      Danny Biega                       Defense               Harvard

Biega didn’t crack the top 10 in Hobey voting last season when he was the second leading scoring defenseman in the nation; a huge surprise and disappointment to the Crimson fans.  If he puts up those numbers again this season he won’t be left of the list.  He was named Defensive Defenseman of the year in the ECAC, ECAC 1^st team, ECAC All-Tournament team, CCM hockey 1^st team All-American, and a unanimous All-Ivy selection.  In addition to this, he was an ECAC All-Academic selection at an Ivy League school.  Given the award takes into account off-ice accomplishments, he looks to be a top-10 lock with his leadership, academics, and on-ice success.

4)      Jonny Gaudreau               Forward               Boston College

Gaudreau left a lasting impression on anyone that was watching the National Championship game last season with his highlight-reel goal to push Boston College further ahead.  He is the type of BC forward we’ve become familiar with under Jerry York’s tenure:  small, speedy, and skilled.  He was the USCHO rookie of the year after putting up an incredible 44 points as a freshman.  His only downfall will be if he can’t keep putting those numbers up when the other teams key on him this season.  I’m going to assume he can and will be a 5’7” force for the Eagles this season and crack the top 10.

5)      Troy Groseneck                                Goalie                   Union

 

Groseneck is the only Hobey Baker Candidate and the only USCHO 1^st team All-American returning for the 2012-2013 season.  He was also the ECAC goalie of the year last year and posted a .936 save percentage and 1.65 Goals Against Average.  If he puts up those numbers for a second year he will be a legitimate Top 10 candidate. 

 

6)      Joey LaLeggia                     Defense               Denver

 

LaLeggia had a terrific freshman campaign last season.  He led all rookie defensemen nationally in points (38), goals (11) and assists (27) and was tied for the league lead in defensemen scoring for the WCHA (yes, he tied Hobey runner-up Justin Schultz in conference points).  He was the HCA National Rookie of the Year, WCHA Rookie of the year, All-WCHA First Team, All-WCHA Rookie Team, Inside College Hockey WCHA Freshman of the Year, College Hockey News Rookie of the Year and All-College Hockey News Rookie Team.

 

 

7)      Joey Diamond                   Forward               Maine

Diamond was a tough call for me.   Like I said with Bjugstad “Hobey loves goals”.  Diamond lit the lamp 25 times last season and was a 3^rd team hockey east selection.  Some question if that was the result of his linemates who were both top 10 nationally in scoring last season (Spencer Abbott was first and Brian Flynn was tenth.)  Both Abbott and Flynn graduated so this year Diamond will have to prove he can do that on his own.  Last season’s Hobey Baker had the same question mark coming into the season, though.  Jack Connelly had lost his linemates Mike Connelly and Justin Fontaine and still came back to dominate the nation and take home the Hobey.  Maine fans are hoping history repeats itself and Diamond proves the naysayers wrong.

 

8)      Parker Milner                    Goalie                   Boston College

 

As much as I don’t want to have two Eagles in my Top 10 list, it’s hard to leave Parker Milner out of the Hobey talks.  He was the Hockey East Goaltender of the Year and ended the season with a .928 save percentage and 1.85 Goals Against Average after a relatively slow start.  Also, perhaps the most convincing thing is that Milner backstopped the Eagles to a National Championship and was named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament team.  I have a soft spot for the big-game players and Milner is as clutch as they come.

 

9)      Mark Zengerle                  Forward               Wisconsin

Zengerle was a 3^rd team All-WCHA pick last season.  He put up 50 points (7^th nationally) on a relatively weak Badger team.  If he can put up those numbers this season and Wisconsin can get back in the tournament picture, Zengerle could make a run for a Top 10 Hobey finish.

 

10)   Dan Dekeyser                    Defense               Western Michigan

Dekeyser was a huge reason for the Broncos success down the stretch last season.  For his efforts he was named a 2^nd team All-CCHA selection, a CCHA All-Tournament team selection, won the award for defensive defenseman of the year in the CCHA and capped his season off by being named a 2^nd team All-American.  Now that everyone knows who Dan Dekeyser is, it’s safe to say he will be in the Hobey discussion if he continues to perform the way he has the last two seasons.

 

 

My apologies to these guys who could definitely crack the top 10

-Ben Hanowski (St. Cloud State forward)

-Matt Nieto (Boston University forward)

-TJ Tynan (Notre Dame forward)

-Rylan Schwartz (Colorado College forward)

-Brett Gensler (Bentley forward)

-Alex Guptil (Michigan forward)

-Doug Carr (U-Mass Lowell goalie)

-Erik Haula and Kyle Rau (Minnesota forwards)

*Minnesota is so stacked up from this year it really depends which of the three has the biggest year.  Right now my money is still on Bjugstad.

 

               

Like I said, it’s always a guessing game who is going to have a big year but these are the players I would suggest watching.  We’ll check back in on these picks later in the season and look which guys seem to be still in the race.