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!