Tuesday Evening Post

• Chris Peters of The United States of Hockey blog put together a preview of the USA Hockey World Junior Championship evaluation camp that kicks off this weekend. He notes that Rocco Grimaldi, who was initially invited to the camp but ultimately will not be able to participate, "is still a strong candidate to make the final roster." Brad Schlossman notes that Grimaldi's rehab is still on schedule, and Goon's World transcribed some of Florida Panther Director of Player Development Brian Skrudland's appearance on The Pipeline Show, during which he says Grimaldi is operating at about 90%. All things considered, it sounds like Grimaldi should be good to go come this fall. Incoming defenseman Jordan Schmaltz will be taking part in the camp, and The USOH blog is scheduled to have a full preview of all camp defensemen tomorrow.
• The Hockey Writers took a look at how the Phoenix Coyotes are winning an unfair game, and head coach Dave Tippett has been a big part of the team's success over the past few years.
• Pucks and Pitchforks says that after the New Jersey Devils lost Zach Parise to free agency, the time is now to sign Travis Zajac to a contract extension. Zajac has one year left on his current deal and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next July unless he is extended beforehand.
• Defending Big D is ranking the all-time top Dallas Stars, and former Sioux defenseman Craig Ludwig comes in at #20 on their list.
• Bleacher Report says that Danny Kristo is one of the Montreal Canadiens' prospects who is destined for stardom.
• In the video below Reading Royal head coach Larry Courville discusses the re-signing of former Sioux defenseman Derrick LaPoint and what he brings to the team:

VandeVelde Talks, Simpson Ranked, Calder Signs, etc.

• Former Sioux captain Adam Calder has signed with the Milton Keynes Lightning of the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) for the 2012-13 season. Calder, who captained the 1998-99 Sioux squad that posted a remarkable 24-2-2 record in WCHA play, spent last year with the EPIHL's Slough Jets where he topped all former Sioux in the pros with 81 points (39G, 42A) while leading the Jets to the EPIHL postseason championship.
• Dillon Simpson came in at #15 in The Copper and Blue's Top 25 Oilers Under 25 list. Simpson moved up two spots from his previous ranking of #17, and considering the quality and depth of Edmonton's young talent (Yakupov, Hall, Gagner, Nugent-Hopkins, Eberle, Schultz, Klefbom, Paajarvi, etc.) #15 isn't bad at all.
• Chris VandeVelde recently discussed his new contract and how he sees himself fitting in with Edmonton's organization in an Oilers Audio Podcast (Note of Caution: this link opens directly to an automatic audio player).
• Darcy Zajac scored with authority in one of the Albany Devils' top calls from the 2011-12 season.
• The Xcel Energy Center hosted a star-studded fundraiser for the Jack Jablonski Fund Thursday night and former Sioux stars Zach Parise and Drew Stafford attended the event. Jablonski, by the way, is doing all he can to prove the experts wrong. 
• I don't recall if I've posted this already, but if not below is a highlight video of some of Colby Genoway's top plays from his 2011-12 season in Switzerland:

Thursday Evening Post

• The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed restricted free agent Chris VandeVelde to a one year, two-way contract. VandeVelde had turned down the Oilers' qualifying offer, but he has impressed the Edmonton staff enough in training camps, AHL action, and call-ups to earn the new contract. The Edmonton Journal offered its take on the signing of the former Sioux centerman, and below is the updated status of this summer's former Sioux NHL free agents:

PLAYER	2011-2012 TEAM	STATUS	NEW TEAM	SIGNING/CONTRACT DETAILS
Jason Blake	Anaheim	UFA
Taylor Chorney	Edmonton	UFA	St. Louis	1 Year, 2-Way Contract
Mike Commodore	Tampa Bay	UFA
Matt Frattin	Toronto	RFA	Toronto	2 Years, $1.7 Million
Chay Genoway	Minnesota	RFA	Minnesota	2 Years, 2-Way Contract
Brian Lee	Tampa Bay	RFA	Tampa Bay	2 Years, $2.3 Million
T.J. Oshie	St Louis	RFA	St. Louis	5 Years, $20.9 Million
Zach Parise	New Jersey	UFA	Minnesota	13 Years, $98 Million
Chris Porter	St Louis	UFA	St. Louis	1 Year, 2-Way Contract
Chris VandeVelde	Edmonton	RFA	Edmonton	1 Year, 2-Way Contract
Matt Watkins	Phoenix	UFA	NY Islanders	1 Year, 2-Way Contract

• The WCHA has released the 2012-13 men's composite schedule. The women's composite schedule was released earlier this month.
• The New York Islanders blog Lighthouse Hockey decided to revisit the Islander's decision to pass on Zach Parise in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. New York had the 15th pick in the draft, and Parise ended up going 17th to the New Jersey Devils. And for what it's worth, after sharing this article via Twitter earlier today, I followed it up with a Tweet stating that "Matt Greene has a pretty decent NHL career going for him as well." That, of course, was in reference to the portion of the article that states, "The only other player to have any sort of career in the NHL from that Dakota team was Brandon Bochenski, who played 152 games and is in Europe now." Brad Schlossman then added that David Hale had a solid NHL career (7 seasons, 327 games) and Matt Jones saw action in 106 NHL games.

Thursday Morning Coffee

• The acting class Matt Greene took at UND may or may not have helped prepare him for his feature length debut, the Los Angeles Kings' Stanley Cup Championship DVD. Greene was also a guest on L.A. Today earlier this week, where he discussed LA's Stanley Cup season.
• A host of former Sioux recently took part in UND professor Frank White's charity golf tournament to help raise scholarship money.
• Dillon Simpson, who Hockey Prospectus recently ranked as the #12 prospect in the Edmonton Oiler organization, spent three segments as an in-studio guest on The Pipeline Show Tuesday night. If you care to take a listen, the audio clips can be found on this page.
• Former Sioux goaltender Jordan Parise lives a different hockey life than his younger brother Zach.
• An Anaheim Ducks blogger profiles the newly extended Matt Smaby.
• Veteran Fargo sportscaster Dan Hammer has signed on with Midco Sports Network and will be Midco's man in the booth for UND sports play-by-play.

Tuesday Morning Coffee

Here are a few additional tidbits to complement yesterday's Monday Evening Post:

• The Checking Line asks, is Brock Nelson the next playmaking center for the New York Islanders?
• Dillon Simpson will be making an in-studio appearance during tonight's edition of The Pipeline Show. The show starts at 8:00 Central and if you've never listened to the program, check it out as it's very well-done.
• Russ Bitely offered up a nice review of the USA Hockey Select 16 Development Camp, and he gave North Dakota recruit Chris Wilkie a "B" grade for his camp performance. He led his team in scoring with eight points (2G, 6A) in five games while earning a spot in the camp's All-Star game. Below is what Bitely had to say about Wilkie's performance, and thanks to the Western College Hockey Blog for linking to the review:

Chris Wilkie – Forward: Omaha AAA U16, Omaha, NE – Draft eligible 2014
You can see that Wilkie can play the game with some great offensive upside and some sure firepower in his shot. He definitely has some nice mitts, creates opportunity with the puck, and a good playmaker. Not a surprise that the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota will get his services in a few years. He has some slick puck skills and hockey sense that all scouts drool over.

• Expect restricted free agent Chris VandeVelde to come to terms with Edmonton relatively soon as the Oilers front office is expected to begin taking care of their minor league RFA's.

Monday Evening Post

After taking a few weeks off, a bit of a catch-up effort in regard to UND hockey news is much needed. A lot of this is pretty old news, but hopefully some of the links will be of interest. So, here goes...

After TJ Oshie happily re-signed with St. Louis late last week, all but three of the eleven former Sioux free agents who played in the NHL last year have signed new contracts. Mike Commodore, Jason Blake, and Chris VandeVelde are the lone free agents still on the market. Below are the details:

PLAYER	2011-2012 TEAM	STATUS	NEW TEAM	SIGNING/CONTRACT DETAILS
Jason Blake	Anaheim	UFA
Taylor Chorney	Edmonton	UFA	St. Louis	1 Year, 2-Way Contract
Mike Commodore	Tampa Bay	UFA
Matt Frattin	Toronto	RFA	Toronto	2 Years, $1.7 Million
Chay Genoway	Minnesota	RFA	Minnesota	2 Years, 2-Way Contract
Brian Lee	Tampa Bay	RFA	Tampa Bay	2 Years, $2.3 Million
T.J. Oshie	St Louis	RFA	St. Louis	5 Years, $20.9 Million
Zach Parise	New Jersey	UFA	Minnesota	13 Years, $98 Million
Chris Porter	St Louis	UFA	St. Louis	1 Year, 2-Way Contract
Chris VandeVelde	Edmonton	RFA
Matt Watkins	Phoenix	UFA	NY Islanders	1 Year, 2-Way Contract

Derrick LaPoint was tabbed as the 2011-12 Defensive Player of the Year for the Reading Royals (ECHL) despite having his season cut short due to an emergency appendectomy. The former Sioux defenseman re-signed with Reading late last week.


In other signings...

• Matt Smaby, who was on the verge of a late-season call-up to Anaheim before suffering an injury, will remain with the Ducks organization via a one year, two-way contract.
• Jake Marto re-signed with the St. John's IceCaps (AHL).
• Lee Goren signed with Pelicans of the SM-Liiga (Finland's elite league). He spent last season with Skelleftea of the Elitserien (Swedish elite league).

In other news...

• Luke Johnson, who is anticipated to arrive on campus in the fall of 2013, was ranked as an A List Player for the 2013 NHL Draft. An A Lister is a player Central Scouting considers to be a potential first round talent.
• Here's a look at Jonathan Toews By the Numbers. Toews is currently in the running for TSN's Who's Better feature, which is seeking to find who the fans think is the best hockey player under the age of 25. CSN Chicago caught up with the Chicago captain at Blackhawks Convention 2012.
• Incoming freshman defenseman Jordan Schmaltz is eager to prove the worth of St. Louis' investment in him as a first-round draft pick, and in this fan Q&A he says winning the national championship with North Dakota is the goal for this upcoming season.
• Stanley Cup champion Matt Greene, whose parents watched him hoist The Cup from afar, is friend, foe, and one-time bodyguard to Zach Parise.  
• FS North took a look at the importance Shattuck-St. Mary's had in Parise's career development.
• Courtesy of the Lake Erie Monsters, here's a review of Brad Malone's first season as a professional.
• Corban Knight is among a number of WCHAers who rank near the top of the Florida Panther prospect pool in terms of NHL equivalency.
• Derek Forbort carries his potential as he continues to mature.
• The prospect of playing for his hometown Jets thrills Jason Gregoire, who is featured in this Winnipeg Jet Prospect Update.
• Hockey Prospectus ranked Danny Kristo fourth and Mark MacMillan fourteenth among the top Montreal Canadiens prospects, while Brock Nelson is ranked third among New York Islanders prospects.
• Incoming freshman goaltender Zane Gothberg is ready for the next level.
• The national championship-winning 1996-97 Men's Hockey Team will be inducted into the UND Athletics Hall of Fame.

Day 1 Former Sioux Free Agency Signings

Day one of the NHL free agency period came and went without Zach Parise or TJ Oshie striking deals, but several other former Sioux came to terms with NHL teams. Here are the details: 

• Parise is expected to announce his intentions today after reportedly working his short-list of potential destinations down to New Jersey, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Detroit. What is it going to take to sign Parise? Evidently the low-end of the spectrum is a ten year deal worth $80 million, which is what Pittsburgh is said to have offered, while Minnesota and Philadelphia have reportedly offered deals worth more than $100 million. On top of the long-term, big dollar salary, expect his deal to include a hefty signing bonus. It's pretty special when a player spends his entire career with a single franchise, which is why my heart would like to see him remain in New Jersey. My gut, however, says it's going to be either Minnesota or Pittsburgh, though New Jersey's re-signing of goaltender Martin Brodeur this morning might help the Devils' cause ever-so-slightly. 
• Oshie did not re-sign with St. Louis prior to Sunday's free agency period, making him a restricted free agent. However, Blues GM Doug Armstrong remains confident his team will come to terms with its star winger, saying that Oshie becoming a free agent "isn't something that is a concern to me at all." 
• Following a successful first season as a professional, Matt Frattin re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs to the tune of two years and $1.7 million. After following up a solid NHL campaign with a dominant performance in the AHL playoffs, the Leafs felt confident enough in Frattin's abilities to offer him a one-way deal. Leafs GM Brian Burke said he envisions Frattin being a top six forward who is "a big part of the future here." 
• Taylor Chorney signed a one year, two-way contract with St. Louis yesterday, setting him up for his second run with the Blues organization. Chorney has spent the bulk of his four year professional career with the Edmonton Oiler organization, but did spend a month with St. Louis last season as a waiver wire claim. St. Louis is becoming a popular destination for former and future Sioux this summer. Incoming freshman Jordan Schmaltz was a first round draft pick of the Blues a week and a half ago while free agents Oshie and Chris Porter could still re-sign with St. Louis.
• Matt Watkins has signed a one year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. Watkins spent the majority of last season in Portland, playing for the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes. He was a mid-season call-up to Phoenix where he made his NHL debut on February 21.
• Where might the rest of UND's NHL free agents sign? Brad Schlossman examines that on a case-by-case basis.
• The chase for former University of Wisconsin blueline standout Justin Schultz was won by Edmonton, and current Sioux/Edmonton prospect Dillon Simpson thinks he's a good fit for the Oilers.
• Here's the updated list of former Sioux NHL free agent signings:

PLAYER	2011-2012 TEAM	STATUS	NEW TEAM	SIGNING/CONTRACT DETAILS
Jason Blake	Anaheim	UFA
Taylor Chorney	Edmonton	UFA	St. Louis	1 Year, 2-Way Contract
Mike Commodore	Tampa Bay	UFA
Matt Frattin	Toronto	RFA	Toronto	2 Years, $1.7 Million
Chay Genoway	Minnesota	RFA	Minnesota	2 Years, 2-Way Contract
Brian Lee	Tampa Bay	RFA	Tampa Bay	2 Years, $2.3 Million
T.J. Oshie	St Louis	RFA
Zach Parise	New Jersey	UFA
Chris Porter	St Louis	UFA
Chris VandeVelde	Edmonton	RFA
Matt Watkins	Phoenix	UFA	NY Islanders	1 Year, 2-Way Contract