Wednesday Morning Post

• The big news that broke yesterday was Ryan Gropp foregoing his commitment to UND in order to sign with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds. It sounds as though this was a decision made primarily by Gropp without much pressure from Seattle, and perhaps initially against the wishes of his parents. While the decommitment of a very talented player certainly stings, this isn't nearly as crucial as JT Miller's decision to sign with New York and go to Plymouth a month before he was expected to start classes at UND. When I put together this recruit matrix last month, I anticipated Gropp's arrival in Grand Forks to come in the fall of 2015. I'm not sure when the North Dakota staff planned on him arriving, but there is time to replace him with some of the outstanding talent that is currently uncommitted. 
• International Scouting Services released its updated top 30 prospects for the 2014 NHL Draft and two UND recruits made the list. Nick Schmaltz is ranked number 25 while Austin Poganski is ranked number 30.
• Despite a nagging lower body injury that was anticipated to keep him out of the lineup long-term, recruit Trevor Olson saw his health improve enough that he was upgraded to questionable to return to action. Sioux City's captain eventually did return to the lineup, recording an assist and a +1 rating in his first action of the season last Friday.
• While TJ Oshie's rugged & physical style of play might make him more susceptible to injury, he doesn't plan on changing anything about his game any time soon.
• David Toews has been released by the ECHL's Reading Royals.
• Rocco Grimaldi's slick second period goal from Friday night's 5-3 victory over Vermont is among the top 5 plays of the week. 

Sunday Afternoon Post

• As NHL.com's "30 in 30" series continues, a pair of UND sophomores found their way into their respective organization's Top 10 prospect lists. Jordan Schmaltz came in at number 6 among St. Louis' prospects, while Rocco Grimaldi sits at number 8 in Florida's deep prospect pool.
• The New England Hockey Journal published an outstanding feature on North Dakota sophomore goaltender Zane Gothberg, the Boston Bruins' 6th round draft choice in 2010. Gothberg says the goal for 2013-14 "is to win our last game, with that one coming in the national championship." 
• The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are already very much on the mind of Sioux alum Jonathan Toews, who is a candidate to wear the C for Team Canada.
• SportsNet NY put together a quick little profile on New York Ranger prospect Danny Kristo.
• UND recruit Rhett Gardner, who will suit up for the AJHL's Okotoks Oilers this season, says the current plan is for him to spend two years playing juniors before heading to UND one year out of high school.
• USA Hockey's Under-18 Select team, featuring North Dakota recruits Ryan Mantha, Austin Poganski, and Nick Schmaltz, fell one victory short of earning the gold medal at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. Despite dropping a 4-0 decision to Canada in the gold medal game, it was a strong showing for a hard-working Team USA, and a great individual tournament for Schmaltz. He led Team USA in scoring with eight points (5G, 3A) in five games, and his five goals were the most of any player in the tournament. Poganski and Mantha each picked up one assist in five games played.

Top Shelf Prospects has been running through each NHL team's top prospects this offseason, and a few Sioux alums have been featured:

• Corban Knight (Calgary Flames) 
• Brock Nelson (New York Islanders)
• Danny Kristo (New York Rangers)

Tuesday Morning Post

• Jason Gregoire has signed a one year deal with Södertälje of the Allsvenskan (Sweden Tier 2). He will be reunited with former Sioux and St. John's IceCap teammate Jake Marto, who signed with Södertälje earlier this summer.
• Brent Davidson has signed with Valpellice of Italy's elite league after spending last season with Herning (Denmark).
• The Hockey News featured former UND standout goaltender Darren Jensen in the print edition of its Backchecking segment several months ago, and it has recently found its way into the digital realm.
• Tony Hrkac will be inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame next month, joining fellow Sioux alum Greg Johnson, who was inducted in 2010.
• North Dakota goalie Zane Gothberg continues to impress Boston Bruins management.
• UND forward Rocco Grimaldi is on his way to building a big NHL future.
• UND sophomore forward Rebecca Kohler and incoming freshman defenseman Halli Krzyzaniak have been invited to Hockey Canada's National Women's Team Development Camp.
• A trio of UND commits are currently representing USA Hockey in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Nick Schmaltz was named USA's Player of the Game in a 1-0 exhibition game victory over the Czech Republic Saturday while Austin Poganski and Ryan Mantha each picked up assists in yesterdays 3-2 OT loss to Finland. They resume play this morning at 7:00 AM CDT against Russia. Below are recent features on each UND commit:
• Nick Schmaltz
• Ryan Mantha
• Austin Poganski
• The Scouting Report is taking a look at some of the top USHL prospects for the 2014 NHL Draft and aside from the above feature on Schmaltz, Poganski and fellow UND commit Chris Wilkie were also recently highlighted.
• Incoming UND freshman defensemen Gage Ausmus and Keaton Thompson were invited to USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp, but they were both among the first round of cuts. They could potentially play themselves back into consideration with strong first halves to the NCAA season, and they will both be eligible for next year's World Junior Championship team as well.

Friday Morning Coffee

• Danny Kristo, Corban Knight, and Rocco Grimaldi earned All-WCHA honors this season, and as a team UND placed 11 players on the All-Academic Team. A contingent of WCHA bloggers, writers, etc. also voiced their collective opinions on who the best of the best were during the 2012-13 WCHA regular season.
• Chay Genoway was traded to the Washington Capitals organization yesterday. He will report to the Capitals' AHL affiliate in Hershey.
• TJ Oshie is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
• Since Evan Trupp's trade to his hometown Alaska Aces (ECHL), the former Sioux winger has found the scoresheet in every game he's played. He has two goals and four assists in three games since joining the Aces.
• Mario Lamoureux (Ontario) continues to lead all ECHL rookies in point production with 59 points (25G, 34A) in 64 games. He is currently riding a seven game point streak during which he has amassed 10 points (4G, 6A).
• Brock Nelson (Bridgeport - AHL) is on a five game point streak during which he has produced eight points (2G, 6A). He currently leads all Sound Tigers with a 0.85 points per game average, and don't be surprised if he earns a late-season NHL call-up.
• A Chicago Tribune writer offers his reasoning as to why Jonathan Toews is the Chicago Blackhawk's first-half MVP.
• The Minnesota's GM recently discussed the impact of the Wild's newly acquired superstars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. And if the Wild ever need an emergency Zamboni driver, Parise might just be their guy.
• A few months ago The Hockey News featured former Sioux standout goaltender Darren Jensen in its Backchecking segment.

All-WCHA Blogger/Website Awards: My Votes

It's a bit crazy to think that it is yet again time to discuss and debate the various conference award selections. The results of the Second Annual Blogger/Website All-WCHA Poll will be released later this week, but in the meantime here is the way I voted:

All-WCHA First Team:
F - Ryan Walters, UNO
F - Corban Knight, UND
F - Erik Haula, UM
D - Nate Schmidt, UM
D - Nick Jensen, SCSU
G - Stephon Williams, MSU

All-WCHA Second Team:
F - Danny Kristo, UND
F - Drew LeBlanc, SCSU
F - Matt Leitner, MSU
D - Andrew Prochno, SCSU
D - Mike Boivin, CC
G - Adam Wilcox, UM

All-WCHA Third Team:
F - Rylan Schwartz, CC
F - Nick Bjugstad, UM
F - Michael Mersch, UW
D - Andrej Sustr, UNO
D - Nolan Zajac, DU
G - Joel Rumpel, UW

WCHA All-Rookie Team:
F - Austin Farley, UMD
F - Rocco Grimaldi, UND
F - Jonny Brodzinski, SCSU
D - Nolan Zajac, DU
D - Ethan Prow, SCSU
G - Stephon Williams, MSU

WCHA Player of the Year - Corban Knight, UND

WCHA Defensive Player of the Year - Nate Schmidt, UM

WCHA Rookie of the Year - Stephon Williams, MSU

WCHA Coach of the Year - Mike Hastings, MSU

The Golden Boys: Team USA, Grimaldi Come Up Big

Team USA struck gold this morning at the 2013 World Junior Championship, defeating Sweden 3-1 in the gold medal game in Ufa, Russia. This is the third gold medal USA Hockey has earned at the WJC, and the second in the last four years. Team USA displayed strong defensive play and superb goaltending throughout the tournament, and they were able to break out offensively when it mattered most. Following back-to-back disappointing defeats to Russia and Canada in which they scored a combined two goals, Team USA peppered Slovakia with nine goals in a must-win preliminary round game. They then proceeded to defeat the Czech Republic 7-0 and Canada 5-1 to advance to today's championship game.

North Dakota forward Rocco Grimaldi was instrumental in today's golden victory, scoring two goals and buzzing all over the ice on virtually every shift in being named Team USA's Best Player of the Game. After being benched during preliminary round action for what the coaching staff deemed as selfish play, Grimaldi was a dynamo during medal round action as he was involved in the game-winning goals in both the semifinals and the finals. Over the course of the tournament, Grimaldi recorded two goals and two assists in the six games during which he appeared. He became the 12th University of North Dakota player to earn a gold medal at the WJC, and the 19th medalist overall.

Here is a sampling of video clips highlighting a few of Grimaldi's contributions to Team USA's triumphant excursion to Ufa:

Assist on Jake McCabe's Game-Winning Goal in the Semifinals:

Slick Drop Pass in the Slot For McCabe:

Ties the Gold Medal Game at One With a Sneaky Wrister:

Scores the Gold Medal Game-Winner Off a Deflection:

Wednesday Evening Post

• Team USA and Rocco Grimaldi have advanced to the semifinal round of the World Junior Championship where they will take on Canada at 3:00 CST Thursday morning for the right to play for WJC gold. Sweden and Russia will play in Thursday's second semifinal matchup. Grimaldi, who was benched for Monday's preliminary round game against Slovakia, returned to action this morning in the quarterfinal game against the Czech Republic and it will be interesting to see what role he plays in the big rematch with Canada. His combination of speed and puck skill is as good as anyone playing in this tournament, making him an instant offensive threat that could be a difference maker in a big game. 
• The Team USA U-17 team rolled through World Under-17 Challenge preliminary play, going 4-0 while outscoring its opponents 23-11. UND recruit Chris Wilkie is tied for fourth in tournament scoring with seven points (1G, 6A), and his six assists are tied for the tournament lead. Fellow recruit Austin Poganski scored a pair of goals in prelim play, but his level of play is not reflected in his stat line. His strong play has earned him increased ice time as the tournament has progressed, and he is now seeing time on the second powerplay unit. Team USA will take on Russia tomorrow evening at 6:30 CST in the semifinal round, with the medal games scheduled for Friday. All tournament games can be streamed live and free via FastHockey.
• Both Team USA and Team Canada rolled through preliminary round play at the Under-18 Women's World Championship. Team USA, featuring North Dakota recruits Amy Menke, Gracen Hirschy, and Alexis Shaw, went 3-0 during the preliminary round and outscored its opponents 25-0. Canada, with recruit Halli Krzyzaniak, also went 3-0, and they outscored their opposition 15-1. Krzyzaniak, a defenseman, is Canada's leading point producer and she is tied for fourth in tournament scoring with six points (2G, 4A) while Menke is tied for 11th with four points (2G, 2A). Hirschy has recorded two assists while Shaw posted a shutout in her one appearance thus far. Team USA next takes to the ice in a semifinal tilt with the Czech Republic Friday, while Canada will face Sweden in Friday's other semifinal. The gold medal game will take place Saturday, and anything outside of a USA-Canada final would be a major, major surprise. For realtime stats and a full schedule, checkout the official tournament website.
• Former Sioux defenseman Travis Roche and Team Canada defeated Davos (Switzerland) to win the 2012 Spengler Cup. Roche recorded two assists during Canada's four tournament games.
• Andy Johnson of Bucky's Fifth Quarter issued his WCHA First Half Awards, and his Player of the Year is UND centerman Corban Knight. Danny Kristo, Derek Forbort, Clarke Saunders, and Rocco Grimaldi also received recognition.
• Brock Nelson of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) is expected to miss the next two weeks after suffering a broken jaw.
• The second annual USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is scheduled to take place January 23 in Muskegon, Michigan, and a trio of North Dakota recruits received invitations today. Luke Johnson (Lincoln) will take part for the second consecutive season, and he will be joined by Luke Voltin (Des Moines) and Tucker Poolman (Omaha).
• Recruit Nick Schmaltz sent 2012 out in style by notching a hat trick in Green Bay's (USHL) 6-5 (OT) win over Muskegon on New Year's Eve. He completed the hatty by scoring the overtime game-winner.

Saturday Morning Coffee

• Rocco Grimaldi and Team USA suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss to Russia Friday at the World Junior Championship and Dave Starman broke down the performance for NHL.com while Chris Peters did the same on his USOH blog. The Americans will have a shot to rebound early Sunday morning (3:30 AM CST) against Canada in a game that will have a big impact on medal round seeding. 
• Team USA played an exhibition game last night against Canada Pacific in a World Under-17 Challenge tune-up. The Americans shelled CP 6-2, with North Dakota recruits Chris Wilkie (two goals) and Austin Poganski (one goal) each figuring into the scoring. The games begin to count in the standings this afternoon when Team USA takes on Canada Ontario at 12:30 CST. Chris Peters again has his bases covered with a Team USA preview, and if you want to watch the streamed games free via FastHockey, here's how to do so.
• The Women's Under-18 World Championship kicked off today in Finland and Team USA got off to a rousing start with a 7-0 victory over Russia. North Dakota recruits Gracen Hirschy and Amy Menke did not figure into the scoring but they were a combined +3 for the game while Alexis Shaw (G) did not see action today. Team Canada also has a North Dakota recruit on its roster in defenseman Halli Krzyzaniak, who is serving as an alternate captain for the Canadian squad. As of this post, the Canadians were leading Hungary 4-1 late in the third, with Krzyzaniak notching a pair of assists. Preliminary play continues tomorrow for both Team USA and Canada before Monday's rest day. Tuesday will see the conclusion of preliminary action with the medal round commencing Wednesday and concluding with next Saturday's gold medal game. This is the sixth year this event has been held, and Team USA has won gold three of the five years while Canada, the defending champion, has won gold twice. Also of note, Canada and Team USA have met in the gold medal game all five years.
• Chris VandeVelde was suspended for three games by the AHL as a result of this illegal check to the head. Dave Staples of the Edmonton Journal's Cult of Hockey blog says it should have been a 10 gamer.
• Last weekend North Dakota recruit and current Lincoln Star Luke Johnson took some time to talk to the guys at The Pipeline Show. 
• Recruit Paul LaDue scored the OT game-winner for Lincoln last night. He continues to lead all USHL defensemen with 23 points (5G, 18A).
• Recruit Christian Evers blasted a PP goal in the Omaha AAA U-16 Lancers 6-1 win over Wenatchee yesterday at the Dallas NAPHL event. Evers now has 11 points (2G, 9A) in 11 NAPHL games this season and Omaha remained undefeated (15-0) in NAPHL play.

Holiday Leftovers

The blogging came to a screeching halt as the result of holiday travels, but having now returned home a Heinz post is in order. Here's some old news along with some not-so-old news in an effort to catch up:

• Team USA kicked off the 2013 World Junior Championship today with an 8-0 thumping of Germany, and North Dakota forward Rocco Grimaldi picked up an assist in the victory. They will take on tournament host Russia tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM CST, and the game can be viewed on NHL Network or streamed on NHL.com (Full Broadcast Schedule). Grimaldi is seeking to play a big role for Team USA, and he and WJC linemate Johnny Gaudreau are big on ability despite both being under 5'10". In another local connection, the team doctor for Team USA is Phil Johnson of Fargo.
• In a WJC lead-up feature, Jonathan Toews came in at No. 8 in TSN's Top 40 All-Time Canadians in World Junior history.
• Corban Knight finished off the season's first half in style with a six point weekend in a road sweep against Michigan Tech and he was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Beyond the Pond says he is no silent Knight, while Goon's World asks the question, why not Knight for Hobey?  
• The Western College Hockey Blog issued its WCHA First Half Awards and Knight, Grimaldi, Danny Kristo, and Jordan Schmaltz all received recognition.
• After being named the CHL Goaltender of the Month for November, Aaron Dell stayed hot and was named the league's Goaltender of the Week for the week ending December 16th.
• Brock Nelson was recently included in The Hockey News' Hot List.
• The 2012 Spengler Cup is underway in Davos, Switzerland and former Sioux defenseman Travis Roche is representing Team Canada. Roche has notched an assist in two tournament games and is among an unheralded group of Canadians getting the job done. This year's Spengler is drawing a bit more interest than usual as a number of locked out NHL stars pepper tournament rosters. Among the familiar names are Rick Nash, Joe Thornton, Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron, John Tavares, Jason Spezza, etc.
• Colby Genoway was recently featured in a nice video highlight package (link opens a YouTube video). Genoway currently plays for Lausanne of the NLB (Switzerland Tier 2) and is tied for 8th in the league in scoring with 45 points (19G, 26A) in 26 games. His 1.73 PPG rank first in the league among players with at least 25 games played. 
• As virtually everyone knows, UND recently received verbal commitments from two highly-coveted recruits. St. Cloud Cathedral's Austin Poganski and Holy Family's Shane Gersich both committed to North Dakota in the days leading up to Christmas. A recruit profile for Gersich is forthcoming, and in the meantime you can get to know Poganski a little better via his recruit profile.
• Poganski will be joining fellow North Dakota recruit Chris Wilkie on Team USA's entry in the 2013 World Under-17 Challenge, which runs Dec. 29 through Jan. 4th in Victoriaville/Drummondville, Quebec. Team USA plays an exhibition game Friday against Canada Pacific before kicking off preliminary round play Saturday in a tilt with Canada Ontario. Poganski is the only high schooler on the Team USA roster. The majority of the roster is made up of NTDP players, while a few others play for junior clubs.
• The 2013 Women's Under-18 World Championship begins Saturday in Vierumaki/Heinola, Finland, and North Dakota has four committed recruits taking part. Alexis Shaw (G), Gracen Hirschy (D), and Amy Menke are on Team USA's roster while Halli Krzyzaniak (D) will be playing for Team Canada.

Wednesday Morning Coffee

• USA Hockey announced its preliminary roster for the World Junior Championships yesterday and, as expected, North Dakota's Rocco Grimaldi was on it. The final roster will eventually be whittled down to 23 players from the current 27 sometime during the team's training camp, but at this point it would be a shock if Grimaldi did not make the team. USA Hockey's release on the roster announcement includes its full training camp and WJC schedule, while the United States of Hockey blog took to the task of breaking down each of the 15 forwards named to the preliminary roster. Of note, former UND assistant coach/current Ohio State head coach Mark Osiecki and current Minnesota assistant coach/Grand Forks native Grant Potulny will serve as assistant coaches to Team USA head coach Phil Housley.
• The Hockey News' Ryan Kennedy tweeted last night that Denver University freshman forward Quentin Shore is considering leaving school in order to join the WHL's Portland Winterhawks. If Shore does indeed bolt for Portland, it would mark the third consecutive season that a WCHA player has left school mid-season in order to play for the Winterhawks. William Wrenn left Denver for Portland in 2010-11, while St. Cloud State's Cam Reid made the jump to the Winterhawks last season. Denver, of course, will be visiting REA to take on North Dakota this weekend.
• Former Sioux defenseman Mike Commodore talked with The Toronto Globe and Mail on his decision to sign with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.
• The Toronto Maple Leaf fansite We Want a Cup says Matt Frattin is on the right path to a productive NHL career.
• Aaron Schneekloth of the Colorado Eagles is once again among the ECHL's top point-producing defensemen with 16 points (2G, 14A) in 19 games, and he was recently featured in a video player profile.
• Want your very own "life-like" version of Stanley Cup champion Matt Greene? Life in Hockeywood has it for you.

Tuesday Morning Coffee

• All Habs Magazine recently ran a nice feature on North Dakota forward Mark MacMillan, whom Montreal selected in the 4th round on the 2010 NHL Draft.
• USA Hockey is set to release its World Junior Championship preliminary roster this morning, and the United States of Hockey expects North Dakota forward Rocco Grimaldi to be on the list. Team USA's pre-tournament camp begins December 16 and the WJC begins December 26 in Ufa, Russia. The tournament runs through the gold medal game Januray 5th.
• The International Ice Hockey Federation has published a series of articles examining the role of college hockey within the overall bounds of the sport. On the men's side they covered the NCAA's increased ability to develop professional players, while they also examined the elite level of play NCAA women's ice hockey brings to the international stage. UND women's coaches Brian Idalski and Peter Elander are prominently featured in the women's article.
• Despite playing in just eight of Toronto's 21 games this season, Matt Frattin is tied for the Marlies' team lead in goals with seven. The Winnipeg Sun took a look at his strong return from injury, while TSN says the former Sioux star has a lot of extra eyes watching him.
• Norfolk Admiral teammates Matt Smaby and Emerson Etem share the Shattuck-St. Mary's connection.
• Jonathan Toews will be part of the group of players that will meet with team owners in the hopes of  breaking the NHL lockout stalemate. Toews recently commented that the players refuse to get pushed around by the owners.
• Looking past the lockout and the all-too-real possibility of the cancellation of the entire season, Sportsnet has listed some of the top potential free agents for 2013, and Travis Zajac is in their group.
• The always entertaining Mike Commodore spent an hour discussing a wide range of topics on the Cabbie Podcast.
• UND recruit Christian Evers and the Omaha AAA U-16 Lancers rolled through the NAPHL Blaine Showcase this weekend with a 5-0 record, outscoring their opponents 24-4 along the way. Evers, a 6'4" 195 pound defenseman, finished the showcase with five assists in five games. The Lancers, who have yet to lose an NAPHL game this season, are coached by David Wilkie, the father of North Dakota recruit and current USNTDP Under-17 team forward Chris Wilkie.

Wednesday Morning Coffee

• The USOH is keeping a close eye on Team USA's top candidates for the World Junior Championships, and yesterday North Dakota freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi was in the spotlight. Grimaldi leads the team with four points (2G, 2A) in four games, and he has a six game point streak (3G, 3A) dating back to last season.
• Through four games, North Dakota has a four-way tie for the team lead in +/- rating, and all four leaders are freshmen. Grimaldi, Colten St. Clair, Jordan Schmaltz, and Drake Caggiula are all +4.
• North Dakota forward Brendan O'Donnell is one of several Tampa Bay Lightning prospects looking to have an impact season in the NCAA. Tampa Bay selected O'Donnell in the 6th Round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
• Jonathan Toews participated in Chicago's successful "Champs for Charity" game, which was played before nearly 12,000 fans, while Minnesota's Defending the Blueline charity game, which included Zach Parise and Chris Porter, was also deemed a success. As NHLers remain locked out, star-studded charity games are one way for players to remain active. Matt Greene is scheduled to take part in a charity game in California while Travis Zajac will do the same in Winnipeg.
• Zajac and his agent are evaluating several opportunities for the former Sioux centerman to play overseas and he might be headed to Europe within a few weeks (Zajac info at the very end of the post).
• Former Sioux captain Adam Calder suffered a fractured hip last Sunday in an English Premier League game. He underwent surgery Monday, and no further details have been released.
• Matt Frattin returned to Toronto Marlies practice last week, and he is no longer wearing a no-contact practice jersey. Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins said earlier this week that Frattin is about two weeks away from returning to game action.
• North Dakota recruits Adam Tambellini and Wade Murphy are currently at the Canada West World Junior A Challenge Selection Camp, where they are teammates on Team Blue. They played their first game last night, with Murphy scoring his team's lone goal in a 2-1 loss. The camp concludes tonight when Team Blue takes on Team White. Luke Johnson will participate for Team USA in the WJAC, which begins next Monday in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. All tournament games can be viewed online at no charge through Fast Hockey. 

Wednesday Evening Post

• The United States of Hockey took an early look at what the Team USA roster could look like for the 2013 World Junior Championships, and Rocco Grimaldi is tabbed as a likely team member. If Grimaldi were to make the team, he would miss the home series against Holy Cross January 4-5.
• UND women's senior goaltender Jorid Dagfinrud was named WCHA Co-Defensive Player of the Week after last weekend's performance against St. Cloud State. The women host Minnesota this weekend, and the University is running a Fill the Bowl promotion for Saturday's game during which General Admission tickets are just $1.
• As alluded to in yesterday's post, Hockey Canada released its World Junior A Challenge Selection Camp roster for Canada West today, and a pair of North Dakota recruits made the cut. Adam Tambellini and Wade Murphy will participate in the camp beginning Sunday in Calgary in hopes of making the final Canada West roster. The WJAC will take place November 5-11 in Nova Scotia. Murphy (Penticton) currently leads the BCHL with 23 points (9G, 14A) while Tambellini, who NHL.com says is the top draft-eligible player invited to camp, leads Vernon (BCHL) with 12 points (6G, 6A) in 14 games.
• NHL.com released a list of the USHL's top 10 NHL Draft prospects and it includes UND recruit Luke Johnson.   
• It was announced today that the New York Islanders will will be moving to Brooklyn's Barclay Center once their lease with the Nassau Coliseum expires following the 2014-15 season. The Islanders feature one of the best prospect pools in the league, including former Sioux sniper Brock Nelson, and ESPN New York says the timing could be just about right for a high-profile Isles move to Brooklyn in 2015.

Weekend Musings, Etc.

The North Dakota men took to the ice for an exhibition game against the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 team Friday night, and here are a few observations following the 6-4 UND victory:

• First for the most obvious, Knight Line Version 2.0 looked outstanding. Rocco Grimaldi, Corban Knight, and Danny Kristo combined for eight points (4G, 4A) and a +8.
• Clarke Saunders was the sharper of the two goaltenders vying for the starting job, and one would have to think he will be getting the start in the regular season opener against Alaska-Anchorage Friday night.
• The line of Stephane Pattyn, Colten St. Clair, and Derek Rodwell impressed. They were fast, gritty and hard to play against while also generating some nice offensive opportunities.
• It's great to see Derek Forbort so willing to shoot the puck. Granted it's only been exhibition action thus far, but he's scored a couple of very nice goals from the blueline without showing any hesitancy towards pulling the trigger.
• The strength of Andrew MacWilliam is something else. During one sequence he couldn't get a Team USA forward lined up squarely, but he was able to catch him with a forearm that contained enough power to separate puck from player. He must be just a beast to play against.
• Defenseman Jordan Schmaltz's offensive reputation comes as advertised. He's very smooth with the puck and has great offensive instincts. He also logged a lot of time on the power play and penalty kill units.
• Defensively there are still some things to clean up, but with an experienced bunch that should happen much sooner rather than later.
• For Team USA, North Dakota recruit and Devils Lake native Keaton Thompson looked good. He's a good skater who plays a very poised game. Scouts are high on him and with a solid season he could sneak into the first round of next summer's NHL Draft.

In other news...

• The UND women took to the road this weekend. They dropped the Friday night game against Ohio State, but bounced back with a Saturday afternoon victory.
• Matt Greene and a couple other NHLers spent some practice time with a Los Angeles area youth hockey team.
• The AHL and ECHL seasons kicked off Friday, and a number of former Sioux have had strong opening weekends. Brock Nelson and Matt Watkins got off to nice starts for Bridgeport (AHL). Nelson had a goal and two assists while Watkins had a goal and an assist in two Sound Tiger victories. Brad Malone notched two assists as Lake Erie (AHL) split its first two games of the year. In the ECHL, Aaron Schneekloth (1G, 2A) and Michael Forney (2G, 0A) helped Colorado to a weekend split while David Toews picked up a goal and an assist in two games with Bakersfield.
• Jean-Phillipe Lamoureux leads the Erste Bank Liga (Austrian elite league) with a .943 save percentage. He also has a 2.08 GAA. Lamoureux isn't the only former Sioux off to a strong start in Austria. Andrew Kozek is the league's leading goal scorer with nine, Ryan Duncan is T-3rd in goals with seven, and Curtis Murphy is T-9th in points among defensemen with eight (2G, 6A).
• Aaron Dell, who last weekend was released by the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), has signed with the Allen Americans of the CHL.
• In USHL play, North Dakota recruit and Grand Forks native Paul LaDue is a +8 with three assists in just four Lincoln Star games, while Sioux City defenseman Ryan Mantha leads his team with a +5 in three games. 
• The much-discussed on-campus arena for Nebraska-Omaha appears to be getting the greenlight. If it does indeed happen, it will be a big-step forward for the UNO program as it heads into the NCHC era.

Tuesday Evening Post

• The Pipeline Show published its 2012-13 NCAA All-Canadian teams, and three members of the Fighting Sioux made the cut. Corban Knight made the first-team while Dillon Simpson and Andrew MacWilliam form the defensive pairing for the second-team.
• As most probably already know, North Dakota received a verbal commitment from a highly-regarded defense recruit today. Christian Evers currently plays for the Omaha AAA Lancer Under-16 team (same program that produced UND recruit Chris Wilkie) and he tweeted last night of his intentions to attend UND. He is currently a high school sophomore and he becomes the first 1997 birth year player (and, I believe, the first-ever Iowan) to commit to North Dakota. For more information, check out his Recruit Profile.
• After putting up six points (2G, 4A) in two weekend games, North Dakota recruit Wade Murphy received an honorable mention in the BCHL's weekly honors. For the season Murphy ranks second overall in the BCHL scoring race with 17 points (5G, 12A) in 8 games, and his 12 assists and 2.1 PPG average both lead the league. 
• Chris VandeVelde was named an alternate captain for the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons. The Barons should be fun to watch this season, especially if the NHL lockout lingers. Until the NHL and the NHL Players Association can come to an agreement on a new CBA, young Edmonton Oiler superstars Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Justin Schultz will be keeping their skills sharp in Oklahoma City.
• Jake Marto has been re-assigned to the ECHL's Colorado Eagles, where he will join fellow former Sioux Michael Forney and Aaron Schneekloth. Aaron Dell had also been participating in Colorado's training camp, but he was recently released by the team.
• Former Sioux Travis Zajac is training in his hometown of Winnipeg as he waits for a resolution to the NHL lockout. If the lockout drags on for too long, he says he will consider playing in Europe this season. 
• ESPN released a list of the Top 25 NHL Players Under 25. You need an ESPN Insider subscription to view the entire list, but you'll be able to see who's number one for free.
• Bucky's 5th Quarter published its 2012-13 WCHA Preview, and they have North Dakota finishing second in the conference. Individually, Danny Kristo (First Team), Corban Knight (Third Team), Rocco Grimaldi (All-Freshman Team, Rookie of the Year), Jordan Schmaltz (All-Freshman Team), and Zane Gothberg (All-Freshman Team) all received preseason honors. 
• Radio Free Omaha predicts a second-place conference finish for UND this season, while Kelly Green and White has North Dakota sitting at number two in its preseason WCHA Power Rankings.
• Top Shelf Prospects also put together a 2012-13 WCHA Preview, and they say North Dakota is a contender for the league title while Kristo will be a player to watch.

Weekend Musings

A few thoughts on this past weekend's hockey action at REA. First for the men (to be taken with one, maybe two grains of salt considering it was an exhibition game):

• Danny Kristo and Corban Knight have developed some great chemistry. The top line is going to be really tough to stop considering what those two bring to the table, and it will be interesting to see who becomes the regular left winger. Freshman Drake Caggiula performed admirably in flanking Knight’s left-side against Manitoba, but my guess is that we will see someone else get that assignment Friday night against Team USA.
• Kristo was the best player on the ice Saturday night and he appears poised for a monster season. He is electric and he seems to have gotten stronger over the summer as Manitoba was unable to move him off the puck. He is going to be very difficult for opposing teams to contain this year.
• This weekend marked the much anticipated return to the lineup for Rocco Grimaldi, and he did not disappoint. He had the crowd buzzing on numerous occasions with his playmaking and creativity, and it didn’t take long to realize that he is a very special talent. Just how good will he be this year? My guess is that he is going to have the most productive offensive season by a North Dakota freshman since Zach Parise.
• The RPM Line was in effect for the exhibition opener. I'm a big fan of keeping this line together considering how they played down the stretch last season. Of course, the enthusiasm was dampened when Michael Parks left the ice with an apparent lower body injury, but Mark MacMillan, Carter Rowney, and Parks all looked really good.
• As expected, defenseman Joe Gleason returned to his natural position. He did a very nice job filling in upfront last season for a shorthanded team, but he is more of a difference maker on the backend.

Now for the women, who bounced back from Friday's heartbreaking loss with a solid overall performance Saturday afternoon:

• In addition to what the top line will be expected to create, North Dakota should have some good offensive depth this season. They will be able to roll out three lines capable of regularly generating offensive opportunities.
• Shelby Amsley-Benzie looked confident in net and played good all weekend.
• Leah Jensen did a nice job playing right-wing with the Lamoureux sisters, picking up her first career goal Saturday by getting to the net and knocking home a rebound.
• It didn’t take too long to realize that freshman winger Becca Kohler has a fantastic shot. She can really unwind on the puck.
• Meghan Dufault is a dynamic player and though she didn’t find her way onto the scoresheet, she created some nice opportunities and was hard to knock off the puck.

UND Women vs. MSU & Random Links

The UND women kick off their season tonight at REA against Minnesota State, and expectations have never been higher for the program. They are a consensus top 5 team nationally and are expected to contend for the conference title in what looks to be a very competitive WCHA. Here are a few links of interest heading into the season opening weekend:

• The Hockey Writers: 2012-13 NCAA Women's Season Preview
• USCHO: WCHA Women's Season Preview
• North Dakota Athletics Dept: Season Preview
• UND Game Notes
• MSU Game Notes
• GF Herald: Jensen to Start on UND's Top Line
• WCHA: Weekend Preview

*****

Over the course of the weekend the WCHA Instant Impact series will wrap up with the Denver and North Dakota entries, and I'm planning on doing a post covering how & why I voted in the WCHA Blogger & Website Preseason Poll. In the meantime, here are a few random links for your Friday afternoon/evening:

• Rocco Grimaldi will be one forward to watch this season.
• The Minnesota Daily put together a WCHA season preview.
• The UND men will wear North Dakota on their chests, but you won't find it listed under the hometown column on this season's roster.
• Former Sioux Hunter Bishop signed with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays.
• Expect Matt Watkins to be a jack of all trades for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this season.
• Brock Nelson and the rest of the Bridgeport rookies are ready to make an impact.
• "Matthew Greene" and the rest of the Los Angeles Kings now have their names engraved onto the Stanley Cup.
• UND recruit Chris Wilkie has the pedigree to make a name for himself on the ice. Wilkie is off to a strong, albeit early, start for the USNTDP Under-17 team, having produced three points (2G, 1A) in two USHL games.

Rankings, Predictions, Etc.

A number of preseason polls and individual ballots have been released this week. Here's a rundown of those and a few other recent tidbits:

• The North Dakota men are ranked fourth nationally in the first USA Today/USA Hockey poll of the season, while they came in second in the WCHA Preseason Media Poll. Rocco Grimaldi was also tabbed as the preseason Rookie of the Year by the WCHA media. Following is a list of media poll voters who were willing to divulge their selections: Jack Hittinger (Bemidji Pioneer), Brad Schlossman (Grand Forks Herald), Bruce Ciskie (Red Rock Radio - Duluth), Chris Dilks (Western College Hockey Blog), Shane Frederick (Mankato Free Press), Joe Paisley (Paisley Hockey), Kevin Pates (Duluth News-Tribune).
• The North Dakota women have been picked to finish second in the league according to the WCHA Preseason Coach's Poll.
• In light of the now infamous UND team party, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News urges collegians to play with caution.
• Former Sioux Ryan Johnson was recently featured in a St. Louis Blues Where Are They Now Q&A.
• Former Sioux Mike Commodore finds himself in some pretty elite company on this hairy list.

Signings and Rankings

• A trio of former Sioux have recently signed contracts for the 2012-13 season. Yesterday David Toews signed with the Bakersfield Condors, where he will team up with Evan Trupp, while today it was announced that Aaron Schneekloth had re-signed with the Colorado Eagles. The Eagles now have three former Sioux on their roster in Schneekloth, Aaron Dell, and Michael Forney. Bakersfield, Colorado, and Mario Lamoureux's Ontario Reign are all in the ECHL's 8-team Western Conference, so they'll be facing off with each other on a pretty regular basis. Also signing today was Kyle Radke, who agreed to terms with the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League. For an up-to-date listing of where the Sioux in the pros are playing this season, check out The Pros page.
• North Dakota received a verbal commitment from Penticton Vee (BCHL) standout Wade Murphy yesterday. There will be more on Murphy when his Recruit Profile is posted.
• Hockey Prospectus released its Top 100 NHL Prospects. Rocco Grimaldi (No. 36), Brock Nelson (No. 67), Corban Knight (No. 69), and Derek Forbort (No. 85) all made the list.
• NHL Central Scouting released its Preliminary Watch List for the 2013 draft, and three North Dakota recruits made the cut. Luke Johnson is an A-List player, while Keaton Thompson and Adam Tambellini are B-Listers. For reference, an A-List player is considered to have first-round potential, while a B-List player is considered to be a second or third-round player. Also of note, North Dakota natives Ryan Callahan (Grafton) and Alec Rauhauser (Bismarck) were ranked as C-List players, which have the potential to be fourth to sixth-round picks, while Waterloo (USHL) defenseman Ian McCoshen is an A-Lister. McCoshen has narrowed his collegiate choices down to Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth, and North Dakota.
• Kevin Allen of the USA Today ranked his Top 10 American-born 2013 Draft Prospects and Johnson came in at number 10. Future Considerations listed 10 players to watch at the 2012 USHL Fall Classic, and Johnson came in at number 10, while Hockey Prospect listed eight players (Johnson included) that scouts will be keeping their collective eyes on at the Fall Classic.
• United States of Hockey recently previewed the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 team, and they had some nice things to say about Thompson.

Rankings and Features, Part 2

And for the second installment...

• NHL.com's "30 Teams, 30 Days" series wrapped up yesterday, and several North Dakota players past and present found their way onto the top prospect lists of their respective organizations. Here's a summary:

               Danny Kristo - No. 7 (Montreal Canadiens)
               Brad Malone - No. 5 (Colorado Avalanche)
               Jordan Schmaltz - No. 6 (St. Louis Blues)
               Rocco Grimaldi - No. 10 (Florida Panthers) 
               Brock Nelson - No. 4 (New York Islanders)
               Derek Forbort - No. 4 (Los Angeles Kings)

• Hockey Prospectus has been releasing its prospect rankings over the course of the summer, and here are the latest UND inclusions:

               Jason Gregoire - No. 10 (Winnipeg Jets)
               Brad Malone - No. 6 (Colorado Avalanche)
               Rocco Grimaldi - No. 3 (Florida Panthers)
               Corban Knight - No. 4 (Florida Panthers)

• The Montreal Canadiens' blog Habs Eyes on the Prize is in the midst of ranking Montreal's top 25 players/prospects under the age of 25, and UND star winger Danny Kristo comes in at No. 9 on the list.
• The last two editions of The Hockey News' The Hot List series have had UND interest. The most recent Hot List featured North Dakota recruiting target Ian McCoshen and newly named captain Andrew MacWilliam, while the previous edition included NoDak recruit and Fargo Force defenseman Charlie Pelnik.