Showing posts with label Travis Zajac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travis Zajac. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2013

Friday Morning Post

  • UND senior captain Dillon Simpson was named one of twenty candidates for the Lowes Senior CLASS Award.
  • Freshman Gage Ausmus has settled into the role of the physical, stay-at-home defenseman early on in his UND career.
  • The Dakota Student says sophomore forward Drake Caggiula bounced back nicely from the neck injury he sustained in the exhibition win over the NTDP U-18 team.
  • After a one year hiatus, North Dakota and Wisconsin will resume their long-standing rivalry next season with a weekend series in Madison.
  • Those who are unable to make it to Omaha for this weekend's series against Nebraska-Omaha can watch UNO's webcast of the games through a UND Insider subscription.
  • TJ Oshie is off to the best start of his NHL career, and part of his success may be the result of him becoming more of a student of the game.
  • Drew Stafford and Buffalo have struggled out of the gates this season, but the Sabres winger hopes to reverse the slow start.
  • The achievments Chicago Blackhawk captain Jonathan Toews have made a big impression on President Obama.
  • Sioux alum Travis Zajac is off to a bit of a slow start this season for the New Jersey Devils and on Halloween a trick-or-treater told him as much.
  • The voting for the AJHL's All-Time Top 50 players continues, and up for vote this go-round are Sioux alums Dixon Ward, Garry Valk, Geoff Smith, Teeder Wynne and UND head coach Dave Hakstol.
  • The Sioux City Journal published a great feature on recruit Trevor Olson (Sioux City-USHL), detailing the hip injury he's played through this season. Following this weekend's games he will undergo surgery in order to be fully prepared for his freshman season at UND next fall. The Musketeer captain is well-respected amongst his teammates and he sounds like quite the gamer. In a best-case scenario Sioux City, which is 9-0 with Olson in the lineup and 1-2 without him, could get their captain back towards the end of the season.
  • Women's Four Nations Cup: The Lamoureux twins and Team USA will wrap up pool play tonight when they face Michelle Karvinen and Susanna Tapani's Finland squad at 6:00 CST. The Americans are 1-1 after their 4-2 defeat at the hands of arch-rival Canada. Finland is also 1-1 in pool play. Johanna Fallman and Team Sweden will be looking to pick up their first victory of the tournament when they play Canada this afternoon at 2:30 CST.
  • World Junior A Challenge: UND's recruits playing in the World Junior A Challenge will resume play today when the semifinals get underway. Rhett Gardner and Canada West will take on Russia at 2:00 CST while Team USA, featuring recruits Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Mantha, and Austin Poganski, will take on Switzerland at 6:00 CST. Through two games, Schmaltz is tied for the tournament lead with six points (2G, 4A) and has earned the praise of NHL Central Scouting's Carl Edwards. Gardner, meanwhile, has yet to find the scoresheet, but his defensive efforts on the penalty kill have helped thrust Canada West into the semifinals.
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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Thursday Morning Post

  • Due to this season's conference realignment, USCHO says a new generation is now born in men's college hockey.
  • Valley News Live says UND is heading into both a new season and a new era.
  • The Herald examines the local connections on this season's team.
  • The United States of Hockey previews some of the nation's impact freshmen, and UND's Wade Murphy, Gage Ausmus, and Adam Tambellini are all included.
  • Gab Fundaro of The Hockey Writers says the UND women have enough depth and talent to potentially make a run at the Frozen Four.
  • Travis Zajac will be wearing the A as an alternate captain for New Jersey this season, while TJ Oshie is expected to be named an alternate captain for St. Louis. They join Jonathan Toews (C - Chicago), Matt Greene (A - Los Angeles), and Zach Parise (A - Minnesota) as Sioux alums wearing letters in the NHL. Drew Stafford is no longer serving as an alternate captain for Buffalo.
  • The Minnesota Wild season begins tonight against Los Angeles with Zach Parise and company wanting more for an encore to last season's first round playoff exit.
  • The AJHL has opened voting in an effort to determine their Top 50 All-Time Players, and there is a big Sioux presence (including current captain Dillon Simpson) in the opening round of voting. 
  • Matt Greene was a guest DJ for KCRW this week. Take a listen to his set.
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Monday, September 30, 2013

Monday Morning Post

  • After establishing himself as more than just a long shot to make Philadelphia's opening night roster, Chris VandeVelde was the last forward cut made by the Flyers. He came into camp on an AHL deal and nearly parlayed it into an NHL contract. He will begin the season playing with Philly's AHL affiliate in Adirondack.
  • The New Jersey Devils have lost two of the world's best players over the past two seasons in Ilya Kovulchuk and Zach Parise. Their success this season will be greatly impacted by how strong Travis Zajac and the rest of their centermen play down the middle.
  • Despite being signed to a two-year, one-way contract in the offseason, Chris Porter was placed on waivers by the St. Louis Blues this weekend. Porter really established himself during the playoffs last season as part of the Blues' "CPR" line, but he ended up getting caught up in a numbers game during training camp. After clearing waivers, Porter will begin the season in the AHL.
  • TJ Oshie had a strong preseason camp for St. Louis while changing his spots in the locker room.
  • Brock Nelson proved he belongs in the NHL following a very good preseason. We'll find out today if he makes the Islanders' opening night roster.
  • Over the weekend Sioux alum JP Lamoureux was inducted into the Lincoln Stars (USHL) Hall of Fame.
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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Thursday Morning Post


Former Player Updates:
Recruit Updates:
  • UND received a big verbal commitment this week from Christian Cakebread of the Fargo Force, a 1997-born forward who comes out of the Arizona Bobcat AAA program.
  • Recruits Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Mantha, and Shane Gersich are all set to take part in tonight's All-American Prospects game in Pittsburgh (6:00 PM CDT start). Austin Poganski was originally scheduled to participate as well, but a minor injury will keep him out of the lineup. The United States of Hockey has a preview of the event, which can be viewed free of charge via FastHockey.
  • The NHL's Central Scouting Service released its Preliminary Watch List for the 2014 NHL Draft, and a handful of North Dakota recruits are on the NHL's radar. Nick Schmaltz is listed as an A Skater (potential first round pick), Ryan Mantha, Austin Poganski, and Chris Wilkie are listed as B Skaters (potential second to third round picks), and Rhett Gardner and Shane Gersich are C Skaters (potential fourth round and later picks).
  • Schmaltz came in at number 13 on Bob McKenzie's 2014 NHL Draft Preseason Report.
  • Charlie Pelnik is expected spend the next couple of seasons playing for the Langley Rivermen (BCHL).
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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sunday Afternoon Post

  • The Edmonton Journal says that North Dakota senior Dillon Simpson has worked his way into becoming a solid Oiler prospect who possesses top-four NHL potential as a complete defenseman. 
  • Sioux alums Zach Parise, Jonathan Toews, and TJ Oshie are among the Canadian and American Olympic hopefuls who will be attending Olympic orientation camps this week. Parise and Toews are all but locks to appear in their second consecutive Olympic tournament, while Oshie is a player who, with a strong NHL first half, could earn his way onto Team USA as a bottom six winger. This week's orientation camps will not include any on-ice activity for either nation as the cost of insuring the attendees' NHL contracts is too great.
  • As part of its "30 in 30" series, NHL.com says Travis Zajac is the New Jersey Devils' X-Factor and that he must produce offensively for the Devils to achieve team success this season. His importance to the team became even more important when star winger Ilya Kovalchuk opted to return home to Russia to play in the KHL. 
  • Former Sioux defenseman Aaron Schneekloth has opted to retire after twelve professional seasons. Schneekloth, the ECHL's Defenseman of the Year just two seasons ago, will remain with the ECHL's Colorado Eagles as an assistant coach. He spent the final seven seasons of his career with Colorado.
  • According to a German sports website, former Sioux goaltender Jordan Parise is retiring after seven professional seasons. He spent last season with Valpellice of the Italian elite league, posting a 2.87 GAA and .906 save percentage.
  • The Los Angeles Kings Rookie Camp starts next Wednesday (Sept 4) and Derek Forbort will be in attendance. While he is expected to spend this season with Manchester (AHL), Kings executive Mike O'Connell says he expects Forbort to play with bigger goals in mind.
  • North Dakota goaltending commit Cam Johnson was interviewed during the Fargo Force (USHL) tryout camp this week. Here's the video of the brief interview:

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Friday, March 1, 2013

Friday Morning Coffee

  • Former Sioux captain Chris Porter became the 12th Sioux alum to play in the NHL this season when he made his season debut for the St. Louis Blues last night. Porter, TJ Oshie, and the rest of his teammates were singin' the Blues last night as they became the latest victim in the Chicago Blackhawks' historic start. Jonathan Toews scored twice in helping the 'Hawks earn at least one point in their 20th consecutive game. Chicago has not suffered a regular season regulation loss in nearly one calendar year, a stretch that dates back to March 26 of last season, and leading the way for the Blackhawks is a core of young stars.
  • Travis Zajac played in his native Winnipeg last night for the first time as a professional, but the Devils were handed a 3-1 loss by the hometown Jets.
  • Matt Frattin's NHL season was off to a fine start prior to being sidelined by minor knee surgery. He's on his way to a full recovery, but it will still be a few days before he returns to the lineup.
  • Mike Commodore has yet to find an NHL home this season, but he's been trying to keep sharp by skating with an Alberta college team.
  • It's a couple of months old, but former Sioux fan favorite Rastislav Spirko took part in a nice Q&A in which he talked about his time at North Dakota.
  • Brett Hextall recently displayed his boxing skills in what was an impressive scrap:

 
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

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.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

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. 
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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Corban Knight, A Center of Attention

Corban Knight's prowess at the faceoff dot is well known among North Dakota hockey fans. As a sophomore, Knight set the UND single-season record by winning 59.9% of his draws, and he has a career faceoff success rate of 59.1%. Included in those career numbers is the 58.7% clip he recorded last season while playing a good portion of the season with a broken hand. That's right. Not even a broken hand could deter Knight's faceoff dominance. In UND's two recent exhibition games, the senior centerman won an astounding 78.3% (36 of 46) of his draws. So how do his numbers compare to those of UND's recent notable centers? Take a look below.

*Just a couple of notes on the numbers:
The "% Taken" column represents the percentage of the team's draws the player took, while the "Team Rank" column represents where the player's individual Faceoff Percentage ranked on the team (a player must have taken at least 10% of the team's faceoffs to qualify for the Team Rank).

Also, this comparison only dates back to the 2004-05 season. Otherwise, Zach Parise would be very prominently featured as he was very good in the faceoff circle. As a sophomore in 2003-04 Parise won 59.1% of his draws, but the numbers from his freshman year were not readily available, thus his exclusion from this comparison.

Travis Zajac
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (04-05)
485
363
848
0.572
27.7%
1624
1442
3066
0.530
1
SO (05-06)
649
502
1151
0.564
36.4%
1642
1520
3162
0.519
1
Career
1134
865
1999
0.567
32.1%
3266
2962
6228
0.524
-

Travis Zajac is currently one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, much like he was while at North Dakota. What's particularly impressive about Zajac's numbers is that he was the primary faceoff man for North Dakota from day one, taking nearly a third of UND's faceoffs during his two years with the Sioux. His workload as a sophomore (he took 36.4% of the team's draws) is topped only by Knight's 37.2% last season. Of course, Knight missed three games a year ago, and his pro-rated "% Taken" number would have been 40% had he played every game. Zajac's 649 total faceoff wins as a sophomore is the highest total of anyone in this comparison. Knight won 581 draws as a junior, and if he's healthy I'd expect him to threaten Zajac's number this season.

Jonathan Toews
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (05-06)
204
162
366
0.557
11.6%
1642
1520
3162
0.519
2
SO (06-07)
443
332
775
0.572
26.2%
1541
1421
2962
0.520
2
Career
647
494
1141
0.567
18.6%
3183
2941
6124
0.520
-

Like Zajac, Jonathan Toews is one of the NHL's best at winning faceoffs. During his two year stint at North Dakota, he won 56.7% of his draws while taking 18.6% of the team's faceoffs. Interestingly, Toews was never the top faceoff man for the Sioux. As a freshman he was second to Zajac in faceoff percentage while as a sophomore he was bested by T.J. Oshie.

T.J. Oshie
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (05-06)
154
139
293
0.526
9.3%
1642
1520
3162
0.519
-
SO (06-07)
190
134
324
0.586
10.9%
1541
1421
2962
0.520
1
JR (07-08)
343
273
616
0.557
21.9%
1452
1356
2808
0.517
1
Career
687
546
1233
0.557
13.8%
4635
4297
8932
0.519
-

T.J. Oshie played on the wing for a good portion of his UND career, much like he does with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, but when he took to the faceoff dot he was very effective. His 58.6% success rate as a sophomore is the highest in this comparison aside from Knight's sophomore and junior seasons. One caveat to Oshie's numbers as a sophomore is the relatively small number of draws he took. Taking 10.9% of the team's faceoffs very narrowly qualified him for the Team Ranking as he played right wing much more frequently than he played down the middle.

Chris VandeVelde
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (06-07)
152
130
282
0.539
9.5%
1541
1421
2962
0.520
-
SO (07-08)
366
299
665
0.550
23.7%
1452
1356
2808
0.517
2
JR (08-09)
479
384
863
0.555
29.5%
1510
1413
2923
0.517
1
SR (09-10)
477
403
880
0.542
32.4%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
3
Career
1474
1216
2690
0.548
23.6%
5963
5443
11406
0.523
-

Chris VandeVelde was one of UND's main faceoff men over the entire span of his four year career, taking 23.6% of the team's faceoffs from 2006-07 to 2009-10. And for as prolific as he was, he was equally consistent. During his career he won 54.8% of his draws, and the lowest percentage of his career came as a freshman when he won 53.9%.

Brad Malone
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (07-08)
36
27
63
0.571
2.2%
1452
1356
2808
0.517
-
SO (08-09)
199
204
403
0.494
13.8%
1510
1413
2923
0.517
4
JR (09-10)
360
268
628
0.573
23.1%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
1
SR (10-11)
490
359
849
0.577
31.6%
1514
1175
2689
0.563
2
Career
1085
858
1943
0.558
17.5%
5936
5197
11133
0.533
-

Brad Malone developed into a very good faceoff man during his four year Sioux career. Just a 50% centerman through his first two seasons, Malone topped 57% during both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior he led UND with a 57.3% success rate, while his career-best 57.7% rate as a senior was second on the team, bested only by Knight's single-season school record 59.9%.  

Mario Lamoureux
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (08-09)
18
24
42
0.429
1.4%
1510
1413
2923
0.517
-
SO (09-10)
79
69
148
0.534
5.5%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
4
JR (10-11)
252
201
453
0.556
16.8%
1514
1175
2689
0.563
1
SR (11-12)
236
176
412
0.573
15.5%
1441
1221
2662
0.541
2
Career
585
470
1055
0.555
9.6%
5925
5062
10987
0.539
-

Mario Lamoureux took a limited number of draws as a freshman and sophomore, but as an upperclassman he was one of the top faceoff men for the Fighting Sioux. His 57.3% mark as a senior ranks as UND's sixth best single-season percentage since the 2004-05 season.

Corban Knight
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (09-10)
73
53
126
0.579
4.6%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
-
SO (10-11)
469
314
783
0.599
29.1%
1514
1175
2689
0.563
1
JR (11-12)
581
409
990
0.587
37.2%
1441
1221
2662
0.541
1
Career
1123
776
1899
0.591
23.5%
4415
3649
8064
0.547
-

Knight's numbers are fantastic across the board. He's assumed a heavy faceoff workload, and as mentioned earlier, his career success rate is a sterling 59.1%.

Below is a summary of the top single-season and career faceoff numbers:

Top 10 Single-Season FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12
Player FO % Year
1. Corban Knight 59.9 2010-11
2. Corban Knight 58.7 2011-12
3. T.J. Oshie 58.6 2006-07
4. Brad Malone 57.7 2010-11
5. Brad Malone 57.3 2009-10
6. Mario Lamoureux 57.3 2011-12
7. Travis Zajac 57.2 2004-05
8. Jonathan Toews 57.2 2006-07
9. Travis Zajac 56.4 2005-06
10. Jonathan Toews 55.7 2005-06
10. T.J. Oshie 55.7 2007-08

Top 5 Career FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12
Player FO %
            Years
1. Corban Knight 59.1 2009-10 to 2011-12
2. Travis Zajac 56.7 2004-05 to 2005-06
3. Jonathan Toews 56.7 2005-06 to 2006-07
4. Brad Malone 55.8 2007-08 to 2010-11
5. T.J. Oshie 55.3 2005-06 to 2007-08


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