Updates & Links

Jason Gregoire has opted to forgo his senior season to become an NHL free agent. Gregoire was a third round draft pick of the New York Islanders in 2007, but due to a clause in the NHL's CBA, any draftee four years removed from their draft year becomes a free agent if they do not sign a contract within 30 days of officially withdrawing from school. Gregoire and New Hampshire's Blake Kessel are the latest to use the CBA rules to their advantage, here's a little bit of analysis from the New York end (scroll down to the the third story), and are the Minnesota Wild a contender for Gregoire's services?


The Fighting Sioux have received a commitment from Michael Di Puma of the NAHL's Wenatchee Wild to play for UND beginning this fall. Di Puma will add valued roster depth at the forward spot after the early departures of Brett Hextall and Jason Gregiore and the transfers of Brett Bruneteau and Michael Cichy. Di Puma's junior numbers can be viewed right here.


Here's a video interview with 2011-12 Fighting Sioux recruit JT Miller:

The 2011 IIHF World Championships wrapped up, with Finland winning gold. Former Sioux Chris Porter suited up for Team USA while his former Sioux teammate Travis Zajac represented Canada. Both players dressed for all of their team's games, but neither player was able to leave Slovakia with a medal.

Each players tournament stats can be found below:

Team USA

Team Canada


Zajac also reacts to the possibility of the Atlanta Thrashers moving to his hometown of Winnipeg, discusses his World Championship experience, and expresses confidence that New Jersey Devil's teammate and former Sioux Zach Parise will remain a Devil in this Fire & Ice blog post.

Former Sioux Matt Smaby and the Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs following their Game 7 loss to Boston last Friday. Smaby was the last remaining Sioux on an active NHL roster this season.

In the AHL, David Hale's Binghamton Senators are taking on the Houston Aeros in the Calder Cup Finals. Hale has not participated in the playoffs due to injury, but he remains on the Senator's active roster. The series is tied at one game apiece with action set to resume Wednesday, June 1.

Former Sioux and current New Jersey Devil Zach Parise, who can become a restricted free agent this summer, has yet to have any contract discussions with the Devils. An In Lou We Trust blog post breaks down why other NHL teams may refrain from issuing a potentially pricey offer sheet to Parise. 

The Hockey News' Rumor Roundup says Parise and the Devils might be headed towards arbitration, while Chicago's offseason priorities may not include resigning former Sioux Ryan Johnson.

Current Buffalo Sabre and former Sioux Drew Stafford makes this list of ten free agents ready to see significant pay increases. 

Catching Up

After a brief hiatus, here's a couple weeks worth of updates and links...

This THN Hot List featured 2011 Sioux recruit Rocco Grimaldi.

Sioux recruit Michael Parks and his Cedar Rapids Roughriders were eliminated from the USHL’s Clark Cup playoffs Sunday. Parks finished the playoffs with 4 points (3 G, 1 A) and a +3 rating. He is expected to be on campus this fall.

Matt Smaby is the last former Sioux taking part in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Smaby has been a scratch throughout Tampa Bay’s playoff run, which resumes Saturday night against Boston.

Hunter Bishop (Hamilton Bulldogs) and David Hale (Binghamton Senators) are the only two Sioux remaining in the AHL playoffs, which have progressed to the conference finals. Binghamton eliminated Corey Fienhage and the Portland Pirates last Friday. While on the active rosters for each of their respective teams, neither Bishop nor Hale have logged any ice time this postseason.

Here’s an article from a month and a half ago featuring Jaden Schwartz's hockey playing options.  It takes a brief but interesting look at the dichotomy of Canadian major juniors versus American college.

The 2010-2011 All-USHL Teams were announced and the 1^st Team Defense pairing features 2011 recruit Nick Mattson and 2012 commit Jordan Schmaltz.

McKeen’s Hockey featured an interview with 2011 Sioux recruit JT Miller awhile back.

UND sophomore forwards Brett Bruneteau and Mike Cichy have decided to transfer. Bruneteau will be transferring to Vermont where he will be eligible immediately after completing his undergraduate work at North Dakota in just two years. More on Bruneteau and his remarkable academic accomplishment in this GF Herald article. Cichy will have to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer guidelines, and speculation has him eyeing Western Michigan as the leading transfer destination.

Goaltender Brad Eidsness has decided to play his senior year for the Fighting Sioux rather than sign a professional contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

Sioux defense recruit Charlie Pelnik was selected by Plymouth in the 7^th Round of the OHL’s Priority Selection this past weekend. Pelnik was a mid-first round pick according to this mock draft, but OHL teams perhaps grew reluctant to select him too high due to his college commitment to North Dakota.

The Fighting Sioux gained a defense recruit this week when Daniel Senkbeil (6’-4”, 185 lbs - Fremont, CA) of the NAHL’s Alaska Avalanche committed to UND. Senkbeil, who will likely come to campus this fall, was the first ever USHL Entry draft selection for the Youngstown Phantoms, who took him fifth overall in 2009. He spent 2009-10 with Youngstown and the first few games of this season with the Chicago Steel before leaving the USHL to join the Avalanche. 

And in finally getting caught up, could it be that the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers are the team destined to land in Winnipeg as the reborn Jets? It’d surely be closer to home for Roseau native and current Thrasher Dustin Byfuglien, the cousin of former Sioux Derrick Byfuglien. And now that former Sioux Dave Tippett’s Phoenix Coyotes will be staying in Arizona for at least one last season, Atlanta moves to the front burner in terms of relocation rumor.

Nick Mattson and Jordan Schmaltz Honored by USHL

North Dakota recruits Nick Mattson and Jordan Schmaltz were recently honored by the USHL for their outstanding play over the past season. Mattson was named the USHL Defenseman of the Year after an outstanding season with the Indiana Ice. He finished third overall in the league in Plus/Minus with a +33, and he was tops in the category among defensemen. He also had 6 goals to go along with 30 assists in 57 regular season games for the Ice, who were eliminated from the USHL playoffs last Saturday. Mattson (6-1, 185, Chanhassen, MN) spent two years with Indiana and was a member of the USNTDP Under-18 team that won gold at the 2009 World Championships hosted by Fargo. He is expected to join the Fighting Sioux in the fall of 2011.

Schmaltz was named to the USHL All-Rookie team after leading all league defenseman in scoring this past season. His hot play down the stretch led the Sioux City Musketeers into the Clark Clup playoffs before being eliminated by Sioux Falls in the first round. Schmaltz (6-2, 175, Verona, WI) is expected to arrive in North Dakota in 2012.

Mattson Receives Honor

USHL All-Rookie Team

THN Future Watch 2011

The Hockey News' Future Watch 2011 is on newsstands now and both North Dakota and the WCHA are well represented. Below is a summary of relevant content:

Top 50 Prospects:

Ranking - Player - Position - NHL Team - (WCHA Affiliation)

#17 - Brendan Smith - D - Detroit (Wisconsin)

#21 - Nick Leddy - D - Chicago (Minnesota)

#23 - Jaden Schwartz - C - St. Louis (Colorado College)

#26 - Nick Bjugstad - C - Florida (Minnesota)

#33 - Justin Faulk - D - Carolina (Minnesota-Duluth)

#45 - Joe Colborne - C - Boston (Denver)

#46 - Beau Bennett - RW - Pittsburgh (Denver)

#49 - Derek Forbort - D - Los Angeles (North Dakota)

Golden Comeback

Team USA After Winning Gold (Photo Courtesy of www.usahockey.com)

Team USA completed a hat trick three years in the making as it won it's third consecutive Under-18 World Championship today in Germany. After surviving a three goal comeback against Canada in yesterday's semifinals, the Americans provided their own come from behind magic today with two third period goals to rally from a 3-1 deficit and send the game into overtime. The game winner came just 6:06 into the overtime period courtesy of Connor Murphy, who finished the game with two goals and an assist.

JT Miller contributed two assists in today's gold medal game, led Team USA in scoring over the course of the tournament, and finished tied for third overall in scoring with 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in 6 games (2.17 PPG). Rocco Grimaldi had one assist today and finished the tournament with 8 points (6 Games-2 G-6 A-1.33 PPG), which tied for third on Team USA and tied for eleventh overall. Both Miller and Grimaldi are expected to join the University of North Dakota men's hockey team this fall.

Game Story

Game Sheet

Hextall Signs, Team USA U-18's To Play For Gold

UND junior winger Brett Hextall signed a two year NHL entry level contract yesterday with the Phoenix Coyotes, forgoing his senior year of collegiate eligibility. Hextall was a sixth round pick of the Coyotes in the 2008 entry draft, and his intense, energetic, and abrasive play will be missed next season.

GF Herald on the Signing


Team USA will play for the gold tomorrow afternoon against Sweden after dispatching of Canada today in the Under-18 World Championships. Team USA led 4-1 heading into the 3rd period, but Canada scored three unanswered, including two extra skater goals in the last 1:35 of regulation, to send the game into overtime. It was a short overtime period however, as Tyler Biggs (Miami-Ohio recruit) scored 4:22 into the extra session to send the Americans into the gold medal game. Sioux recruit JT Miller continued his stellar play by notching a goal and two assists in the victory while fellow UND commit Rocco Grimaldi was kept off the scoresheet.

Below is a brief interview of Miller after Team USA's prelim win over Russia earlier in the week.

Counting on Mister Kristo

For the third consecutive day the University of North Dakota received welcome news from a key underclassman.

Danny Kristo announced today that he will return to the University of North Dakota for his junior season rather than sign a professional contract with the Montreal Canadiens organization. Kristo, who was the 2010 WCHA freshman of the year, will be a key offensive player for the Sioux next season. After struggling to get the puck across the goal line early in the season, Kristo began displaying the offensive skills that have made him one of the top prospects in the Montreal system. He tallied 8 goals and 20 assists despite missing 10 games due to a severe case of frostbite.

 

Let There Be Blood...

B. Blood  (AP Photo/Grand Forks Herald, Sarah Kolberg)

As per GF Herald beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman's blog, Sioux defenseman Ben Blood will return to UND for his senior season rather than sign a professional contract. Blood's NHL rights are held by the Ottawa Senators.

The return of Blood, paired with WCHA Goaltender of the Year Aaron Dell's decision to return to UND for his junior year, will certainly make the defensive end of the ice a strength for the Sioux next season. The Sioux also return veteran defensemen Andrew MacWilliam, Derek Forbort, Dillon Simpson and Joe Gleason, while incoming recruits Nick Mattson (Indiana-USHL) and Andrew Panzarella (Waterloo-USHL) will be counted upon to contribute significant minutes as well. Mattson and Panzarella were both USHL all-stars this past season.

Force Take Pelnik; Miller & Grimaldi Propel Team USA

The Fargo Force selected North Dakota recruit Charlie (Christopher) Pelnik today in the 1st Round (10th Overall) of the USHL Futures Draft. Pelnik is a 6-4, 185 pound defenseman from Cary, NC who spent this past season with the Carolina Junior Hurricanes Midget U16 AAA team.

In the Under-18 World Championships, Team USA completed Preliminary play with a perfect 4-0 record by defeating the host team Germany 7-3 today. Rocco Grimaldi and JT Miller continued their stellar play as each Sioux recruit notched a goal and two assists. Through the four games of Prelim play, Miller leads Team USA in scoring and is fifth overall in the tournament with 8 points (3 G, 5 A) while Grimaldi is tied for 6th overall with 7 points (2 G, 5 A).

Team USA, having earned automatic passage to the semifinal round by winning Group A, will face the winner of Thursday's Canada-Germany quarterfinal matchup. Both Sweden and Canada finished Group B Preliminary play at 3-1, but Sweden earned the quarterfinal bye with a 4-2 head-to-head victory over Team Canada today. The semifinal round takes place Saturday.

 Game Sheet

Team USA Under-18's Remain Undefeated

Team USA sits at 3-0 in the Under-18 World Championships after defeating Russia today 4-3. North Dakota recruit JT Miller scored twice and Rocco Grimaldi earned an assist on the game winning goal, which came with under a minute remaining in regulation. The next action for Team USA is against tournament host Germany Tuesday afternoon. 

Game Summary/Boxscore (PDF)