Throughout the summer, a building under construction greets me each morning, smiling with glass windows for teeth as it stands over the rest of the skyline.
It’s surrounded by some of the nicest buildings in town, many of which are newly completed. A pair have seen their best days after being recently overhauled, reaching new heights and reputations. One is making the most of its latest name change. Another nearby building seems to be the envy of the neighborhood and town. That one is an old friend who keeps winning awards and enjoying being considered the model building of both the area and town. All of them are moving on yet continue to judge themselves against the one currently under construction.
As the neighborhood continues to undergo changes, it joins a town where new, splashy buildings making an immediate impact on the scene mixed with some forgotten ones finding a renaissance, growing in favor.
Construction has made the skyline unrecognizable from the beginning of the decade. Many of the ones who perennially grab attention have been overshadowed and dropped off lists as new tastes emerge, challenging the old guard. Several of those buildings are making cosmetic and wholesale changes to keep up with the rest of the neighborhood.
That’s been the case for the building which greets me. Scaffolding exists, along with a crane and an observation deck devoid of people in its second year of renovations. Signs of change slowly appear on its young face.
Obviously, 600 words are not enough to preview Minnesota’s 2019-20 season and the job Bob Motzko is doing in Dinkytown. The Gophers enter Motzko’s second year as head coach still a work in progress with 12 newcomers in a group that’s largely of his own choosing. By age the youngest D1 men’s hockey team on average and by size the biggest, they add to a team which finished 7-2 over its final 9 games and third in the Big Ten. At the same time, Minnesota missed its second consecutive NCAA Tournament and third in the past four years after a run of six straight Big Ten and WCHA regular-season championships.
Let’s break it down more in-depth.
Showing posts with label Ryan Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Johnson. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Monday, June 24, 2019
NHL Draft 2019: On Early Recruiting and The Top Players At 16 Not Always Being The Top Players At 18
After being selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Ryan Johnson joined an elite group that includes Ryan Poehling, Riley Tufte, Kieffer Bellows, and Brock Boeser.
They are the rare players chosen in the USHL Phase 1 Draft first round who also went in the NHL Draft's first round.
In an age of early recruiting, one of the reasons teams give for getting verbal commitments at 14 and 15 is a need to get the best players. And yet the best players at 15 or 16, when USHL teams select players for the Phase 1 Draft, are not always the top hockey players at 18. There remains plenty of time for development.
They are the rare players chosen in the USHL Phase 1 Draft first round who also went in the NHL Draft's first round.
In an age of early recruiting, one of the reasons teams give for getting verbal commitments at 14 and 15 is a need to get the best players. And yet the best players at 15 or 16, when USHL teams select players for the Phase 1 Draft, are not always the top hockey players at 18. There remains plenty of time for development.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
NHL Draft 2019: Ryan Johnson leads 7 Gopher Draft Picks
Minnesota incoming freshman defenseman Ryan Johnson had to wait until the final pick of Friday night's first round, but it was worth it to become the 21st Gopher to be an NHL Draft first round pick.
Buffalo selected the Irvine, California native with the 31st pick in the 2019 NHL Draft as Johnson was the first of (#) University of Minnesota players and commits selected this weekend. That is the most Gophers chosen in a single NHL Draft since a record nine players were in 2007.
The Sabres, using a pick by the St. Louis Blues, continue to go to the Minnesota well. Johnson marks the sixth Gopher - and second in three years following Casey Mittelstadt - to be selected in the first round by Buffalo in franchise history. Buffalo went back to the well three rounds later, selecting Roseau forward Aaron Huglen with the 102nd overall pick.
Fellow incoming freshman defenseman Jackson LaCombe did not need to wait long Saturday. LaCombe lasted eight picks before Anaheim selected the Eden Prairie, MN native with the 39th overall pick. It's the second consecutive year that a Gopher went to the Ducks after Anaheim chose forward Blake McLaughlin in 2018.
Johnson and LaCombe mark the first time multiple Gophers went in the top two rounds since 2010.
A pair of Chaska (MN-HS) and future Minnesota teammates were drafted 15 picks apart from one another in the fifth round. Forward Rhett Pitlick became the third member of his immediate family to be drafted after father Lance and brother Rem when the Montreal Canadiens chose Pitlick the younger with the 131st pick. Defenseman Mike Koster went to another Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the 146th pick. (A Gopher connection: Former assistant coach Scott Bell is now Toronto's amateur scout in Minnesota.)
Both players, as well as Huglen, won't be on campus until 2020. Pitlick will play for Omaha (USHL). Koster will play for the Tri-City Storm (USHL). Huglen will play for Fargo (USHL).
Sophomore defenseman Ben Brinkman, in his first year of eligibility, became the first Gopher drafted by Dallas in 12 years when the Stars selected the Edina native in the sixth round. Brinkman, college hockey's youngest player last season, came onto his own as the year went along and earned more responsibility under head coach Bob Motzko. He finished with 7 points (1G-6A) in 38 games.
Philadelphia used its final pick in the seventh round on 2019 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Bryce Brodzinski. The Blaine native is the third of his brothers to be drafted after both Jonny and Michael were selected seven picks apart in 2013.
Johnson, LaCombe, Brinkman and Brodzinski will join nine other Minnesota teammates this fall in being NHL draft picks.
-Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks (Round 2, Pick 39)
-Aaron Huglen, Buffalo Sabres (Round 4, Pick 102)*
-Rhett Pitlick, Montreal Canadiens (Round 5, Pick 131)*
-Mike Koster, Toronto Maple Leafs (Round 5, Pick 146)*
-Ben Brinkman, Dallas Stars (Round 6, 173)
-Bryce Brodzinski, Philadelphia Flyers (Round 7, Pick 196)
*Not expected until 2020-21
Buffalo selected the Irvine, California native with the 31st pick in the 2019 NHL Draft as Johnson was the first of (#) University of Minnesota players and commits selected this weekend. That is the most Gophers chosen in a single NHL Draft since a record nine players were in 2007.
The Sabres, using a pick by the St. Louis Blues, continue to go to the Minnesota well. Johnson marks the sixth Gopher - and second in three years following Casey Mittelstadt - to be selected in the first round by Buffalo in franchise history. Buffalo went back to the well three rounds later, selecting Roseau forward Aaron Huglen with the 102nd overall pick.
Fellow incoming freshman defenseman Jackson LaCombe did not need to wait long Saturday. LaCombe lasted eight picks before Anaheim selected the Eden Prairie, MN native with the 39th overall pick. It's the second consecutive year that a Gopher went to the Ducks after Anaheim chose forward Blake McLaughlin in 2018.
Johnson and LaCombe mark the first time multiple Gophers went in the top two rounds since 2010.
A pair of Chaska (MN-HS) and future Minnesota teammates were drafted 15 picks apart from one another in the fifth round. Forward Rhett Pitlick became the third member of his immediate family to be drafted after father Lance and brother Rem when the Montreal Canadiens chose Pitlick the younger with the 131st pick. Defenseman Mike Koster went to another Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the 146th pick. (A Gopher connection: Former assistant coach Scott Bell is now Toronto's amateur scout in Minnesota.)
Both players, as well as Huglen, won't be on campus until 2020. Pitlick will play for Omaha (USHL). Koster will play for the Tri-City Storm (USHL). Huglen will play for Fargo (USHL).
Sophomore defenseman Ben Brinkman, in his first year of eligibility, became the first Gopher drafted by Dallas in 12 years when the Stars selected the Edina native in the sixth round. Brinkman, college hockey's youngest player last season, came onto his own as the year went along and earned more responsibility under head coach Bob Motzko. He finished with 7 points (1G-6A) in 38 games.
Philadelphia used its final pick in the seventh round on 2019 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Bryce Brodzinski. The Blaine native is the third of his brothers to be drafted after both Jonny and Michael were selected seven picks apart in 2013.
Johnson, LaCombe, Brinkman and Brodzinski will join nine other Minnesota teammates this fall in being NHL draft picks.
Minnesota Gophers Draft Picks:
-Ryan Johnson, Buffalo Sabres (Round 1, Pick 31)-Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks (Round 2, Pick 39)
-Aaron Huglen, Buffalo Sabres (Round 4, Pick 102)*
-Rhett Pitlick, Montreal Canadiens (Round 5, Pick 131)*
-Mike Koster, Toronto Maple Leafs (Round 5, Pick 146)*
-Ben Brinkman, Dallas Stars (Round 6, 173)
-Bryce Brodzinski, Philadelphia Flyers (Round 7, Pick 196)
*Not expected until 2020-21
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If you enjoyed this blog, you can follow Nate on Twitter and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. Thanks!
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
NHL Draft 2019: University of Minnesota Players To Watch & Draft Primer
It could come on Friday. It could come on Saturday. At the very least, the University of Minnesota will see at least one player selected for the 45th time in the past 46 NHL Drafts.
In fact, there will probably be more this weekend.
After 2018 saw a pair of incoming Minnesota freshmen selected on back-to-back third-round picks and little else, the 2019 NHL Draft should be a big one for the Gophers. 11 current and future Gophers are ranked by NHL Central Scouting, which acts as a hypothetical 32nd team. Many of those will not be on campus until 2020-21 or later.
Being ranked does not mean a player will be selected (and vice versa as players not on Central Scouting's list get selected every year). It's a guide, more than anything. No matter what happens in Vancouver, there are several positive takeaways entering Bob Motzko's second year as Gopher head coach that the team has been missing in recent years.
In fact, there will probably be more this weekend.
After 2018 saw a pair of incoming Minnesota freshmen selected on back-to-back third-round picks and little else, the 2019 NHL Draft should be a big one for the Gophers. 11 current and future Gophers are ranked by NHL Central Scouting, which acts as a hypothetical 32nd team. Many of those will not be on campus until 2020-21 or later.
Being ranked does not mean a player will be selected (and vice versa as players not on Central Scouting's list get selected every year). It's a guide, more than anything. No matter what happens in Vancouver, there are several positive takeaways entering Bob Motzko's second year as Gopher head coach that the team has been missing in recent years.
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