Monday marked the annual NHL trade deadline.
Several current collegians saw their NHL rights traded in the leadup, including Northeastern's Tyler Madden and Denver's Slava Demin. Those are the only trades that can be made involving college players since trades don't exist between college programs.
But what if they did? What if teams contending for a national title and NCAA Tournament berth were able to add a player or two for a postseason stretch run? What if it was allowed?
It's not. (I have to say that just to reiterate this is a hypothetical exercise.) However, as I did for last year's stretch run, let's look at how teams can improve with the 2020 postseason on the horizon.
Before we begin, a few rules:
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Quick Bracketology (February 18, 2020)
With the season winding down, I decided I wanted to use my bracketology degree to post a quick NCAA men's hockey bracket on the weeks I don't post a full version on NCAA.com.
Since it's a quick version, some of the details in the selection process might be overlooked. If you need a refresher for how the committee selects the 16 teams, this Bracketology 101 article should answer everything.
Bracketology (as of February 18, 2020):
1. North Dakota (NCHC)
2. Minnesota State (WCHA)
3. Cornell (ECAC)
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. Denver
6. Boston College (Hockey East)
7. Clarkson
8. Massachusetts
9. Northeastern
10. Penn State
11. Arizona State
T-12. Bemidji State
T-12. Ohio State
14. Maine
T-15. Minnesota (Big Ten)
30. American International College (Atlantic Hockey)
In: Bemidji State, Ohio State, Minnesota
Out: UMass Lowell, Quinnipiac, Michigan State
Since it's a quick version, some of the details in the selection process might be overlooked. If you need a refresher for how the committee selects the 16 teams, this Bracketology 101 article should answer everything.
Bracketology (as of February 18, 2020):
1. North Dakota (NCHC)
2. Minnesota State (WCHA)
3. Cornell (ECAC)
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. Denver
6. Boston College (Hockey East)
7. Clarkson
8. Massachusetts
9. Northeastern
10. Penn State
11. Arizona State
T-12. Bemidji State
T-12. Ohio State
14. Maine
T-15. Minnesota (Big Ten)
30. American International College (Atlantic Hockey)
In: Bemidji State, Ohio State, Minnesota
Out: UMass Lowell, Quinnipiac, Michigan State
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Feature: Coaching Converts (Minnesota Hockey Journal)
I've wanted to write about the growing number of recent college alums returning to Minnesota and becoming high school girl's hockey head coaches.
It's been a treat to see the latest generation of players be able to inspire the next. There's a changing of the guard, which gets discussed in the feature. Of the eight players to graduate Minnesota last season, five are coaching high school hockey in one form or another. For this feature, I spoke with two - Taylor Williamson (Gophers/Wayzata) and Jackie Pieper (Gophers & Chaska/Chanhassen), along with two older alums in their first season as head coach in Paige Haley (Gophers/Northfield) and Emma Stauber (UMD & alma mater Hermantown/Proctor).
The feature is part of Minnesota Hockey Journal's February issue, which can be found at hockey rinks across the state or below online.
Online: https://www.minnesotahockeyjournal.com/news_article/show/1082520
Digital Magazine: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1200804-february-2020/21?m4=
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Thursday, January 30, 2020
December & January College Hockey Stories
I've been slow to update stories from other outlets here. It's been a busy six weeks on my end trying to pitch and find homes for features, along with real life. Hopefully, you were able to find them through the outlet or my Twitter/Facebook.
I've once again been writing weekly college hockey content for NCAA.com. Several features here developed during the offseason, such as the stock report and mailbag questions, are being published there now.
I also was fortunate to write two features reminiscing about the 2010s for USCHO. Those features were on the Big Ten and ECAC. It was nice to work with USCHO and cross off one of the only college hockey outlets where I've not previously had a byline.
There have also been multiple radio hits on WCCO discussing the Gophers and college hockey in general.
Instead of doing an individual story for each feature, I'm going to leave links to all in this one.
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If you enjoyed this blog, you can follow Nate on Twitter and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. Thanks!
I've once again been writing weekly college hockey content for NCAA.com. Several features here developed during the offseason, such as the stock report and mailbag questions, are being published there now.
I also was fortunate to write two features reminiscing about the 2010s for USCHO. Those features were on the Big Ten and ECAC. It was nice to work with USCHO and cross off one of the only college hockey outlets where I've not previously had a byline.
There have also been multiple radio hits on WCCO discussing the Gophers and college hockey in general.
Instead of doing an individual story for each feature, I'm going to leave links to all in this one.
NCAA.com
- Bracketology (December 11, 2019)
- Explaining The Bracketology Process (December 11, 2019)
- First Half Men's Hockey Awards (December 18, 2019)
- Stock Report (January 7, 2020)
- Second Half Women's Hockey Preview (January 8, 2020)
- Bracketology (January 15, 2020)
- Mailbag (January 22, 2020)
- Bracketology (January 29, 2020)
USCHO.com
--
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Wednesday, January 29, 2020
BLOG: 3 Lessons Minnesotans Can Learn From Connecticut Ice (And Vice Versa)
"We should run this tournament every year for the next 30-40-50 years," said Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold, discussing last weekend's Connecticut Ice festival.
Minnesotans know those words all too well. Six years and 1100 miles separate the same excitement at Xcel Energy Center following what was considered a successful first edition of the North Star College Cup.
Of course, the North Star College Cup no longer exists. An event meant to showcase the bonds of Minnesota's college hockey programs instead showed the cracks in its relationships. After four iterations, the schools decided to go their separate ways.
The situation's origins repeat itself in Connecticut, where the four in-state schools came together for an in-season tournament. Year 2 is guaranteed but after that, no deals have currently been made.
In a different state, the names changed with both sharing similar situations are character archetypes.
There's the longtime blue blood inMinnesota Yale. The younger program making national headway in St. Cloud State Quinnipiac. The smaller school trying to compete with others in Bemidji State Sacred Heart. The school moving into a big conference on the cusp of taking the next step yet unable in Minnesota State UConn.
Okay, that last comparison works only pre-Hastings, but you get the point.
As the only person who attended both tournaments, it's hard not to live in the similarities. There are some lessons Minnesotans can take from Connecticut's first in-state tournament and ones Connecticut can learn from the North Star College Cup's failures (RIP).
Here are three for each:
Minnesotans know those words all too well. Six years and 1100 miles separate the same excitement at Xcel Energy Center following what was considered a successful first edition of the North Star College Cup.
Of course, the North Star College Cup no longer exists. An event meant to showcase the bonds of Minnesota's college hockey programs instead showed the cracks in its relationships. After four iterations, the schools decided to go their separate ways.
The situation's origins repeat itself in Connecticut, where the four in-state schools came together for an in-season tournament. Year 2 is guaranteed but after that, no deals have currently been made.
In a different state, the names changed with both sharing similar situations are character archetypes.
There's the longtime blue blood in
Okay, that last comparison works only pre-Hastings, but you get the point.
As the only person who attended both tournaments, it's hard not to live in the similarities. There are some lessons Minnesotans can take from Connecticut's first in-state tournament and ones Connecticut can learn from the North Star College Cup's failures (RIP).
Here are three for each:
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Feature: The Future Was On Display At Inaugural Connecticut Ice Tournament
Bridgeport served as host to the inaugural Connecticut Ice festival. Webster Bank Arena, next door to P.T. Barnum's museum, brought out the three-ring circus with a weekend fully dedicated to hockey in the Nutmeg State. A new in-season tournament 15 years into the making featuring the four Division 1 men's hockey teams in the state of Connecticut saw Sacred Heart taking home the crystal trophy Sunday night.
"This would be right up near the top, if not the top," Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo said about where the weekend personally ranked for him. "Playing in an environment where you have four Connecticut schools, it's the first so that probably puts it over the top."
Connecticut Ice was the latest attempt at in-state bragging rights. Just as it exists in Boston each February. Just as it exists in Michigan in December. Just as Minnesota attempted to do for four years on the same weekend Connecticut is currently.
As those states celebrate history alongside trophies, inside Bridgeport, the future was on display. Almost out of necessity. Quinnipiac's rivalry with Yale - one showcased nationally in the 2013 national championship game - is well known. However, Sunday only marked the third time the Bobcats faced Sacred Heart since leaving Atlantic Hockey in 2005. The two schools sit 25 miles apart from one another.
"This would be right up near the top, if not the top," Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo said about where the weekend personally ranked for him. "Playing in an environment where you have four Connecticut schools, it's the first so that probably puts it over the top."
 |
| Photo Credit: Gregory Vasil/SNY |
Connecticut Ice was the latest attempt at in-state bragging rights. Just as it exists in Boston each February. Just as it exists in Michigan in December. Just as Minnesota attempted to do for four years on the same weekend Connecticut is currently.
As those states celebrate history alongside trophies, inside Bridgeport, the future was on display. Almost out of necessity. Quinnipiac's rivalry with Yale - one showcased nationally in the 2013 national championship game - is well known. However, Sunday only marked the third time the Bobcats faced Sacred Heart since leaving Atlantic Hockey in 2005. The two schools sit 25 miles apart from one another.
Monday, December 16, 2019
To a Generation, Doug Woog was Minnesota's Pride on Ice
Doug Woog once gave me directions.
In one of my first trips to Mariucci, I got lost. It happens. Beyond the ice, hockey rinks can be mazes to figure out where to enter and where you should be. Once you know the way, it can be easy. Early on, it's easy to not know where you need to go.
And Doug Woog of all people got me to where I needed.
Woog, who passed away Saturday at the age of 75 from complications to Parkinson's Disease, was around far after his coaching days at Minnesota ended in 1999. The South St. Paul native served as a commentator, an ambassador to the game and the University. Prior to that, he was a South St. Paul and Gopher player, an assistant coach at the 1984 Olympics before a 15-year career behind the Minnesota bench.
When he passed, I wrote that Minnesota hockey had lost a legend. The more I think about it, the more it undersells what Woog meant to hockey in Minnesota. For a certain generation, Doug Woog embodied hockey in Minnesota.
****
This isn't going to be full of firsthand stories. I didn't cover Woog as a coach. Plenty of people who played for him, or grew up in the South St. Paul system, or worked with Woog at Fox Sports North can do it far better than me. I don't have more than a couple dozen interactions with Woog over the years.
If that is what you're looking for, you can stop reading now and go search for those.
At the same time, it's hard to go two feet in Minnesota hockey without running into someone who has their own Doug Woog story or six. That's the impact he has made, whether it's through leading a practice, a chance meeting, annually contending for an NCAA title or being the goofy commentator during Gopher games.
Through firsthand interactions and being Minnesota's Don Cherry equivalent during the 2000s, it's tough to be a Minnesota hockey fan and not feel like you knew Doug Woog. Even if you didn't.
****
Minnesota hockey loves hockey in Minnesota. From the community aspect to the outdoor rinks to watching local players take their journey one step at a time, it's part of the fabric of the state.
The term "Minnesota's Pride on Ice" carries a dual meaning for both the past and present. On one hand, it stands for the players on the ice representing the University of Minnesota to the highest level. On the other hand, historically it stands for the journey these local players, whose game was forged on those outdoor community rinks, took dating back to the days of John Mariucci and John Mayasich.
A group of Minnesotans playing for the University of Minnesota was something Woog kept during most of his coaching tenure. At a time where the NHL had left and Gopher hockey was the highest-profile game in town, Minnesota continued to take pride in its own players.
It's the age I grew up. In hindsight, it was needed. It wouldn't - and doesn't - work today, but the 1980s and 1990s was an era when a competitive college hockey team could be made up of all-Minnesota players. (It's also not surprising Minnesota also broke through its NCAA Tournament title drought when going outside Minnesota.) A Minnesota alum coaching the Gophers to success with Minnesota players. Year-in and year-out the team came close before a pipe or a highlight-reel goal ended the run.
To that generation who grew up needing to understand Minnesota hockey at the highest level without the NHL, Woog was there. He was there for them too as a commentator.
****
The last time I saw Doug Woog, it was for Bob Motzko's introductory press conference. The disease had certainly taken a toll. Fittingly, South St. Paul had already named their community rink after Woog as an honor. Still, three generations of Minnesota head coaches were there, as both Woog and Don Lucia, nearly 850 wins with the Gophers between them, sat down to watch their successor take over.
This day the directions were for a new era of Minnesota hockey. However, the fact he was there is a reminder the job is never over.
What Woog did for Minnesota - continuing what Mariucci and Maysich accomplished, what Herb Brooks added and helped grow, what continues today throughout the state - cannot be understated. In various roles, the impact Doug Woog had on Minnesota hockey should be mentioned among those.
Thanks to Woog, a generation exists of hockey people who now know where to go.
--
If you enjoyed this blog, you can follow Nate on Twitter and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. Thanks!
In one of my first trips to Mariucci, I got lost. It happens. Beyond the ice, hockey rinks can be mazes to figure out where to enter and where you should be. Once you know the way, it can be easy. Early on, it's easy to not know where you need to go.
And Doug Woog of all people got me to where I needed.
Woog, who passed away Saturday at the age of 75 from complications to Parkinson's Disease, was around far after his coaching days at Minnesota ended in 1999. The South St. Paul native served as a commentator, an ambassador to the game and the University. Prior to that, he was a South St. Paul and Gopher player, an assistant coach at the 1984 Olympics before a 15-year career behind the Minnesota bench.
When he passed, I wrote that Minnesota hockey had lost a legend. The more I think about it, the more it undersells what Woog meant to hockey in Minnesota. For a certain generation, Doug Woog embodied hockey in Minnesota.
****
This isn't going to be full of firsthand stories. I didn't cover Woog as a coach. Plenty of people who played for him, or grew up in the South St. Paul system, or worked with Woog at Fox Sports North can do it far better than me. I don't have more than a couple dozen interactions with Woog over the years.
If that is what you're looking for, you can stop reading now and go search for those.
At the same time, it's hard to go two feet in Minnesota hockey without running into someone who has their own Doug Woog story or six. That's the impact he has made, whether it's through leading a practice, a chance meeting, annually contending for an NCAA title or being the goofy commentator during Gopher games.
Through firsthand interactions and being Minnesota's Don Cherry equivalent during the 2000s, it's tough to be a Minnesota hockey fan and not feel like you knew Doug Woog. Even if you didn't.
****
Minnesota hockey loves hockey in Minnesota. From the community aspect to the outdoor rinks to watching local players take their journey one step at a time, it's part of the fabric of the state.
The term "Minnesota's Pride on Ice" carries a dual meaning for both the past and present. On one hand, it stands for the players on the ice representing the University of Minnesota to the highest level. On the other hand, historically it stands for the journey these local players, whose game was forged on those outdoor community rinks, took dating back to the days of John Mariucci and John Mayasich.
A group of Minnesotans playing for the University of Minnesota was something Woog kept during most of his coaching tenure. At a time where the NHL had left and Gopher hockey was the highest-profile game in town, Minnesota continued to take pride in its own players.
It's the age I grew up. In hindsight, it was needed. It wouldn't - and doesn't - work today, but the 1980s and 1990s was an era when a competitive college hockey team could be made up of all-Minnesota players. (It's also not surprising Minnesota also broke through its NCAA Tournament title drought when going outside Minnesota.) A Minnesota alum coaching the Gophers to success with Minnesota players. Year-in and year-out the team came close before a pipe or a highlight-reel goal ended the run.
To that generation who grew up needing to understand Minnesota hockey at the highest level without the NHL, Woog was there. He was there for them too as a commentator.
****
The last time I saw Doug Woog, it was for Bob Motzko's introductory press conference. The disease had certainly taken a toll. Fittingly, South St. Paul had already named their community rink after Woog as an honor. Still, three generations of Minnesota head coaches were there, as both Woog and Don Lucia, nearly 850 wins with the Gophers between them, sat down to watch their successor take over.
This day the directions were for a new era of Minnesota hockey. However, the fact he was there is a reminder the job is never over.
What Woog did for Minnesota - continuing what Mariucci and Maysich accomplished, what Herb Brooks added and helped grow, what continues today throughout the state - cannot be understated. In various roles, the impact Doug Woog had on Minnesota hockey should be mentioned among those.
Thanks to Woog, a generation exists of hockey people who now know where to go.
--
If you enjoyed this blog, you can follow Nate on Twitter and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. Thanks!
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