#1 2022-23 recruit commits to the U

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bonin21

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The #1 recruit in the class and potential #1 overall draft pick this year, Logan Cooley, flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to the Gophers today.

This is after the Gophers just got a potential top 10 draft pick for 2023-24 in Oliver Moore.

If I had to give some star ratings to the strong pipeline the Gophers have right now:
5* Logan Cooley (2022)
5* Jimmy Snuggerud (2022)
5* Oliver Moore (2023)
4.5-5* Ryan Chesley (2022)
4.5* Sam Rinzel (2023)
4* Jimmy Clark (2023)
4* Cruz Lucius (2022)
4* Brody Lamb (2023)
 



bonin21 said:
The #1 recruit in the class and potential #1 overall draft pick this year, Logan Cooley, flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to the Gophers today.

This is after the Gophers just got a potential top 10 draft pick for 2023-24 in Oliver Moore.

If I had to give some star ratings to the strong pipeline the Gophers have right now:
5* Logan Cooley (2022)
5* Jimmy Snuggerud (2022)
5* Oliver Moore (2023)
4.5-5* Ryan Chesley (2022)
4.5* Sam Rinzel (2023)
4* Jimmy Clark (2023)
4* Cruz Lucius (2022)
4* Brody Lamb (2023)
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If all that talent actually leads to some level of consistent, on-ice performance, I'm all for these "great" recruits. But I've gotten to the point of "prove it" when it comes to hyping anything regarding Gopher men's hockey. All the rest of this is just noise.
 

MRJ said:
If all that talent actually leads to some level of consistent, on-ice performance, I'm all for these "great" recruits. But I've gotten to the point of "prove it" when it comes to hyping anything regarding Gopher men's hockey. All the rest of this is just noise.
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Fair enough, but we haven't recruited at this level in probably over 10 years. We were a borderline top 5 team in the country last year and despite a very disappointing first half now find ourselves #5 in the pairwise. There is some warranted hype.
 


Gophers1992 said:
Fair enough, but we haven't recruited at this level in probably over 10 years. We were a borderline top 5 team in the country last year and despite a very disappointing first half now find ourselves #5 in the pairwise. There is some warranted hype.
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That is also fair. I'm only speaking from recent experience. Hope springs eternal.
 



This is great news, but like other posters here I'm reserving judgment. There's been tons of top recruits here that have failed to hang a championship banner. Thomas Vanek was the last to do it, but even he had Ballard, Potulny, etc. to help. I'm not ready to write off this year yet, though. Maybe, just maybe, Cooley will help the Gophers defend their title next year.

I think this speaks more about where top recruits think the U is as a hockey program. There's been plenty of discussion on the Big Ten Conference, lagging attendance, etc. Apparently that big, maroon M is still very appealing.
 



UncleSam'sMisguidedChild said:
This is great news, but like other posters here I'm reserving judgment. There's been tons of top recruits here that have failed to hang a championship banner. Thomas Vanek was the last to do it, but even he had Ballard, Potulny, etc. to help. I'm not ready to write off this year yet, though. Maybe, just maybe, Cooley will help the Gophers defend their title next year.

I think this speaks more about where top recruits think the U is as a hockey program. There's been plenty of discussion on the Big Ten Conference, lagging attendance, etc. Apparently that big, maroon M is still very appealing.
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Fair enough, but this isn't just another top recruit. This is our best recruit since Phil Kessel or Erik Johnson.

You're dead on in your second part though. People want to act like this program is dead, but we are far from it.
 

It will be interesting to see if our Olympians come back and for how long. We also need some top-level recruits, but they will leave early. However, we need a bunch of solid players who will play four years and glue it all together. It certainly is a juggling job to blend it all.
 

Gophers1992 said:
Fair enough, but this isn't just another top recruit. This is our best recruit since Phil Kessel or Erik Johnson.

You're dead on in your second part though. People want to act like this program is dead, but we are far from it.
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I realize he's even more highly touted than Mittlestadt, Okposo, etc., and I'm sure he'll be as advertised. I just hope he's able to help bring a very large trophy here, which is something all those other top-ten picks couldn't do. Until then, my Minnesota sports fan genes won't let me get overly excited.
 




bonin21 said:
The #1 recruit in the class and potential #1 overall draft pick this year, Logan Cooley, flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to the Gophers today.

This is after the Gophers just got a potential top 10 draft pick for 2023-24 in Oliver Moore.

If I had to give some star ratings to the strong pipeline the Gophers have right now:
5* Logan Cooley (2022)
5* Jimmy Snuggerud (2022)
5* Oliver Moore (2023)
4.5-5* Ryan Chesley (2022)
4.5* Sam Rinzel (2023)
4* Jimmy Clark (2023)
4* Cruz Lucius (2022)
4* Brody Lamb (2023)
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I want a name like that. But, for now I'll stick with mine..............
 

Happy to hear Logan Cooley flipped. Have to think that he saw what "Bob" was doing and who is coming in. Meanwhile, we've got to finish the year strong.
 

I know some $ alums never got over Lucia hosting the ND fundraiser.
 




DanvilleGopher said:
The Don was around 5-10 years too long BUT I had never heard that before! Shocking; I mean his kid played for ND, but his allegiance should never have fallen anywhere near that direction.
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5-10 years? No. 2-3 years too long is more like it. He went to a national championship game in 2014.
 

I beg to differ; but you can go back and look at his record yourself. He very much underwhelmed for 4+ years prior to making it to the final in 2014 so just because he made it there in 2014 doesn't make up for what he didn't accomplish from 2007-2011 along with other years sprinkled in. He got extra time due to his back to back titles (deservedly so..) in the early 2000's but his 'retirement' was long overdue by the time it came IMHO! They were not the dominant team they had been for so many years for quite some time under his regime, much longer than 2-3 years as you suggest.
 


UncleSam'sMisguidedChild said:
Don is a Notre Dame alum himself.
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I did forget that... still seems odd as a HC for a major college program to Host a fund raiser for another program no matter if you're an alum or your kid goes there, or both. Seems to me the definition of 'conflict of interest'.
 
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DanvilleGopher said:
I did forget that... still seems odd as a HC for a major college team to Host a fund raiser for another team no matter if you're an alum or your kid goes there. Seems to me the definition of 'conflict of interest'.
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Correct. It's weird, and I understand the Gopher alums' issue with it. Just stating that Don has a pretty serious connection to ND.
 

#2Gopher said:
Happy to hear Logan Cooley flipped. Have to think that he saw what "Bob" was doing and who is coming in. Meanwhile, we've got to finish the year strong.
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In an article Logan talked about playing with Knies in the world juniors and is playing right now with Jimmy Snuggerud on a line now at the NTDP. With Cooley the gophers have 4 commits from the NTDP. That is tied with Michigan for the under 18 team. Hoping there is a large turnover and the gophers add at least 3 older players through the translated portal for next year. Their recruiting pipeline for 2022 and the next 3 years is really bunched up right now so expect all the seniors to be gone and probably another 3-5 transfers out.
 

DanvilleGopher said:
I beg to differ; but you can go back and look at his record yourself. He very much underwhelmed for 4+ years prior to making it to the final in 2014 so just because he made it there in 2014 doesn't make up for what he didn't accomplish from 2007-2011 along with other years sprinkled in. He got extra time due to his back to back titles (deservedly so..) in the early 2000's but his 'retirement' was long overdue by the time it came IMHO! They were not the dominant team they had been for so many years for quite some time under his regime, much longer than 2-3 years as you suggest.
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Well you are entitled to your opinion I'll give you that, but Don was fired/stepped down in 2018. So 10 years prior would be 2008. If you fire him after that season you're firing a guy coming off a run of:
National title
National title
Regional Final
Frozen Four
Regional Semi (Holy Cross fluke)
Regional final
Regional Semis
With 2 WCHA regular season and a couple final 5 titles in there.

No doubt the next 3 years were a bad dip, but I guess I'd argue he earned a little rope. Then the next 4 years we won more games than any program in the country, so I'm not sure where in that time you would have fit your firing in that makes sense, but you are entitled to your own thoughts.
 

It was two (maybe three) seasons too long for Lucia. If you're saying he should have been gone prior to 2011-12 you're just using your hindsight is 20/20 knowledge. He was sick in 2009, down for a couple years, then had the most talented team in the country over the 2011-12 - 2014-15 period.
 

bonin21 said:
It was two (maybe three) seasons too long for Lucia. If you're saying he should have been gone prior to 2011-12 you're just using your hindsight is 20/20 knowledge. He was sick in 2009, down for a couple years, then had the most talented team in the country over the 2011-12 - 2014-15 period.
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Exactly correct, thank you.
 

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