Expansion teams for BIG Hockey Conference?

[beat bucky]

I hope Iowa's not reading this but they would have a huge advantage in building a winning program. They've got the USHL which is a top feeder for college hockey, the Iowa Wild increasing hockey interest, and Minnesota right next door to cherry pick the best high school players in the country. Only a complete moron couldn't make Iowa a BIG hockey contender in a couple of years.

 

[Ron Johnson Super Fan]

I hope Iowa's not reading this but they would have a huge advantage in building a winning program. They've got the USHL which is a top feeder for college hockey, the Iowa Wild increasing hockey interest, and Minnesota right next door to cherry pick the best high school players in the country. Only a complete moron couldn't make Iowa a BIG hockey contender in a couple of years.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the top prospects committed to schools before they start playing in the USHL? It seems like the top Minnesota high school players commit while in high school and go to the USHL until the college team they committed to is ready for them to enroll.

 

[upnorthkid]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the top prospects committed to schools before they start playing in the USHL? It seems like the top Minnesota high school players commit while in high school and go to the USHL until the college team they committed to is ready for them to enroll.

You are correct which is why the assumption that Iowa would be good is extremely false. Zero mn hs players well pick Iowa over scsu, umd, mn, wisc, und, and likely even mankato. Even given that some alum donated to the level of pegula, there are no historical ties to Iowa for hockey nor is there a large collection of nhl alums living in the area that would select Iowa as a great destination. Iowa is a pipe dream

 

[MinneStoa]

I hope Iowa's not reading this but they would have a huge advantage in building a winning program. They've got the USHL which is a top feeder for college hockey, the Iowa Wild increasing hockey interest, and Minnesota right next door to cherry pick the best high school players in the country. Only a complete moron couldn't make Iowa a BIG hockey contender in a couple of years.

By that logic, shouldn't New Mexico be really good at football?

 

[Sparlimb]

By that logic, shouldn't New Mexico be really good at football?

They have two schools that have to share the talent, watering down what could have been a yearly powerhouse team...

 

[beat bucky]

You are correct which is why the assumption that Iowa would be good is extremely false. Zero mn hs players well pick Iowa over scsu, umd, mn, wisc, und, and likely even mankato. Even given that some alum donated to the level of pegula, there are no historical ties to Iowa for hockey nor is there a large collection of nhl alums living in the area that would select Iowa as a great destination. Iowa is a pipe dream

By that logic, North Dakota and Wisconsin would be bad as they have little history of their own state producing players or winning in amateur hockey (yeah, I know about the Potulnys and Suter). What are there, 2 good high school programs in ND, and that little strip bar town Superior won the WI championship- enough said. Trust me, Iowa would get the same level kids that are going to Mankato, Omaha and maybe even St. Cloud.
Kids want to play where they'll get scouted. And BIG Hockey is a great place for that.

 

[upnorthkid]

By that logic, North Dakota and Wisconsin would be bad as they have little history of their own state producing players or winning in amateur hockey (yeah, I know about the Potulnys and Suter). What are there, 2 good high school programs in ND, and that little strip bar town Superior won the WI championship- enough said. Trust me, Iowa would get the same level kids that are going to Mankato, Omaha and maybe even St. Cloud.
Kids want to play where they'll get scouted. And BIG Hockey is a great place for that.

If Wisconsin and north Dakota were JUST STARTING programs (not yelling, just emphasizing) they would have the same problem. The reason people go to und is the tradition. Same with Wisconsin and Minnesota for that matter. Minnesota has the added advantage of a robust high school hockey league. The historical ties of hockey in nd and wi relate to their history of producing winning college teams and nhl players via their college programs. Minnesota has the same plus a number of Minnesota players in the nhl. Iowa has none of those things

 

[beat bucky]

Alright, how would an Iowa program be any different than a fairly new and fairly successful Omaha program? Omaha attracted Dean Blais and MN high schoolers including Nick Seeler, Jake Randolph, Ryan Walters, Avery Peterson, Luc Snuggerud, Jake Guentzel, well, there's more but you get my point. And Omaha is really in the hockey sticks (pun intended).

 

[upnorthkid]

If you find Iowa a Dean Blais and a school system willing to dump in a ton of money for one team (they'd have to tank either bball or football), they could get there. It won't happen though. That list of MN high schoolers means next to nothing. Dean Blais attracted them. Nothing else. It's just not in the cards in Iowa barring a huge donor pulling a pegula to get them the rink

 

[goldengophers]

Add the affiliate schools of UMD and Omaha as well as Denver.