Gopher Hockey Recruiting

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If he comes in next season he can play with Cooley and Snuggerud probably. Oh my, talk about replacing Knies.
 



Love Rinzel's game from what I've seen. Optimistic he will be able to jump in and replace some of the huge departures we will have on the blue line after this year.
 



It appears Beckett Hendrickson is accelerating his studies and will come in the fall. He was an early birthday 11th grader so he would have had to go to the USHL next year from the NTDP. He could have used that year... But Motkzo will need bodies and only has O. Moore and Clark lined up for next year. And Clark could use another year of USHL, too.
 


This is really random and down the road but can Motzko recruit Lakeville native Henry Welsch. He has been phenomenal this year for UMASS Lowell and could see him coming as a grad transfer which is in 2 years. Maybe it's a stretch but if I'm being honest I just wanted an excuse to hype him up.
 

Sure, a transfer goalie is an option. But you don't "recruit" them until they enter the portal.
 



I don't know much about Welsch but a transfer goalie may be a necessity if Close doesn't use his extra year. Heck we might need one even if he does.
 

There have been good results with transfer goalies so yes, they should be looking and should have been looking last summer.
 


It appears the Gophers might need some late pick ups next year (flips, tournament standouts, late developing USHLers?). Clark is 98th in USHL scoring. Hendrickson is not doing much at the USNDP. Rud is a grinding D man. Outside of Rinzel and Moore, not much to bank on...
I would do back flips if they could get Danny Nelson to re-open his recruitment. That kid is going to be a Knies-type talent (if played at F).
 



Nelson is in 11th grade.

Next year will probably be a down year, especially if Cooley leaves, too. Like you mentioned the forward class is nothing special outside of Moore. And they are only carrying 14 forwards already. Probably need to hit the transfer portal.

Lose:
Schmidt
Nelson
Brodzinski
Knies
Cooley

Gain:
Moore
Hendrickson (looks like a 4th liner next year)
Clark (maybe - he's not really ready to contribute much)
Try to keep Nelson for his 5th year
?
?

Missed out on Nick Moldenhauer (Mighican), Michael Emerson (UND) and Michael Burchill (Michigan) as some of the few good forwards left for next season.
 
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Other uncertainty with next year's group is how ready will Bartoskiewicz be to take over in net? Would love another year of Nelson but he looks to be playing his way into an NHL contract. I don't love the idea of becoming transfer heavy but as mentioned it may be needed next year.

Any chance Eiserman could/would come in a year early?
 

Eiserman could accelerate but he would need to finish two grades this year and he or someone would need to pay the way out of his NTDP contract, which is like $50K. Few players have done that to go to college early. Hanifin, Werenski, and maybe one other.
 

It would have been great to have Tristan Broz coming back as a junior next year and Cruz Lucius and Joe Miller coming back as sophomores. Or really just at least one of them.
 

Given NHL and to a lesser extent NCAA hockey teams preference for larger goalies, it's a curiosity that the Gophers 3 goalies average 5'11" in height. Is there an explanation? Can we rule out a kid like 6'4" Carsen Musser because he's too tall?
 
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We had Jared Moe...

Yes, I've been waiting for a tall, NHL prospect #1 goalie for years.
 

Heck I'll take another small goalie as good as Adam Wilcox.
 

Goaltending is the one area of recruiting that has baffled me since Wilcox. With that being said, I have been very impressed with Close this year and really appreciate how calm he plays and always seems to be positionally sound. I have no issues with his performance this year.
 

GopherPete said:
Goaltending is the one area of recruiting that has baffled me since Wilcox. With that being said, I have been very impressed with Close this year and really appreciate how calm he plays and always seems to be positionally sound. I have no issues with his performance this year.
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Goaltenders can be very difficult to project and evaluate from one level to the next. Their numbers are often influenced by the team around them and they change a lot from ages 16-22.

Close has mostly been pretty good this year, and he did an admirable job for most of last year. He's just not a shutdown, steal you a game kind of guy, and he's prone to bad games. He had a bad game in the frozen four last year and the fear is if he will have a letdown at the worst time again this year.
 

Close has one of the best college defenses ever in front of him. Let's see what he can do in upcoming big games. St. Cloud, Michigan with all their players, and the tournament. Last year in the biggest game of the year (FF semi) he basically had his worst game.

Not to be harsh, but goaltending is obviously the weakest link and the Gophers O and D need to overachieve to not leave games up to a goaltending battle. I don't want it to come down to Chrona vs Close when it counts.
 

I don't disagree with either of you, I too have noticed he seems prone to losing a game if he is off. When he is on though, it is almost a guaranteed win. Hopefully he gets settled into a zone down the stretch.
 

bonin21 said:
Close has one of the best college defenses ever in front of him. Let's see what he can do in upcoming big games. St. Cloud, Michigan with all their players, and the tournament. Last year in the biggest game of the year (FF semi) he basically had his worst game.

Not to be harsh, but goaltending is obviously the weakest link and the Gophers O and D need to overachieve to not leave games up to a goaltending battle. I don't want it to come down to Chrona vs Close when it counts.
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Dryden McKay also had a terribly old and great defense in front of him last year and he won the Hobey. Is McKay better than Close, probably, but you’re defense is there to help the goalie. I agree Close is probably the weakest link on the team, besides long shifts chasing goals. There is no reason Close can not backstop this team to a NCAA Championship. Cause if not now, when.
 

Goaltender Magnus Chrona wins the best "Thor" movie character name.
 


How did we miss on Jack Harvey from Gentry Academy and the USNDP Under 18s? All he's doing is shredding the USHL, leading the league in scoring. Can Bob flip this kid from Boston? We need help next season.
 


Motzko and staff should ALL be calling Adam Gajan as soon as possible.
 

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